The Connection between Food and Your Mood

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After you eat lunch, you may feel sleepy. That is because your blood sugar levels which rise after you eat, suppress orexin, a brain chemical responsible for feeling alert. When you are really hungry and your blood sugar is low, more primitive regions in the brain start taking charge and you are more likely to become impatient, irritable and angry. But blood-sugar fluctuations are only the beginning of the food-mood connection. The quality and the quantity of the nutrients available in our food also affect our emotional resiliency and stability.

Nearly 21 million Americans have mood disorders and about 40 million have anxiety disorders. We see a lot of impatient, aggressive and unfriendly people around us. Somehow we have become a Bad Mood Nation. At the same time there has been a steady nutritional erosion of the standard American diet. We have become more dependent on fast food loaded with sugars, refined carbs and empty calories. Could this have affected not just our bodies but also our moods?

It turns out our moods, like our bodies simply do better with fresh whole foods that provide a variety of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and healthy omega 3-fats. What we eat affects everything from our production of neurotransmitters and hormones to our energy levels and the quality of our synaptic connections – all of which can determine how well we respond to the demands and stressed of daily living.

Neurotransmitters- our brain chemicals are our mood regulators. Some such as serotonin and gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) help calm us. Dopamine helps stimulate us. Having the right balance of various neurotransmitters available helps ensure that our mood and responses are appropriate to the given situation. The food you eat affects the neurotransmitters the brain produces.

Proteins like fish, chicken, meat, eggs, nuts and legumes, provide chemicals known as amino acids. These form the foundation of our neurotransmitters. From there, via a series of enzymatic reactions, vitamins and minerals help convert amino acids into the neurotransmitters that our brains use to regulate mood.

The neurotransmitter Serotonin helps keep your mood upbeat. It is made from tryptophan, an essential amino acid found in fish, eggs, chicken, meat and turkey. Iron, zinc, and vitamins B3, B6 and C help facilitate the enzymatic reactions that convert tryptophan to serotonin.

GABA helps your brain stay focused and calm by filtering out extraneous information. The amino acid glutamine is the principal building block of GABA and it is found in halibut, brown rice, legumes and spinach. Vitamins B3, B6 and B12 work in enzyme reactions to convert glutamine to GABA.

Dopamine is the most powerful stimulating neurotransmitter. It is responsible for the many highs you may feel. The brain converts tyrosine found in protein to dopamine with the help of folic acid, vitamin B6, zinc and magnesium. Extra tyrosine can be found in almonds, avocados, dairy products and pumpkin and sesame seeds.

The healthy omega-3 fatty acids found in cold water fish are essential for normal brain function and mood regulation. The brain needs omega-3 for normal brain developments in infants, for maintaining balanced moods throughout life and for moderating aggressive behavior. Omega-3 and other healthy fat acids help improve neurotransmitter activity by assisting brain cells plasticity and reducing inflammation that can damage brain cells.

Most daily mood issues are a result of stress and bad eating habits. Stress boosts levels of epinephrine (adrenaline) and other stimulating neurotransmitters while suppressing calming ones. This shift is made worse if our eating habits tend to slide when we are stressed. Skipping meals, or consuming more caffeine, sugar or fast food meals, can not only affect our blood sugar levels; it can also provide little in the way of high quality protein, vitamins or minerals. The food puts stress on the body and demand metabolic resources without offering any benefit in return.

The same general dietary habits recommended for good general health and heart health are the guidelines to better mood management and emotional resilience. Opt for foods rich in protein, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. These are all the ingredients you need for making neurotransmitters. Eating these foods will limit your intake of calorie dense sugary and starchy processed foods that offer little nutritional value.

Eat a protein rich breakfast such as eggs and whole grain toast or fresh fruit. Skipping breakfast or eating a bagel can affect your blood sugar levels and leave you more sensitive to stress. Eat regular meals that include high quality proteins. This will keep your sugar stable and give you the building blocks you need to make neurotransmitters.

When you cook foods, cook lightly by stir-frying or sautéing. Overcooking can alter the protein structure. Avoid fast foods like burgers, fries and fried chicken. Also stay away from microwave meals that are high in sugars, sugar-like refined carbs and unhealthy trans fats. You should also stay away from soft drinks as the sugary ones can affect blood sugar. The ones sweetened with aspartame can negatively affect neurotransmitters according to some researchers. Go easy on coffee.

A diet rich in whole fresh foods should be the basis of your nutritional foundation. Taking a high-potency multivitamin or B-complex vitamin can be helpful in filling any dietary shortfalls. Make sure the supplement contains about ten times or 1,000 percent of the recommended daily value for vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B6 since they play important roles in the synthesis of mood-regulating neurotransmitters.

Consider if your current mood status deserves some attention and when you eat do not forget that you are feeding your body and your brain, so watch what you feed them.

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