About This Episode

How Food Boost Mood

Episode 141

Food has a big impact on mood.  Why would that be? How does what you put in your mouth that goes down into your stomach affect all that’s going on in your brain? 

Mini medical school is going to be pretty intense today, so I thought I would turn the science into fiction.  No, I don’t mean the facts aren’t going to be true. I mean, fictional characters. To help you remember, you’re going to need to use your brain, but bring your imagination along too.

Carbohydrates are my dear friends. Well, some of them. You know, In every family, there are those people, you know how some people just make you feel good and others, not so much.

Dorothy is a donut.  We parted ways several years ago, but one day I walked into a meeting and there she was and before, you know, it, I ate the whole thing.  And it didn’t take long that I felt physically and emotionally drained.  But here’s the deal, that period of absence highlighted the contrast of how I feel when I eat good stuff versus pure junk. And maybe you’ve noticed, or maybe you  haven’t and maybe you just feel kind of bad all the time and you don’t really know why. So let’s talk about how certain foods affect mood and why. 

 Food affects mood by altering brain chemistry and hormone levels. Carbohydrates can  give you a real boost. But, their cousins can really bring you down. So let’s talk about the good side of the family first. Food rich in carbohydrates boost serotonin levels.

 The ol’ feel good neurotransmitter serotonin. We’re going to call her Sarah for short. Sarah Tonin affects mood sleep and appetite. She is an intriguing member of the neurotransmitter family who has  a significant impact, both on mental as well as physical health. Sarah is a happy girl because she regulates mood and makes you feel happy and have an overall sense of wellbeing. 

And she’s the one you’ll really miss when she’s not around. You may feel depressed or anxious. And Sarah’s family is a power family. In fact, Mel is another member of the tonin family, Did you know that Sarah tonin is a precursor to melatonin? So think of Sarah as Mel’s mother and you need both of them to get a good night’s sleep, Mel is related by marriage to the hormone family and his presence is highly influenced by light exposure. He regulates the sleep wake cycle. He squirts out of the pineal gland. 

Mel gets up every evening and tells your body it’s night, night time. He stays up most of the night and then he drops off in the morning.  At least that’s how it’s supposed to work. He keeps the bodies internal clock in sync making sure the circadian rhythm aligns with the sleep-wake cycle. And he serves on the antioxidant team as well, combating free radicals and reducing oxidative stress in the body.  To boost melatonin, you can eat things like tart cherries, grapes, nuts.  It’s also important to have good sleep hygiene. 

Let’s get back to Serotonin. Do you know where Sarah lives?  Did you say the brain? Well, I hate to tell you, but 90% of the body’s serotonin  is actually found in the gut, not the  brain. That may surprise you, but think about that gut brain connection.  That’s why upset emotions cause an upset tummy. 

And since her address is in the GI tract, she affects appetite and digestion all the way to the end of the street.  I’m talking about bowel movements. See, now you’ll remember all of this science of the neurotransmitters, Sarah Tonin. Speaking of learning and memory, Sarah affects those cognitive functions as well.

You know, Sarah is the type who can be all work and no play. Because high levels of serotonin can actually reduce sex drive. And that’s why some antidepressants which are called serotonin re-uptake inhibitors can kill your sex drive. It’s a balancing act for sure because you need Sarah to have a good sense of wellbeing, but too much can cause intimacy to take a back seat.  Diet can boost our sense of wellbeing by increasing serotonin levels, particularly foods rich in tryptophan. 

Sarah tends to run away when they’re stress or negative thinking, and that can be a vicious cycle.  Positive thinking and stress management, increase serotonin levels.

Now I’d like to introduce you to another member of the neuro-transmitter family. He is the most likable guy you ever wanted to meet. Dopamine is considered to be the reward neurotransmitter that makes you feel pleasure and motivation and helps with learning too. He’s a standup guy. But we still have to nickname him dope. You see, he has a big role in addiction. 

And when I say he motivates, I mean, he really motivates. It’s even if it’s for another hit of whatever lights you up. Since dopamine is associated with pleasure, it contributes to addictive behaviors. That can be a substance or an activity that is pleasurable. But it drives you to find that pleasure again and again, and that can lead to impulsivity to find more dope at all costs regardless of the consequences. When you participate in the fun and games, whether that’s eating, exercising, hanging out with those you love, Dope is there. He pushes us to take action and pursue goals so we can feel that reward. That can drive us to work harder or it can distort and cause us to go into an endless pursuit. 

