Food For Your Mood: How What You Eat Affects Your Mental Health
Have you ever passed on donuts or pizza during the day at your workplace but then “rewarded” yourself when you got home with a carb-loaded dinner or extra dessert? Unfortunately, this short-lived boost you get from eating these sugary treats can cause long-lasting harmful regret.
This sad cycle isn’t just because you chose to indulge in a sweet treat - the connection between sugary treats and your mood is incredibly strong. While it's widely known that nutrition plays a key role in a person's physical health, it directly affects emotional well-being, too.
Dr. Gabriela Cora, a board-certified psychiatrist says "We tend to separate our brain from the rest of our body, but good health means good health from a holistic perspective – from head to toe. Why wouldn't we think eating well would also impact our mental health?"
The Science Behind Food and Mood
The connection between diet and emotions stems from the close relationship between your brain and your gastrointestinal tract, often called the “second brain.”
Here’s how it works: Your GI tract is home to billions of bacteria that influence the production of neurotransmitters (chemical substances that constantly carry messages from the gut to the brain), like dopamine and serotonin. When you choose healthy foods, you’re promoting the growth of “good” bacteria, which increases neurotransmitter production. When your diet consists mainly of junk food, your body becomes inflamed which lessens the production of neurotransmitters.
When neurotransmitter production is in good shape, your brain receives these positive messages loud and clear, and your emotions reflect it. But when production goes awry, so does your mood.
Sugar is one of the number one offenders of altering your neurotransmitter production. It feeds “bad” bacteria and causes a temporary spike in “feel good” neurotransmitters , which gives you a short-lived mood boost. If you opt for healthier choices over sugar-laden treats, you’ll set yourself up for fewer mood fluctuations, a happier outlook on life, and an improved ability to focus.
Foods that Can Help Your Mood
So what should you stock up on during your next grocery store trip? I’ve made a cheat sheet for you of mood-enhancing foods. Read on below to find out what they are:
Whole Foods
Studies have shown that preservatives, fake food colorings and other additives may cause or worsen hyperactivity and depression. Make sure you’re always filling your fridge with real, Whole Foods that has been minimally processed and has few ingredients - think fresh fruits & veggies.
Fiber
Fiber helps you avoid sugar rushes and crashes by which helps your body absorb glucose (food sugars) more slowly and helps you avoid sugar rushes and crashes. Fiber-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans.
Antioxidants
These inflammation fighters are jam packed into berries, leafy greens, and foods with Omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon and black chia seeds.
Folate
Folate aids your body in producing dopamine without forcing it to spike the way sugar does. Folate is plentiful in leafy greens, lentils and cantaloupe.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps with the production of serotonin, and we usually get it from exposure to sunlight. But if you live in an area like the North East it’s important to make sure you’re getting Vitamin D from the foods you eat or supplements during the colder months. One of my favorite Vitamin D-packed foods is mushrooms!
Magnesium
Magnesium is essential in helping with nerve & muscle function and keeping a steady heartbeat. It’s also vital to the food and mood connection: a mineral deficiency can hurt your gut bacteria and cause depression and anxiety-like symptoms. Load up on this magnificent mineral with foods like dark chocolate, cacao nibs, almonds and cashews, dark leafy greens, bananas, and beans.
Fermented Foods
Fermented foods, like kombucha, miso or kimchi, are packed with probiotics (live bacteria that help your digestive tract) but high in sodium, so consume in moderation.
Happy Plate, Happy Life
When you first make changes to your diet to incorporate these good-for-your-mood foods, it may feel overwhelming. Try carving out some time once or twice a week to grocery shop and meal prep. Clean and cut up fresh fruits and veggies so they’re ready to grab when you want a snack. You can also pre-cook some proteins, like chicken, and healthy carbs like sweet potatoes and brown rice so you have full meals ready to go.
If you’re not ready to conquer it all, try making some small swaps like white rice for brown rice, chicken thighs for chicken breast, white potatoes for sweet potatoes. Or, try adding in more vegetables one week, then cut down on sweets the next.
Being mindful of the healthy foods you’re eating is also effective at boosting your mood and combating cravings. Appreciate the smell, texture and taste of each food. Take note of how nutritious snacks and meals make you feel physically and emotionally, vs their high fat, high sugar counterparts.
It may take days or weeks before you start to feel the mood-boosting effects of a better diet, depending on how many changes you implement. But over time you’ll start to see how eating healthy enhances your mood and prevents dramatic mood swings.