How your diet affects your mood!
As of 2019, major depression is listed as the number 2 most costly chronic illness in the US. Depression and anxiety often go hand in hand. Most of us know that stress, lack of sleep, busy lives and trauma are common triggers to unstable mood patterns.
However, did you know how much the foods you eat could affect this as well?
Some of us cope with these above triggers by choosing comfort foods high in low quality fat and processed sugar- oh the sugar! After all- these foods do cause a temporary rush of feel good dopamine released in the brain causing the body to enjoy the experience. It’s quick, easy, and the more you eat the more you crave. However, these foods will lead to chronic gut inflammation. Besides the end result of physical symptoms such as acid reflux, bloating, gas and irregular stools, there are emotional repercussions as well. This is due to the fact that MOST of the body’s serotonin, another happy hormone, is produced in the gut. That’s right!
Many depression and anxiety meds work to force our bodies to hold on to our serotonin where it can, thus improving the mood, but not necessarily addressing the root of the problem.
Food sensitivities, allergies and treatable intestinal gut infections also cause damage to our gut. So even when we are eating plenty of veggies, fruits and a generally healthy diet, inflammation can still be happening- check out this interesting explanation of “Leaky Gut”.
This is one of the reasons why the Functional Medicine providers at Inspired Health explore the gut so thoroughly.
By being aware of what is going on in the gut, eating the right foods for our bodies and healing the inflammation, we can greatly improve our mood!
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”
Hippocrates
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