Can a Vegan Diet Help Improve Mental Health?

Did you know a low-fat, plant-based diet might help boost your mood? 🌱

Years ago, we did a study with GEICO employees to see if a plant-based diet could help with weight loss and diabetes. No surprise, it worked!

But what was even more interesting was what we saw with mental health.

Depression, anxiety, and job absenteeism dropped. Other studies have shown similar results.

It's a powerful reminder that what you eat can affect how you feel. 🧠

#mentalhealth #depression #anxiety #plantbased #wholefoodplantbased #vegan #pcrm

[PhysiciansCommittee]

Additional Context:

Inflammation is your body’s response to injury. For example, if you hammer your thumb, it swells because immune cells and proteins rush to the area to help with healing.

However, inflammation can also be triggered in ways we don’t want. Some people have inflammatory chemicals circulating in their bloodstream constantly, and when they reach the brain, they seem to be linked to conditions like depression.

[angelahill]

Every time I see Dr B I get a big smile on my face. His research saved my life and I can never repay him. He is a wonderful doctor with a beautiful soul. ♥️

[maymulla]

I can attest to that firsthand. Once I stopped eating animal products I became a significantly calmer person. Thank you, Dr. Barnard.

[Kristers_K]

It definitely does and has for me, I've never felt more lively than on a WFPB diet where as i was lethargic for most of my life on an omnivorous diet.
But really digestion has been the biggest boon. Few people these days could imagine having to spend only 10-20 seconds in the toilet, because that's just how quick it is, particularly when the diet is high in fiber. Barely have even have to wipe....to put it humorously.

[georgebmac]

While depression has long been linked to inflammation, I wonder if it could be affecting neurotransmitters - specifically Serotonin- in the gut, because the gut produces most of the body’s Serotonin.

[ashdgee]

I eat veggies, lean meat (grass fed beef and wild venison), salads, pasture raised eggs and wild salmon. I lost weight im lean and flat tummy

[jgrysiak]

Not true, the starch vegan diet hasn't helped my major depression or chronic fatigue much. Coffee does! I just follow Dr. Mcdougall's advice & get out of bed & don't sleep more than 6.5 hrs a night.

[aboutsupplies]

1. Title: Effects of Low-Carbohydrate and Low-Fat Diets: A Randomized Trial
Publication: Annals of Internal Medicine, 2010
Trial Design: This was a two-year randomized controlled trial involving 307 participants who were assigned to either a low-carbohydrate diet (which was ketogenic in nature) or a low-fat diet. The study measured weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors, including inflammation markers like C-reactive protein (CRP).
Results: The low-carbohydrate diet group experienced greater reductions in CRP levels compared to the low-fat diet group, suggesting a decrease in systemic inflammation.

2. Title: Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates
Publication: The New England Journal of Medicine, 2009
Trial Design: In this randomized trial, 811 overweight adults were assigned to one of four diets varying in macronutrient composition over two years. While not exclusively ketogenic, one of the diets was low in carbohydrates. Inflammation markers, including CRP, were measured.
Results: Participants on lower-carbohydrate diets showed a more significant decrease in CRP levels than those on higher-carbohydrate diets, indicating reduced inflammation.

[minaljhaveri]

I have gone vegan after we met at Rodman's.

[wcneathery]

This guy is the poster child for sarcopenia.

[sarahd]

Also, all the micronutrients we get from plants heal the brain. Malnutrition affects the brain. The trend is to focus on macros. Those are already in everything, and we have a generation of malnourished people (as full of protein, carbs or fats as they are). Focus on the foods with the high micros.

[jozefien]

This might be true for the short term but not for the long term. Because low fat will bite you in the ass after a while. People just need to cutt out all the processed sh!t and will have the same result

[monicasong]

The human brain only feeds off of one thing: Glucose.

Glucose only exists in complex carbohydrates. In other words, whole plants (& fungi) foods.

Kale dipped in bean hummus vs. Deep fried kale in oil.

[TheGymReaper]

Who paid for the studies? Think i can guess who. Hardcore carnivore here, middle aged man, still get mistaken for a teenager on a regular basis, 24 eggs a day, red meat, raw milk, raw butter, fatty fish along with intermittent fasting for the first half of the day. My type 1 diabetes is now a non factor, my A1C is identical to a non diabetic, my eyesight has improved so much that I need a weaker prescription of glasses for long distance and the bleeding in the back of my eyes from damage caused by 30+ years of a "balanced diet" has now completely healed and repaired without a trace without medical intervention. I no longer have ADHD or OCD, anxiety and my BPD is non existent. My autism symptoms are nearly all gone too. Zero inflammation and my testosterone levels are through the roof, I've put on so much lean muscle mass within a 3 month period of starting the diet that I had to size up my clothes. I've been growing ever since. My bleeding gums have stopped, my mood is tepid 24/7, improved memory, no brain fog and I can finally work full time after being incapable for my whole life. Not to mention the overall feeling of pure calm and focus. I feel like I am ready to tackle anything at a moment's notice, no peaks or crashes of energy, I feel the same all day. So yeah, think I'll stick to carnivore. Thanks anyway 👍

[vanessac]

People feel better off A1 dairy because it's inflammatory and allergenic. Study people who eat meat but not dairy then draw conclusions. It's all a waste of time and untangled variables

[ashdgee]

Eat pasture raised eggs and wild fatty fish for optimal brain health .

[erikshin-cjsh]

I eat an omnivore, Mediterranean diet. And, although veganism may improve the mood of vegans, vegans do the opposite for the moods of those around them who are non-vegan. Vegans seem to tend to become somewhat food supremacists. They tend to be intolerant of other people's diet. It might just be my own experience, so I am not saying this is true for all vegans, but all the vegans I have been in contact with are like this. Even if they are doing it behind smiles and seemingly friendly demeanor, almost like a cult, they keep trying to push veganism and sometimes even try to "diet shame" non-vegans. I even know a vegan who picked on a vegetarian because the vegetarian consumed nutritional yeast, mushrooms and algae to get vitamin B12 (which does not have that many plant sources) . I've always thought mushrooms and algae were plants, but I guess those don't fit the vegan diet. I respect other people's right to choose their own diet enough that I don't incessantly tell them what to eat and what not to eat. Can't we just all get along?

[bastien]

Hummm, my experience with it is the opposite.
My body do not really like to much plant food.😢

[karahope]

If youre talking cutting out sugar and processed foods and seed oils, you will feel better no matter what i think. But personally, plants do not help with my inflammation- they tend to make my autoimmune issues flare up. I've been doing a low carb, animal based keto diet and I have never felt better!

[ricardoamaya]

Lol yeah, sure. Countless evidence disproving this and proving the opposite.