Bezich 1

Sydney Bezich

English 1201-521

Prof. Hellmers

7 April 2019

A Healthy Diet: An Alternative Treatment Option

Within our current and busy society, there is an appearance and a pronounced stress

surrounding the topic of diet and nutrition. Whether in magazine articles or on television

programs, a healthy and balanced diet, paired with imagery of a physically fit body and a happy

individual can be found. I recently found myself wanting and needing to find and understand if

possibly, there were any other distinct connections or relationships between diet and its effects

on the human body. It is extremely necessary for everyone to be interested and concerned with

the ways in which their body naturally functions and processes different diets. The food that is

entering our bodies should avidly be considered an important priority, as it is a large and distinct

component within our lives. Recently, my mind has been filled with many, interesting questions

surrounding this topic. How does the diet and the food we eat directly affect our lives.? Does diet

only possess an immediate and consistent connection to the physical aspects of the human body

and its natural processes?

Immediately, a direct and interesting correlation between a healthy diet and mental health

stability was discovered. It appeared that a healthy and satisfactory diet has a notable and

powerful effect on mental illnesses and disorders. In the article, Diet and Mental Health, the

Mental Health Foundation found within a recent study, that individuals that had switched to a

natural diet rich in nutrients had created and formed an astounding improvement within their
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mental health stability and status. The direct association to diet having an influence on the mental

wellness of children, as

conducted within a study surrounding an improvement in diet, was also highlighted. (Diet) This

is due to the chemicals and hormones being released upon eating certain foods. Cadenhead,

Hinchcliffe, and Mihalynuk, in the article titled, Does Diet Impact Mental Health?, discovered a

distinct and direct connection to the groups of microorganisms, or microbiota, within the

stomach and the chemical connections within the human brain. Upon ingesting certain foods,

chemicals were automatically released to create an effect on the emotional and mental status of

the brain. (Cadenhead) A healthy diet should be considered a possible and beneficial treatment

option in situations of mental health, because there are no negative, side effects, it is better and

healthier for the environment, and the corruption of the pharmaceutical drug and psychiatry

industries is not present.

The first reason a healthy diet should be considered a potential option in the treatment of

many, mental health disorders and illnesses, is due to the notable lack of negative, side effects

associated with a healthy diet. Almost every prescription medication attributed with the

treatment of mental illnesses and disorders has been discovered to induce and present a variety of

side effects. For example, to support this, the National Institute of Mental Health directs in the

article, Mental Health Medications, antidepressants, medications for anxiety disorders,

stimulants, and many other forms of medication aimed at treating mental health issues and

stability, have multiple, side effects. These varieties of notable, side effects can include nausea

and vomiting, stomach pains, seizures, along with a surplus of other, concerning effects.

(Mental) Certain groups of people, due to these potential, yet disruptive, side effects, are not able

to take or use certain medications to treat their mental health issues. Many adolescents, older
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adults, and pregnant women, in comparison to others, may form different, troubling reactions, or

have heightened side effects attributed to taking these medications. The higher risks associated

with the common treatment of mental health issues prevents many from utilizing these

prescription medications. (Mental)

However, a healthy diet is a certain option for those unable to receive the needed

medications aimed at treating mental illnesses and disorders. Compared to the negative and

common, side effects of these medications, a healthy and balanced diet provides many, positive

health benefits and effects. The following association, Choose My Plate details many of these

healthy and rewarding benefits. For example, in the article, Nutrients and Health Benefits, it

states, “Eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce

risk of heart disease, including heart attack and stroke.” (Nutrients) This directly highlights one

of the surplus of positive, side effects of a healthy diet in correlation to the human body. It has

also been noted by the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, & Nutrition from the U.S.

