Our diets affect a lot when it comes to our overall health, both physical and mental. Throughout our lives, we learn about how what we eat will impact our health, but the focus predominantly lies on our physical health. For example, if you eat too much junk food, you’ll put on weight, and if you don’t eat enough vegetables, you won’t get enough vitamins.

But the way that our diets impact our mental health is rarely spoken about in comparison. In fact, the foods we eat can directly contribute to some serious mental health problems, and in turn, certain foods can actually help us to stave off negative mental health, too. Here are the ways that food and drink can improve your mental health.

Chemical Rebalance

A lot of the time, negative mental health issues are caused by an imbalance of certain hormones and chemicals in the body. This is why a number of anti-depressant medications are designed to help the brain reregulate these chemicals and get things back into balance. However, there are ways in which changing your diet could provide a similar effect.

It’s important to discuss this with your doctor at first, but there’s a strong chance they’ll consider your diet and your lifestyle before prescribing medications, depending on the situation. They may suggest looking at getting more vitamins into your diet, especially vitamin D, which helps with mood regulation. Alongside this, they may suggest other vitamins such as vitamins A, B, and C and minerals like iron and zinc. These are all found in plenty of foods, and it’s quite easy to find in-depth lists of foods that contain these helpful nutrients.

Using Food To Be Mindful

Due to the link between our gut and mental health, it’s important to be as mindful as possible of what we put into our bodies. Our bodies will react differently to different diets, so there is no guaranteed diet plan that will work for everyone.

However, certain foods generally have a positive impact on us and are worth adding to our diets to see if we have a beneficial response. It’s also worth noting that even certain unhealthy foods can benefit your mental health, as long as you don’t turn them into a crutch and eat too much of them.

Take chocolate, for example. Eating too much will be relatively bad for you due to the sugar content, but chocolate, especially dark chocolate, has been proven to positively affect mood. Also, like coffee, dark chocolate has an anti-inflammatory effect on the body, which can help reduce inflammation around the brain, which is often a cause of low mood and depression. Make sure you get the right coffee-to-water ratio for the perfect cup of coffee, and enjoy it with a healthy portion of dark chocolate for a relaxing treat.

Nutrients For Brain Health

The physical impact of good food on our brain will naturally help improve our mood, too. We often attribute mental health entirely to our state of mind, but the physical quality of our brain can directly harm or improve our mood, depending on the brain’s health.

Certain nutrients are required to help keep the brain in proper working order. Protein-rich foods such as chicken, eggs, fish, soya beans, and nuts will help the brain repair and build new cells and brain tissue. Carbohydrates are also important here, including whole grains, potatoes, and other vegetables. There are so many important foods to consider adding to your diet for a healthy lifestyle.

It’s worth noting that generally improving your physical health by reducing your weight, building strength, toning muscles, increasing your stamina, and generally improving your appearance can significantly impact how you feel about yourself, too. Not only can it physically make you feel healthier, but having a better diet and lifestyle can also improve your confidence, potentially diminishing feelings of depression and anxiety.

Better Gut Health

At first, you might not understand why this might be included here, but the gut is very closely linked with the brain, and both influence each other very easily. This link is a physical one that runs along the vagus nerve, and a problem at either end can quickly trigger the other end to present with related issues.

For example, you’ll likely have experienced the feeling of butterflies in your stomach or even cramps during stressful situations. Perhaps you’re waiting to go on stage to make a speech in front of hundreds of people, or you’re meeting your date for the first time. It’s an irritating response of the body, but it’s sadly one that is very difficult to control.

In comparison, how our guts feel can also significantly impact our brain and mental health. The things we eat, and therefore the physical effects that diet has on our digestive system and the rest of the body, can alter our mental state substantially. This is another reason why it’s important to eat as healthy a diet as possible.