Why diet and nutrition are important to your quality of life

Healthy eating habits are important to staying physically healthy and well. Like everyone else, people with bipolar disorder can feel better if they eat a healthy, well-balanced diet–but research shows this is often a challenge when living with the condition¹. Research has shown that some nutrients may work with regular medication treatment to produce better health in people with bipolar disorder. A few nutritional supplements (pills or liquids that you can take when you are not getting enough of a particular nutrient in your diet, like omega-3 fatty acids) may help the symptoms of bipolar disorder² – but more research is needed before we can be sure^3,4. For example, while many research studies show that omega-3 fatty acids are good for physical health, we are still learning how they may also boost how your brain develops and works⁵.

How you can take action

It’s important to eat well, although, in reality, it’s easier to plan a wide-ranging improvement of your diet than to actually do it. As with physical exercise, it’s best to begin with a modest goal and gradually raise it. Set goals that are specific and achievable. You should try to be clear about what you intend to do and aim for manageable changes. For example, if you are trying to eat healthier in general, try starting with reading the food guide, including the importance of serving sizes, eating a varied and balanced diet, and including a variety of healthy oils, vitamins and minerals. Tracking your daily food intake with a food diary (on paper or online) can also be helpful, although this may not be suitable if you also live with an eating disorder⁶.

Problem-solve around obstacles to maintaining a healthy diet. For example, you may find it useful to think of solutions to the possible problem of emotional eating (eating because of how you feel emotionally rather than when you feel hungry) and how some moods lead you to eat while others don’t.

There are specific challenges for those who live with bipolar disorder when it comes to eating well. Two important things that dieticians may note for people with bipolar disorder are:

• Not eating at all can make a mood episode more severe. You may want to buy special snacks that you can try to eat when you feel a mood episode is being triggered.
• Be very cautious about supplements and holistic treatments that suggest they may enable you to stop taking your medications for bipolar disorder. You should discuss any new diet or supplement with your health practitioner.

Another challenge to dietary change for people with bipolar disorder is that certain medications can sometimes trigger intense hunger or cravings that are difficult to control⁷. This can be a challenging problem with no easy solution. Discussing this possible side-effect with your healthcare provider to explore the benefits and risks of changing the type or amount of medication may be helpful. When changes to your medications are not acceptable, seeking help from a dietician to help you improve your diet plan can help to offset this increased risk of consuming more food than your body needs.

Bipolar disorder and eating disorders

Bipolar disorder, particularly bipolar II, is associated with a higher incidence of body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptoms^8,9,10, especially binge eating disorder⁸ and binge/purge symptomatology (as in bulimia^9,10). Having an eating disorder in conjunction with bipolar disorder can be connected to a greater burden on your mental health. In addition to the added difficulty of eating disorder symptoms, one study showed that having both binge eating disorder and bipolar disorder is associated with greater rates of anxiety, substance use, psychosis and suicidality¹¹. Additionally, while tracking your calories and nutrients is recommended for many people, it may do more harm than good for the mental health of those with eating disorders⁶.

Therefore, when considering how to approach a healthy diet with bipolar disorder, it’s important to take your overall wellbeing into account. For example, if tracking your nutrition or weight triggers symptoms of an eating disorder, it’s best to find an alternative approach.

Some tips for managing disordered eating or body image concerns when you have bipolar disorder are:

Finances and healthy eating

Financial problems can present a barrier to healthy eating for anyone. If you receive income or disability assistance, there may be local options to help you eat better – the resources available to you will differ depending on where you live. Or, you can try an online meal planner, which can help you stick to a budget, eat healthy meals, and reduce food waste. Three options you can look into in your own neighbourhood are buying clubs, community kitchens, and community gardens. Buying clubs are when groups of people who live in the same community organize to place bulk or wholesale orders with regional farmers – a cheaper option than buying organic produce from the grocery store. Community kitchens are groups of neighbours who organize to cook and share meals (e.g., monthly) to increase food knowledge and share expenses. Sometimes individuals contribute skills instead of money, for example, childcare for other members of the group. Lastly, you can grow some of your own produce in a community garden plot. More often than not, community garden plots are affordable and can supply you with a large amount of fresh vegetables, while increasing your and your family’s food security. All of these community-based options can also help you expand your cooking skills and build relationships.

Pay attention to your overall health

Finally, it’s important to see your doctor regularly for routine screening or monitoring of metabolic risk factors. Risk factors are things that may cause other things to happen (for example, smoking is a risk factor for getting lung cancer). You can still get lung cancer without smoking, but you have a higher chance if you smoke or have smoked in the past. It is especially important to regularly check your metabolic risk factors (such as fasting blood sugar, cholesterol, blood lipids, blood pressure and abdominal circumference (the distance around your stomach)), if you are on medications that may increase your risk, or if your age or lifestyle puts you at higher risk for, diabetes or cardiovascular disease¹³. Monitoring your own weight and blood pressure can also be very helpful.