For 10 years Eliza Johnston, 38, has suffered from bipolar affective disorder. For most of that time her mental illness has been so severe that she had no friends, no work - little human contact at all, in fact, except with her GP. "My life consisted of 12 hours watching television a day, then 12 hours sleeping," Johnston says. "I was barely able to string two sentences together. My typical year was three months mania, nine months depression. It is an intolerable way to live."

Like most people with bipolar affective disorder (a disruptive brain disorder that used to be more commonly known as manic depression), Johnston was prescribed a cocktail of medications to control her depression, mania and anxiety. Some of these had unwelcome side effects. Occasionally, Johnston felt that medication made her condition worse, not better. Sometimes it was hard to tell which symptoms were caused by the illness and which by the medication. Then, 20 months ago, realising that she was getting no better, Johnston decided to come off drugs and persuaded her GP to refer her to a homeopath. Together they set about making some radical changes to her diet, cutting out sugar, dairy and wheat. Today, she is still drug-free and feels she has broken the cycle. She believes that her new diet has helped to bring about this radical change.

We all know that some food is good for us, and can affect our mood. But new evidence suggests that particular foods have a positive effect on our emotional and mental health. According to a national survey carried out by The Food and Mood Project with Mind (the mental health charity), by cutting down on certain "food stressors" like sugar, caffeine, dairy, wheat, and fatty foods and having more "food supporters" like water, vegetables, fruit and oil- rich fish, we can greatly improve mood swings, reduce anxiety and depression.

The survey of 200 people with symptoms ranging from anxiety to schizophrenia (a third had been diagnosed with depression) found that up to 80 per cent of all respondents who followed the food and mood approach said changes to their diet were beneficial. An improvement was reported in anxiety or panic attacks and mood swings, with 26 per cent saying symptoms had either improved or disappeared altogether. Nearly half of the respondents had used anti- depressants. The survey also suggests that you don't need to come off medication to benefit from a change of diet.

The two self-help strategies most beneficial to emotional or mental health were cutting down on sugar and caffeine, although people generally found that sugar was more difficult to give up due to "cravings". Cutting down on wheat or caffeine was easier because "the effect of making the change was positive and quick". Other "food stressors" include alcohol, chocolate, additives, wheat- containing foods, dairy, and saturated fats. Eighty per cent of the respondents found drinking more water beneficial, as was eating more vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds, oily fish and organic foods. Essential fatty acid (EFA) supplements and herbal supplements such as St John's wort, kava, ginkgo biloba and ginseng were also mentioned as being "definitely helpful" for emotional or mental health.

The results surprised even Amanda Geary, a nutritional therapist who founded The Food and Mood Project. She has been providing information and support to individuals wanting to change their diets in order to improve their mental health, holding workshops and talks. "We were delighted with the findings," says Geary. "It is so heartening to see someone standing on their own two feet, or able to start working because they are feeling sufficiently well and confident again."

Despite evidence suggesting that nutritional interventions can provide symptom relief and benefits to health, these approaches remain "alternative" or "complementary" and are not often used within mainstream medicine. Treatment largely involves the use of medication or psychotherapy, but says Geary: "This dietary approach can produce real benefits to health." For her, the survey was not just about nutrition, but about empowerment and taking control. "The actual act of doing rather than being the passive recipient of treatments such as taking medication, is very appealing to people and important for improved mental health," she says.

Johnston didn't tell anyone when she stopped taking her medication and "gave myself a year to stop". She says: "Free from medication, my mind was clear and that's when I made the dietary change." She was referred to the The Royal London Homeopathic Hospital. "The homeopath listened to my story and recommended removal of wheat and dairy and any other `emotional' foods - for me that was refined sugar. I had previously stopped drinking tea and coffee because I knew that was unhelpful. I went home and cleared my kitchen of all problem foods and gave it my everything to see if it would work."

She remembers feeling better within months. "I haven't had a serious bout of depression or a manic episode since changing my diet 20 months ago," she says. She now has a wide circle of friends and a good relationship with her family, with whom she ceased contact in the latter stages of her illness. She now attends mental health conferences to tell her story to health professionals who want to change government policy on mental health. Johnston is currently studying for an MA in Social Sciences with the Open University. "My life has transformed," she says.

Geary, who believes that those with less severe mental health problems can benefit, too, says: "One in four people will experience mental health problems at some point in their life. Not everybody will go to their GP. A lot of people are suffering in silence or adopting a self-help approach because they are aware of the limited options that are available through their GP."

Although nutritional changes may help those of us who are suffering from the blues, we do not have to empty our kitchen cupboards. "Some changes are challenging," says Geary. "There can be benefits in cutting down on wheat or dairy - but this is quite difficult. They are commonly eaten foods, and it's not always necessary. But if you want to change aspects of mental, emotional and physical health, diet is a very good place to start."

But why do certain foods help our mood? "There are various scientific studies proving that people who eat more fish in their daily diet are less prone to depression, particularly oily fish like mackerel, salmon and trout," says Professor Malcolm Peets, who has published a study of omega-3 acids in the treatment of depression. In clinical trials, Professor Peets administered omega-3 fatty acids to patients who were not doing well on anti-depressants. "By adding in omega-3 fatty acids, there is a significant benefit," says Professor Peets. "The particular fatty acid is EPA - that appears to be the active agent in depression and acts on the brain transmitters for serotonin function," he says.

More research is needed to discover precisely how and why other foods appear to affect emotional and mental health. "It has been scientifically established that dietary intake of tryptophan- containing protein does affect levels of serotonin - the chemical associated with good mood," says Geary. Tryptophan is found in dairy products, but, says Geary, "a dairy-sensitive person can find many other sources high in tryptophan - like chicken and turkey, or beans and lentils".

Another important factor, she believes, is the control of blood sugar levels and the avoidance of hypoglycaemic lows, which can adversely affect how we think and feel. It is also widely believed that some artificial additives such as tartrazine or E102, and some flavour enhancers can have a toxic affect on the brain and deplete the body of important nutrients.

A connection between food and mood certainly seems to be the case for Johnston. "You can recover. This is still the dark ages of mental health - one step up from straitjackets. People need to know they can take control of their own lives and lead a productive and powerful existence, not just survive. No one tells you that you can get better. I believe the drugs are more harmful than the illness in the long term," she says.

This Article has been submitted by the Jeremy's Prophecy Dot Com team for informational and educational purposes. Jeremy's Prophecy Dot Com is a website dedicated to telling the story of Jeremy Jacobs, a character in the novel, Jeremy's Prophecy Dot Com.