International catering and training management business MCTC, is offering a new approach to catering onboard ship by teaming up with Mental Health Support Solutions (MHSS) to strengthen support for seafarer mental health and create a 360-degree care approach to their day-to-day lives.

The tie up will mean MCTC offering, through its partners, therapeutic relief to seafarers through counselling, as well as diet; sleep cycles; social interaction; cultural differences; and internet use. It will enable both parties to ensure a unified and comprehensive stance in the fight against depression and anxiety onboard ship.

Further efforts are also underway to create exercises to help with developing healthier dietary habits on board and ashore.

Welcoming the announcement, Christian Ioannou, Managing Director at MCTC, said: “I am pleased we can support seafarers through our new combined approach of nutrition and mental health. Mental Health Support Solutions enhances our 360-degree support approach by adding a new dimension to our services, supporting crew’s overall health and wellbeing. The combined approach of nutrition and mental health will have a significant impact for seafarers, as we harness our services.”

MCTC has long promoted the importance of leading a nutritionally rich diet which impacts on overall physical and mental health. Food is crucial in supporting mental health due to its role in providing the body with essential nutrients which can only be obtained directly from the diet.

According to Mr Ioannou, if fed properly, the body converts carbohydrates into glucose, fatty acids into healthy brain cells and amino acids into neurotransmitters. Vitamin C also lowers cortisol levels which is a stress hormone, while complex carbohydrates increase serotonin production which is often call the happiness chemical. All of these are found in nutrients in food and demonstrate the important relationship between nutrient-rich diets and mental health.

Charles Watkins, Managing Director, at Mental Health Support Solutions, adds: “We are delighted to be working with MCTC to promote and support seafarer mental wellbeing.”