By: Liibaan Yusuf
To begin, schizoaffective disorder is a mental disorder not always easily identifiable. However, the core symptoms are usually very noticeable though they can be mistaken for other mental illnesses. Unstable mood, irregular thought processes, and depression are usually the main callers for attention, however, schizoaffective disorder can sometimes be an afterthought diagnosis especially if the patient has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and any other mood disorder beforehand.
There are two main types of schizoaffective disorder. One is the bipolar type; where the patient shows episodes of mixed emotions and mania. The other is the depressive type; patients diagnosed with this have been known to be misdiagnosed with depression and/or bipolar disorder.
What do mental abnormalities have to do with your diet? Instead ask this, what does your diet do to influence mental abnormalities? Although schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are still being studied, and are thought to have no known causes, it’s widely assumed that they are genetic and worsened by outside factors. Researchers at the Seoul Women’s University conducted a study with shocking findings. Researchers found that diets lacking anti-inflammatory foods are likely to worsen issues and problems caused by schizoaffective disorder.
Doctors and specialists recommend an anti-inflammatory rich diet (think foods like dragonfruit) to work against schizoaffective disorder. Although it cannot be prevented entirely, nor worked against, it is merely a slow down effect. Foods rich in Omega-3’s such as seafood, nuts, and legumes should be a staple in the diets of patients as well. Studies show that those who struggle with schizoaffective disorder also are missing concerning amounts of vitamins D and B which are described as ‘therapeutic’ in reversing negative aspects of the disorder.
A study conducted in Bahrain had examined the links between schizophrenia, a close cousin to schizoaffective disorder, and its links to diet. The Bahraini researchers found that the gut plays a big part in this whole case. Since the gut is responsible for the digestion and absorption of nutrients, any issues with the intake of nutrients will have notable effects on the mind.
More specifically, two missing gut enzymes, Succinivibrio and Corynebacterium, are common bacteria found in all people throughout the world, although those with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are missing both. Scientists are still not sure what causes this and how and if it links with schizophrenia, but it is concerning nonetheless.
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