Again, it’s a delicate balance. Dope keeps us focused, helps us pay attention. So we learn better and become more productive. He’s like a coach. And without dopamine you’ll feel depressed and anxious. He’s good to have around. Exercise can boost levels as well as sleep. And food can boost production. It’s like a well coordinated family picnic.

And if you think dopamine makes you high, I’d like to introduce you to another member of the neuro-transmitter family. Endorphins, let’s call her Endera. She comes around every single time there is stress or discomfort and tries to knock out your pain. It’s like she wants to be the fixer in the family. She’ll pump you up, make you feel great. She’ll even give you a feeling of euphoria when you exercise intensely. You’ve probably heard of a runner’s high even if you’ve never experienced it. But she also makes you relaxed to fix all that stress and anxiety. She also boost your immune system. So, where is this lovely lady and where can we find her. Like it or not exercise, the more intense, the better. 

Not ready to start running? Well, there’s another great way to bring Endera to the party and I’m talking about a good old belly laugh to crank out endorphins. You see, laughter really is the best medicine and Endera loves her some dark chocolate too, as well as spicy foods that contain capsaicin like chili peppers.  She’ll rush to your side if you get acupuncture because there’s a needle involved and she wants to fix your pain. And even if you’re averse to such things, just turn on your favorite playlist, Endera loves whatever music you love and  that’s why those tunes bump up your endorphin levels and help with mood. Endera the fixer releases endorphins to make you feel good, stay resilient in the face of challenge.

The last member of the neurotransmitter family I’d like to introduce you to is oxytocin. Oxytocin is the love hormone. We’ll just call her O for short, she wants us to stay emotionally connected and she’s a hormone too. She’s the glue of the family. She helps form strong bonds, both between parents and children, friends and lovers. The foundation of any relationship is trust. O brings out feelings of trust and empathy, which is important for social interaction to be more positive and rewarding. She calms us down and reduces anxiety and stress. O plays a critical role in childbirth too. She stimulates the uterus to contract and promote the release of breast milk.. She’s a lover, not a fighter. She likes touch any touch -hugging, holding hands, shaking hands, even a high five. All of those things release oxytocin. And this is going to make all the pooches happy, but petting your dog actually releases oxytocin.

You can boost O levels, by enjoying time with the people you love and having conversations that bring you closer together. Also do something for someone else and you both get a reward. Because doing acts of kindness, stimulates release of oxytocin. Stress tries to steal the joy that O brings. So learn relaxation and stress management techniques to keep her around. 

Now that I’ve introduced you to some of the members of the hormone family. Let’s meet the others. First is cortisol. Good old Cort. He gets a bad rap because you’ll find him wherever there is stress. He’s got a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. He lives in the adrenal glands and he shows up in an instant when he thinks there’s any kind of danger. He is the force behind the flight or fight response. He’s in charge of controlling your body’s metabolism and how fats and proteins and carbohydrates are used. His job also includes regulating the immune system and combating inflammation in the body. He knows how important blood flow is, so he’s super involved in regulating blood pressure and cardiovascular function, so we have the power to run or fight. We need him to survive, especially in stressful situations, but he can be a bit much. Chronic stress leads to persistently high levels of cortisol. Too much of Cort is not a good thing and it’s terrible for your physical health, contributing to heart disease, unwanted weight gain, GI problems, anxiety, and depression. He can wake you up all night long and make you sick by lowering  your body’s ability to fight off infection. He is a great guy and we need him, but a little goes a long way. You can get him to chill out by exercising and making sure you have good quality sleep. Managing him isn’t easy, but intentional relaxation and combating stress settles him down. And if you eat a balanced diet of whole foods, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains that keeps him from getting out of control too.  And O can help.

So make sure you’re tending to your social life and bonds with loved ones and O would  also like for you to meet another member of the sex hormone family. Estrogen.  We can call her Esther. I’m pretty sure you’ve met her before. And you know how much of an effect she can have on mood as well as energy levels and cognitive function. And when she gets on a roll, it can cause fluctuations in emotions as well as wellbeing. Her main role is to influence the development of a woman’s body during adolescence, then she controls the menstrual cycle during the reproductive years, and then she jumps off a cliff during menopause, but that’s one of those family stories we’ll talk about on another day. Esther can  be moody. I’m talking PMS, peri menopause. And all the things, female, but she’s a protector maintaining bone density and healthy cholesterol levels and supporting cardiovascular health. And she has a twin sister, but they aren’t identical. Her name is progesterone. And we’re going to call her Polly progesterone. She regulates periods and maintains pregnancy. And that’s a lot of Ps.

