Could your diet be affecting your mood?
IT’s no secret that there is a link between feelings and food — the desire for chocolate when we’re sad, for example. But could your diet actually affect your mood, instead of your mood affecting the foods you choose to eat?
“Our choice of foods and our eating patterns are often understated in the way they impact our mental health,” nutritionist and dietician Jenelle Solomon said.
She explained that the nutritional content of the foods we eat could affect several bodily functions and mechanisms including our hormones, metabolism and neurotransmitters, which ultimately affect the production of mood chemicals.
“Any food item that you eat which increases your serotonin levels will cause a boost in happiness. For example, foods rich in vitamin D, fatty acids, omega 3, polyunsaturated fats and B vitamins are natural mood enhancers since they peak the serotonin levels,” Solomon explained.
She said in the same way foods increase happiness, the opposite is also true.
“When you make food choices that are predominantly fatty, packed with sugars, caffeine and alcohol, this increases the possibility of a depressive mood consuming you since these foods are associated with bringing an inflammatory response to the nervous system,” Solomon explained.
Making reference to recent research, Solomon said that it’s quite possible for more people to find themselves in better moods once they have reconsidered their diets.
“A balanced breakfast is an important part of your day; it provides the correct nutrients, re-energises your body, and contributes to alertness and improved memory,” Solomon said.
“However, when we choose not to eat, we are going to lack energy, become easily frustrated, less likely to remember things, more likely to be grumpy, and more likely to eat more for lunch because we would be starved.”
She said that much of the research on food and its impact on mood have listed poor diets as among the major causes and leading risk factors for mental disorders, while healthy diets have proved to achieve the opposite. Solomon said that when choosing a diet, for healthier results and better moods you should consider Mediterranean or Greek diets that are high in fruits, fish, vegetables, legumes and nuts, and low in processed meats. That will improve your overall mood immensely.
