Try Some New Foods That Have Been Linked With Improving Your Mood Tara Parker-Pope - The New York Times
go to original January 26, 2022

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It’s time to start feeding your brain.

For years research on healthy eating has focused primarily on physical health and the link between diet, weight and chronic disease. But the emerging field of nutritional psychiatry studies how foods can make us feel.

“Many people think about food in terms of their waistlines, but it also impacts our mental health,” said Dr. Uma Naidoo, a Harvard psychiatrist and the director of nutritional and lifestyle psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. “It’s a missing part of the conversation.”

The connection between the stomach and the brain is strong, and it starts in the womb. The gut and brain originate from the same cells in the embryo, says Dr. Naidoo. One of the main ways the brain and gut remain connected is through the vagus nerve, a two-way chemical messaging system that explains why stress can trigger feelings of anxiety in your mind and butterflies in your stomach.

Food can also influence the state of your microbiome, and some species of gut microbes have been linked to higher rates of depression. Even the brain chemical serotonin, which regulates mood, has a strong gut connection. Only 5 percent of your body’s serotonin is made in the brain; the rest is made, stored and active in the gut, said Dr. Naidoo, author of the new book, “This Is Your Brain on Food.”

Nutritional psychiatrists say food shouldn’t replace other treatments for mental health, including therapy and prescription drugs, but it shouldn’t be ignored either. A number of studies have suggested that dietary changes can lead to meaningful improvements in mood and mental well-being.

“We have to eat; it’s a basic need,” said Dr. Naidoo, who is also a professional chef and instructor at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. “And food is also a very powerful lever in terms of our mental health.”

Try the Eat Well Challenge

Tara Parker-Pope helps you reshape your eating habits for lifelong health with a five-week program.

Week 1: Train Your Brain. Mindfulness and intuitive eating techniques can support positive changes. Try these exercises before your next meal.

Week 2: Own Your Cravings. Constant restriction and attempts at distraction can actually backfire. Learn strategies to help you accept these urges.

Week 3: Break the Diet Cycle. Food slip-ups can make us eat more, leading to yet another diet. Avoid the “what-the-hell” effect with intuitive eating mini-challenges.

Week 4: Eat Brain Foods. About 20 percent of everything we eat goes to the brain. Try some new foods that have been linked with improving your mood.

To receive new installments of the Eat Well Challenge in your email inbox every Monday, sign up for the Well Newsletter.

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