International Day of Happiness: Can food affect mood?

How does mood affect our daily life?

These days, we don’t prioritize our happiness as much as we deserve. We don’t often look at how our mood can be affecting our lives, but maybe it’s about time we did. The connection between our mental health and our physical health is strong. Our mood can affect us in so many ways – from our brain and our body to the relationships we have with our loved ones.  

What is the connection between mood and food?

Using food as an occasional treat or reward isn’t such a bad thing. Food should be celebrated! But, when we start to habitually use food as a coping strategy, rather than tackling the issue at hand, problems occur and we can quickly find ourselves stuck [2]. Enter - the mood-food cycle:

 

When we’re emotionally eating, we’re not usually physically hungry. More likely, we’re eating to dampen how we feel. We often reach for high calorie, high fat or sweet foods that create a temporary satisfaction. Soon after, once we’ve realized what we’ve done, we experience negative feelings, like guilt and shame. 

So, how can we break the cycle?

Here’s a few things we can do:  

 

Can food raise our mood?

How about the other way around? Does what we eat affect our mood? The answer, in short, is yes. It does. Let’s delve into the details:  

1. Eat regularly - the more regular our meals are, the more stable our blood sugar levels.   
2. Slow-release carbs – complex, high fiber carbs like wholegrain bread, brown rice and oats, move slowly through the digestive system, resulting in a more graduate blood sugar rise.  
3. Eat protein – protein also moves slowly through the digestive system. When combined with carbs, it can help dampen the impact on our blood sugar levels.  
4. Eat a rainbow – eating a wide variety of fruit and veg provides us with the nutrients our bodies need to stay happy [2]. If you’re replacing most of your meals with exante shakes, don’t worry. They’re all enriched with all the essentials, so you can lose weight whilst getting all the vitamins and minerals your body needs!  
5. Cut down on caffeine – too much caffeine can make us feel anxious or depressed and can also stop us getting a good night’s sleep. Need a replacement? Have you tried our BOOST drinks, enriched with green tea for a more natural boost of energy?  
6. Fiber – fiber loves our gut! Not only is it digested slowly, but it also helps keep things moving – if you know what we mean? The happier we are on the inside, the happier we are on the outside [3].  
7. Intolerance – sometimes our bodies don’t react well with certain foods. If you experience this, it’s worth checking with a registered nutritionist or dietitian to rule out any concerns.