Everyone knows that eating well-balanced, nutritious meals is essential to staying fit and physically healthy. However, many people do not realize the true extent to proper nutrition, or lack thereof can impact the quality of one’s mental health. Regularly eating food full of fat and processed sugars can decrease one’s energy and impede their ability to focus. It can even impact things like mood, sleep, and performance at work or school. However, perhaps most importantly, a poor diet can cause and worsen mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. If you feel like your mental health is suffering and don’t know why it may be worth looking at the types of food you’re eating and investing the time to learn how to prepare nutritious meals. 

How Diet Can Affect Mental Health 

• Do you find yourself surviving on coffee all day and not eating a proper meal until you get home from work? This could be what is causing you to feel irritable and tired throughout the day. 
• Consuming healthy food promotes the growth of good bacteria throughout the body. This, in turn, ensures that neurotransmitter production within the brain is functioning properly. Proper neurotransmitter production will positively affect your overall mood. 
• Eating too much junk food can lead to inflammation, which can prevent neurotransmitter production from acting as intended. This can cause your mood to plummet. 
• Eating too much sugar throughout the day can lead to a spike in the production of a chemical called dopamine within the brain. Dopamine is known as the feel-good hormone that helps to regulate one’s mood. Unfortunately, when you overeat sugar, you’ll later experience a crash that can be disastrous for your overall mood. 
• There is an important relationship between the gut and the brain. When unhealthy foods are introduced to one’s diet, the good bacteria within the gut are disrupted. The inflammation that occurs, as a result, can lead to depression and anxiety. 

Ways to Change Your Diet to Improve Your Mental Health 

You don’t need to implement major changes within your diet to enjoy some positive mental health results. You can start simply by slowly introducing new, nutrient-rich foods into your meals each day. If you’re wondering what foods to look for the next time you go grocery shopping or plan what to make for dinner, consider the following. 

• Include more whole foods. Whole food is considered to still be in its natural form without having been preserved or processed. Some examples include unprocessed meat, eggs, fish, nuts, and of course fruits and vegetables. Because these foods are not full of chemicals, they are less likely to cause anxiety or depression.
• Look for foods that are high in fiber. High-fiber foods can help the body process glucose more productively, preventing crashes in energy. 
• Try to include as much Vitamin D as possible. Vitamin D helps with the production of serotonin, another feel-good hormone that can help regulate your mood. Some examples of foods high in Vitamin D include salmon, tuna, egg yolk, and swordfish. If you want to kick your Vitamin D intake up a notch, you may even consider adding a supplement to your diet. 
• Ensure you’re eating plenty of foods that are high in magnesium. Magnesium is essential for nerve and muscle function as well as heart health. Additionally, it can help prevent poor gut health that triggers symptoms of anxiety and depression. 
• Include a variety of vegetables and fruits within your diet. They aren’t just important to stay physically healthy, but they contain valuable vitamins and minerals that your brain needs to continue to operate at its fullest capacity. 
• Avoid drinking too much caffeine. This can lead to anxiety, restlessness, and problems sleeping. 
• Make sure that you’re staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day. This can help regulate your mood, improve your energy levels, and increase your ability to concentrate. 
• Ensure that you include protein with every meal. If you don’t have enough protein throughout the day, you’ll find yourself consistently hungry and more likely to turn to processed foods that can be detrimental to your mental health. 

Taking Small Steps to Improve Your Diet

Consider trying out the following small steps to ensure you’re eating more nutritious meals. 

• Meal prep at the start of the week
• Prepare a list of foods and carry it with you while grocery shopping
• Never grocery shop on an empty stomach 
• Try cooking more at home as opposed to going out
• Speak with a dietician to come up with meal plans that are right for you

While it is common knowledge that eating healthy, nutritious meals is vital to prevent weight gain and stay physically fit, not everyone realizes the real and powerful influence that diet has on one’s mental health. If you have found you’re often feeling sluggish or if your symptoms of anxiety and depression have recently worsened and you don’t know why you may consider changing up your diet. To ensure that your mental health is the best, make sure you’re staying hydrated, avoid too much caffeine, include as much Vitamin D as possible, and eat as many whole foods as possible. You may also want to consider meal prepping at the beginning of the week, planning out your grocery lists ahead of time, and speaking with a dietician. At Achieve Concierge, we want to ensure you are able to enjoy the best mental health possible. Call (858) 221-0344 today to learn more.