The important link between diet and good mental health is often overlooked. So here are six practical tips to help you put positivity back on your plate
[Health] Food and Mood
Mental health has affected me in many ways over the years. I have watched close friends suffer and fail to manage illnesses, noticed mental health go uncared for, witnessed first-hand the stigma, and seen the personal struggles of people trying to get help, yet getting nowhere within an impersonal system.
Following my own mental health struggles, I have spent the past decade creating my own mental health handbook, that’s been my guide to life ever since.
This all started for me at the end of a five-year degree in fashion. I was at an all-time low, and just on the turning point of a period of intense depression and eating disorders, after losing someone I loved very much.
I had finally found the right combination of talking therapy and holistic treatments, and was opening up to the idea of getting better – but the missing link was finding some sort of passion again.
Fashion certainly wasn’t it, and neither was the food I had always previously adored. So, I set out to rewrite this story, and create a trend book ‘rebranding’ mental health with an emphasis towards wellness.
Exploring adaptogens (active ingredients in certain plants and mushrooms), rituals, and this new idea of wellbeing, was so exciting to me, and I jumped feet-first into a lifestyle that could feed my mind, too.
Many years, three restaurants, and hundreds of cookery classes later, Mind Food became a book earlier this year, and at a time where the world of mental health is changing, and our mental health as a nation is worse than ever. Here are my six practical ideas for positive mental health:
Mindset
This is all about prevention rather than cure, and sharing resources and foundations for good mental health, so that whatever you are going through, you have the tools to best support yourself and those around you.
We don’t always think about how food will make us feel, but understanding your personal recipe for feeling good is a very powerful tool. The idea of mind food is to include ingredients that can support you when you need to soothe, lift, balance,focus, or chill. This could be eating rosemary daily for better memory and focus, saffron tea for a natural lift each morning, or a cosy hemp hot chocolate for a moment of calm.
[Health] Food and Mood
Whole foods
On the whole, mind food ingredients are eaten in their natural form – not only because unprocessed ingredients optimise taste and nutrition, but when you start any recipe with good ingredients, you can’t go wrong.
Leafy greens, rainbow vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts and seeds, beans, healthy fats, herbs and spices, are all essential in a balanced diet. But the real key is biodiversity, which means eating a range of foods rather than always sticking to what you know. Try buying a different vegetable, or ordering something you haven’t tried before, as a starting point.
[Health] Food and Mood
Adaptogens and tonic herbs
These ingredients often get a bad rap for being inaccessible. But these powerful plants can be the missing link to a deep transformation for many different issues. Lion’s mane and reishi mushrooms, rosemary, rhodiola, and ashwagandha are some of the more potent plants that appear frequently in the mind food pantry.
Using food as medicine is a part of what mind food is all about, so I encourage you to explore these powerful plants, and find which ones resonate with you. If you’re new to this world of potent plants, start with just one that resonates, take a little each day, and see how you feel.
Living food and fermentation
Eating foods that are alive – sprouted foods, and ferments – are key in eating for your mind.
Sprouting literally means to bring a seed to life. The process of sprouting makes the seed more easily digestible, and more nutritious, and gives you food with life and energy. Fermented foods not only add a tang to our colourful plates, but bring benefits to our gut health and minds. The key to these benefits is increasing the biodiversity in our microbiome.
Both of these processes can be fun, and will connect you with the amazing things plants can do.
Routine
Mind Food is also about making it easy to include these ingredients in your day, whether that is in a daily drink, batch cooking at the weekend, or a certain sweet treat you love. There are always little lifestyle hacks you can use, to give you a little boost to get you where you need to be. Make it easy, fun, and delicious!
[Health] Food and Mood
Rituals
Lifestyle rituals are just as important as the way you eat. These are the things that you include in your day, the things you need each day to thrive. This can be as simple as a morning and evening routine, but can also go deeper, with practices such as different forms of movement, connecting with nature, socialising, meditating, sound healing, and beyond. This can include healing practices like Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, acupuncture, and many more.
