Healthy body, healthy mind: The food you eat can affect your mood

Dinner table, women eat healthy food at home kitchen. (Adobe Stock │ #152323446 - unrestedm)

Most Americans understand that the food we eat is important for physical health, but perhaps a little less well known is that food also affects our mental health.

“If we think about our brain cells, our nerves, our gut and other parts of our body, the food we eat is going to be part of those cells,” said Priscilla Brenes, a nutrition and wellness specialist with K-State Research and Extension. “So, what we eat will in turn affect the mood we have (and) the way we sleep. All of it affects our mental health.”

Brenes cites research indicating that a diet high in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats are associated with fewer depressive symptoms, less anxiety and overall well-being.

“Diets that are high in saturated fat, sugar and processed foods tend to be associated with an increase in depression and anxiety symptoms,” she said.

Listen to an interview by Jeff Wichman with Priscilla Brenes on the weekday radio program, Sound Living

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Information publishes guidelines to help Americans eat a variety of foods in proper proportions. The campaign is called MyPlate.

“The idea is that if half of your plate is fruits and vegetables, then you will get a lot of the essential nutrients that our body needs to promote brain health, such as magnesium and folate (a B-vitamin),” Brenes said. “These are the types of foods that help ease our nerves, help our gut, help us maintain our brain function and keep our neurons healthy so that we can process our daily lives better.”

Brenes said additional guidelines for eating that promotes brain function comes from a pair of popular eating plans known as The Mediterranean diet and the MIND diet. Free, online publications about these diets are available from the K-State Research and Extension bookstore.

“There is a bi-directional connection between our brain and our gut,” Brenes said. “All of the nerves from our brain that go to our body also go to our gastrointestinal tract. The food we eat has the potential to influence those nerves…and send messages to the brain.”

She adds: “So if we eat diets like the Mediterranean diet and the MIND diet that promote good gut health, the good gut bacteria sends messages to the brain that can help with the neurotransmitters that help our mood.”

Some foods that contribute to good brain and gut health include fatty fish like salmon, tuna and white fish (which contain important Omega 3 fatty acids), nuts and seeds, dark leafy greens, berries, whole grains and fruits and vegetables.

“Western diets tend to be very reliant on processed foods, and processed foods generally do not contain the polyphenols and the combination of nutrients that, for example, fruits and vegetables will have,” Brenes said. “Processed foods try to add these nutrients, but they don’t work the same way as if we eat the real food.”

More information and assistance on eating healthfully is available at local extension offices in Kansas. A longer conversation with Brenes about the mental benefits associated with healthy eating is available on the May 23 segment of Sound Living, a weekly podcast from K-State Research and Extension.

PHOTO: Dinner table, women eat healthy food at home kitchen. (Adobe Stock │ #152323446 – unrestedm)