How Your Food Choices Affect Your Mental Well-Being

Food has a powerful relationship with our moods.

Source: Polina Tankilevitch/Pexels

Remember that old saying, "You are what you eat"? It turns out that that saying is partially true. Your physical health, and more specifically your diet, affect your mental health in myriad ways.

There is mounting scientific evidence that diet plays a role in mental health, as well as in chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Too much coffee, for example (or too much of any stimulant), can increase your anxiety; too much consumption of highly processed foods is associated with depressive symptoms. More and more medical and mental health professionals are aware of the power of diet to the point that physicians are now considering diet change as one legitimate way to help treat depression.

Inflammation and the Brain

What kind of diet are physicians, dieticians, and nutritionists proposing to help with depression? Research shows that those who are depressed tend to have increased levels of inflammation in their bodies. [1] [2] Diets that decrease inflammation have been shown to reduce depression symptoms. [3]

A pro-inflammatory diet, by contrast, has been shown to impact cognitive health and functioning. Inflammation is a natural, protective response, but prolonged inflammation can cause tissue damage. Studies have linked inflammation (an immune response to injury, pathogens, irritants, or oxidative stress) to cognitive decline and dementia. [4] [5] The kind of inflammation that specifically affects the brain is called neuroinflammation. Neuroinflammation is, over time, associated with the risk of dementia and cardiovascular pathology, including stroke. [6] [7]

Given this evidence, many experts suggest that patients eat foods that have anti-inflammatory properties. Fortunately, many popular dietary patterns focus on foods with anti-inflammatory properties, including the Mediterranean diet, the paleo diet, the keto diet, a vegetarian diet, and the Tuscan diet.

Perhaps you don't want to start an entirely new diet. Fortunately, there are some standalone foods that have anti-inflammatory properties, which you can integrate into your existing diet. These include whole grains, vegetables, fish, nuts, fruits, legumes, oils, seeds, and soy. If none of these foods sound appealing to you, that's fine—but do take note that there are serious consequences of a diet that is mostly made up of pro-inflammatory foods.

The Role of Stress

Stress can also be related to poor eating habits and subsequently worsened mental health, all via the vicious cycle of emotional eating.

If you are stressed, eating highly processed or sugary foods—the stuff we all crave, but know isn't good for us—can help with stress in the moment. But it only provides temporary relief. Sooner than later, the stress returns, as does the desire for immediate relief. We keep eating and eating, but the stress remains. Stress not only makes a person more likely to eat processed foods, but they are also less likely to eat fruits and vegetables. [10] This is a recipe for increasing inflammation, worsening mental health, and reinforcing poor eating habits.

It can become a vicious cycle of feeling depressed or anxious, eating pro-inflammatory foods, and feeling even more depressed and anxious. One feeds into the other. Somewhere in the chain of causation, you need to break the cycle. Breaking the cycle at either link (poor eating or poor mental health) can redirect the cycle toward a better outcome.

Let’s say, for example, that you're feeling depressed or anxious and you want to "eat your feelings." Instead, try imagining yourself acting out the desire—i.e., engaging in emotional eating—which may help you realize that it may feel good in the moment but in the long run is likely to make you feel worse. Doing such an exercise can change your behavior in the moment, leading you to eat healthy food or practice some self-care instead.

Breaking the cycle can also work at other starting points. For example, let's say you already made poor eating choices. It stands to reason that your body is going to react to those food choices and be flooded with inflammation, potentially worsening your mood.

Even though you can't undo what's been done, you can still recover by acknowledging the choices you made with food and practicing self-care for your mental health. This can help break the cycle because helping yourself feel better now can increase the probability that you will make better food choices in the future. Understand your cycle and develop strategies and coping skills as a contingency plan for when you are struggling.

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If you've been struggling with mental health issues, take a moment and reflect on your eating choices and habits. To some, that suggestion may seem out of left field—but if you haven't been able to make much progress, diet may be a variable you haven't accounted for yet.