Nutritional Psychology

  Gut Microbiome, Loneliness, and Wisdom: A Nutritional Psychology Perspective Loneliness has consistently been linked to poorer well-being, while wisdom appears to promote emotional resilience and life satisfaction. Beyond psychological outcomes, loneliness has also been associated with changes in cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and immune functioning, including activation of pathways within the microbiota–gut–brain axis, particularly the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Building on this foundation, the present study explored whether the gut microbiome is associated with loneliness, wisdom, or both. Study Design The study included 184 community-dwelling adults aged 28 to 97 years. Participants completed questionnaires measuring loneliness, wisdom, compassion, social support, and social engagement. Fecal samples were collected and analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing to assess gut microbial diversity. Two types of microbial diversity were examined: Alpha diversity , which...

 Mental Health Professionals Report Poor Literacy for Nutritional Medicine: International Survey Summary :  A 2021 international online survey by Mörkl et al. assessed nutritional literacy among mental health professionals (MHPs) across 52 countries. The sample included psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, and professionals in training, with most participants based in Europe and additional representation from Asia, North America, Oceania, South America, and Africa. The findings revealed a substantial gap between interest in nutritional psychiatry and formal training. Although 92.9 percent of respondents expressed a desire to expand their knowledge of nutritional psychiatry, only 0.8 percent rated their nutrition education as “very good.” Most participants reported having no formal training in nutrition. Despite this, many were already integrating nutritional strategies into clinical practice: 58.6 percent recommended supplements and 43.8 percent recommended dietary...

 The Psychology of Food Insecurity: Effects of Early COVID-19 on Mental Health Summary:  Food insecurity is a critical issue within nutritional psychology due to its strong impact on mental health. During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic , food insecurity in the United States increased dramatically, rising from 11 percent of households in 2018 to approximately 35–38 percent in early 2020. Among low-income adults, 44 percent experienced food insecurity, alongside sharp increases in depression , anxiety , and psychological distress. Wolfson, Garcia, and Leung (2021) examined the relationship between food insecurity and mental health outcomes in a low-income adult sample of 1,476 participants between March 19 and March 24, 2020. Household food security over the previous 30 days was assessed using the 18-item U.S. Household Food Security Survey, with food insecurity defined as low or very low food security based on U.S. Department of Agriculture criteria. Mental healt...

  Does Exposure to Food Advertisements Influence Dietary Intake? This research highlights the diet sensory perceptual relationship (DSPR) as a core mechanism within the broader diet mental health relationship and a foundational component of nutritional psychology . The DSPR explains how sensory and perceptual experiences influence dietary choices and eating behavior. Zimmerman and Shimoga (2014) investigated how exposure to food advertising affects food selection, particularly under varying levels of cognitive demand. Participants were assigned to one of four conditions combining food or non food advertisements with either cognitively demanding or non demanding tasks. Researchers measured both the number of unhealthy snacks selected and total caloric intake. Results showed that participants exposed to food advertisements selected 28 percent more unhealthy snacks than those exposed to non food advertising, resulting in an average increase of 65 kilocalories. Im...