Department of Health and Human services, in Importance of Good Nutrition, that any

improvement towards a healthy diet, even in minute portions, can eventually improve the overall

and total health of the human body. (Presidents)

Fig. 1. Healthy foods that have a positive effect on the body and mind. (Anis)
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The overall improvement of the symptoms of mental illnesses and disorders is a positive,

side effect of healthy eating. Common, mental health issues, such as attention deficit

hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, have been discovered to be positively affected by a change to

a healthy and a nutrient-dense diet. Rebecca Clay in the article, The link between food and

mental health, mentions, “... found that children who ate fewer vegetables, fruit, fatty fish, and

other foods associated with the Mediterranean diet were more likely to have ADHD

symptoms…” (Clay) This contributes valuable information and support to the idea that a switch

to healthy diets, in contrast to the negative side effects associated with common medications,

create and present positive, side effects. Clay, within the same article, also presents and examines

other examples of ways in which a change to a healthier diet can improve problems associated

with the functioning of the brain. For example, studies involving diet have been conducted

involving many with traumatic brain injuries, behavior problems, and stress disorders. The

results of these studies are described as very promising. (Clay)

Many others, to reject this idea, may present the argument that doctors and other medical

professionals have the distinct ability to prevent or reduce the dramatic and direct impact of the

side effects commonly associated with medications aimed at treating many mental health issues.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness, in Mental Health Medications, states, “Your provider

will likely start at a low dose and slowly increase dosage to achieve a level that improves

symptoms. Following your provider’s instructions will reduce side effects and discomfort…”

(NAMI) This provides particular support that many doctors and other medical professionals have

and use the ability of reducing the troubling and disruptive symptoms that form by the usage of

these medications. However, to diminish the credibility of this unsteady claim, it is also

presented and highlighted within this source, that every patient reacts to medications differently
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and inconsistently. The unique ways in which a certain patient will respond to each type or form

of medication has no possibility of being predicted. This can create serious risks in the health and

well-being of a patient. (NAMI)

The second reason a healthy diet should be widely considered a possible and purposeful

treatment option for many with common mental illnesses and disorders, is due to it having a

healthier and non-harmful effect on the wellness of the Earth’s environment. The plastic

packaging prescription drugs are associated with have proved to possess a negative and risky

effect on the health of the environment, especially in Earth’s waters. Ivano Brunner, in the

article, Ability of fungi isolated from plastic debris floating in the shoreline of a lake to degrade

plastics, describes plastic as a notable and increasingly dangerous threat to the waterways on

Earth. This is directly and purposefully highlighted within the following statement, “Floating or

drifting plastic creates environmental hazards including the risks of plastic ingestion, starvation,

and entanglement of aquatic organisms.” (Brunner) These common, yet harmful environmental

effects of the plastic packaging associated with medications have proved to be extremely

detrimental. Without the needed influence of certain organisms to assist in the overall balance of

many ecosystems on Earth, the daunting introduction and creation of disruptive, invasive species

could possibly occur. (Brunner)

Another noticeable and harmful, environmental effect presented and created by

prescription medications is the residue it formulates and spreads. In Prescription Drug Residue

Harms Wildlife and the Environment, the author, Sonia Shah, remarks, “Drugging our bodies

inevitably drugs our environment, too, as many medications can pass through our bodies and

waste treatment facilities virtually intact.” (Shah) This presents an interesting fact regarding our

bodies, as they do not have the special ability to thoroughly use the medications consumed. Even
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when this waste is transmitted to facilities specialized in the treatment of this matter, the

processes are still unable to reduce the total effects of prescription medications. This ultimately

enters and negatively affects the health of the environment. Also, in Alex Ford’s article, How the

antidepressants polluting our waters could change animal behaviour, the effect of

antidepressants, medication aimed at treating depression, on rivers and the other waterways of

Earth were especially described as being unpleasant and extremely harmful. An immediate and

intense change in the behaviors of many animals was discovered and recorded to be present

within water contaminated by these antidepressants. Ford clearly describes these change through

the following, prominent statement, “... chemicals and alter wildlife’s aggression, ability to

smell, courtship and reaction to stimuli such as light. All these behaviours are critical for animals

escaping from predators, finding food and mates, or defending territories.” (Ford) These

pronounced effects on the behaviours of these animals are crucial within these organism’s lives

and the overall success of the surrounding environment and ecosystem. (Ford)

An opposition or rejection to this claim could be created and established that, due to

many governments constructing and introducing special programs to fully recycle and properly

dispose of medications and containers, the situation has or will be improved. In Drugs in the

environment: do pharmaceutical take-back programs make a difference?, Naomi Lubick states,

“Maine wanted to establish statewide collection programs, mandated by legislation and paid for

by manufacturers, that would intercept unwanted pharmaceutical products before that got to the

trash.” (Lubick) This supports the idea of these programs already being thoroughly discussed and

implemented. The information also informs readers that an effort is being made to improve the

environment and the processes of medications. However, to revoke this unsteady claim, these

programs have not done a satisfactory amount of improvement to these current situations.
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Medicines are still being discovered in great quantities in many waterways and landfills. In

reference to the human body’s natural process of these drugs, there is still no adequate way to

prevent medications from entering and infiltrating Earth’s waterways through sewage and waste.

