Food for Mood - natural mood boosters
I’m passionate about redefining mental health as brain health and helping people to see mood disorders as physical health conditions which can be solved. There is an intricate link between food and mood. Eating the right foods can actually make us feel happier whilst eating the wrong foods can make our mood much worse.
It’s been a hard year - we have been through a lot of depressing stuff with the pandemic and faced a lot of obstacles. Did you know that depression is now the fourth most common disease in the world and the number one cause of disability. We’ve been through a lot and we need support. And we can start by changing our diet!
Now food can’t solve everything to do with mood obviously, but it is a powerful tool that we can use to improve our mood and brain health. What you eat today can boost your mood, enhance your decision making and even improve your relationships.
Depression and anxiety are just the names we give to a collection of symptoms. Many factors can contribute to these mood imbalances but the most common reasons are (1) a processed, high sugar diet, (2) imbalances in the gut and (3) nutrient deficiencies.
Studies have shown that diet and exercise actually work better than anti-depressant medication and all the side effects are good ones.
So how can you eat to boost your mood?
Start by balancing your blood sugar. If you are having swings in blood sugar your mood is going to be all over the place. You’re going to feel depressed, anxious, irritable, and worse. So the first step in eating for mood is to cut out refined sugars, simple carbohydrates, and artificial sweeteners as these are foods that promote blood sugar imbalances.
The next thing is not to skip meals if you have issues with your blood sugar. Start the day off well with a balanced breakfast consisting of fats, protein and real whole food carbohydrates. Something like scrambled eggs with avocado and wholegrain toast or berries with Greek yogurt, nuts and seeds.
Then eat at intervals of about 3 – 4 hours until your blood sugar has stabilised, and you find that you can go for longer periods of time without your blood sugar crashing.
Make sure you have some fat and protein with every meal as this will help you to cut down sugar cravings and will prevent swings in blood sugar because these are slower burning fuels than carbohydrates.
Once you’ve got your blood sugar under control, you want to focus on the gut.
The gut is sometimes referred to as the second brain. Now this may seem a little strange, but when you consider that 90% of our happiness hormone serotonin is made in the gut and that our gut microbes can influence the vagus nerve which travels all the way up to the brain, it starts to make some sense.
This powerful link means that an imbalance in the gut can cause mood imbalances, depression, and anxiety. Whenever I see a client who has any type of mood issue, I tend to work on their gut. There is almost always an issue there whether it is inflammation from food sensitivities, a lack of beneficial bacteria or poor digestive function. When the gut heals the severity of difficult emotional problems can get better.
It is important to include fibre-rich foods and fermented foods in your diet because they get your gut and brain talking to each other. If you want to strengthen your gut-brain connection, try including gut healing foods like green leafy vegetables and fermented foods like sauerkraut.
There are also a lot of nutritional deficiencies that can contribute to brain issues like anxiety and depression. The most common things that I see related to mental health are low omega-3 fats, magnesium, zinc, selenium, vitamin D and all the B vitamins, but particularly B12, folate and B6.
Omega-3s are so critical to brain function because 60% of your brain is made up of fat. If you don’t have enough omega-3s, your cells can talk to each other which means your neurotransmitters can’t communicate and that’s how your moods stay balanced. Oily fish is a fantastic brain food. It is full of omega-3 fats like EPA and DHA which are critical for brain health. Oysters are a super brainfood because they contain a lot of B12, zinc and omega-3 fats.
Make sure you are eating plenty of berries. Berries contain a compound called anthocyanins. This is what gives them their deep purple and blue colours. Anthocyanins have been shown to reduce depression and boost cognitive function.
Green tea is another amazing brain food. The polyphenol content of green tea can help to reduce depression. And it’s also great for anxiety because it contains a compound called theanine which has a calming effect on the brain.
