The Importance of Eating Healthily and How It Affects Our Mood
You’ve probably heard your parents tell you to eat your veggies to help you grow healthy and strong, but very few people know the true significance of having a balanced diet. Though it may seem like a small fraction of your everyday life, what you eat can not only affect your physical health but also your moods and mentality. It is important that we create a wholesome, healthy physical and mental lifestyle by improving our nourishment.
What you eat can have a consequential impact on your life. A report released by a federal committee states “80% of adolescent girls consume less calcium a day than recommended,” and “about 20% of girls are anemic, a condition that can be caused by low iron consumption and can affect cognitive function and mood” (Petersen).
One of the biggest problems with teenager’s diets nowadays is that they don’t contain the proper nutrients that are necessary for a robust lifestyle. This can alter variables such as body weight and can cause problems with physical health as well as mindset. Andrea Petersen from the Wall Street Journal quotes Dr. Ellen Rome, who says “She is seeing bored teens who are eating too much and gaining weight, and stressed-out teens who are eating too little, losing weight and being admitted to the hospital with “low heart rate and no periods” (Petersen). So not only does what you eat affect your mental health, but your mental health can then affect your physical health in potentially detrimental ways.
The average person doesn’t understand how having an adequate diet can change your moods and mental health. “A recent study suggests that eating a healthy, balanced diet such as the Mediterranean diet and avoiding inflammation-producing foods may be protective against depression” (Naidoo). It may not be able to cure mental disorders, but changing a diet to be stable and nutrient-rich could be a preventative step taken in the process. The digestive system is linked to the brain through the “anatomical and physiologic two-way communication between the gut and brain via the vagus nerve” (Naidoo).
In an article named Gut Feelings: How food affects your mood, the author states that “90% of serotonin receptors are located in the gut” (Naidoo). As a result of this connection, people taking antidepressant medications can have side effects within their gut such as “nausea, diarrhea, or gastrointestinal problems” (Naidoo). Similarly, what happens to your gut can also affect activity inside your brain. In these ways, consuming alimentary foods has been proven to positively influence the presence of depression and anxiety.
In order to improve one’s physical and mental health, it is crucial that we take proper consideration into what we are putting into our bodies. In this day and age, people are consuming foods with an unreasonable amount of sodium and added sugars, and are told it is okay because it tastes good and makes them happy. Because of this, the population is developing higher “blood pressure, risk of cardiovascular disease, and obesity” (Naidoo). To fix these issues, a simple, fiber-rich diet should be an immense priority. A few important foods to include in your diet that have nutrients with antidepressant qualities and great benefits are “oysters, mussels, salmon, watercress, spinach, romaine lettuce, cauliflower, and strawberries” (Naidoo). By including foods like these and many others and by cutting out foods with unnecessarily high amounts of sugar and sodium, we can maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Our diet can make a huge impact on our physical and mental health. Which is why it is of the utmost importance that you act now. Trade out the majorly processed foods and drinks for whole, fresh fruits, vegetables, and proteins. Although we are told that we should eat whatever makes us happy, be intentional and make sure to prioritize foods that will benefit how you feel and live, over the ones that taste good in the moment. Don’t let your diet inhibit you from living your best, most radiant life.
Jacobson, Michael. “ADHD & Diet: How Food Affects Mood.” Mothering, 2000. SIRS Issues Researcher, nclive.org/cgi-bin/nclsm?url=http://search.proquest.comhttps://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2266187674?accountid=13217. Accessed 20 Sept. 2022.
Petersen, Andrea. “Health & Wellness: Teen Girls’ Poor Diets Concern Doctors.” Wall Street Journal, 4 May 2021. SIRS Issues Researcher, nclive.org/cgi-bin/nclsm?url=http://search.proquest.comhttps://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2539979313?accountid=13217. Accessed 20 Sept. 2022.
Uma Naidoo, MD. “Gut Feelings: How Food Affects Your Mood.” Harvard Health, 27 Mar. 2019, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gut-feelings-how-food-affects-your-mood-2018120715548.