The third and final reason a healthy and balanced diet should be considered and regarded

as a plausible treatment of mental illnesses and disorders is due to the troubling corruption and

fraudulent ways of the pharmaceutical drug and psychiatry industries. According to an official

report written by Jan Eastgate, the president of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, there

are a surplus of deceitful instances and reports within the psychiatry industry. In this prominent

report titled, Massive Fraud: Psychiatry’s Corrupt Industry, many accounts of fraud within this

specific topic have occurred. The report, in support for this claim, states, “Mark Schiller,

president of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons, admitted: ‘I have frequently

seen psychiatrists diagnose patients with a range of psychiatric diagnoses that aren’t justified, to

obtain [insurance] reimbursements.’” (Eastgate) This interesting information carries a sense of

awareness and understanding of the greed and corrupt attributes associated with a portion of

mental health professionals within these psychiatry practices. These trusted and common

professionals have also been found to have been involved in a multitude of illegal and shameful

instances. For example, striking crimes ranging from fraud to murder have unfortunately

occurred within this industry. (Eastgate)

The shifty reputation of the pharmaceutical drug industry is also of notable concern. In

the scholarly article titled, Conflicts of Interest, Institutional Corruption, and Pharma: An

Agenda of Reform, Marc Rodwin evidently highlights and describes the troubling occurrences

and practices currently being committed within the pharmaceutical industry. For example, the

drug industry provides and markets a large portion of drugs that have been found to have many
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risks and a lack of positive aspects attributed with them. The clinical trials involving the testing

of these potentially new drugs are not being thoroughly examined and processed. (Rodwin) The

widely known Food and Drug Administration, also known as the FDA, have been found to rely

heavily on the unthorough trials many drug companies direct and conduct. The research

conducted by these pharmaceutical companies can also be found to contain unclear and corrupt

information. (Rodwin) Rodwin explicitly states, “Drug firms, however, have an incentive to

direct their efforts where it is most profitable…” (Rodwin) This describes one corrupt and

concerning quality that many pharmaceutical companies possess.

Others would disregard this claim and argue that the pharmaceutical and psychiatry

industries have thorough respect for their patients and their health. The patients and the response

of their physicians are thought of being to blame for the miniscule and unthorough trials

currently being conducted and approved by the drug industry and the FDA. In The

Biopharmaceutical Industry Provides 75% Of The FDA's Drug Review Budget. Is This A

Problem?, John LaMattina contributes information in support for these pharmaceutical drug

companies and their current practices. For example, LaMattina states, in regard to the concerning

releasement of many of these pharmaceutical drugs, “... at times the FDA is often in a tough

place, trying to balance the need for seeing true efficacy for a drug when patients and physicians

are demanding access based on limited data.” (LaMattina) This important need for a certain drug

can become extremely imperative and regarded as having more importance than the limited

amount of time within the testing of the medication in clinical trials. However, due to the surplus

of risks in taking these medications, this is an extremely unsteady and dangerous claim. Rodwin

in, Conflicts of Interest, Institutional Corruption, and Pharma: An Agenda of Reform, mentions

the possible risks associated with the counterargument in the statement, “We need to monitor
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drugs after the FDA authorizes firms to market them in order to identify the many risks that

cannot be discovered during the initial clinical trials.” (Rodwin) This presents the large volume

of risky behaviour allowing to be introduced and permitted by the FDA. The initial trials

conducted and managed by the pharmaceutical drug companies involve a limited and miniscule

sample of the drug and its total effect on a small group of test subjects to determine the

reputation and effectiveness of a drug. These trials do not fully take into consideration the actual

effect of the whole portion and reaction of the drugs in relation to larger quantities and

populations of people. (Rodwin)

