SubscribeThe Diet Behavior Connection
"Is Britney's Diet to Blame for her Behavior" read the newspaper headline a couple of months ago. It seems that doctors were blaming Brit's erratic behavior on her diet of oversized mochas, fast food and "energy drinks".
Research into the food-mood connection is gaining ground and it seems it's not a matter of whether diet does affect behavior so much as how MUCH of an impact it has.
Consider these studies and observations;
- In a 9-month long British study, 231 prisoners were given either capsules containing their daily requirements of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids (such as omega-3s) or placebos. Those who received the extra nutrients committed an average of 26.3% fewer offences than those who got the placebo. For violent offences, the reduction was 37%. A larger scale study is currently underway.
- A similar Dutch study carried out 2 years later found the number of disciplinary offences fell by almost half.
- J. Breakey reviewed studies on food and behavior conducted between 1985 and 1995, and "In almost all studies there was a statistically significant change in behavior with dietary intervention."
- Breakey also noted that researchers found that the symptom most affected by diet is mood, especially irritability.
- When it comes to a diet-aggression link, both human and animal studies have shown a link between aggression and a deficiency of thiamin, iron and tryptophan.
- Other studies have also implicated a lack of niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin C, iron, magnesium as having potential links to aggression.
- A study published last year highlighted a link between certain food additives and behaviour in young children
- Researchers of these kinds of studies hypothesize that proper functioning of nerve-cell membranes and signaling molecules depends on adequate supplies of minerals, vitamins and fatty acids. Further, point to a likely connection to how the nutrients effect the neurotransmitter serotonin.
While there are certainly other environmental factors to consider when it comes to diet and behaviour, it is clear that for better or worse, dietary choices can impact mood and behaviour. So while feeding Britney a few more salads won't turn her into mother-of-the-year, it may help curb the trips to the psych ward.
References:
- "The role of diet and behaviour in childhood," J. Breakey, Journal of Paediatr. Child Health, 33, 1997, pp. 190-194.
- "Nutritional influences on aggressive behavior," Melvyn R. Werbach, Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, Vol. 7, No. 1, 1995.
- "Relapse of depression after rapid depletion of tryptophan," K. A. Smith, C. G. Fairburn, and P.J. Cowen, The Lancet, Vol. 349, No. 9056, March 29, 1997, pp. 915-919. Address not listed.
- "Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community". The Lancet 2007; 370:1560-1567
More like this in Psychology · Feb 10, 2008
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I'm not surprised. It sure has a deep impact to me. Eating well and exercising has pretty well cured problems with depression.
I remember reading years beck that when a jail was switched to a balance vegetarian diet, incidences of aggression and violent behavior decreased dramatically.
ReplyPut Britney on a balanced macro ratio and she'll be fine in no time. Why is this rocket science?
ReplyWhile I believe that diets do affect moods and behavior, I'm not willing to cut Brit total slack here. I think there's a bit of "attention" grabbing and narcissism fueling a dangerous metabolic situation for her. As with many child stars, she hasn't had a totally "normal" life. Lots of acting out going on.
My friend Andrew has a similar diet of "over-sized mochas, fast food and "energy drinks" (especially energy drinks) and he doesn't exhibit nearly the mania that Brit does.
ReplyI would love to blame food for the way I act. It keeps the responsibility off of me. Let's hope this sort of blame doesn't become accepted, or else one day you'll find murderers being found not-guilty by reason of issanity from too many jelly doughnuts.
ReplyDon't forget all the cocaine binges that Brit has done.
ReplyI suspect it's something of a vicious circle: people tend to make poorer diet/health choices when things are going badly in their lives, and these can in turn lead to feeling (physically and emotionally) worse.
Certainly, a poor diet is no excuse for criminal behaviour, but I'm willing to accept it could be a contributing factor.
Ali
ReplyThis may be of interest to readers of this blog since it goes in to detail each week on how to use cutting-edge nutrition, exercise, and healthy lifestyle techniques to lose weight and live a healthier life. It's free so I figured I would share it... you can sign up for the Trim, Tone & Tighten Thursdays newsletter at www.stephencabral.com
ReplyBEYOND INTERESTING.
Id never seen that info on the diet aggression link.
with britbrit? who can say. will we ever know? bipola
thanks for the interesting post,
C.
ReplySure, diet affects mood, but it can't be used as an excuse for BEHAVIOR. No twinkie ever made anyone take another person's life (remember that case??) or put anyone into the psych ward. And I think Britney has a lot bigger issues than too much caffeine and trans fat.
