Spring Clean Your Body and Mind
Your brain works hard for you 24/7 which means it requires a constant supply of nutrients and energy to keep it functioning well. The food you eat directly affects the structure and function of your brain and ultimately, your mood. Eating nutrient dense foods helps to protect and support your brain tissue, prevent toxic build up in your brain, supply the building blocks for neurotransmitter production, and support healthy gut bacteria.
Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that your nerves and brain uses to communicate with other nerves and organs. The major neurotransmitters that influence mood are:
Serotonin – involved in happiness, appetite, sleep, and digestion
Dopamine – involved in learning, reward, focus and reinforcement
GABA – decreases activity in the nervous system, has a calming effect
Protect and support your brain
The brain in mainly composed of fat, and in order to support the structure of your nerves, you require more healthy fats in your diet. Omega-3 fatty acids, DHA in particular, are major building blocks for cell membranes of nerves and are essential for nerve function. Omega-3’s can prevent ischemic cardiovascular disease ensuring good blood flow to the brain and preventing depression and dementia. If your diet is low in omega-3 fatty acids, membrane renewal is slowed. This leads to accelerated brain aging along with cognitive and mood decline. Omega-3’s are found in fish, other seafood and algae.
Without high quality nutrition, free radicals and inflammation around the nervous system can damage the delicate brain tissue. Eating high-quality foods that contain many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants nourish the brain and protect it from oxidative stress, which can damage cells. Vitamin C can help protect the brain by neutralizing free radicals, and preventing the tissue damage they can cause. Accelerated brain aging can be caused by a failure of this protective mechanism that vitamin C facilitates. People with low vitamin C levels tend to have more mood disorders like anxiety and depression. You can get more vitamin C in your diet by eating more bell peppers, kale, broccoli, oranges, papaya, guava, and strawberries. Other antioxidants that work well with vitamin C can be found in foods like dark chocolate, berries, and dark leafy greens.
Physical toxicity impacting brain health and mood
One of the most important benefits of clean eating is that you’re reducing the amount of new toxins entering your body. Fat-soluble toxins like pesticides, hormones (from meat and dairy), and heavy metals can build up over time in your nervous system, since nerves are primarily fat. Once there, it is difficult to get them out. The down stream affect is that these chemicals cause inflammation and tissue damage, negatively affecting the brains function and your mood. This can cause foggy thinking, poor memory and concentration, low mood, and agitation. Other than reducing your toxin exposure, eating high fiber foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and beans and increasing your water intake can help your body eliminate these toxins. Eating clean also keeps your liver working well. Since your liver is the main organ responsible for cleaning your blood, it needs to be in top working order to help protect your brain.
Nutrients make neurotransmitters
The main way your brain influences your mood is through the neurotransmitters it creates, as mentioned previously. These neurotransmitters are made using the proteins that you eat. The amino acid tryptophan plays a significant role in brain function and mood since it is used to make serotonin – your happiness hormone. It isn’t enough to just eat enough tryptophan rich foods (like nuts, seeds, meat, cheese, eggs, soy) you also need specific nutrients to convert these proteins into neurotransmitters. Some important ones include the b vitamins, zinc, iron, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin C. Vitamin b12 not only helps make serotonin, but it also improves frontal lobe function, which affects emotional expression, problem solving, memory, and language. Vitamin B6 also helps with GABA and dopamine production, helping you feel calm and regulates motivation, pleasure, and attention. People that eat diets low in tryptophan tend to have more depression and anxiety symptoms, though these can be reversed by changing their diet.
Gut-brain connection
The gut-brain connection is a two-way communication system using serotonin as the key link. The gastrointestinal tract produces about 95% of your serotonin. This serotonin production and the function of the millions of neurons in your GI tract are all affected by the probiotics that live in the intestines. These bacteria play essential roles in your health including protecting the lining of your intestines from bad bacteria and toxins, limiting inflammation, improving nutrient absorption, and activating the neural pathways between the intestines and brain. Probiotics impact the metabolism of tryptophan and therefor the serotonin system. Each strain of probiotic has a slightly different benefit. Lactobacillus plantarum, found in sauerkraut and kimchi, can increase serotonin and dopamine levels and reduce anxiety behaviours. While Bifidobacterium infantis, found in Greek yogurt and kefir, can have a relaxing effect. Lactobacillus rhamnosus, found in semi-hard cheeses, can alter GABA receptors in the brain and lower your stress response, both of which help to reduce anxiety. Even the by-products that probiotics produce, like short chain fatty acids, can help stimulate the intestines to produce more serotonin.
However, if your intestines aren’t healthy, your probiotics won’t be healthy either. By eating clean, you’re also giving your good bacteria the nutrients and environment they need to survive. Feed them well and they’ll take care of you too!
For more information on how diet and nutrition can impact your mood, book a virtual appointment with Dr. Nicole Hwang, ND.