In conclusion, because there are no negative, side effects, it is overall healthier for the

wellness of the Earth’s environment, and the corruption of the pharmaceutical drug and

psychiatry industries is not present, a healthy diet should be considered a possible treatment

option in mental health issues. Society has created and consistently solidified a consistent, yet

intolerant image of the accepted treatment options regarding mental illness and disorders. The

widely accepted option or method having the most influential presence in the spectrum of mental

health treatments is prescription medications. However, this common and normal idea does not

take into consideration the grand and impactful effect nutrition and healthy eating naturally has

on the human body. Administrations and companies associated with the research and treatment

of mental health prove to lack valid support and reasoning within the inthorough conduction of

their clinical trials. With the highly anticipated and current releasement of many, new studies

however, a healthy diet has the attainable possibility of becoming an alternative option in the

treatment of many mental health issues.

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Works Cited

Anis, Ayesha. “Five Healthy Foods That Fight Depression.” Daily Times, 29 Mar. 2018,

dailytimes.com.pk/221222/five-healthy-foods-that-fight-depression/. Accessed 7 Apr.

2019.

Brunner, Ivano, et al. "Ability of fungi isolated from plastic debris floating in the shoreline of a

lake to degrade plastics." PLoS ONE, vol. 13, no. 8, 2018, p. e0202047. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A551293600/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=466ed90

0. Accessed 7 Apr. 2019.

Cadenhead, Kathleen, et al. “Does Diet Impact Mental Health?” British Columbia

Medical Journal, vol. 60, no. 5, June 2018, pp. 245.

Clay, Rebecca A. “The link between food and mental health.” American Psychological

Association, vol 48, no. 8, Sept. 2017, https://www.apa.org/monitor/2017/09/food-

mental-health. Accessed 7 April. 2019.

“Diet and Mental Health.” Mental Health Foundation, Oct. 2018,

www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/d/diet-and-mental-health. Accessed 7 Apr. 2019.

Eastgate, Jan. “Official Report on Massive Fraud: Psychiatry's Corrupt Industry.”

Citizens Commission on Human Rights, https://www.cchr.org/cchr-reports/massive-

fraud/introduction.html. Accessed 7 Apr. 2019.

Ford, Alex. “How the Antidepressants Polluting Our Waters Could Change Animal

Behaviour.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 13 Aug. 2018,

www.independent.co.uk/environment/antidepressants-effect-animal-behaviour-pollution-

fish-birds-technology-a8489156.html. Accessed 7 Apr. 2019.

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LaMattina, John. “The Biopharmaceutical Industry Provides 75% Of The FDA's Drug

Review Budget. Is This A Problem?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 28 June 2018,

www.forbes.com/sites/johnlamattina/2018/06/28/the-biopharmaceutical-industry-

provides-75-of-the-fdas-drug-review-budget-is-this-a-problem/#c45fbbd49ec8. Accessed

7 Apr. 2019.

Lubick, Naomi. "Drugs in the environment: do pharmaceutical take-back programs make

a difference?" Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 118, no. 5, 2010, p. A210+.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A227470428/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=

5d0813d6. Accessed 7 Apr. 2019.

“Mental Health Medications.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/mental-health-

medications/index.shtml.

“NAMI.” NAMI, www.nami.org/Learn-More/Treatment/Mental-Health-Medications.

Accessed 7 Apr. 2019

“Nutrients and Health Benefits.” Choose MyPlate, 12 Jan. 2016,

www.choosemyplate.gov/vegetables-nutrients-health. Accessed 7 Apr. 2018.

President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, & Nutrition. “Importance of Good Nutrition.”

HHS.gov, US Department of Health and Human Services, 26 Jan. 2017,

www.hhs.gov/fitness/eat-healthy/importance-of-good-nutrition/index.html. Accessed 7

Apr. 2019
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Rodwin, Marc A. “Conflicts of Interest, Institutional Corruption, and Pharma: An

Agenda for Reform.” The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, vol. 40, no. 3, 2012, pp.

511–522., doi:10.1111/j.1748-720x.2012.00683.x.

Shah, Sonia. "Prescription Drug Residue Harms Wildlife and the Environment."

Prescription Drugs, edited by Sylvia Engdahl, Greenhaven Press, 2014. Current

Controversies. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010532255/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid

=542cbf8c. Accessed 7 Apr. 2019. Originally published as "As Pharmaceutical Use

Soars, Drugs Taint Water and Wildlife," Yale Environment 360, 15 Apr. 2010.