Food & Mood

Download our Factsheet on Food and Mood
Eating well can improve your health
The Feeding Minds report
Stressors and Supporters
Making a start
It's all in the planning
Take it slowly
Enjoy yourself
Further Information

Eating well can improve your health

The old adage ‘you are what you eat’ may be more important than we think. According to a report Feeding Minds, produced by the Mental Health Foundation in 2005, ‘what we eat (and drink) affects how we think and feel every day of our lives’. Healthy eating reduces the chance of suffering from a range of physical illnesses, including cancer and heart disease, and also affects mental well-being. Eating well gives you more energy, improves your self-esteem and can be enjoyable. A survey by the Food and Mood Project found of 200 participants, 88% reported that changing their diet improved their mental health significantly.

The Feeding Minds report

Most of the research on diet and Depression treatment has focussed on adding dietary supplements to standard antidepressants rather than relying on diet as a treatment on its own.  The ‘complementary medicine’ section of this website goes into this in considerably more detail. The Mental Health Foundation’s Feeding Minds report, to be found on their website (see further sources of information below) makes fascinating reading. There are some specific areas that seem particularly relevant for people experiencing Depression. The report highlights changes to our diet in recent years in how our foods are processed and refined. This means what we are eating daily can be very different in content to the same food eaten by previous generations. For example, the diets and management of chickens has changed their carcass from a 2% fat to 22% fat. Their present diet is of reduced omega-3 and increased omega-6, yet unequal intakes of both of these are implicated in a number of mental health problems, including Depression, and concentration and memory problems. This is a staggering fact, as this is a food that we commonly believe to be healthy!

In addition, people in the UK eat 59% less fish than they did 60 years ago. Yet we know that the low consumption of fish can have an effect on mental health.

Stressors and Supporters

Amanda Geary of the Food and Mood project identified that some foods can be "stressors" on your body, which can have a negative effect on your mood, while other foods are "supporters". Which foods affect you varies between individuals, but here are some common stressors and supporters

Food Stressors

• Sugar - raw or in foods.
• Caffeine - found in tea, coffee and fizzy diet drinks
• Alcohol
• Chocolate.
• Some wheat-containing foods, such as white bread, biscuits, cakes and various cereals.
• Additives, such as E colourings, found in many processed foods (check their labels).
• Dairy, such as milk, butter, cheese and eggs.
• Saturated fats, found in food like bacon and other fried items.

Food Supporters

• Water.
• Vegetables, such as carrots, broccoli and swede.
• Fruit, such as bananas and tomatoes.
• Oil-rich fish, such as salmon, herring, pilchards, mackerel, trout (rainbow), sardines, dogfish,
  shrimp, crab and fresh tuna. If you buy tinned fish, check the label, as the processing may
  have reduced these important oils.
• Wholegrains, such as wholegrain bread or pasta.

Making a start

Here are some pointers to help you start improving your diet:

• Discuss your eating and drinking and any changes you feel need to be made with your
  GP, practice nurse or dietician.
• Eat breakfast. A good healthy breakfast will set you up for the day.
• Keep a food diary. Write down everything you eat and drink and include the emotions you are
  feeling. This will help you to see more clearly which foods have an effect on your mood; and
  to identify which foods are your stressors and supporters.
• Eat at least 3 meals a day, at regular intervals, to prevent your blood sugar from getting too low.
  Low blood sugar can cause mood swings, irritability, fatigue and cravings for sugary foods.
• IInclude protein with every meal. Protein contains a good source of the mood enhancing
  tryptophan, an essential amino acid which is converted into serotonin - a brain chemical
  which can be low in people affected by Depression. Protein foods include meat, fish,
  beans, lentils, eggs and cheese. Eating complex carbohydrates, such as wholegrains and oats,
  can help the tryptophan reach your brain.
• Eat oil-rich fish at least once a week to get Omega 3s. If you are a vegetarian or don't like
  fish, Omega 3s are also found in Linseed (flax) oil or you can buy supplements from
  health food shops or online.
• Cut down on salt (eat no more than 6g a day).
• Eat plenty of fruit and veg.
• Drink plenty of water. Current recommendations suggest you should drink 2.5 litres a day.
• Reduce your intake of drinks containing caffeine and alcohol, which can dehydrate you, cause stress and anxiety, and disrupt your sleep.
• If you think that certain types of food, such as wheat, caffeine, gluten or sugar, could be having a negative effect on you, experiment with cutting down. Note the results in your food diary. Be gentle
  with yourself and don't cut everything out at once, as this will give your body a huge shock.

It's all in the planning

Plan meals in advance, so you are less likely to just grab the nearest meal or takeaway. If you don't have much time during the week, why not spend some time cooking at the weekend and freeze the meals to give yourself healthy ready meals!

Take it slowly

Introduce a few changes at a time to help your body adjust. Don't just stop some foods. For
example, eggs are dairy, which can be a food stressor for some people, but also contain tryptophan, which can be helpful for others. Use your food diary to work out what helps you and what doesn't. It's not about a 'diet' so much as a plan to introduce healthy balanced eating.

Enjoy yourself

Eating healthily is not meant to be a punishment. Enjoy food! Find new ways of preparing and eating healthy alternatives. Find out about locally produced organic foods. Go to farmers markets or farm shops and see what is available. If you are not confident cooking, think about learning. Buy a beginners' cook book or attend an evening course. If you burn your first attempt, throw it out and try again!

According to the Feeding Minds report, benefits in improved mood and mood swings can be shown within a few weeks. Good luck and bon appetite!

Further sources of information

Mental Health Foundation Food and Mental Health Campaign    Changes to our diet in the last fifty years or so are thought to be an important factor behind recent trends in mental health and mental illness. This is a campaign to increase awareness and understanding of the links between food and mental health, and to press for shifts in policy and practice as a result.

Food and Mood Project    Dietary self-help for emotional and mental health.

Brain Bio Centre/Patrick Holford    Patrick Holford is the author of "Optimum Nutrition for the Mind". Note this is a commercial site but it does have free information and articles some may find useful.

Stirling Health and Wellbeing Alliance    Healthy living centre. The aim of Stirling Health & Well-being Alliance is to empower people to improve their health & well-being and to tackle health inequalities.

British Dietetic Association    This website has a section called ‘latest food facts’ which contains many downloadable fact sheets including information on healthy snacks, packed lunches, fruit & veg, omega-3 fatty acids, fluid intake, and whole grains.

Take Life On    Take life on one step at a time. Find out how to be healthier and feel better!

Radiant Recovery    Website by Kathleen Desmaisons, the author of "Potatoes Not Prozac", a food plan to improve your mood and beat sugar addiction. Information on this site is mostly free although there is a commercial element.