ReplyI think the idea is it's not an EXCUSE that can be used, but that it can be a contributing factor -- a link we should study more. It definitely once again says that with all modern medicine can do we were meant to get certain nutrition and exercise and it affects us physically and mentally when we fail to.
Not every link is an excuse in my opinion, and thinking of it that way stops very real knowledge acquisition that could help problems.
This definitely shows nutrition is important and should be taught more in our schools and emphasized in every day life.
ReplyCool presentation of several links between nutrition and behavior Mike. And good idea with using Brit to get a good lead and ending in this otherwise doldrum topic.
I think Omega3 is a godsend. It has been shown to reduce anxiety in several studies among other wonderful things.
-Josh (fitfilter.com)
ReplyThe neuromodulators (neurotransmitters with a significant presence in cerebrospinal fluid) are all synthesized in the body from specific food fractions. The neuromodulators determine temperment and mood, while imbalances can lead to disorders in these as well as neurosis and psychosis.
These neuromodulators synthesized from the amino acids l-tyrosine (dopamine, norephinephrine and epinephrine), l-tryptophan (serotonin and other tryptaminess), and l-histidine (histamine), as well as choline, which is also known as vitamin B phi (acetylcholine).
As well, the brain is 60% fat. Half of those are omega-3 fats, particularly DHA.
The brain runs on glucose. This can be synethesized from protein or carbohydrates. Low blood sugar tends to cause defensiveness and desperation, as the brain enters a survival trip.
All told, without the right food, you can't have the right brain.
Reply"So it is a big temptation to me, when I create a character for a novel, to say that he is what he is because of faulty wiring, or because of microscopic amounts of chemicals which he ate or failed to eat on that particular day."
- Kurt Vonnegut, from the preface to Breakfast of Champions
Reply
ReplyIt's taken the mental health industry a long time to shift from their approach from being focused solely on drugs to looking at the importance of diet and exercise. A friend recently diagnosed with depression was told that diet and exercise would be really key in dealing with her depression - that wouldn't have happened 10 years ago when I was involved in the mental health industry, unless you had a REALLY progressive councellor. And I think many of the psychiatrists are still largely focusing on meds only. And I
Something of tangent. that might be interesting to u is that yoga mentions food has the capacity influence behaviour. It is classified loosely translated intoe english as passionate ( Rajas), Slothy ( tamas) and alert/ vigour (Sattva).
ReplyKailash said, "All told, without the right food, you can't have the right brain."
Right on. It's taken the mental health industry a long time to shift their approach from being focused solely on drugs to looking at the importance of diet and exercise. A friend recently diagnosed with depression was told that diet, exercise, and "self talk" would be really key in dealing with her depression - that wouldn't have happened 10 years ago when I was involved in the mental health industry, unless you had a REALLY progressive councellor. Mental health "consumers" who bucked the system and took a more holistic approach to treatment were often considered really radical and the docs who would work with them were rare, so I think we've actually come a fairly long way. And I think many of the psychiatrists are still largely focusing on meds first and foremost, if not solely.
I agree with what Kailash said regarding brain chemistry, but it does sound so straightforward when you put it like that, a lot of how and why all that happens is somewhat of a mystery, and treatment is still kind of hit and miss.
I don't much follow the whole Britney drama, but it's kind of hard to avoid completely unless you live in a bubble, and when I first heard about some of her behaviour, my immediate guess was that she was bipolar. A lifestyle and diet like that would be a major hindrance in getting well. That said, it sure is hard to get anyone who has a serious mental health isssue to be compliant with treatment, no matter what is. Sadly, it's often a feature of these illnesses to be convinced that nothing is wrong and treatment isn't necessary.
ReplyBritney - time for your padded cell and straitjacket. Nice knowing yuh, buh bye!
*locks the door and throws away the key*
ReplySorry for the semi-double post. Didn't realize I hit the comment button early.
It is sometimes hard to show compassion to someone who is constantly in our face as much as Britney Spears, I agree. Most of us who lead intelligent adult lives are really tired of her. But most, if not all of us will have to deal with a mental illness in someone we love (or ourselves), sooner or later, and it is a really, really tough thing to go through. So I do have some compassion for any family that has to deal with it, and maybe the Britney saga will have some benefit to other families who are dealing with this.
ReplyI was reading an article a while back that made this connection too.
A man was diagnosed with serious depression for most of his life (40 years if I'm not mistaken), when he took certain foods out of his diet he totally changed.
He was allergic to certain foods (one of which was wheat), though his allergies did not present themselves overtly and hence he didn't know that it was due to his allergies.
Anyone read about this story before? It'd be really good to add to this article.
ReplyFish oil fixes everything.
