Why does eating well benefit your mental health?
Mental health is a complex topic, and many factors can play a role in it, including exercise and diet. For example:
- Your brain uses about 20% of your energy from food and needs a balanced diet rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats to function properly.
- Eating too much processed or refined food can lead to poor nutrition, which can alter brain chemistry, meaning your brain can be less protected from free radical damage. This may cause a greater risk of depression and anxiety.
- Your food choices can affect your gut and the billions of friendly bacteria that make up your microbiome. These bacteria protect your gut lining, control inflammation, help you absorb nutrients, and send signals between your gut and brain (called the gut-brain axis) that influence mood and mental health.
- A diet rich in whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, fatty fish, and seafood, such as the Mediterranean diet, may reduce the risk of depression by 25% to 35% compared to a diet high in processed foods.
But it is important to know that diet is not a cure.
According to Katherine Basbaum, RD, “mood disorders can persist even if you eat well.”
But Basbaum says eating a healthy diet sets you up for success. “A healthy diet can improve your overall health and can help reduce the risk of mood-related conditions.”
6 Possible Effects of Healthy Eating on Your Mind and Mental Health
So, what is the connection between the food you eat and your mental health?
Fuel consumption. It delivers essential vitamins, minerals, and fats to your body (and your brain!) that help you make serotonin, lower inflammation, and support general cognitive function, such as learning, memory, and attention.
1. Protect your brain with antioxidants
Free radicals are unstable, reactive molecules that can cause damage throughout the body. Unfortunately, they cannot be avoided.
Free radicals are produced by normal cell metabolism, pollution, and even certain foods you eat. When too many of them build up, it causes something known as “oxidative stress” which has been linked to issues related to the brain, including depression and anxiety.
But choosing the right foods can help. Eating antioxidant-rich foods like berries, green vegetables, nuts, seeds, and beans can help fight oxidative stress and the problems that come with it.
2. Prevents inflammation and mental retardation
Inflammation is your body’s response to injury, illness, toxins, or other non-physical factors.
Eating too many unhealthy foods high in saturated fat, trans fat, or added sugar can cause chronic, low-level inflammation that can lead to dementia and cognitive decline as we age.
A healthy diet—sometimes called an anti-inflammatory diet—may have the opposite effect, reducing inflammation and helping to reduce the risk of inflammation-related neurological problems.
Making healthy food changes to include more fiber, omega-3s, vitamin C, and polyphenols from plants can help fight inflammation.
3. Supports your brain with omega-3 fatty acids
Your brain needs omega-3 fatty acids to make new cells and pathways, maintain energy, send signals, and control inflammation.
Omega-3s are essential fatty acids, meaning they only come from food. Your body cannot produce these substances on its own, making them a very important part of your diet.
Eating more foods rich in omega-3s can help reduce inflammation, can help protect the brain, and may help with mild cognitive impairment and mood. But research also shows conflicting results about emotions.
Studies have found that eating too little omega-3s can cause mood disorders in some people and that eating more can help prevent mood-related conditions.
Some studies, although promising, show inconclusive results; therefore, larger studies are needed to better understand how omegas affect mental health.
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4. It supports the gut-brain connection
Fermented foods, such as yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, and tempeh, are rich in probiotics that help fill your gut with friendly bacteria.
One review of existing research, which includes mostly animal studies, found that gut bacteria may affect the way your brain responds to stress, potentially reducing anxiety and depression symptoms. More clinical research with human subjects is needed to draw any firm conclusions.
Eating probiotics can also help improve the signals between your gut and brain via your vagus nerve and brain chemical receptors.
Bacteria make proteins that activate these receptors and nerves and signal your brain to regulate your emotions and improve your mood.
5. Regulates your mood with magnesium and vitamins
A healthy brain-healthy diet provides your body with vitamins and nutrients that nourish your brain, boost energy levels, and regulate mood.
For example, magnesium can help balance stress hormones, improve depression and anxiety, and improve symptoms of low mood like weakness and fatigue.
“B vitamins are other important nutrients for the proper functioning of the brain and nerves. “In particular, getting enough B6 in your diet can help regulate your mood and prevent low mood,” says MyFitnessPal registered dietitian Katherine Bausbam.
Vitamin D has similar benefits.
“Vitamin D deficiency is associated with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and depression, and getting enough vitamin D in your diet can help balance your mood.” Basbaum explained.
6. Improves your brain power by proper hydration
The connection between mental health and nutrition 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 can help manage your mental health and improve your brain power.
According to Basbaum, the exact amount of water per day may vary from person to person, but a general recommendation is:
- 13 cups daily for older men
- 9 cups daily for older women
Water-rich foods (listed below!) also account for 20% of your water intake and can help promote proper hydration.
Foods That Help Support Mental Health
So, what exactly should you eat to support good mental health?
A nutritious diet includes plenty of protein, fiber, healthy fats, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals from whole, natural, and hydrating foods.
Be sure to include:
- Grains full of fiber: Brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta or bread, quinoa, millet, farro, and buckwheat
- Complex carbohydrates: Whole grains, bananas, apples, berries, melons, potatoes, and peas
- Antioxidant-rich foods: Spinach, kale, swiss chard, citrus fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, meat, fish, shellfish, apples, grapes, and green tea
- Omega-3s: Chia seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, canola oil, salmon, mackerel sardines, and fortified milk or nut milk
- Foods with Magnesium: Whole grains, milk, yogurt, nuts, seeds, and leafy greens like spinach and kale
- Foods rich in B vitamins: Tuna, salmon, peas, chicken, dark leafy greens, oranges, and papayas
- Vitamin D Diet: Salmon, tuna, sardines, beef liver, fortified orange juice, and fortified milk
- Hydrating foods: Cucumbers, celery, lettuce, peppers, melons, and berries
Find the Best Way to Start Eating to Improve Your Health
Nutrition and mental health go hand in hand.
Your diet affects how your brain and gut work, influences how cells and nerves communicate, makes brain chemicals, stores energy, and responds to stress.
Although the connection between food and your mind may sound complicated, eating to make you feel good can be simple.
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