How can the food we eat affect our mood?
The link between food and mood is somewhat complex, but very relevant. The food we eat affects our mood, while our mood can affect what and how often we eat.
Food is a potent natural reward. Specific types of food tend to be preferred during certain moods due to the influence of food on the brain’s reward centres. Reward and gratification associated with food consumption leads to ‘feel good hormone’ (dopamine) production, which in turn activates reward and pleasure centers in the brain. An individual will repeatedly eat a particular food to experience this positive feeling of gratification. This hormonal effect influences both mood and food intake.
Can eating assist in lifting your mood?
Let us first look at the effect of stress on appetite. In the short term, stress can shut down appetite due to the effect of adrenaline (a stress hormone). But if stress persists, it becomes a different story. When exposed to stress over a longer period, our body releases another hormone called cortisol, which increases appetite. Once a stressful episode is over, cortisol levels should fall, but if the stress doesn’t go away — or if a person’s stress response gets stuck in the “on” position — cortisol levels may stay elevated.
To answer the question – yes, eating can lift the spirit due to the ‘feel good’ effect. Unfortunately, if this behaviour is repeated over time, it leads to the activation of brain reward pathways that eventually overrides other signals of satiety and hunger. Furthermore, persistent stress alters our ability to be aware of hunger and satiety cues. It is important to note that all people do not respond the same to stressful situations, so this may not apply to everyone and we may have different coping mechanisms (good or bad).
Emotional or stress eating (the tendency to overeat in response to negative emotions such as anxiety or irritability) can lead to altered food choice and intake, which may over time lead to overeating, overweight and obesity – related to further emotional stress and anxiety. Stress also seems to affect food preferences, with some individuals showing a preference for food high in fat, sugar, or both (sometimes called ‘comfort’ foods) or others preferring ‘crunchy’ foods.
While eating can lift the spirit over the short term, we need to guard against using foods as mood-fixer as it could over the long term have negative outcomes on our body and mind. Emotional eating is not an effective coping mechanism. Alternative stress reduction and coping strategies, such as exercise and social support, should be sought to replace the mood enhancing effects of food and eating.
It is easy to slip into bad eating habits and binge on comfort food. What should people avoid?
While several nutritional deficiencies can cause symptoms of depression (low mood, fatigue, cognitive decline, and irritability), the link between diet and mental wellness or illness shifted towards an emphasis on overall dietary pattern rather than individual nutrients.
Dietary patterns high in processed foods, or a “western dietary pattern,” are strongly correlated with an increased risk of developing depression, mild cognitive impairment, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Similarly, food insecurity, or inadequate access to sufficient nutritious and culturally appropriate food, is also associated with mood and anxiety disorders.
Specific foods to be avoided or limited due to the potential negative effect on emotions, as well as association with the development of obesity and noncommunicable diseases (such as diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer):
- Foods and drinks containing sugar, especially sugar-sweetened beverages
– Processed foods, including processed meats, take-away foods, convenience foods / ready-made meals - Deep-fried foods and other foods with high fat content (potato crisps, crackers, biscuits)
- Food high in salt, such as processed foods, salt-based seasonings, stock cubes and powders, soup and sauce powders
It is also important to control portion sizes, to avoid overeating and disrupting hunger- and satiety cues.
It is always easy to say what people should avoid, but they should also know what to replace unhealthy choices with
Plan meals in advance and compile a shopping list – this will not only ensure that you stock up on healthy food options but will also assist you to keep within your food budget.
There are a few general guidelines for healthy eating (specifically developed for the South African context), such as:
- Enjoying a variety of foods. This not only ensures a variety of nutrients but will also keep meals interesting
- Make starchy foods the basis of most meals, as these are the main source of dietary energy and aids satiety. Give preference to unprocessed starchy foods and wholegrains.
- Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits every day. These are good sources of vitamins, minerals and fibre and also add variety and convenience to our meals.
- Drink clean, safe water rather than sugary drinks (such as fruit juice, sports drinks, energy drinks, cold drinks / sodas)
- Eat dry beans, split peas, lentils and soya regularly. These foods have a high nutrient content and help to maintain healthy blood sugar levels
- Fish, chicken, lean meat, or eggs could be eaten daily, if the household budget allows for it. However, avoid processed meats such as polony, viennas, sausages
- Drink milk, maas or yoghurt every day, avoiding sugar-sweetened options
- Use fat sparingly, choose vegetable oils (sunflower, canola, avocado, olive oil or tub margarine) rather than hard fats
- Use salt and foods high in salt sparingly. Rather use herbs to flavour food than salt-based seasoning.
- Use food and drinks containing sugar sparingly
On occasion, include ‘pleasure’ foods in small amounts with meals, and avoid eating these when hungry. If you have given in to a ‘food-mood’, compensate during your next meal by reducing your portion size.
It is also important to practice mindful eating to be aware of hunger and satiety cues and food choices. If you feel like eating in-between your planned meals, first checked if you may just be bored. Delay your snack with an activity such as a domestic task or brushing your teeth.
Ideas for snack foods:
- Sliced fresh fruit and vegetables
- Dried fruits
- Nuts and seeds
- Air-popped popcorn
In addition to consideration of the food we eat, we can also lift our spirits by making the eating experience pleasant. We do not only eat to satisfy physiological needs, but also social and psychological needs.
It is said that you are what you eat. How true is this?
The enjoyment of food is one of life’s pleasures, but most foods we consume should provide the nutrients needed for healthy living – thereby being healthy through eating healthy.
Health and wellbeing are affected by many factors beyond food and nutrition – an unwell person does not necessarily have bad eating habits. The saying is also somewhat short-sighted as we are more than our diet or what we look like – we are parents, children, siblings, friends, colleagues, and so much more and should not carry a label based on one component of our lives.
Lastly, if we occasionally enjoy foods that may not be considered best options in terms of health and nutritional value, it does not imply that we have bad eating habits. The risk is that feelings of guilt and shame sometimes associated with ‘less than optimal’ eating habits could fuel further stress and anxiety, with further negative behaviour responses.
Be kind to yourself, be mindful when making food and snack choices and try to keep healthy options in the pantry for those days when you need to snack for comfort.
References:
Frayn, M., Livshits, S. and Knäuper, B. (2018) ‘Emotional eating and weight regulation: A qualitative study of compensatory behaviors and concerns’, Journal of Eating Disorders. Journal of Eating Disorders, 6(23). doi: 10.1186/s40337-018-0210-6.
Hopf, S.-M. (2010) ‘You Are What You Eat: How Food Affects Your Mood’, Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science, (1).
Lachance, L. and Ramsey, D. (2015) ‘Food, mood, and brain health: implications for the modern clinician’, Missouri Medicine, 112(2), pp. 111–115.
Singh, M. (2014) ‘Mood, food and obesity’, Frontiers in Psychology, 5(925). doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00925.
South African National Department of Health and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (2012a) Guidelines for healthy eating for South Africans. Pretoria: Department of Health, South Africa.
South African National Department of Health and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (2012b) The South African Food Guide. Pretoria: Department of Health, South Africa.
Yau, Y. H. C. and Potenza, M. N. (2013) ‘Stress and eating behaviors’, Minerva Endocrinologica, 38(3), pp. 255–267.