ReplyJust thought of something else that connects food/mental health. Both dopamine and serotonin levels can be boosted by all sorts of excessive behaviours. People with mental health problems, especially unidentified ones, self medicate in a number of ways, including excessive eating but also excessive drinking, drug taking, shopping, even exercise. (How many of these behaviors do we see in these messed-up so-called celebrities) It all works very effectively for a VERY short period of time, but of course overall the result would be someone even more messed up than before. I just throw it out there as another brain/food link, and another reason someone with a mental illness might have harmful eating habits. It might be an ill-advised strategy they've come up with that gives them some short term relief.
http://addiction-dirkh.blogspot.com/2007/09/serotonin-and-dopamine-primer.html
ReplyThe difference is amazing. I have had suicidal depression in the past and now I don't even have to be on meds -- though I do have to be exceptionally careful with my diet and exercise (more so than the average person) to keep it under control. But, I am very happy most the time now and don't even have slight depression mostly, much less what happened in the past.
ReplyFood is a cause and an effect. Britney's actions precede her relationship with food. The way she eats is just another pattern of self-infliction and harm. While some of her behavior may be incurred by her diet, most likely, her diet is another reflection of the self-destructive decision-making she perpetuates.
ReplyNope, I just don't buy it. I used to eat like that and I'm still mentality ok, of course all crazy people say that lol.
ReplyNah, I'll continue mocking Britney/Nicole/Paris to the ends of the earth. They deserve it and more!
ReplyWell, there's a limitless supply of other things to mock them for - no talent, no taste, no class...sort of like shooting ducks in a barrel :)
ReplyI can say that eating a diet that is nutritionally balanced has definitely helped with my depression. I also exercise a lot, which helps boost my endorphin levels and also makes me feel good. I definitely think that a healthy diet can help with mental illness, although some people really DO need additional medications. My mother in law is bipolar and even though she follows a reasonably healthy diet, she still needs medication to keep her "normal". But she does need less of it than she did when she ate less healthy. Also, I think diet can help with ADD as well. My sister was diagnosed with ADD (back in the late 80s, when psychiatrists were just discovering it) and she was put on strong stimulants to control it. The medication worked, but all the side effects were really bad. So she started eating a diet higher in oily fish and dark leafy greens and dairy. Now she can function without her medication and she feels better too. I'm sort of curious as to whether the big upswing in ADD in kids these days could be partially due to a diet high in processed foods that are nutritionally void.
ReplyI've never considered a diet-behavior correlation, but it makes sense. A healthy diet and regular exercise ARE good for the psyche.
ReplyDoesn't go well with mountains of cocaine.
ReplyI think this is spot on. The chicken or the egg argument.
It's also great to hear about those who have improved their moods through diet.
ReplyI agree with the point of this article. I have acted erratic and moody to a lesser degree than Britney, but since I have really changed my diet (including nearly stopping my 2+ litre/day diet coke habit, and have started drinking more water out of thirst) and go to Curves 3x per week (and take a multivitamin and omega 3 vitamins), I feel good and notice I am less crazy, less puffy, and not picking fights with my boyfriend (now ex, I am very sad to say, but hmm, wonder why.) Seriously, caffiene is a downer (I've been a 22 year long aspartame drinker) and I notice I am depressed when I drink it. You can eat crap for a year (to save time while you are working hard), but then you are going to pay. You make choices, including treating the boyfriend (whom I love) badly, but you are still completely responsible for your actions, even if you felt out of control and didn't even want to be acting irrational while you were doing it. Own up, Apologize, and take a minimum of three months to restore the calm (yes, boring routine) back into your life. Then, hope and pray that people will forgive (no, not forget) and will be willing to let you into their lives again to even a small degree.
I hope Brit gets well these next coming months, I really care about what happens to that girl.
ReplyUnfortunately, diet has not proven to help with ADHD. However, I'm sure that eating a proper diet is generally helpful to everyone in a baseline sort of way. I am sure that if I did not eat a healthy diet I would very quickly feel depressed, out of sorts, and dysfunctional.
ReplyThere is a small but fairly convincing body of research that shown essential fatty acids to help with ADD/ADHA. Here are 3 studies on children. I'm not sure what the effect is for adults, but it would be reasonable to suggest that there would be some positive benefit for them as well. Food for thought anyway.
1) Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2006 Oct-Nov;75(4-5):299-308. Epub 2006 Sep 8
2) Lipids. 2003 Oct;38(10):1007-21
3) Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Jan;71(1 Suppl):327S-30S
ReplyNoelle, I love your comments. But, diet definately affects behavior- think about chocolate.
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