Psy. D., Antioch University, 2022, Antioch Santa Barbara: Clinical Psychology

This systematic literature review explores the relationship between mental disorders and nutrition through a review 547 available articles. Of these, 74 were selected for inclusion in this review. The research question guiding this inquiry was: What is the effect of nutrition on the mental health of individuals in the United States? A PRISMA flow diagram was used to develop systematic assessments of the existing research to produce a dataset of literature to answer the research question. It was found that nutrition and health are critically linked, with supplements being associated with positive health outcomes. It was also found that research is shifting to focus on the connection between the gut and the brain. The culmination of this review is that nutritional changes and support can positively impact anxiety and depression, and probiotic treatments have been linked to better dopamine regulation. Each disease is reviewed in relation to existing evidence on nutritional supplements that impact health symptoms. The findings of this review indicated that nutrition could have a notable impact on managing health conditions. It is recommended that models for health and nutrition be updated to encompass nutritional issues in the treatment of mental health disorders with a critical focus on patients' nutritional intake. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA, https://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu.

Committee: Brett Kia-Keating EdD (Committee Chair); Christina Donaldson PhD (Committee Member); Kelli Davis PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Health; Mental Health; Nutrition; Psychobiology; Psychology