She also helps balance moody Esther by calming her down and trying to control her mood swings. She promotes better sleep and is just naturally sedating. We like her a lot because she helps maintain skin elasticity.  Now to balance these two wild sisters eat a balanced diet rich in nutrients. Foods high in omega three fatty acids control their behavior especially well, think flax seeds, chia, seeds, and walnuts. And you can add those to oatmeal and smoothies. Exercise. Is another good way to reign them in. And even if they smell stress, they’ll go crazy and drive you there too. And of course don’t skimp on good sleep because they throw everything out of balance and they’ll eat you alive without good sleep. 

The twins have a brother too, his name is testosterone. We’re going to call him Rone. You probably think of Rone as being a male hormone. And while it’s true that he turns boys into men, he is also found in women, it’s just in smaller amounts. Rone can increase energy, motivation and overall mood. He’s buff, and supports muscle mass and strength and bone density. He can be a lover and a fighter.  It’s important in libido for both men and women.  

And the last baby in the hormone family is insulin.   We’ll call her Sully. She regulates blood sugar, brain function and mood. And she’s tried for years to get along with Dorothy. You remember sweet, sweet, Dorothy.  She makes you crash and leaves you feeling sluggish and irritable.  And Sully is really just a peacemaker, always trying to control blood sugar and make sure it gets into the cells for energy. If Sully doesn’t work properly then the body doesn’t move sugar out of the bloodstream the way it’s supposed to, and then we develop diabetes.  Sweet Dorothy and all of her sugary friends can sneak up on you and ruin your day. But here’s the deal. If you consume sugar regularly, you  might not even realize that sugar and other simple carbohydrates. are what’s causing that quick sugar spike. 

You eat your biscuit  and jelly and it goes up and then you get a sharp drop, then a crash and this rollercoaster of emotions can cause mood swings, irritability and fatigue. We talked about hangry last week.  Not only that, but a high sugar intake can cause increased inflammation in the body and that’s been linked to mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. So we can all agree that chronic inflammation is not good for your brain.  Think about some antioxidant rich foods like berries, all kinds of berries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. And remember good old dark chocolate. It’s gotta be at least 70% cocoa to maintain the antioxidant content. 

And then those nuts, like walnuts, pecans, and almonds. As well as spinach and other dark. Leafy green vegetables like kale and Swiss chard, and lots of beans and artichokes for their antioxidant properties. 

These are feel good foods. Unlike Dorothy. Dorothy sugar gives you a hit of dopamine. Well don’t we like that. Yeah, but like everything else, the pleasure is temporary followed by dip, then cravings. And this is why sugar is such a vicious cycle and can be as addictive as any drug. These types of foods aren’t good for you. 

And they’re often nutrient poor. And replacing in your diet, what could be nutrient dense foods. The standard American diet includes a lot  of sugar. And sugar before bed can affect sugar plums dancing in your head because sleep quality is affected in a negative way by sugar too. And that certainly contributes to mood disorders, including anxiety  and depression. But let’s get back to insulin.  Natural ways to increase insulin are a balanced diet with low-glycemic index think fruit. And regular physical activity. improves insulin sensitivity and helps maintain a healthy weight.

Foods high in antioxidants include foods that have omega-3 fatty acids because they combat that inflammation. That’s linked to mood disorders like depression. So are leafy greens, fatty fish, nuts, seeds, berries, dark chocolate, whole grains, legumes and bananas. They’re all rich in vitamins and tryptophan, which is a precursor to serotonin. 

Remember the feel good neurotransmitter serotonin.  It’s also found in avocados, which contain healthy fats and vitamin B6, which can improve mood and brain function. 

If you didn’t get a chance to listen to last week’s podcast.,I talked about the gut brain connection. You see. What you put in your tummy affects what happens in your head, and what happens in your head affects your mood. 

So eat good food to have a good mood and. And be happy and be healthy because healthy looks great on.     

Resources:

Why is sleeping so hard?

Good mood foods

Stress management episode

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