Have you ever felt good after having the food that you’ve been craving for? This blog post on food and mood is a detailed guide which will help you in understanding how food can change your mood.
The stuff that we eat and drink dramatically affects our performance, mood, and health throughout the day. There’s a connection between the food you eat and your energy levels during the day, consequently, giving you the capacity to handle the daily affairs that we all encounter at work. Eating a good breakfast before you head to the office boosts your concentration and energy, particularly when you need it the most.
Just think about it. How many times have you heard people say they feel more energetic and happier after they made changes to their diet and started exercising? I’m sure it’s a high number. Yet, somehow, we only attribute the mood changes to improved physical health and not what’s going on in their minds after making the transition. Thankfully, nowadays, there are plenty of nutritional psychiatry studies linking our diets and eating habits to our mental health. But how much of that information reaches the busy, general public is hard to determine.
So today, I’ll be sharing what you need to know to have a healthier relationship with your mind through eating right. Now, be wary. I won’t lie to you and tell you there are 20 foods you should eat to become happy instantly. But I’m going to give you some food for thought that’ll help you develop a healthier mind long-term. Let’s get into it!
Do Foods Affect Our Moods?
About foods , do they affect our mood? Today we’re going to explore the elements of the three major theories related to foods and our mood. They are the following:
1. Micronutrients
When it comes to nutrition, good things often come in small packages. Micronutrients are individual minerals and vitamins that are crucial for your health, and it only takes a small amount to keep you going. But how do they tie in with mental health?
Well, considering that not consuming enough micronutrients negatively impacts physical and mental health and potentially leads to chronic illness, it’s safe to say that having enough of them in your diet would have the opposite effect. You’d have more energy, and as a result, you’d feel better mentally. That’s why more often than not, health professionals recommend having a balanced diet containing vitamins and minerals.
2. Serotonin
Out of the three, this is the theory that establishes a direct link between your stomach and your brain—yeah, that’s right. You see, serotonin—otherwise known as the “feel-good” hormone—is the hormone that controls your appetite, mood, and sleep. But where does it come from?
Believe it or not, roughly 95% of the serotonin in your body comes from your gut. Although it might not be as glamorous as you’d like it to be, there are billions of bacteria in your gut that work to keep your body healthy. These are known as the microbiome, and they have two-way communications with your brain to determine what’s going on with your body at all times.
Don’t believe me? Okay, how about this. Have you ever heard of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? Well, you might as well call it irritable brain syndrome. As it turns out, food isn’t the only thing that can trigger IBS. Your psyche and personality, as well as several factors in your surrounding environment, can trigger it too.
Then again, if the gut plays such a significant role in our mood and vice versa, it makes sense that what we eat can impact our mental health. After all, we need to supplement the microbiome with the right foods to ensure we’re at our best at all times.
3. Behavior Changes
Lastly, other theories suggest that the behavior changes we make when we start eating better might improve our moods. In other words, activities like cooking more at home or doing so with friends could yield positive, mood-lifting experiences.
However, the theory also ties in with the benefits of having a healthy diet. It states that cooking more at home may also help promote more frequent, more nutritious food choices.
Summary: Food and Mood Connection
Overall, many theories are explaining that how we eat can determine how we feel. But there’s one thing they have in common, and it’s that you should strive to have a healthy, nutrient-rich diet to ensure things sail smoothly.
We mentioned how foods could lift our moods, but can they also have the opposite effect?
Are There Foods that Ruin Our Moods ?
Have you ever heard the saying, “you are what you eat?” Well, that’s quite the case when it comes to eating and mental health. Not only does eating lots of sugary, fatty, salty, and ultra-processed foods have a negative impact on your physical health, it can also affect you mentally. And I don’t mean just the kind of effects that might upset you, but much worse than that.
Studies show that poor nutrition is a significant risk factor for the development of mental illnesses. Moreover, a Quebecois longitudinal study on nutrition and aging reported that adults who had been diagnosed with depression had decreasing levels of vitamins B12, B6, and folate in the years leading up to their diagnosis. That means their bodies were deprived of the good nutrients that help the mind stay healthy up until that point.
Conversely, some studies show how changing dietary habits can help improve conditions tied to mental health. For example, a 2011 study found that increased intake of omega-3 fatty acids helped medical students reduce their anxiety by 20 percent. Another study conducted in 2016 showed that people who followed the Mediterranean diet were 50 percent less likely to develop depression than those who didn’t.
