What we eat doesn't just affect us phsyically – it can have a huge impact on our mental wellbeing, too. Improving our diets may help to lift our moods and ease anxiety, give us more mental resilience and increase our ability to think more clearly. Here’s a roundup of the foods and eating habits that can help to boost your mental health – and those that can make you feel worse.
Click or scroll through our gallery to find out how what you eat can affect your mood – and how to eat yourself happy.
Banning foods from your diet and obsessing over every calorie will all add stress, rather than joy, to your life. Instead, try to avoid being swayed by every passing diet trend. According to UK registered dietician Helen Bond, many fad diets call for cutting out food groups, which makes our diets less enjoyable and means we miss out on nutrients, leading to a negative effect on mood.
Basing your meals around healthier, slower-releasing carbohydrates is a key way to boost your mental wellbeing. These types of carbs trickle, rather than dump, glucose into the bloodstream – which will help to keep your energy levels, as well as your mood, on a more even keel. Good examples of slower-releasing carbs include whole wheat pasta, grainy and seeded breads, sweet potatoes and pulses such as chickpeas, lentils and baked beans.
While moderating your carbohydrate intake makes sense on many levels, you should avoid diets that are too low in carbs; our bodies need some carbohydrates to produce the soothing brain chemical serotonin, and research also points to lower carb intakes affecting energy levels. A pilot study at the University of Arizona found that very low-carb ketogenic diets made overweight people feel more fatigued and reduced their motivation to do exercise.
Though it’s tempting to reach for a sugary snack or drink when you’re flagging, it’s not the best choice as far as your mental wellbeing is concerned. After collecting data from almost 1,300 adults, researchers examining the effects of sugar consumption found that it didn’t boost mood at all, regardless of whether people engaged in demanding activities afterwards or not. In fact, people who consumed sugar felt more tired and less alert than those who didn't.
Research published 20 years ago showed that people who switched to a low-fat diet registered significantly higher than average anger-hostility ratings. Certain hormones and immune responses depend on substances derived from fat, and 70% of the brain is also made up of fat – so it's a good idea to keep your levels topped up. Add some healthy polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats to your diet every day (sources include nuts, seeds, avocados, vegetable oils and olive oil).
Omega-3 polyunsaturates are a vital part of any mood-boosting diet as they help keep brain cell membranes flexible, allowing them to communicate efficiently with each other. A poor intake of Omega-3 fats may contribute to low mood. Oily fish, including salmon and mackerel, are the best source of Omega-3s, and the recommended intake is one to two portions per week. Meanwhile, plant-based Omega-3 sources include flax, hemp and canola (rapeseed) oils, as well as walnuts and leafy greens.
Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables – at least five portions per day, and preferably more – means you’ll get a good range of nutrients that are essential for mental health. Fruits and vegetables are also a rich source of antioxidants, which have been linked with lower levels of anxiety. Choosing a variety of differently coloured produce is the best way to ensure you get the widest range of antioxidants possible.
A 2009 Reading University study found that participants who drank a blueberry smoothie in the morning performed better at mental tasks in the afternoon. In 2017, another study showed that children and young adults who drank a blueberry drink reported a more positive mood two hours after consumption. Antioxidants called anthocyanins are thought to be beneficial here – and berries in general are a great source.
Asparagus is packed with vitamin C and folate, as well as sarsasapogenin, which animal studies suggest reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Not only that, but the Chinese government has approved the use of an asparagus extract as a natural functional ingredient in foods and beverages due to its anti-anxiety properties.
A fibre-rich diet can help you feel better in a number of ways. Firstly, high-fibre foods tend to be rich in nutrients like magnesium and zinc, which are important for mental health. Secondly, they help keep constipation at bay, so you can wave goodbye to that confidence-sapping bloated feeling. Thirdly, they help the good bacteria in the gut to flourish, which may have a beneficial knock-on effect on mood.
The brain and the gut 'talk' to each other via the brain-gut axis – a system of nerves connecting the brain and the intestines – and it’s thought that changes in gut bacteria affect the messages that get sent to the brain. Making your gut bacteria healthier by consuming probiotics like kefir, yogurts or sauerkraut may help with conditions like anxiety and depression. A study in the journal Psychiatry Research suggested a link between probiotic foods and lower social anxiety, too.
A study found that magnesium deficiency increased anxiety-related behaviours in mice and it's possible that foods naturally rich in magnesium – a nutrient that plays a key role in maintaining a healthy nervous system – may help humans to feel calmer, too. Examples of magnesium-rich foods include leafy greens such as spinach, kale and Swiss chard, as well as legumes, brazil nuts, almonds, seeds and whole grains.
The mineral zinc – found in oysters, whole grains, liver, lamb, egg yolks, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds – has been associated with lowered anxiety levels. A severe zinc deficiency can also lead to symptoms of depression, aggression and violence.
Brazil nuts are the richest natural food source of the mineral selenium, which many of us don’t get enough of. The British Dietetic Association says a poor intake of selenium may increase negative mood states, so it makes sense to regularly include a small handful of these yummy nuts in your diet.
Rated as one of the most anti-inflammatory foods around, turmeric helps fight the type of low-level chronic inflammation that may alter brain function. Moreover, the yellow spice's active ingredient, curcumin, boosts levels of the Omega-3 fat DHA in the brain, which may help to ward off anxiety disorders. Try adding it to curries or lattes.
The diet that best adheres to all the most useful mood-boosting advice is the Mediterranean diet, which famously includes plenty of vegetables, fish, whole grains, olive oil, herbs, spices and fresh fruit. A recent study in the journal Molecular Psychiatry confirmed that eating a Mediterranean diet and avoiding inflammation-producing foods (like white flour, sugar and processed meat) may help to protect against depression.
If you love your red meat, there's no need to worry. Not only is a modest serving of unprocessed red meat perfectly healthy up to three times a week, but it will also provide plenty of iron, which is vital when it comes to protecting against mood-sapping fatigue. However, you can ditch processed meats like hot dogs, bacon and ham, which are not so good for you.
The UK mental health charity Mind suggests being judicious with your consumption of caffeine. It says that, although caffeine may give you a quick burst of energy, you may later feel anxious and depressed, or have disturbed sleep (especially if you consume it just before bed). You may feel noticeably better quite quickly if you drink less caffeine, or avoid it altogether.
While knocking back a daily stream of cappuccinos might not be a good idea, staying hydrated certainly is. If you don’t drink enough fluid, you may find it difficult to concentrate or think clearly. It’s recommended that you drink six to eight glasses of fluid a day, so keep a big jug or bottle of water on hand. Alternatively, a soothing cup of chamomile tea can be just what you need after a stressful day.
After another way to give yourself a mental boost? Try sipping on a warm cup of cocoa; research shows that the flavanols in cocoa improve mood and performance during sustained mental effort. Most cocoa is alkalised or 'dutched' to reduce its bitterness – however, this also reduces the volume of flavanols. As such, you should try to seek out a paler, non-dutched cocoa. Other foods with flavanols include blueberries, cherries, red wine, apples, fava beans and peanuts.
The happiness we get from savouring a little of our favourite treat, such as chocolate, can’t be underestimated. When you indulge, going for quality over quantity can make a difference. “For example, a delicious dark chocolate will provide more magnesium than milkier varieties,” says registered dietician Helen Bond. Other ideas to make your comfort food meals healthier include enjoying a stronger cheese (so you need less) or dipping bread in olive oil rather than slathering it with butter.