Not long ago in the library, one book caught my attention - “The Anxious Brain” by an American psychiatrist and nutritionist of South African origin named Uma Naidoo (a very telling name, did you notice?) I decided to take it to read. Author In the book, she calls herself a psychiatrist-nutritionist, and the direction she works in is food psychiatry. Frankly, I came across such a formulation for the first time. Although, of course, I heard and read a lot about the connection between mental states and what we eat. And there has been a lot of recent research on the connection between the composition of the human intestinal microbiome and mood and mental health. The author writes that the gut-brain connection works in two directions, it’s like a two-way street. Just as the composition of the microbiota affects the functioning of the brain, the brain provokes changes in the microbiome. Even a short period of severe stress causes a change in the composition of bacteria in the gut. This phenomenon is well illustrated by a study conducted by Miraya Valles-Colomer and her colleagues in April 2019. Scientists invited more than a thousand volunteers and compared the microbiota of people who were depressed with a population of those who did not have mental problems... The subjects who suffered from depression were deficient in many types of microorganisms, even after the intake was completed antidepressants and corrective treatment was carried out. Scientists also noted that with increasing concentrations of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (a dopamine metabolite), which promotes the growth of intestinal bacteria, mental health improves. It should also be noted here that the production of GABA is impaired in people with depression. It is not my purpose here to retell this interesting book about the connection between the gut and the brain. If necessary, you can find and read it yourself. I just want to share some recommendations on nutrition for various mental disorders that the author offers, and which have worked well in practice in addition to traditional methods of treating these disorders. (Before changing your diet, make sure there are no contraindications and consult your doctor) What can’t you eat if you have OCD? There are foods and substances that worsen obsessive-compulsive disorder. Did you know about this? Uma Naidu secretes 2 such substances: Glutamate. It is a naturally occurring compound that imparts umami flavor to foods. The substance itself is fairly harmless, but not for people with OCD. The fact is that glutamate acts as an excitatory neurotransmitter in the body (there is a version about the significance of anomalies of glutamate pathways in the nervous chain in OCD). Therefore, an excess of this compound is not beneficial. There are other reasons. Glutamate levels in the body spike due to its free form, which is found in foods such as Parmesan and Roquefort cheese, soy sauce, grapefruit juice, broccoli, ripe tomatoes, salami and chicken broth. Monosodium glutamate is part of industrially processed finished products (soups and instant noodles, nuggets, etc.) Do you like Doshirak? Forget it! In my personal opinion, I would not give up natural products, but limiting the consumption of fast food products with artificially added monosodium glutamate is worth a try. Gluten (gluten in flour products). It is not yet known why, but giving up gluten improves the condition of patients with OCD. photo created in the supa service. What is good to eat for OCD? Dietary supplement N-acetylcysteine ​​(NAC). Slows down the transfer of glutamate between nerve cells, reduces the level of oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain. Proven to be effective in the fight against trichotillomania, an OCD spectrum disorder. NAC is not found in foods and can only be taken as a dietary supplement. But in the body it turns into cysteine, so you can eat foods rich in cysteine ​​- such as meat, grains, eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, red peppers, onions. The author also mentions