Food and Mood: Improving Mental Health Through Diet and Nutrition

86,295 enrolled on this course

Explore the relationship between nutrition and brain health, why it matters, and how to work towards positive food changes.

Food and Mood

Duration

3 weeks

Weekly study

3 hours

100%

online

Learn how healthy dietary choices can improve your mental and brain health

Poor diet and poor mental health are the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. We now know that diet quality is a modifiable factor that is linked to mental and brain health across all stages of our lives. We will explore how our daily diets may affect our mental and brain health, including the role of our immune system and gut microbiome. The course will provide research evidence, practical examples, skills development, and collaboration on dietary intake assessment, strategies and resource sharing for dietary change.

What topics will you cover?

  • The relationship between diet/nutrition and mental and brain health
  • Factors influencing diet, nutrition and mental health
  • Dietary styles, behaviours, guidelines and assessment
  • The role of inflammation and gut microbiota for mental health
  • How diet can be optimised for mental and brain health

Food and Mood: Improving Mental Health Through Diet and Nutrition

4.6 (763 reviews)

86,295 enrolled on this course

3 weeks


3 hours per week


Digital certificate when eligible


Open level

FutureLearn Programmes

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to…

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone with an interest, or with experience of, good or bad mental health.

This is an introductory course which might be of interest to healthcare practitioners working with people with mental and brain health issues or in roles related to diet, nutrition and mental and brain health education.

Who will you learn with?

Tetyana Rocks

Dr Tetyana Rocks is Senior Research Fellow and Head of Education & Training at the Food & Mood Centre, Deakin University. Tetyana is Accredited Practicing Dietitian passionate about public health.

Felice Jacka

Professor Felice Jacka is Director of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University, and President of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research

Who developed the course?

Deakin University

With over 61,000 students, Deakin is one of Australia’s largest universities and all students, regardless of their campus or mode of study, benefit from Deakin’s award-winning digital environment. Deakin’s four faculties offer courses across the arts, science, sport, nutrition, architecture, business, law, medicine, engineering, allied health and teaching. Deakin fastest growing campus is in the Cloud Campus where over 15,000 students study predominantly online. Deakin also has four onsite campuses in Victoria, Australia (in Melbourne, Geelong and Warrnambool).

Deakin has a deliberate focus on teaching, with student satisfaction and employability the key indicators of success. Deakin prides itself on developing career-ready graduates, innovative and resilient and well prepared for rapidly changing workforce needs. Deakin is proud of its inclusive and student-focused culture and its reputation for using innovative digital solutions to provide an engaging and personalised learning experience. Deakin is committed to providing students with choices about how, when and where learning occurs.

Deakin’s growing reputation is reflected in its rapid rise in the international rankings, currently in the top two per cent of the world’s universities. Research at Deakin focusses on innovation and robust partnerships with industry and Deakin is building a formidable reputation in areas of emerging national social, economic and political priority. As a Victorian university with a global impact, Deakin is translating its research into the commercial outcomes that will drive the innovation agenda within and beyond Australia.​

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