Schizophrenia is a severe form of mental illness that can result in equally difficult symptoms. While schizophrenia is one of the more uncommon mental disorders; it’s also one of the most debilitating. Warning symptoms may include confusion, disorganized speech, trouble with thinking, and in extreme cases may feature disassociation and delusions, and hallucinations. Mental health professionals often recommend a combination of prescription antipsychotic medications, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and regulation of symptoms utilizing healthy lifestyle and dietary choices.

For instance certain foods may benefit or worsen schizophrenia symptoms, such as:

1. Sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes offer a healthy way to enjoy complex carbs. Recent studies suggest that diets high in carbohydrates might play a role in symptoms of schizophrenia. This would normally place a carb heavy food like the sweet potato off the menu. But this healthy vegetable also provides a lot of nutrients, which can slow the absorption of carbohydrates. This makes the sweet potato a tasty alternative to the processed forms of carbohydrates, which are almost instantly moved from stomach to brain.

2. Coffee and tea

It’s generally wise to avoid or limit coffee and most other sources of caffeine (i.e., caffeinated teas, sodas, energy drinks) if you suffer from schizophrenia. We often forget that caffeine is a stimulant that produces profound changes within our brains. The feeling of energy and adrenaline from caffeine can be the spark that worsens schizophrenia symptoms. However, some teas contain a chemical cousin to caffeine and theobromine. Theobromine competes with caffeine for receptor sites in the brain. And this effect makes those teas less stimulating than they’d normally be. The end effect is that green teas, in particular, are far less likely to set off a negative response in patients with schizophrenia.

3. Fatty fish

Fatty foods have been shown to have a positive effect on the mental health of people struggling with schizophrenia. We don’t know exactly why this happens. Part of it likely stems from the omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish. This helps maintain the integrity of cellular membranes in our brains, and can also aid the production of the myelin sheaths that help transmit electrical activity within the brain. Additionally, diets high in fatty foods and low in carbohydrates have been shown to reduce symptoms of schizophrenia. Fatty fish also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent. Anti-inflammatories have been shown to help many, though not all, patients manage symptoms of schizophrenia.

4. Refined sugar

Excessive amounts of refined sugar disrupt both mind and body in a variety of different ways. The rise and fall we experience as a sugar high tends to trigger symptoms of schizophrenia. While doctors don’t know the exact causal relationship between schizophrenia and weight; many believe that excess weight often correlates with symptoms of schizophrenia. Eating lots of sugar in its refined form (i.e., candy, baked goods, etc.) tends to result in excess weight over the long term. Fruit and other sources of unrefined sugar are a great way to satiate a sweet tooth while taking care of mental health issues.

5. Spinach

Spinach contains a lot of healthy nutrients. However, the leafy green’s main claim to fame for patients with schizophrenia is a nutrient called folate. Folate, also known as folic acid, has been proven to ease various symptoms associated with schizophrenia. In fact, additional studies claim that diets rich in folate changes activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex, the part of the brain linked to negative schizophrenia symptoms such as psychosis.

6. Refined carbohydrates

Refined, as opposed to unrefined, carbohydrates can pose a risk for people with schizophrenia. In their refined state carbs are introduced into the body at a rapid pace, unlike unrefined carbs. The end effect is that the cellular pathways associated with energy in the brain can become overstimulated. This may end up triggering schizophrenia symptoms in some patients.