What Mind says
Healthy eating is important for optimum mental as well as physical health, and Mind
congratulates 'Food and Mood' for 10 years of providing an excellent range of dietary
self-help resources.
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive, Mind, February 2008
Mind has been delighted with the emergence in recent years of the recognition of the links between food and mood. This recognition has begun to allow people to have more control over their own mental health and develop self-management approaches. It also has indicated the importance of good meals and sound understanding of nutritional issues in a wide range of residential mental health services.
The Food and Mood project set up by Amanda Geary was a groundbreaking project originally set up by our Millennium Awards scheme which was specifically about promoting innovative approaches to mental health issues. Along with other initiatives this project has allowed the research on the links between food and mood to become better understood and more accessible to people suffering mental health issues in their own lives.
Increasingly users of mental health services are looking for treatment and life-style choices to replace or combine with the more traditional medication approach. I personally have heard many accounts of how people are managing their own recovery partly by using some of the concepts behind the food and mood approach.
Of course at a simple level we all know certain foods are good for us or can affect our mood. However, linking real information and evidence with effective ways of using it can be a really efficient tool in managing your mental health.
Richard Brook, Chief Executive, Mind, September 2002
Mind is a major charity in England and Wales. It campaigns widely on issues of national importance relating to mental health as well as actively promoting good mental health and providing advice and information. www.mind.org.uk