We’ll each connect with something unique, but opening up to this world can enrich our lives, feed our souls, and take our mental health to the next level
How to manage your mood with food
Tips to help you explore the relationship between what you eat and how you feel.
Eating regularly
If your blood sugar drops you might feel tired, irritable and depressed. Eating regularly and choosing foods that release energy slowly will help to keep your sugar levels steady.
Slow-release energy foods include: pasta, rice, oats, wholegrain bread and cereals, nuts and seeds.
Quick tips:
Eating breakfast gets the day off to a good start.
Instead of eating a large lunch and dinner, try eating smaller portions spaced out more regularly throughout the day.
Avoid foods which make your blood sugar rise and fall rapidly, such as sweets, biscuits, sugary drinks, and alcohol.
[Health] Food and Mood
Staying hydrated
If you don't drink enough fluid, you may find it difficult to concentrate or think clearly. You might also start to feel constipated (which puts no one in a good mood).
Quick tips:
It's recommended that you drink between 6–8 glasses of fluid a day.
Water is a cheap and healthy option.
Tea, coffee, juices and smoothies all count towards your intake (but be aware that these may also contain caffeine or sugar).
Getting your 5 a day
Vegetables and fruit contain a lot of the minerals, vitamins and fibre we need to keep us physically and mentally healthy.
Eating a variety of different coloured fruits and vegetables every day means you'll get a good range of nutrients.
Quick tips:
Fresh, frozen, tinned, dried and juiced (one glass) fruits and vegetables all count towards your 5 a day.
As a general rule, one portion is about a handful, small bowl or a small glass.
For ideas on how to get your 5 a day, visit NHS Choices.
[Health] Food and Mood
Looking after your gut
Sometimes your gut can reflect how you are feeling emotionally. If you're stressed or anxious this can make your gut slow down or speed up. For healthy digestion you need to have plenty of fibre, fluid and exercise regularly.
Healthy gut foods include: fruits, vegetables and wholegrains, beans, pulses, live yoghurt and other probiotics.
Quick tips:
It might take your gut time to get used to a new eating pattern, so make changes slowly to give yourself time to adjust.
If you're feeling stressed and you think it is affecting your gut, try some relaxation techniques or breathing exercises.
Getting enough protein
Protein contains amino acids, which make up the chemicals your brain needs to regulate your thoughts and feelings. It also helps keep you feeling fuller for longer.
Protein is in: lean meat, fish, eggs, cheese, legumes (peas, beans and lentils), soya products, nuts and seeds.
Quick tip:
Whatever your diet, why not do some research into other foods that contain protein, and find something new to try? For ideas on healthy recipes, visit NHS Choices.
[Health] Food and Mood
Managing caffeine
Caffeine is a stimulant, which means it will give you a quick burst of energy, but then may make you feel anxious and depressed, disturb your sleep (especially if you have it before bed), or give you withdrawal symptoms if you stop suddenly.
Caffeine is in: tea, coffee, chocolate, cola and other manufactured energy drinks.
Quick tips:
If you drink tea, coffee or cola, try switching to decaffeinated versions.
You might feel noticeably better quite quickly if you drink less caffeine or avoid it altogether.
Eating the right fats
Your brain needs fatty acids (such as omega-3 and -6) to keep it working well. So rather than avoiding all fats, it's important to eat the right ones.
Healthy fats are found in: oily fish, poultry, nuts (especially walnuts and almonds), olive and sunflower oils, seeds (such as sunflower and pumpkin), avocados, milk, yoghurt, cheese and eggs.
Quick tip:
Try to avoid anything which lists 'trans fats' or 'partially hydrogenated oils' in the list of ingredients (such as some shop-bought cakes and biscuits). They can be tempting when you're feeling low, but this kind of fat isn't good for your mood or your physical health in the long run.
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