Anxiety, depression, and ADHD can often be better managed using diet for mental wellness. That’s good news for people who take the time to explore the benefits of reducing medication use. Justin Bethoney says many of his patients “graduate” from needing medications.

“We work conservatively, take it step by step, and we lower the medications,” he says. “We try to pick a time to reduce the medications that is good. Not a lot of med changes before the holidays.”

What Is The Mental Wellness Diet?

Justin Bethoney’s mental wellness diet is a comprehensive guide to implement changes to the diet to improve mental wellness. Proper diet can reduce the symptoms that are too often medicated without more in-depth exploration for root causes, such as nutrient deficits, blood sugar issues, compromised gut health, and countless other environmental factors.

Millions of Americans struggle with symptoms of mental illness, whether they are diagnosed or not. According to NAMI, one in five adults in this country experience symptoms of a mental health illness at least once a year.¹ Worse, those who are diagnosed may not have adequate treatment.

However, symptoms may be due, in part, to the way we eat and the environments we live in. Experts like Justin Bethoney posit that many people do not receive many of the types of stimulation they need. In addition, the modern-day diet is full of processed foods that lack real nutritional value. Many of these red flags are discussed at length in Bethoney’s book.

Everyday experiences for many Americans involve:

The Mental Wellness Diet considers the types of environments our ancestors lived in and begs questions about our often unhealthy relationship with food. With a better awareness of which types of food are better for our brains and what eating habits serve unhealthy addictions, Justin Bethoney mentions that following the advice in his new book can help anyone feel better and reduce their reliance on prescription medications.

The Benefits of Glycine

Bethoney’s website explores the benefits of an important amino acid, Glycine that plays several critical roles in promoting wellness. Glycine is a simple and small amino acid that many people do not ingest in sufficient quantities. Justin Bethoney calls Glycine the body’s “peacekeeper.”

Glycine helps the body:

Glycine helps the body digest fat by helping with the formation of bile salts that break down fat into small particles so they can be absorbed by the body. Inadequate bile salts can lead to nutritional issues and reduced availability of fat-soluble vitamins. Glycine is also critical for the creation of creatine, which supports the energy supply of cells and brain cells. The availability of creatine is important in designing a diet for mental wellness, especially when our brains are working hard and require an extra boost of energy.²

The Benefits of Glutathione in the Diet for Mental Wellness

Glycine also plays a crucial role as a building block for glutathione, which is commonly known as our body’s master antioxidant. While many antioxidants can only be obtained through food, glutathione can be made in our bodies. Antioxidants circulate in the body and neutralize free radicals that threaten healthy cells. Without the availability of antioxidants to fight free radicals, our bodies are much more prone to weight gain, fatigue, premature aging, and aches and pains.

This tiny but mighty amino acid also helps maintain our immune system by reducing inflammation. While inflammation is a natural reaction to an invading threat, swelling can often cause damage to the body. Having a sufficient supply of glutathione in your body can reduce the unintended consequences of inflammation. This can also limit the circulation of inflammatory messengers (cytokines). Cytokines can create even higher levels of inflammation than the body would normally experience.³

Tips for Boosting Glutathione and Glycine

Dr. Bethoney suggests adding powdered collagen peptides to your smoothies, oatmeal, or coffee. Due to the natural effects of collagen, your joints may even feel better over time.

Another dietary source for these amino acids is bone broth. You can make this at home by heating water, bones, meat, vegetables, and herbs over low heat for 24 to 48 hours. This releases collagen found in the meat and connective tissue. Boiling also releases minerals found in the marrow. You can also buy pre-made bone broth at grocery stores. It’s a delicious way to improve mental wellness through diet changes.

Benefits of Omega-3 for ADHD

Omega-3 fatty acids are found in eggs, nuts, seeds, salmon, and other foods. The fatty acid is considered an essential fatty acid due to the important role it plays in the body. For children, fatty acids are particularly important because they are the building blocks for the cells in our brains called neurons. Unfortunately, the typical American diet is generally lacking in these important fatty acids, since many food items like rice, chips, and carbs provide calories but low levels of important nutrients.

Rising rates of mental illness and neurodivergent symptoms are often attributed partly to diet, and researchers believe this link is progressing.⁵ Many things have to go right as the brain develops, and a lack of nutrition can lead an otherwise healthy individual to develop neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD. It’s important to note that there are many factors that can contribute to the development of ADHD, including genetics, but a poor diet that is high in sugar and low in essential fatty acids is a critical risk factor.

Other Foods Linked to Better Brain Function

Beyond Omega 3 fatty acids, glutathione, and glycine, researchers have found other foods and drinks that can help with brain health, which can help with overall mental health problems. Many of these foods help the cardiovascular system stay strong, indicating that there are multiple benefits to increasing your intake of vegetables and other nutrient-dense foods.⁵

Leafy Vegetables

Vegetables are well known to be super healthy, but not all veggies are equal. Certain leafy green vegetables have the types of nutrients and vitamins (vitamin K, lutein, folate, beta carotene) that your brain needs to stay healthy.

Examples of these plants include:

Eating a plant-based diet can help slow cognitive decline, and the fiber leafy greens provide is also healthy for your GI tract.⁵

Fatty Fish

Saturated fats are a health problem for the heart and arteries. Healthy unsaturated fats, though, may play a positive role in slowing the onset of dementia. Fortunately, anyone can enjoy the benefits of eating fish just by eating fish twice a week. Look for options that are low in mercury, like salmon, cod, pollack, and light tuna.⁶

Berries and Flavonoids

The pigments that give berries their bright colors also help with memory and brain function. People who consume two or more services of blueberries and strawberries per week can potentially delay memory decline by 2.5 years.⁷

Health Benefits of Nuts

If you do not like eating fish, you can enjoy many of the health benefits of eating fish by consuming other foods high in omega-3, like walnuts, avocados, and flaxseeds. Nuts provide a healthy dose of nutrients, healthy fats, and oils. One specific type of nut, walnuts, may also improve memory.

Walnut consumption has been linked with improved cognitive function. One reason may be the high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, particularly one known as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). ALA also helps lower blood pressure and clear arteries. This can be a real benefit for both the brain and heart.⁸

The Importance of Maintaining Blood Glucose Levels

Blood sugar is another example of the benefits of modifying the diet for mental wellness. Justin Bethoney’s research into maintaining healthy blood sugar levels finds that prolonged periods of low blood sugar can have a negative impact on the brain and body. Initially, the body responds to low blood sugar by releasing epinephrine and cortisol. Those hormones provide short-term energy, but they can be unhealthy for the brain in large and sustained amounts. The hormones also interfere with sleep. Many people who lie awake at night are unable to sleep because they do not balance their body’s blood sugar levels.

Even when we are able to fall asleep after a day of having elevated epinephrine and cortisol levels, the sleep cycle may be broken at 3 a.m. Our bodies feel anxious for no apparent reason and blood sugar levels naturally drop during sleep because we are not eating. When those levels become critically low, the body has no choice but to release stress hormones. Two solutions are to eat throughout the day and to consume protein, fat, and fiber while reducing sugar intake.

Breakfast, Justin Bethoney says, should be a few hundred calories. Exercise and cardio can improve your metabolic health. Building muscles helps build up our metabolic reserve for when we are low on glucose. Eating foods that delay energy release can help you sustain your energy throughout the day. Even if you are not hungry in the morning, try eating a few eggs or at least a protein smoothie.

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