Download The Mood-Food Connection - Wild Oats Natural Foods, Bristol

Food = mood connections
Ups and downs in life are pretty inevitable. Handling rocky times and even avoiding daily highs and lows
through what we eat and don’t eat has become a major topic of interest.
This short article will look at 3 aspects of food and brain connection we may not automatically think of.
‘Basically diet can bring about changes in our brain structure (chemically and physiologically), which can lead
to altered behaviour.’ [1]
There is more and more evidence that the steep hike in sugars, refined grain products and reduced fat coupled
with far less fresh produce, compromised gut bacteria or ‘dysbiosis’ and the demands of a stressful life
influence our moods and behaviour.
The Little Critters – more crucial than we thought...
We have 10 times more bacteria than cells in our body, 3-5 pounds in weight, living in delicate balance in our
‘microbiome’. New studies are indicating that bacteria in the gut are doing far more than digesting food and
maintaining a healthy immune system.
Studies are showing that what we eat can alter the composition and products of the gut flora. In particular,
that people with high vegetable and fibre based diets have a different gut environment from people who eat
the more typical Western diet that is high in sugar and carbohydrates,' [senior author Dr. Emeran] Mayer says,
'Now we know that this has an effect not only on metabolism but also affects brain function.’ [2]
A new study showed an ‘anxious mouse’ and a ‘calm mouse’ reversed their behaviour when samples of their
gut flora were swapped! In another study of MRI brain scans showed that simply live probiotic yogurt may
help. Of 65 women in the trial, those who had the live yogurt showed a marked functional improvement in a
key area linked with processing emotions when faced with a ‘stressful task’ over the women who had a
placebo. It’s looking like mood can be improved by altering the dominant strains in the gut. [3]
Another issue is the gut lining itself. The lining of the gut is a permeable mucosal membrane which requires
continual repair. Heavily processed, man-made foods (pizza, burgers, sweets and cakes) present a real problem
for many people. Over-taxed immune cells present in the gut to protect us from outside invaders become
over-reactive and create inflammation and digestive upset. Research is ongoing into the link between gut
permeability and the blood-brain barrier, and depression and behavioural issues.
So look after your tummy. Eat many and fresh vegetables and naturally fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir,
kombucha or try a booster supplement of probiotics.
Don't Banish Carbs -- Just Choose 'Smart' Ones
One connection between ‘good’ carbohydrates and mood involves the amino acid Tryptophan. Serotonin,
known as a mood regulator, is made naturally in the body from Tryptophan with some help from the B
vitamins and magnesium. Foods thought to increase serotonin levels in the brain include fish, cottage cheese
and vitamin D.
However Tryptophan is notoriously hard to get into the bloodstream from protein sources as it seems to be
overshadowed by other amino acids. You can, however, boost your levels by eating more of the ‘good’ carbs
like fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains, which also contribute important nutrients and fibre.
Just as you have neurons in your brain, you also have neurons in your gut and they produce neurotransmitters
like Serotonin. In fact, the greatest concentration of Serotonin is found in your intestines, not your brain. It’s
quite possible that this might be one reason why anti-depressants, which raise serotonin levels in your brain,
are often ineffective in treating depression, whereas dietary changes often help considerably.
Next we can think of sugar and the carb connection. All carbs break down to sugars – it’s the rate they do so
which is important.
Sweetened refined flour products break down to sugars rapidly. Think of children at a birthday party gorging
on cake. The sugar in their bodies and brains suddenly shoots up, they get hyperactive then they over-produce
insulin to deal with the sugar, and blood and brain sugar drop abruptly. The children get cranky and irritable,
and their parents take them home. The same happens to adults, only our reactions are more contained.
One of the more recent theories that add to sugar’s impact on your mood and mental health is the connection
with chronic inflammation. Sugar triggers a cascade of chemical reactions in your body that suppresses
appropriate immune responses and promotes inflammation. In the long term, inflammation chronically
disrupts the normal functioning of your immune system and wreaks havoc on your brain. Once again, it’s
linked to a greater risk of depression and brain function. [6]
Fat-tastic!
We need fat. Increasing evidence links reduced fat and fat-free diets with mood disruption and depression. Fat
is a vital component of all cell membranes, particularly nerve cells and of course, the brain. Refined vegetable
oils are damaged fats that can eventually harm the brain. This is a massive subject in its own right and so I will
be brief here.
Nutritional fats are virgin organic coconut oil, organic butter, avocados, olive, hemp, flax oils, grass-fed and
wild meats, wild fish, nuts and seeds. These fats will not cause heart disease or weight gain. We have been told
by health officials that eating fat makes you fat. Science doesn’t support that. [4]
Omega-3 fats are called essential fats because they can’t be manufactured within the human body and
therefore it is essential that you get them in your diet. The richest dietary source is from oily fish such as
salmon, sardines, mackerel, pilchards, herring, trout and fresh but not tinned tuna. Surveys have shown that
the more fish the population of a country eats the lower is their incidence of depression. There are two key
types of omega-3 fats, EPA and DHA and the evidence suggests that it’s the EPA which seems to be the most
potent natural anti-depressant. [5]
In some trials the average improvement in depression was approximately double that shown by antidepressant drugs, without the side-effects. This may be because omega 3’s help to build synaptic connections
(nerve cell links) as well as the receptor sites for neurotransmitters; therefore, the more omega-3s in your
blood, the more serotonin you are likely to make and the more responsive you become to its effects.
Another thought
Low mood and feeling isolated or lonely often come together. Look up when out walking... Tilting the head
slightly upwards triggers production of Dopamine in the midbrain. This neurotransmitter is associated with
get-up-and-go and a positive outlook. Make happy, inspiring, encouraging future plans, however small or
grand, near or far, and above all always have something to look forward to.
References, resources and interesting articles:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
www.foodforthebrain.org
https://www.moodcure.com/good_mood_foods.html
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-blog/food-and-mood/bgp-20056183
articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22
http://realfoodforager.com/gluten-may-compromise-the-blood-brain-barrier/
6.
http://www.alternet.org/food/grain-brain-are-gluten-and-carbs-wrecking-our-brains-and-our-health
7.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/20/gut-brain-connection.aspx
By Allie Burdet, Advisor at Wild Oats