

“You are what you eat.” We’ve all heard that before. You may have noticed that you feel better when you eat certain foods, but have you ever really thought about the fact that what you feed your gut directly affects your mental health? Science is beginning to understand that the foods we eat directly control how your mood and brain functions. That’s great news because it puts you back in control of your body and your mind with a few easy changes to your diet.
Your brain is your most valuable asset. It is always working for you. It controls your thoughts, movements, breathing, heartbeat, senses. It is working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with no vacations. That means what you fuel your brain with is vitally important. What you eat can directly impact your brain and its function. Studying how what you eat affects mood and other aspects of mental health is developing into a new science called Nutritional Psychiatry. This is an opportunity for clinicians to better help patients with alternative interventions for mental health issues. Many doctors do not routinely discuss nutritional choices with their patients beyond the normal “eat a healthy diet” advice. The science of nutritional psychiatry is helping to fill this void by exploring what foods are most beneficial for mental health.
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids – fatty fish, walnuts, olive oil
- Probiotics – yogurt, kefir, fermented vegetables such as sauerkraut, Korean kimchi, miso, tempeh, and pickled vegetables.
- Folate from leafy green vegetables – spinach, edamame, artichokes, okra, turnip greens, avocado, and broccoli
- Foods rich in Vitamin D – Alaskan pink salmon or sockeye salmon with bones, cheese, egg yolks, soymilk.
- Caffeine in moderation – approximately 1.5 cups of coffee a day or chai tea