Even something as simple as excessive sugar consumption can make it, so you’re more likely to develop depression or anxiety over five years. Not to mention that the alcohol we find so soothing after a long day is a depressant to your brain, making it very capable of changing your mood for the worse. So, although I’m fully aware we need food to survive, I suggest you are more careful about what you eat. That way, you’ll be in a much better place both physically and mentally.
Summary: Science of Food and Mood
It’s not just one or two foods that can negatively impact our health. The overall impact comes down to what makes up our whole diet. So, please be careful with what you eat moving forward.
Here are some cool facts about your daily diet.
Healthy Food and Mood: How a Healthy Diet Helps Your Mental Health?
I know what you’re thinking, and no, it doesn’t come down to finding the best food hacks to ensure you’re getting your vitamin fix. You have to change how you approach food as a whole to ensure you remain healthy. But how do you do that? By having a balanced diet, of course.
You have to eat a diet that includes whole grains, nuts, seeds, vegetables, and fruit. Not only do these foods offer you the nutrients and energy you need for your day-to-day activities, but they also help your heart stay healthy. Moreover, thinking about what you drink also helps. Staying hydrated and making water your first choice can help reduce irritable or restless feelings.
However, that’s not to say that healthy eating is a silver bullet against mental health problems or mood changes brought by daily life. But practices like eating well and exercising are acts of self-care that prevent us from making poor health choices.
Wait, do you mean I can willingly make bad choices that affect my health long-term?
Moods and Foods: How Your Mind Can Trick You into Having Poor Dietary Habits ?
Like I mentioned before, what you eat affects how you behave, feel, and think. In contrast, the way you think can also affect the food choices you make. We all have those moments where we crave comfort foods when we’re sad, stressed, or tired. That is because our bodies crave the temporary “rewards” these foods offer.
Mental health conditions like depression and anxiety affect our dietary patterns in the same way, changing the way we eat. In some cases, people eat more and turn to food for comfort. Others lose interest in food and eat less. Although we don’t “willingly” make those choices, they still affect our health long term.
After all, these dietary changes don’t have your body’s best interest in mind, which means that the act of gaining or losing weight could be detrimental to your health. And that applies even if you had planned to lose weight at some point.
Summary: Link Between Food and Mood
The way food and your mind interact isn’t a one-way street. You can make choices every day to improve your health but also do the exact opposite.
I want to lose weight, but now that you mention it, I’m worried that I might do it wrong. What can I do?
How to Improve Your Food and Mood?
A large, complex road connects your body and your mind, remember? Therefore, reframing how you think about food can help you make positive changes that benefit your mental health and lose weight. Here are some tips you can start trying today:
- If you want to eat snacks, choose the kinds that are less processed and high in fiber.
- Avoid processed foods. Yes, I know it’s a common theme, but sodas and all kinds of flavored stuff high in sugar are detrimental to your health.
- Include as much fruit and vegetables—frozen, fresh, canned, it doesn’t matter—into your meals as you can.
- Steer away from alcohol. I mean, you can have the occasional drink now and then, but trust me when I say that doing it too much won’t help your mental health.
- Exercise regularly. Physical activity is a well-known mood-lifter that boosts your energy and self-confidence.
- Are you worried? Did some conflict arise? Don’t eat. Take a moment to find yourself and try some relaxation techniques.
And last but not least, plan your meals before you go shopping. Using a shopping list helps reduce buying unhealthy foods when you see them in the supermarket.
But planning takes time, and I don’t have a lot of it. What can I do?
Eat better quality foods and improve your moods
Making a conscious effort to stay in shape by planning our meals is very difficult. That’s why here, at NubianDoc, we provide blogs on what to buy, what to eat, and how to exercise to help you improve your mental health and transition to a healthier lifestyle.
Listed below are the 6 Mood-Boosting Foods for Stressful days
Conclusion: Food and Mood
The food you eat isn’t only crucial for your physical health. It also affects how you conduct yourself daily and your mental health. Even though we might require more studies that look into how these two are linked, plenty of available research shows that what we eat can indeed influence our mood. In short, there is a direct relation of food and mood.
Hopefully, that means that in the future, diet plans will play a role just as important as exercise in the prevention and treatment of mental illnesses like depression, one of the most common mental conditions in the world. Remember that our advice, although helpful, doesn’t replace that of your doctors. Nevertheless, if you are looking to make changes to your lifestyle and improve your mood, you can contact us to learn more about health and skincare tips.
Thank you for reading our post about Food and Mood: How Food can Help Uplift your Mood? If you found it helpful, let us know by leaving a comment in the section below. You can also browse our blog section to find more healthy lifestyle tips. See you next time!
