About the project

NUTRIMIND

Mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression affect millions of people across Europe and are increasingly recognised as closely linked to diet, nutrition, social inequalities and broader lifestyle factors. NUTRIMIND aims to explore how nutrition, dietary choices, the gut microbiome, and lifestyle factors might interact with mental health. The project will examine these relationships from childhood through older adulthood using data from multiple European population cohorts.

About Nutrimind

Why nutrition and mental health?

Given the lack of effective scalable treatment and prevention strategies, there is a growing interest in the role of nutrition as a promising modifiable factor in stress, anxiety and depression. While dietary factors can influence mental health status, mental health also shapes what and how we eat.

This relationship is reflected in the bidirectional communication between the brain and gut microbiome, known as the brain–gut–microbiome axis. Diet-related changes in the composition and function of the gut microbiome may influence mental health, while mental health can also affect dietary behaviour. Understanding these complex interactions could help us determine how dietary changes might support better mental health.

Citizen science

NUTRIMIND integrates traditional research methods with citizen science practices to foster inclusive knowledge generation. The project follows a multi-actor approach, integrating collaboration across sectors -including citizens and actors (e.g., researchers and clinicians)- to address shared challenges and co-create impactful solutions. The project aims test feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of these approaches by engaging in co-creation and inclusive research to ensure the functionality of resources and new knowledge.

Objectives

The main objectives of NUTRIMIND are to:

Deliver actionable, multidisciplinary evidence on how dietary patterns, nutrients and interactions between the gut microbiome and its host influence mental health at critical stages across the life course.
Identify modifiable dietary factors and diet-gut-brain pathways associated with the onset and progression of anxiety, depression and stress-related symptoms, particularly among vulnerable groups.
Strengthen the evidence base for effective nutrition-related strategies to prevent poor mental health and improve well-being across Europe.

Meet the NUTRIMIND partners

External Advisory Board

NUTRIMIND relies on an External Advisory Board consisting of experts in key domains – nutrition, mental health, data science, ethics and citizen engagement – to support implementation of activities and maximise the societal, clinical and policy impact of project outputs.

Meet the members of the External Advisory Board soon, here on our website.

Cohorts

At the heart of NUTRIMIND is a network of well-characterised longitudinal studies and randomised controlled trials (RCTs), representing more than 25,000 participants across Europe.

Prospective cohorts

Study design: mother and child cohorts

Studies: Improved Ireland; COMBINE Birth Cohort; SCOPE Ireland; BASELINE Birth Cohort

Study design: child cohorts

Studies: IDEFICS/I.Family; CORALS

Study design: student cohort (18-25 years)

Studies: Wageningen Student Cohort; Surrey Young People’s Cohort

Study design: older adult cohort (> 60 years)

Study: MOTION

Randomised controlled trials

Study type: 3-mo prebiotics ± HRT

Study: GUTWISE

Study type: 6-y Mediterranean diet

Study: PREDIMED-Plus

Study type: 2-y multidomain lifestyle

Study: FINGER-NL

Study type: 6-mo multidomain lifestyle

Study: HELI

Study type: 6-mo prebiotics

Study: PRECODE

Study type: colon-delivered multivitamin

Study: COMBI

Community of Practice

NUTRIMIND places a strong emphasis on stakeholder engagement and co-creation. The project will bring together diverse stakeholders in a Community of Practice (CoP) to collaborate throughout the project and help shape its research and outputs.

Engage

Bring together citizens, researchers, healthcare professionals, policymakers, industry representatives and civil society organisations to share diverse perspectives and expertise.

Co-create

Use citizen science approaches to collaboratively develop research, tools, and data collection and interpretation processes.

Shape

Ensure that diverse behavioural, cultural, social, and psychological perspectives inform the project and contribute to relevant, inclusive and accessible outputs.

Stay tuned