Most of the time, we don’t give much thought to how food and mental health are intertwined. But many of us have experienced how easy it is to eat junk food (or lose our appetites) when we’re busy or stressed. The connection is there, even if we rarely reflect on it.
Just as mental health issues can influence bad eating habits, bad eating habits can affect our mental health. Better food choices can help us maintain positive emotional outlooks. And less healthful food choices can make a bad mindset worse. For example, depression can deepen after ingesting a lot of sugar.
As a doctor, a chef, and a cancer survivor, the Harvard-trained psychiatrist Dr. Uma Naidoo has a lot of perspective on these issues. She says that our guts are the key to developing long-lasting mental health solutions.
With the right guidance and better routines, you can sharpen your thinking, energize your body, and ease symptoms of physical and mental illness. Learn more in our Instaread on This Is Your Brain on Food.
