The CNP Nutritional Psychiatry Research Category consolidates research exploring nutritional psychiatry. To view each original study on the open internet, click “Original.” To view the CNP-written abstract summary, click “CNP Summary.” While only some of the CNP-written abstract summaries are available below for free, all abstract summaries are available to CNP members through the CNP Library Membership.
While nutritional interventions are known to have a positive effect on psychiatric disorders and various diseases, this 2021 study addresses the limited amount of data on the nutritional literacy of mental health professionals. Surveys were distributed all over the world to test mental health workers on their general nutrition knowledge, and to collect information on whether or not they received nutritional education and their tendency to recommend food supplements or prescribe specific diets in clinical practice. The aim was to assess professionals from 52 different countries. A total of 1056 mental health professionals (MHPs) participated in this study, including 354 psychiatrists, 511 psychologists, 44 psychotherapists, and 147 MHPs in-training. All the respondents believed that the dietary quality of patients with mental disorders were poorer than the general population. With regards to education, most psychiatrists and psychologists had never received training in nutrition. But many of these healthcare workers used nutritional approaches. Around 59% recommended supplements, while 43.8% suggested specific diet strategies to their patients. The survey also uncovered that only 0.8% of respondents rated their nutritional education as “very good”. Almost every participant expressed their desire to improve their knowledge on “nutritional psychiatry”. This article emphasizes the urgent need for further nutritional education in the training program of mental health professionals.
CNP Research Summary can be found in the CNP Library Membership
Nutritional psychiatry: Towards improving mental health by what you eat
Fermented foods, microbiota, and mental health: Ancient practice meets nutritional psychiatry
CNP Research Summary can be found in the CNP Library Membership
Considering mental health from the viewpoint of diet: The role and possibilities of nutritional psychiatry
International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research practice guidelines for omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder
CNP Research Summary can be found in the CNP Library Membership
Nutritional Psychiatry: Where to next?
A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the ‘SMILES’ trial)
CNP Research Summary can be found in the CNP Library Membership
Nutritional psychiatry: An evolving concept
CNP Research Summary can be found in the CNP Library Membership
Nutritional Psychiatry: From concept to the clinic
'An apple a day'?: Psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists report poor literacy for nutritional medicine: international survey spanning 52 countries