Diet, Mental Healthcare, and Junk Food — Does what you eat affect your anger?
How often do you find yourself in an angry rant and realize that the last thing you ate was a bag of potato chips? It’s not just your mind that might be feeling the wrath of that junk food; your brain may be to blame, too. Diet has long been associated with mood and mental health, but today there’s new evidence showing exactly how modern diets lacking in micronutrients may contribute to angry rhetoric. In this article, we’ll look at the evidence on diet and mental health, then talk about how junk food specifically impacts anger.
Vitamin D Deficiency
Studies have shown that a vitamin D deficiency may contribute to mental healthcare issues, from depression to violent behavior. If you’re interested in learning more about micronutrients that might be affecting your mood or brain health, read on. If it’s not on here already, ask us for specific advice for how to change your diet based on our research! The Science: There is currently a lot of research linking inadequate intakes of Vitamin D with negative emotional states such as anxiety (see 1), insomnia (see 2), hyperactivity (see 3), ADHD (see 4), dementia (see 5) and depression (see 6). Micronutrient deficiency is responsible for much of humanity’s suffering according to Dr.
Low Levels of Serotonin
The Connection Between Diet and Mental Health: A number of people experience mental health issues on a daily basis; however, many are quick to treat these diseases with medications alone. It is important to note that there may be a correlation between diet quality and mental health as well. For example, low levels of serotonin in our brains has been connected to higher risk for depression.
Cognitive Function
The ability to learn and remember information, access new knowledge and insights, and interpret visual cues. When a person is experiencing chronic stress or in need of mental healthcare that is not being met, cognitive function can be severely compromised. One thing that plays into cognitive function (and mood) is diet; specifically that many people in modern society are consuming junk food.
Low Iron Levels
Iron-deficiency anemia can have some major impacts on mood. Common symptoms of iron deficiency include fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath and decreased cognitive function. A lack of red blood cells can also lead to an increased likelihood of experiencing anxiety attacks. Those with a poor diet are more likely to be deficient in iron; junk food is usually low in essential nutrients such as iron. It’s important for those who feel they may need mental healthcare to get their iron levels checked by a doctor before starting any treatment plan.
Too Much Sugar
Many people are familiar with how a diet too high in sugar can contribute to obesity or diabetes. But many of us don’t realize that excess sugar can also damage mental health. A 2010 study published in Neuroscience Letters reports that rats who ate a diet consisting mainly of junk food (such as candy) developed abnormally low levels of serotonin transporters — proteins responsible for reabsorbing excess serotonin into neural cells after it has performed its function.
Lack of Protein
In a study published in The Lancet journal in 2013, researchers found that a diet lacking in protein may contribute to depression symptoms. Mice were fed diets high in either fat or sugar for three weeks and then subjected to stressful situations that triggered typical depression-like behaviors like anxiety and depression. The mice who had consumed a diet low in protein displayed symptoms that seemed more like those of a depressed person than those mice whose diets were high in fat or sugar. In addition to being less able to deal with stress, mice on a low-protein diet also showed increased levels of corticosterone (the stress hormone), which is known for its role in suppressing appetite.
Not Enough Fiber
Fiber is essential for regulating blood sugar. In order to stay calm and clearheaded, it’s important to have enough fiber in your diet. As you might guess from some of these headline-grabbing findings, diets lacking fiber could be linked to problems with mental health. If you’re feeling angry or depressed — or even if you just want to support your brain health — consider eating more fiber rich foods such as nuts, whole grains and legumes. For example: A study published in Diabetes Care found that participants who followed a Mediterranean diet supplemented with 15 grams of soluble fiber per day had lower levels of anger after six weeks than those given a placebo.
