How does diet affect mood?

  • Diet affects our physical and mental well-being and can contribute to bad moods.
  • Avoiding refined foods, alcohol, and sugars is key to maintaining a positive mood.
  • Balanced diets, including omega 3 and antioxidants, improve emotional state.
  • Moderate coffee consumption and a reduction in glutamate-containing foods are recommended to prevent mood swings.
Miriam

6 minutes

angry man, mood
At the table, as is known, we contribute not only to satisfying the palate and taste, but also to physical well-being and psychicSeveral studies have shown that there are some foods that could promote and increase bad mood. There is also talk of sudden mood swings that are objectively detrimental to overall health.
And on the contrary, subjects suffering from depression or prone to negative moods, sadness, anxiety could find in food a form of consolation, but nothing beneficial. In fact, in these psychological states there is a tendency to increase the quantities and not pay attention to the quality of the foods consumed.

What should we do to improve our mood?

The recommendations are generally Always tend to choose a healthy and varied diet, as well as appropriate for our lifestyle. Regardless of our mood, it's also important to consider which foods can be good for our mood, especially avoiding refined foods rich in fat, as well as fried foods and excess sugar, caffeine, and alcoholic beverages, which can cause sudden mood swings.

foods to avoid if we are in a bad mood

What foods should we avoid if we are in a bad mood?

There are foods that we should avoid if we are in a bad mood because they will only make us feel worse. They stand out among them:

  • Café.
  • Alcohol.
  • foods that contain glutamine and therefore glutamate.
  • Foods that contain tyramine, therefore sausages, red meats, processed meats or soy sauce.
  • Foods that contain fats rich in cholesterol and saturated fats.
  • Excess sugars and carbohydrates

Nutrition and its relationship with bad mood

The first category of foods that, perhaps surprisingly, exacerbate mood swings and promote depressive and negative states after an initial moment of excitement, are the sugars. A piece of dark chocolate is actually beneficial and increases endorphins, but overindulging in packaged foods, desserts rich in refined sugar as snacks and industrial cakes could have the opposite effect.

Glycemic peaks must also be taken into account, and sudden changes in glucose levels in the blood that promote bad mood and even depression. Foods containing tyramine, an amine derived from the amino acid tyrosine, present in sausages and red meat, should be considered in the same way.

Even high intake of glutamate -another amino acid that acts as an excitatory neurotransmitter, as well as a food additive used as a flavor enhancer present, for example, in sauces and stock cubes for cooking- can cause mood disturbance and worsening.

Foods that improve mood

But just as there are foods that can make us feel worse, there are also those that, unlike those listed so far, help counteract the stages of depression and promote a good mood. The most notable are:

  • Bananas: The content of B complex vitamins, mineral salts (especially potassium), probiotics and tryptophan help to relieve stress.
  • Dark chocolate: It contains prebiotics, antioxidants, and tryptophan, and stimulates the release of emotion-related hormones (endorphins, phenylethylamine, serotonin), acting as a natural antidepressant. But be careful, it must be pure dark chocolate.
  • Lentils: contain folic acid and magnesium, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (which reduces anxiety).
  • Cranberries: Rich in antioxidants and vitamins.
  • Nuts: they contain vitamin E, folic acid, magnesium, melatonin and omega 3. They reduce emotional tension and are natural neuroprotectors.
  • Sweet potato: increases levels of dehydroepiandrosterone and serotonin, the feel-good hormones.
  • Tomatoes: vitamins, phosphorus and potassium, are accompanied by lycopene, a true antidepressant.
  • Spinach: vitamin C and magnesium, favor the production of serotonin and dopamine, the hormones of good humor.
  • The yogurt It is rich in probiotics that stimulate the production of positive hormones.

What is the monosodium glutamate?

Monosodium glutamate is a enhancer of flavor, which is added to other flavors to avoid having to use them in high doses.

The ability flavoring glutamate is used by the food industry to enhance the flavor of stored products, meat, fish and some types of vegetables.

A few years ago a study was carried out in the United States in which a group of children were made to taste the thighs of chicken Fried treated with and without glutamate. Up to 95% of children expressed a preference for glutamate-enriched chickenIn fact, in our language there are receivers gustatory specific with a marked sensitivity to this substance; the recent discovery of its existence indisputably demonstrates the presence of a fifth taste, in addition to the classic quartet formed by sweet, salty, sour and bitter.

bananas-1642706_1920bananas and this in the mood

Ideal nutrition to improve our mood

  • Diet normocaloric and supervised by a specialist.
  • Moderate caffeine consumption.
  • Totally diet alcohol free.
  • Minimize the amounts of foods they contain histamine, glutamine, and tyramine.
  • That there is an adequate concentration of macronutrients.
  • rich in fatty acids essential omega3.
  • Consumption of vegetables, legumes, nuts, yogurt and extra virgin olive oil.
  • Diet low cholesterol and saturated fat.
  • Regular physical activity.

The ideal diet is always represented by Mediterranean diet, which includes the regular consumption of vegetables, nuts, extra virgin olive oil, fish, legumes and foods rich in antioxidants. Choose foods that contain good amounts of omega 3. The consumption of sweets should be limited, as well as that of packaged snacks and carbonated drinks.

Correlation between nutrition and depression

As we have seen, there is a correlation between diet and bad mood, but also depressive states. First of all, the hypocaloric diets They are an important risk factor for the development of depression, especially after taking anorectic drugs; this has negative effects on emotions and behavior.

Excessive consumption of café and alcohol Diet can also negatively impact depression, as there is a tendency to overuse it. Coffee, it should be noted, has a psychostimulant effect, and its effects on the nervous system (and therefore on depression) are evident.

The consumption of coffee is not prohibited, but should not exceed 2-3 cups a day, and never in the afternoon. It is considered to be harmful if it is taken after four in the afternoon, which is not true if one takes into account that the highest peak of its activity is four hours after ingesting it, then we rest worse and we it forms a vicious circle of tiredness and insomnia that ends up affecting the emotional state. In the same way, due to nervousness, excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages should not be consumed, since their disinhibiting action has negative effects on the emotional state of the depressed subject.


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