The emerging field of nutritional mental health: Inflammation, the microbiome, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial function

According to Kaplan et al. (2015), research is currently transforming our understanding on the etiology of mental disorders. While we had a great breakthrough in understanding 60 years ago (leading to the introduction of psychopharmacology), the current revolution is broader. There has been a rapid intake of knowledge on how various factors affect brain function (for example inflammation, microbiome imbalance (gut dysbiosis), oxidative stress, and impaired mitochondrial output). Several effective interventions have been identified for combating inflammation, restoring normal gut function, reducing oxidative stress, and improving mitochondrial metabolism. These include modifying lifestyle choices (e.g. using probiotics and increasing nutrient consumption). This article hopes to provide an update on this emerging model of the biological basis of mental illness, discussing this new field in mental health referred to as nutritional psychology/psychiatry. [NPID: interdisciplinary effects, inflammation, microbiome, dysbiosis, oxidative stress, probiotics, gut-brain axis]

Year: 2015

Reference: Kaplan BJ, Rucklidge JJ, Romijn A, McLeod K. The Emerging Field of Nutritional Mental Health: Inflammation, the Microbiome, Oxidative Stress, and Mitochondrial Function. Clinical Psychological Science. 2015;3(6):964-980. doi:10.1177/2167702614555413

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