Author(s) :

Brandon Cha.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

The relationship between diet and mental health has become a central focus of modern scientific research. This literature review examines how balanced diets and fast foods differently influence mental health, emphasizing three main mechanisms: the gut microbiome, essential nutrient availability, and cellular energy metabolism. A diverse gut microbiome supports regulation of the gut-brain axis, while nutrient deficiencies are associated with increased susceptibility to depression and anxiety. Given the rising prevalence of mental health disorders, nutritional psychiatry offers an accessible and affordable avenue of potential treatment, however many people still underestimate or neglect the importance of diet and nutrition. This review highlights the negative effects of fast food and Western dietary patterns alongside the benefits of balanced nutrition, underscoring the necessity for future longitudinal studies that minimize confounding variables, contain homogenous definitions of terms such as anxiety and depression, and adopt identical methodologies for coherence and applicability. However, this literature review confirms the correlation between diet and mental health, as fast foods have negative cognitive effects and increased susceptibility to anxiety and depression, while balanced diets can mitigate these effects.