We know that food helps fuel our bodies to maintain our physical health, but what about our mental health? Your food choices may impact your mood or brain health. Amber Lehman Myers is an outpatient therapist with Avera Behavioral Health and explains the connection between your diet and your mental health.
How can food affect a person’s mental health?
When we are under stress our body goes into a fight or flight or freeze mode and when we have more stress that goes from being a short-term stressor to a more chronic stressor, our body just craves more fat, high carbs, high sugar food. When we are stressed, we don’t take time to go to grocery shop, we don’t take time to cook, we just go to the next gas station or drive thru or whatever is convenient which leads to more issues.
Read more: 10 ways to improve your mood with food
Can anxiety or depression be linked to how or what I eat?
There are some studies on binge eating and people that binge eat are 15 times more likely to have depression and five times more likely to have anxiety. It can be where some people can overeat when they are stressed or undereat. Sugary beverages are also known to increase depression and anxiety so that’s something to be mindful of, too.
What can my eating habits tell me about my mental health?
Recognizing our hunger cues that maybe I’m thirsty or I’ve been so busy all day that I haven’t eaten so maybe I need to eat and then maybe that will help us feel less anxious or depressed. Some people, if they eat late at night then their glucose drops in the middle of the night which causes them to wake up which can also lead to anxiety and depression and not having a good night's sleep. People find that a food log can be beneficial for them; for other people it increases anxiety and so sometimes it’s something to think about and if you’re not quite ready, filing it back in your mind for a later time. It’s not just the calorie count but about having the actual nutrition in your system that can help with mental health and our mood.
Learn about behavioral health services at Avera
