A Canadian health service gives clinicians ready sentences for talking about food
- Alberta Health Services, the provincial health authority in Canada, published "Nutrition and Mental Health: Common Practice Questions" in June 2024. It is a 21-page point of care reference from its Nutrition Services.
- The guide answers seven questions: the role of nutrition, factors that affect intake, medication side effects, micronutrient supplements, the gut microbiome, household food insecurity, and when to refer to a dietitian.
- Table 1 pairs key messages for professionals with sample dialogue for patients, for example "Eating well is one part of managing your (insert mental health condition), along with other treatments your healthcare provider may have suggested."
- On household food insecurity the guide says it is best addressed through income-based interventions and that food-skills interventions do not improve it. On the microbiome it says research is in its infancy.
Most material on nutritional psychiatry covers what is true about food and mood. This reference also covers what to say aloud. It was developed by Nutrition Services and reviewed by, among others, the Provincial Addictions & Mental Health Team, and two of its tables carry quoted sentences meant for the consultation room.
Sentences you can borrow
Table 1 offers "The same foods that we eat to make our bodies healthy, can also be good for our mental health" and "A healthy relationship with food can help decrease stress and shame around food and eating and improve our mood and self-esteem." The microbiome table suggests "If you eat highly processed foods, try to eat them less often and/or in smaller amounts." None of them tells the patient to give anything up.
Where the guide says to hold back
The medication table advises to "refrain from blaming the medication" for weight gain, and, for patients on stimulants, to refrain from pressuring them to eat. The eating disorder row recommends neutral language about food, exercise and bodies, and behaviour goals over weight goals. On food insecurity, the guide states that affected people have food preparation, budgeting and cooking skills similar to the general population, so a recipe handout is the wrong tool; it points to income supports and the 211 directory.
My view as author of this note: take two of these sentences, put them in your own voice, and say them in the next appointment where food comes up.
Eating well is one part of managing your (insert mental health condition), along with other treatments your healthcare provider may have suggested.
This is a practice guide, not a study, and the document does not report testing its sample wording with patients. Referral services and phone numbers are specific to Alberta, and the guide is written for health professionals in general rather than for psychotherapists. Its comments on the microbiome are brief.