Expert highlights crucial role of food in building seafarers’ mental resilience

Expert highlights crucial role of food in building seafarers’ mental resilience
October 13, 2025 https://maritimefairtrade.org/expert-highlights-crucial-role-of-food-in-...

Stress is one of the biggest triggers for seafarers and it is essential for them to build and maintain mental resilience to deal with crises while onboard, warns catering manager MCTC on World Mental Health Day.

Food has a significant role to play in helping seafarers build mental resilience and sending signals to the mind they are in a positive mental headspace, explained MCTC’s health and wellbeing consultant Nichole Stylianou in the recent CalmWaves podcast.

MCTC is raising awareness on the subject as industries across the world are coming together October 10 to shine a spotlight on mental health for World Mental Health Day with a particular focus on emergencies and catastrophes.

The podcast heard from founder of J.Z. Light Bulb Therapy, Zeina Kreichaty who said with 70 percent of people suffering from stress, mental resilience is crucial to ensure people have the right tools to deal with issues as and when they arise.

“Mental resilience is our anchor. When you have mental resilience, you bounce back very quickly. We are not born with mental resilience – it is like a muscle you have to work on and practice constantly. We develop it with time, wisdom, experience and the right tools.”

She added that when people are going through a period of stress, they will send messages to the brain like “I can’t cope” or “I feel trapped”. This triggers the body to respond with heightened anxiety, driven by its main goal of keeping the person safe.

However, by consciously reframing the mind, one can introduce positive imagery that helps calm the nervous system and reduce anxiety.

Stylianou explained how the body responds in a similar way to every stressful event, triggering the release of stress hormones regardless of the source of the stress.

She said: “The digestive system is affected almost instantly when the body’s fight-or-flight response is activated, as stress redirects energy away from digestion to prioritize survival. The body is releasing a lot of hormones to help us respond and find solutions.

“While this response is meant to protect us, it can disrupt the digestive system, lower immune function, and increase sensitivity to chronic illnesses when sustained over time.

“The food we eat can help us deliver the right messages to our brain. It is a way to drive ourselves in giving the body positive feelings. A balanced diet rich in nutrients helps in releasing positive feelgood hormones, like serotonin.”