How Food Impacts Mood
When it comes to our mental health we often think about factors like chemical imbalances in our brains, whether we have worked through trauma or seen a therapist, and if we have a strong connection to other human beings. All extremely important pieces of the mental health puzzle, but not the only pieces.
Today in the United States one in five adults are living with a mental health condition. Rates of obesity have been rising consistently over the past few decades and yet we are more malnourished than ever. A 2020 study stated that 45% of the U.S. population had inadequate vitamin A, 46% inadequate vitamin C, 95% vitamin D, 84% for vitamin E, and 15% for zinc.1 Is it possible that there is a connection between our malnourished population and the rise of mental health conditions? As a registered dietitian who has seen in clinical practice clients’ moods significantly improve, the cloud of depression lifts, and anxiety vacates with the dietary changes they implemented, I believe there is.
I’m not the only practitioner who is witnessing and recognizing the connection between our diet and mental health conditions. There is a whole field emerging called nutritional psychiatry, go ahead and google it, it’s fascinating stuff. The ties between nutrition and our mental health are undeniable and, shockingly, nutrition isn't one of the first-line therapies for mental health conditions. Everything from how hydrated we are, to if we’re taking in adequate nutrients will impact our mood.
At the beginning of 2022, I was personally struggling with my mental health. My mood was extremely low and I was waking up multiple days each week not wanting to get out of bed. There were full days when all I could do was cry. I had only felt this way once before in my life between the ages of 12-14. I recognized that those dark thoughts and feelings had lifted for me during that time when I started to participate in regular physical activity during my gym classes and made nutrition changes. I decided that in addition to the therapy I was already doing, I was going to do everything in my toolkit of nutrition and wellness to turn my mood around.
I started with exercise adding a few HIIT workouts to my lift sessions knowing that this type of movement (in addition to endurance training) helps release a molecule called endocannabinoids which has been shown to boost mood.
After I mastered the habit of consistent movement and was starting to feel a little more optimistic about my future I added in EMDR therapy. Around that same time, I decided to cut alcohol. Again these changes seemed to boost my mood. The last two areas I focused on were nutrition and then gut health. Specifically cutting out the processed candy I was eating each week and walking myself through the gut reset protocol I take clients through.
At the end of 2022, I was sitting at my computer writing an article for social media, tears streaming down my face because I realized for the first time in a long time I was genuinely happy. I want the same for all of you. I realize and acknowledge that many factors impact our mental health and like a puzzle we may have to try different therapies, medications, diet, and lifestyle changes to find healing.
Diet, Inflammation + Depression
There is a very well-established body of research that has linked depression with low-grade, chronic inflammation. It has also been established that inflammation decreases so do symptoms of depression. Inflammation is the process of the body where it recognizes an outside threat and activates the immune system to go into attack mode. Under normal conditions, this is a positive thing. We want to fight off bacteria after we, say, cut our hands open. The issue is that a lot of the inflammatory responses we’re experiencing today are a result of lifestyle and it's as if our body is in a state of false alarm, fighting itself.
Chronic inflammation is the result of diet, lifestyle, psychological stress, dental caries, gut permeability, poor sleep hygiene, low vitamin D, obesity, and physical inactivity. When it comes to our diet specifically, eating a standard American diet increases our risk of developing depression by 25-35%.
Food can be a powerful healer or a contributor to inflammation and mental health disorders. So much so that there is evidence that has linked eating baked goods like pastries, croissants, and cookies to depression. Sugar is one of the most powerful contributors to inflammation. Other foods that contribute to inflammation are processed foods, excessive omega-6 oils like corn, soy, safflower, sesame, and sunflower oil, refined grains, fried foods, and alcohol.
Foods that help heal and decrease inflammation include foods high in antioxidants. Fruits and vegetables are great sources of these and they have been shown in several studies to be just as effective at treating depression as common antidepressants. Other foods you’ll want to incorporate include those containing omega-3s. Ideally consume fatty fish like salmon, herring, and mackerel 2-3 times per week and plant-based omega-3s like walnuts, chia seeds, and flax seeds daily.
Gut Health + Mental Health
The gut also plays a role in mental health. While the exact mechanism is not fully understood there are a few noteworthy links and theories. For starters over 95% of serotonin is produced in our gut, 50% of dopamine is produced in the gut and the gut is lined with hundreds of millions of neurons. It’s pretty well established that the gut and brain communicate. Have you ever noticed when you’re feeling anxious about something and you can physically feel the knot in your gut forming? Voila, gut-brain connection.
The second way the gut may impact our mental health is through something you may have heard of, leaky gut. A leaky gut occurs when the one-cell lining of our gut is damaged and food particles begin to leak out into our bloodstream. This process is another source of inflammation!
The last way our gut is connected to mental health is through our relationship with the bacteria in our gut. More research is needed but certain probiotic strains have been shown to mitigate anxiety and depression as effectively as some medications.
What we eat has a direct impact on the bacteria that thrive in our gut as well as the formation of a leaky gut. When we consume a standard American diet or traditional western diet for one month our incidence of leaky gut increases by 71%!
To promote optimal gut health, consuming 7-13 servings of vegetables and fruits per day is ideal. Eating more omega-3s, probiotic foods like fermented vegetables, kefir, and kimchi and generally eating more whole and unprocessed foods. The goal is nutrient, antioxidant, and fiber-rich foods. You’ll also want to decrease sugar, alcohol, processed and fried foods, and omega-6 fatty acids. Do we see a theme forming in nutrition recommendations?
Nutrient Deficiencies
A double-blind placebo-controlled trial, one of the highest quality studies that can be performed, was done with prison inmates. The study provided half of the participants with multivitamin and omega supplementation and the control received a placebo. Those receiving the supplements resulted in 26.3% fewer aggressive offenses. This is just one incredible example of how nutrients impact our mood and alter our behavior.
With so many Americans taking in inadequate nutrients it poses the question, how much of our mental health concerns are related to diet? It's not uncommon for nutrient deficiencies to mimic the symptoms of mental health disorders like anxiety and depression. In fact there have been links between mental health symptoms and inadequate vitamin D, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin c.
We already know that 95% of the population is inadequate in vitamin D but can you guess what the symptoms of low vitamin D are? Fatigue, drowsiness, and brain fog. Symptoms that if you took to a psychiatrist's office would likely get you flagged for depression. Unsurprisingly there is a correlation between low vitamin D levels and depression. If you don’t know your vitamin D level I recommend getting it tested through your primary care provider or with the at-home test linked here.
B vitamins are also connected to mental health conditions and it’s no wonder why! Folate and other b vitamins are required for your body to produce the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine!
These are just a few of many examples of how nutrients play a role in our mental health. The moral of this story is that we need to be consuming a lot of whole, nourishing foods daily. Most of us are getting the calories our bodies need to survive but we’re missing the mark on getting the nutrients we need to optimize our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. If you want to learn more about how you can optimize your diet for peak performance. You can download my free nutrition tracker and guide COMING SOON. This guide will help you understand what your body needs to perform better and feel better.
