The Inside Scoop on How Food Affects Emotions
Eating for emotional wellness
What is the last thing you and your family ate? The last thing my family and I ate was an acai bowl filled with high nutrient foods. Over the years, my husband and I have tried many different ways of eating. Through trial and error, we learned food affects our emotional well-being. As a marriage and family therapist, I continually witness the impact food has on my clients and their families' emotional well-being. Food is not 100% responsible for feelings, but fueling ourselves and families with nutritious foods contributes to emotional wellness.
The Brain and Stomach Connection
The brain and stomach are connected in many ways. Physically, nerves connect the brain and stomach. Emeran Mayer, the author of Gut feelings: the emerging biology of gut-brain communication, states the stomach contains 500 million neurons, which are connected to the brain through nerves in the nervous system. The vagus nerve is the largest nerve that connects the brain with the stomach. The vagus nerve impacts breathing, digestive function, and heart rate, all of which affect mental health. The vagus nerve is also the driving force for the parasympathetic nervous system, helping our bodies find balance with the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system triggers the fight or flight response.
Chemically, neurotransmitters and hormones connect the brain and stomach—neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine influence emotional well-being. The authors of Indigenous bacteria from the gut microbiota regulate host serotonin biosynthesis found many neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, are produced in the stomach. Duke Integrative Medicine states,
“…more than ninety percent of serotonin, a hormone that helps increase feelings of happiness, is made in the gut.”
The stomach also produces gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which helps regulate fear and anxiety.
Fight or Flight Response
When the body experiences stress, the fight or flight response is triggered. When this happens, the central nervous system decreases blood flow, which slows or stops digestion. The fight or flight response also impacts the functioning of neurotransmitters and hormones. The gastrointestinal specialists state,
“Stress can also cause an inflammation in your gastrointestinal system or even cause your esophagus to go into spasms and increase acid in your stomach, causing indigestion.”
Prolonged stress creates additional abdominal symptoms, such as diarrhea, bloating, cramping, and constipation. Also, stress triggers cortisol, which has been linked to weight gain.
More on Food and Emotions
It has also been found that 60 percent of individuals with Irritable Bowel Syndrome also meet anxiety criteria. Many people focus on mending physical symptoms and fail to focus on healing more than just physical symptoms. This often provides temporary relief to a more complex problem. The best optimal emotional functioning solution is a holistic approach that incorporates exploring multiple elements such as lifestyle choices, emotional congruence, and relational patterns.
Other emotions influence the brain and stomach in various ways. Food impacts the functioning of the stomach and the way emotions are experienced.
Good nutrition encourages the optimal functioning of the nervous system, which impacts our mind and stomach. Uma Naidoo, board-certified psychiatrist, nutrition specialist, a professionally trained chef, and author of This Is Your Brain on Food: An Indispensable Guide to the Surprising Foods that Fight Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, and More, shares the latest research linking food with mental health. She believes a sound diet can treat and prevent numerous psychological and cognitive health issues. Her book breaks down several presenting problems and offers practical advice on what to eat and what not to eat to influence optimal functioning. There are a few commonalities of what to eat and what not to eat amongst the different presenting problems. Let’s dig into what not to eat and what to eat for emotional wellness.
What Not To Eat
It is probably no surprise that research and Uma Naidoo reveal the Western diet as the worst thing to eat for emotional functioning. Researchers advise against the Western diet due to the inflammation process that occurs when the food is consumed. The authors of Food and mood: how do diet and nutrition affect mental wellbeing? explore the impact of inflammatory foods and state,
“…the inflammatory effects of a diet high in calories and saturated fat have been proposed as one mechanism through which the Western diet may have detrimental effects on brain health, including cognitive decline, hippocampal dysfunction, and damage to the blood-brain barrier. Since various mental health conditions, including mood disorders, have been linked to heightened inflammation this mechanism also presents a pathway through which poor diet could increase the risk of depression.”
Several other studies document similar findings.
The Western diet is characterized by high intakes of red meat, processed meat, pre-packaged foods, butter, sugar, fried foods, refined grains, potatoes, and corn. Check out the following graphic to learn more about the Western diet.
Eating a diet like the above image will increase inflammation in the body, which decreases the number of good bacteria in the stomach. When our stomach does not have good bacteria, the digestion and absorption of nutrients are impacted. When this is impacted, our mood is impacted. On the flip side, our mood can unbalance the digestion and absorption of nutrients. Finding a balance between healthy emotional expression and healthy food provides the best route to wellness.
What To Eat
In multiple sections of her book, Uma Naidoo recommends following the Mediterranean diet for improved mental health. The authors of Healthy dietary indices and risk of depressive outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies agree with Uma Naidoo and found people who followed a strict Mediterranean diet had a 33 percent lower risk of living with depression. Also, Natalie Parletta found participants who switched to a Mediterranean diet experienced a 45 percent reduction in symptoms associated with mental health conditions.
The Mediterranean diet is very different from the Western diet. According to the American Psychiatric Association,
“A Mediterranean-style diet generally emphasizes eating fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts, using olive oil, eating dairy products, fish and poultry in moderation, and limiting red meat and sweets. It also emphasizes getting plenty of exercise and enjoying meals with family and friends.”
Notice, key features of the Mediterranean diet include exercise and creating time for meaningful connections with people. If you would like to learn more about the Mediterranean diet, read this article by Oldways.
Overall, emotional wellness cannot be achieved through one medium. This means eating a Mediterranean-style diet will not completely shift emotional functioning. However, it provides one mechanism to influence change. For overall emotional well-being, focus on finding balance within life. Finding balance may take time and be challenging; however, the effort is worth the reward.
