Did you know what you eat can have a huge effect on how you feel mentally and emotionally?

While it tends to be a common misconception that our bodies and minds work independently from each other, the truth is, they greatly impact each other more than you may realise. And it’s actually a 2-way street: what’s happening in your body can effect how you think and feel and how you think and feel can affect what’s happening in your body!

What you eat especially has the potential to either help balance your mood and calm your nervous system or trigger a panic attack and worsen depression. It’s a big subject, and highly nuanced according to the individual, but here a 5 common dietary no-no’s if you’re suffering from stress, anxiety or depression.

1. SUGAR

Oooh, how we love that sweet stuff! The odd treat is ok, but regular consumption of sugar can have a serious impact on your brain. Your brain does require glucose (a type of sugar) to run efficiently, but it needs it in slow, steady amounts. When you eat foods high in sugar, you get a sudden overdose and your body go into protection mode to get the excess sugar out of the blood-stream…except it goes a step too far and takes TOO much sugar out, resulting in a blood-sugar crash and then more cravings for sugar, and so the cycle begins.

Meanwhile your poor brain is lurching from having too much sugar to practically starving for fuel when you have a crash!  So, eating foods that release sugar slowly and steadily are key – natural, unprocessed foods with their fibre content still intact are best, along with some protein and healthy fats with each meal and snack. (Because it’s not just the powdered white stuff that is a problem, it’s any processed food where the removal of it’s natural fibre content has turned it into a high-sugar food: think white bread and most bakery products, fruit juices, and white rice for example and also some natural foods like honey and white potatoes are naturally high in sugar). A low GI diet is absolutely essential for a balanced nervous system.

2. ASPARTAME

I know what you’re probably thinking – sure, you can quit sugar, you can just switch to diet soda and put Equal or Nutra-Sweet in your coffee instead, right? Unfortunately….NO! Aspartame is a chemical sh*t-storm that has neuro-toxic effects and blocks the action of serotonin, a very important mood regulator. If you must have a sugar alternative try xylitol or stevia, they appear to be the safest options.

3. ALCOHOL

A a naturopath, I spend A LOT of time talking to people about their diets and lifestyle habits – and I commonly have patients who are feeling exhausted, anxious, blue and are having trouble sleeping who drink wine most nights to help them relax and unwind at the end of each day. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and also a sedative, so at first it can feel like alcohol is taking the edge off things. But very quickly you build up a tolerance to the de-stressing effects of alcohol and soon all you are left with are the depressing effects – including changes to serotonin and the quality of your sleep which can also worsen anxiety.

4. CAFFEINE
One of the reason’s caffeine helps you to feel focused and alert is because it switches on your fight/flight response, which is literally powered by your stress hormones. That morning cup o’ Joe is literally putting you into a stress-state, interfering with your sleep cycle and exacerbating anxiety and depression. Plus the diuretic effects of both coffee and black tea can prevent the absorption of key minerals required for optimum brain function.

5. GLUTEN

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, especially when it comes to gluten (Believe me, my partner’s from Italy, I’m definitely the black sheep when it comes to my in-laws). I love a nice buttery piece of toast or a flaky croissant as much as the next person, but the truth is, modern-day gluten, found in wheat, barley, rye and a few other grains is SO bad for you in SO many ways!

Gluten is an inflammatory protein, and modern-day wheat has been hybridized to contain 100s of times more of these inflammatory molecules than the bread that our grand-parents used to eat. These inflammatory proteins damage the lining of the gastro-intestinal tract and leak into the blood-stream (and travel to the brain as well as other areas!) where they wreak havoc.

Gluten sensitivity has been linked to many neurological disorders including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, autism, multiple sclerosis and dementia to name a few. That pizza doesn’t look too tasty after-all, now, does it! While grains should never be eaten in excess, occasional consumption of more ancient forms of wheat such as spelt and kamut are much better tolerated and are way lower in gluten than modern-day wheat.

So there you have it, taking care of your diet can greatly help your mood and emotions. If you’re suffering from chronic stress, anxiety and depression and you’d like a free 30 min 1:1 naturopathic consultation to get to the root of your symptoms, you can book one here.

And in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you – have you noticed a link between your mood and stress and what you’re eating? Please let us know!

And do you have a friend of loved one struggling with these issues at the moment? Share this post with them too, it could really help!