Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Nutrition and Mental Health

Nutrition and mental health, often termed nutritional psychiatry, is the study of how dietary intake, nutrient status, and eating behaviors influence brain function, mood, cognition, and psychiatric disorders, and conversely how mental states shape what and how people eat. The field treats the brain as a metabolical…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 12 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 145× across the literature 🔖 ISSN 2379-7835

Overview

Nutrition and mental health, often termed nutritional psychiatry, is the study of how dietary intake, nutrient status, and eating behaviors influence brain function, mood, cognition, and psychiatric disorders, and conversely how mental states shape what and how people eat. The field treats the brain as a metabolically demanding organ whose structure and signaling depend on a steady supply of nutrients, and it investigates the biological pathways through which diet exerts psychological effects. Candidate mechanisms include the availability of amino-acid precursors for neurotransmitter synthesis, the modulation of systemic and neuroinflammation, micronutrient deficiencies affecting neuronal metabolism, epigenetic regulation by dietary factors, and the gut-brain axis, in which the composition and activity of the intestinal microbiota influence mood and behavior through metabolic, immune, and neural routes. Functional foods and whole dietary patterns are examined for associations with psychological well-being and cognitive performance, while nutrition-based strategies are explored as adjuncts in conditions such as schizophrenia, including attention to gastrointestinal health. The discipline also encompasses disordered-eating phenomena, notably orthorexia nervosa, the pathological preoccupation with healthful eating, and their consequences for quality of life. Throughout, it considers how nutritional knowledge and status interact with psychological factors across varied populations.

Research published in this journal

12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

2019

Functional Food

Monica ButnariuCorresponding author
International Journal of Nutrition Cited by 109 doi:10.14302/issn.2379-7835.ijn-19-2615
2015

Epigenetics and Nutrition

Kenneth LundstromCorresponding author
International Journal of Nutrition Cited by 2 doi:10.14302/issn.2379-7835.ijn-14-603

How this research is being cited

The 12 articles above have been cited 145 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Nov 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Nutrition and Mental Health, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in International Journal of Nutrition (ISSN 2379-7835).

Journal editorial board
Christopher Ochner · United States Alicja Kuban-Jankowska · Poland Angel Catala · Argentina

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.