Mental Health & Wellbeing -Personalised Nutrition

By Chloe Plummer, Nutrition Advisor and BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapy student

In recent years, growing attention has been given to the connection between mental health and nutrition. Research increasingly shows that the foods we eat can affect how the brain works, how we manage stress, and our overall ability to cope emotionally¹.

Working with a personalised nutrition plan can help you understand how your diet may support your mental health and general wellbeing. When tailored to you, it can offer a realistic and practical approach that sits alongside and complements counselling.

A smiling woman with a bag of healthy food shopping

Personalised Nutrition for Mental Health - Key Nutrients and Their Benefit

The brain is one of the body’s most energy-demanding organs and depends on a consistent supply of key nutrients to operate effectively. These include²:

• B vitamins: Important for supporting energy production and maintaining healthy nervous system functioning.

• Iron: Necessary for transporting oxygen to the brain and for the creation of neurotransmitters, the body’s chemical signalling system.

• Magnesium: Plays a role in regulating the body’s stress response and helps with the production of calming neurotransmitters. Lower levels have been linked with a greater likelihood of depression and anxiety-related conditions.

• Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA): Help maintain the structure of brain cells, influencing how neurotransmitters communicate with one another, including serotonin, often referred to as the “feel-good” chemical.

Blood sugar balance and its impact on mood and wellbeing

Blood sugar regulation is a factor in mental wellbeing that is often overlooked. Irregular eating habits, missing meals, high intakes of added sugar, and diets lacking in protein and fibre can all lead to fluctuations in blood glucose levels. These swings may show up as irritability, low mood, anxiety, tiredness, brain fog, or difficulty concentrating³.

For this reason, maintaining stable blood sugar levels is one of the ways nutrition can play a role in supporting mental health and overall wellbeing.

The gut–brain connection – how gut health affects mental wellbeing

There is growing recognition of the connection between gut health and mental health, commonly described as the gut–brain axis. Research indicates that the gut microbiome — the vast and complex community of trillions of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses and fungi living within the digestive system — plays a role in neurotransmitter production, immune communication and inflammatory processes. Each of these can influence mood and overall wellbeing⁴.

When gut health becomes disrupted, whether through stress, illness or dietary habits, the effects may extend beyond digestion alone. A personalised approach to nutrition and lifestyle can help reduce these effects while supporting improvements in both gut health and mental wellbeing.

The relationship between nutrition, stress and mental health

Low-level, ongoing stress is a common part of modern life, yet it places extra demands on the body. During these periods, the body’s requirement for certain nutrients involved in energy production and stress regulation increases, including vitamin C, zinc and the B vitamins. When stress persists, people may unintentionally skip meals or rely more heavily on convenience foods, which can limit the intake of these nutrients and contribute to symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety and mental fog⁵.

A personalised nutrition approach

Nutritional needs are not fixed. They shift throughout different stages of life and during times when physical or emotional demands increase. This might include pregnancy, menopause, preparing for an endurance event such as a marathon, or navigating challenging life experiences like bereavement, moving home, or starting a new job. Because of this, nutritional guidance tends to be most effective when it considers the whole person rather than relying on a single approach for everyone.

Supporting mental health through balanced nutrition is not about quick fixes, rigid food rules, focusing on individual nutrients, or striving for perfection. Instead, the aim is to help the body function as well as it can through small, realistic and sustainable changes that fit within a person’s daily life. Over time, this can create a more stable foundation that supports emotional wellbeing alongside other therapeutic approaches, including counselling.

Chloe Plummer is a Nutrition Advisor and final-year BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapy student with the Institute for Optimum Nutrition and University of Portsmouth, due to graduate August 2026. She offers personalised, evidence-based nutrition support for women’s health and works collaboratively alongside other healthcare professionals including counsellors.

Learn more about Chloe and how nutrition can support your mental health by clicking here

Buffet food

References

1.     Firth J, Gangwisch JE, Borsini A, Wootton RE, Mayer EA, Boniface D, et al. Food and mood: how do diet and nutrition affect mental wellbeing? BMJ. 2020 Jun 29;371:m2382. doi:10.1136/bmj.m2382.

2.     Muscaritoli M. The impact of nutrients on mental health and well-being: insights from the literature. Front Nutr. 2021 Mar 8;8:656290. doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.656290.

3.     Basiri R, Seidu B, Cheskin LJ. Key nutrients for optimal blood glucose control and mental health in individuals with diabetes: a review of the evidence. Nutrients. 2023 Sep 10;15(18):3929. doi:10.3390/nu15183929

4.     Doenyas C, Clarke G, Cserjési R. Gut–brain axis and neuropsychiatric health: recent advances. Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 27;15(1):3415. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-86858-3

5.     Bremner JD, Moazzami K, Wittbrodt MT, Nye JA, Lima BB, Gillespie CF, et al. Diet, stress and mental Health. Nutrients. 2020 Aug 13;12(8):2428. doi: 10.3390/nu12082428