You Are What You Eat. And You "Feel" What You Eat? Mood & Food

We've all heard the saying, "You are what you eat." And it makes sense that if we eat crappy food, we physically feel crappy. 

But recently, I've become fascinated with new areas of study called Metabolic Psychiatry and Nutritional Psychiatry, which basically talk about how what we eat impacts our brain and our mental health. The idea is it can be harder to choose positive thoughts if we're eating a standard American diet (SAD). Think about how much of our daily intake includes processed food with calories but not much for nutrition - soda, chips, cookies, crackers, "health" bars, etc. How often are we actually eating "whole" foods?

Here are a few references that make this connection.

• Increased consumption of a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables has been associated with increased reported happiness and higher levels of mental health and well-being (1, 2, 3; 4, 5). 
• Several nutritional deficiencies, such as vitamin B12, B9 (folate), and zinc, can cause symptoms of depression and dementia such as low mood, fatigue, cognitive decline, and irritability. (6, 7)
• Dietary patterns high in processed foods, or a “western dietary pattern,” are strongly correlated with an increased risk of developing depression, mild cognitive impairment, and ADHD. (8–10)

It shouldn't be surprising that our food affects our mood, considering that the brain has very high metabolic and nutrient demands. On average, the brain consumes 20% of our daily calories!!

But let's take that a step further. Can increasing our positivity help us make healthier food choices? Can we create an upward spiral? 

I really appreciated how Carrilla and others found these five themes in their study.

1. Eating healthfully leads to positive emotions
2. Positive emotions lead to eating healthfully
3. Eating healthfully prevents negative emotions
4. Positive emotions and healthy eating lead to other healthy behaviors 
5. Positive emotions and healthy eating promote an upward healthy spiral

What can you do to eat better? Try cutting back on processed foods (anything in packages). Eat more whole foods. Think veggies, fruit, meat, eggs, etc. Cut back on sugary treats such as soda (pop), candy, pastries, etc. And if you really want to take a deep dive, check out Brain Energy by Chris Palmer and Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind by Georgia Ede. You can also find more resources on my site, PositiveHealthspan.com.

Here's to your positive health!!

More References:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6170050/ 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X19317237

To browse past positivity tips, visit this page.

Tina Hallis, Ph.D., is a professional speaker and founder of The Positive Edge and Positive Healthspan. Her mission is to empower people with better information so they can make better decisions and live healthier, happier lives.