You Are HOW You Eat

Nutrition and the brain

We’ve all heard that you are what you eat, but HOW we eat can have a significant influence on our mental health. Have you ever eaten fast food and felt sluggish after?  Your diet can affect how you feel emotionally and influences how you behave. There have been multiple studies that show a correlation between a high sugared diet and impaired brain function.  This is observed on many levels, which includes the production of neurotransmitters, nerve communication and cognitive health. 

Eating food with high vitamins, minerals and antioxidants nourishes the brain. According to Harvard Health, “...about 95% of your serotonin is produced in your gastrointestinal tract.” Your gut is lined with millions of bacteria that releases neurotransmitters to your brain. By providing our bodies with nourishing food, we can impact our nerve cells and our mood positively. Healthy intestinal microbiome also increases vagal tone, which lowers symptoms and rates of mood disorders. When eating unhealthy foods, we do the opposite in our gut. A mineral deficiency can lead to anxiety or depression-like symptoms. High carbohydrate diets can produce inflammation in the gut. In turn, this decreases neurotransmitter production and signals distress to the brain via the vagus nerve.  

Healthy diets have been linked to increased ability to focus, increase in optimism and decreased mood fluctuations.  When we say you are how you eat, there’s some truth behind it!  (Food Affects Mental Health)

Resources:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/nutritional-psychiatry-your-brain-on-food-201511168626

https://www.aetna.com/health-guide/food-affects-mental-health.html