Culinary Medicine Cooking Workshops as Add-On Therapy for Inpatients with Depression and Eating Disorders.

Area of Science:

• Integrative psychiatry
• Nutritional psychiatry
• Mental health interventions

Background:

• Culinary medicine combines healthy eating with positive food experiences for mental health.
• Traditional treatments for depression and eating disorders lack focus on dietary habits.
• Culinary workshops offer a novel supplementary intervention for inpatient psychiatric care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of culinary medicine cooking workshops as a supplementary treatment.
• To assess the impact of these workshops on mood and dietary habits in psychiatric inpatients.
• To determine the feasibility and acceptance of culinary workshops in inpatient settings.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-nine psychiatric inpatients (29 with depression, 10 with eating disorders) participated in five workshops.
• Participants completed pre- and post-intervention questionnaires on mood, dietary habits, and feedback.
• Workshops were led by a professional chef and nutritional therapist.

Main Results:

• Workshops were highly accepted, with 90% recommending them for recovery.
• Significant improvements were observed in overall mood, sadness, hopelessness, and tiredness (p < 0.001).
• Depression patients showed broad mood improvements; eating disorder patients improved in sadness (p = 0.029).

Conclusions:

• Culinary medicine workshops show promise in enhancing mood and reducing negative symptoms in depressed inpatients.
• These interventions may promote sustainable lifestyle changes beneficial for long-term mental and physical health.
• Further research is needed to explore the long-term impact on psychiatric disorders.