Why eating well is good for your mental health?
Mental health is a complex topic and many factors play a role, including physical activity and diet. For example:
- Your brain consumes approximately 20% of its energy from food and needs nutritious foods rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, proteins, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats to function properly.
- Eating mostly processed or refined foods may result in a low-nutrient diet, which may alter brain chemicals, meaning your brain may be less susceptible to free radical damage. This may lead to a higher risk of depression and anxiety.
- Your food choices may also affect your gut and the billions of good bacteria that make up your microbiome. These bacteria protect the lining of your gut, control inflammation, help you absorb nutrients, and send signals between your gut and brain (called the gut-brain axis) that affect mood and mental health.
- A balanced diet rich in whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, oily fish and seafood, such as the Mediterranean diet, can reduce the risk of depression by 25% to 35% compared to a diet rich in processed foods.
But it’s important to know that food is not a panacea for all ailments.
“Even if you eat well, mood disorders can persist,” says registered dietitian Katherine Basbaum.
But Bussbaum says eating healthy foods can set you up for success. “A healthy diet can improve your overall health and help reduce the risk of mood-related diseases.”
6 potential effects of healthy eating on your brain and mental health
So, what’s the connection between the food you eat and your mental health?
Food is fuel. It provides your body (and your brain!) with key vitamins, minerals, and fats that help you produce serotonin, reduce inflammation, and support overall cognitive functions such as learning, memory, and concentration.
1. Protect your brain with antioxidants
Free radicals are unstable, reactive molecules that can cause damage throughout the body. Unfortunately, they are unavoidable.
Free radicals are produced by normal cell metabolism, pollution, and even certain foods you eat. When they build up in excess, they can lead to what’s called “oxidative stress,” which is linked to brain-related problems, including depression and anxiety.
But choosing the right foods can help. Eating antioxidant-rich foods like berries, green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes can help fight oxidative stress and the problems that come with it.
2. Prevent inflammation and cognitive decline
Inflammation is your body’s response to injury, disease, toxins, or something that doesn’t belong in your body.
Eating lots of unhealthy foods high in saturated fat, trans fat, or added sugar can lead to ongoing low-level inflammation, which can lead to dementia and cognitive decline as we age.
Eating a healthy diet (sometimes called an anti-inflammatory diet) may have the opposite effect, lowering inflammation and helping to reduce the risk of emotional problems associated with inflammation.
Make healthy food substitutions that add more fiber, omega-3s, vitamin C and polyphenols from plants to help fight inflammation.
3. Support your brain with omega-3 fatty acids
Your brain needs omega-3 fatty acids to make new cells and pathways, store energy, send signals, and control inflammation.
Omega-3s are essential fatty acids, which means they only come from food. Your body cannot produce these substances on its own, so they become an especially important part of your diet.
Eating more omega-3-rich foods can help lower inflammation, may help protect the brain, and may help relieve mild cognitive impairment and mood. But research also shows conflicting results about emotions.
Research has found that low omega-3 intake may predispose some people to mood disorders, and that eating more may help prevent mood-related illnesses.
Other studies, while promising, have shown inconclusive results. Therefore, larger studies are necessary to better understand how omegas affect mental health.
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4. Supports the gut-brain connection
Fermented foods such as yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, and tempeh are rich in probiotics and help fill your gut with good bacteria.
A review of existing research, including mostly animal studies, found that gut bacteria may influence the brain’s response to stress, which may reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. Further clinical studies in human subjects are required to draw firm conclusions.
Probiotic foods can also improve signals between the gut and brain through receptors on the vagus nerve and brain chemicals.
The bacteria produce proteins that activate these receptors and nerves and send signals to your brain to regulate your mood and improve your mood.
5. Regulate your mood with magnesium and vitamins
A healthy diet that supports mental health can provide your body with vitamins and nutrients that nourish your brain, boost energy levels, and regulate your mood.
For example, magnesium may help balance stress hormones, improve stress and anxiety, and improve symptoms of low mood, such as weakness and fatigue.
“B vitamins are other essential nutrients for normal brain and nerve function. In particular, getting enough vitamin B6 in your diet can help regulate mood and prevent depression.
Vitamin D has similar benefits.
“Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and depression, and getting enough vitamin D in the diet may help balance mood,” Basbaum explains.
6. Enhance brain power through proper hydration
The connection between mental health and food also includes hydration.
Your brain is 75% water, and too much or too little water can cause problems with thinking, memory, and mood.
Even mild dehydration can affect your memory and alertness and cause more anxiety and fatigue.
Fatigue and negative emotions, such as anger, confusion, hostility, and depression, also increase with mild dehydration. Drinking enough water throughout the day may help manage your mental health and boost your brainpower.
Basbaum says the exact amount of water each person should drink each day may vary, but general recommendations are:
- 13 cups per day for adult men
- Adult women: 9 cups a day
Water-rich foods (listed below!) also account for 20% of your water intake and help promote proper hydration.
Foods to help support mental health
So, what exactly should you eat to support good mental health?
A balanced diet includes plenty of protein, fiber, healthy fats, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals from whole, hydrating foods.
Make sure to include:
- Fiber-rich whole grains: Brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta or bread, quinoa, millet, farro, and buckwheat
- complex carbohydrates: Whole grains, bananas, apples, berries, melons, potatoes and peas
- Foods rich in antioxidants: Spinach, kale, Swiss chard, citrus fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, meat, fish, shellfish, apples, grapes, and green tea
- Omega-3s: Chia seeds, flaxseeds, walnuts, canola oil, salmon, mackerel, sardines, and fortified dairy or nut milks
- Foods rich in magnesium: Whole grains, milk, yogurt, nuts, seeds, and leafy green vegetables like spinach and kale
- Foods rich in B vitamins: Tuna, salmon, chickpeas, chicken, dark green leafy vegetables, orange and papaya
- Vitamin D foods: Salmon, tuna, sardines, beef liver, fortified orange juice and fortified milk
- Hydrating foods: Cucumbers, celery, lettuce, bell peppers, melons and berries
Discover the best ways to start a diet to improve your health
Nutrition and mental health go hand in hand.
Your diet affects the way your brain and gut work, affecting how cells and nerves communicate with each other, produce brain chemicals, store energy and respond to stress.
While the connection between food and the brain sounds complicated, eating food to make you feel good is actually quite simple.
