By Adrian Zupp
“Most people understand the link between what they eat and their physical health,” says registered dietitian Elizabeth Somer, author of the book Eat Your Way to Happiness. “But the link between what you eat and your mood, your energy, how you sleep, and how well you think is much more immediate. What you eat or don’t eat for breakfast will have at least a subtle effect by mid-afternoon, and what you’re eating all day will have a huge impact today and down the road.”
Get a Quick Boost
You can actually have a good shot at improving your mood pretty quickly with food. Call it a mood boost. Have an all-carb snack (e.g. half a whole-grain muffin) and feel the difference quite rapidly. Carbs help your body produce serotonin, the brain chemical that gives you a lift but suppresses appetite. So don’t cheat yourself on the complex carbs – just avoid simple carbs, like all the sugary snacks. Your brain will thank you for it.
Feeding Negative Moods
Just as you can help your moods with the right nutrition, you can do just the opposite with poor diet. And it’s easy to get trapped in a vicious cycle. For example, a stressful lifestyle can lead to a lack of sleep. A lack of sleeping might lead you to charging up on caffeine during the day and eating fast food on the run. Then you’re liable to “crash” and need more sugar and caffeine. When you get home, you’re tired, so instead of exercising perhaps you have a drink or two, and these things contribute to poor sleep. And so it begins again … and again … and again.
Let’s Talk About Omega-3… And some key vitamins
Omega-3 fatty acids seem to be all the buzz these days. And why not? They’ve been shown to improve both memory and mood. Most experts believe that you should eat at oily/fatty fish at least twice a week, or get your 3s from other sources: flaxseeds, walnuts, canola oil, or omega-3-fortified eggs. You should also get sufficient folate (fortified whole-grain breakfast cereals, lentils, soybeans, beets, broccoli, black-eyed peas, oatmeal, mustard greens, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, oranges), vitamin B12 (wild salmon, shellfish, lean beef, fortified whole-grain breakfast cereal, cottage cheese, skim/1% milk, eggs, low-fat yogurt), and vitamin D (fish with bones, egg yolks, fortified soy milk, skim and low-fat milk).
And Don’t Forget the Water
“Not drinking water is the first thing that will impact your mood,” says Susan M. Kleiner, PhD, RD, and co-author of The Good Mood Diet. Water has various mental and physical benefits. And remember, the first sign of depression is fatigue.
It’s Not Just “What” But Also “When”
Two things to remember here:
1. Eat a small meal or snack every three or four hours to keep your blood sugar levels steady.
2. Yes, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day!
And remember…
- Eat enough protein.
- Don’t skimp on carbs.
- Avoid simple sugars.
- Get your folic acid.
- Keep your fat intake down.
- And keep your alcohol intake to a minimum.
Adrian Zupp is the marketing writer for Screening for Mental Health.
