Impact of Nutrition on Depression: A Review of Some Dietary Components with Antidepressant Effects and Their Mechanism of Action

Abstract

Recent years have seen a surge in psychiatric diseases, which has resulted in considerable disease distress and considerably decreased living conditions. Many considerable synthetic medications have been used to treat these illnesses throughout the years, but they have been found to have limited effects and substantial recurrence risks in many individuals. Mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety are persistently on the rise around the world, posing serious challenges to the affected person’s and their family members’ personal lives. There is mounting evidence that suggests the gut–brain axis (GBA) contributes to the genesis and development of psychiatric diseases. This review focuses on contemporary dietary therapies such as Mediterranean diets and dietary supplements and emphasizes nutrition’s critical role in psychiatric care through the GBA. Several research have indicated that dietary quality affects mental health because it controls metabolic processes, has anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic characteristics, and promotes neurogenesis and synaptogenesis. This study demonstrates many dietary components, their relationships to depression, and how they work. The use of dietary recommendations to support mental health appears to be a novel, affordable, useful, nonpharmacological intervention for people with mental problems.