Just think about this: over the past 30 years the rate of depression and anxiety has increased enormously, particularly in the past five years. In the western world alone, depression is one of the most debilitating and expensive illnesses, costing billions of dollars a year. One in five westerners have some form of mental illness and around 6 per cent suffer serious depression. Considering most people are materially better off today and enjoy more convenience than existed just 30 years ago, you have to wonder what has caused the increase. Is it the pressures of the world, or is it a result of the foods we eat affecting the brain chemicals that balance mood, which in turn help with coping skills?
There are three main chemical neurotransmitters in the brain that help send messages from one cell to the next. They are dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin. Dopamine and noradrenalin are the brain chemicals that keep us alert; they have a tendency to make us think more quickly and they increase motivation, mental acuity and productivity. Serotonin, on the other hand, is the calming brain chemical – it produces a relaxed, more focused, less anxious, less stressed, more euphoric feeling. Our levels of these neurotransmitters are directly related to the foods we eat.
Now I can see you reading with anticipation to find out which foods increase or decrease these chemicals, as there are always times in our life when we wish to have one or the other mood. It’s quite simple really: proteins – such as meat, fish, eggs, freshly shelled nuts, yoghurt, cheese, legumes and complementary proteins – cause an increase in the brain chemicals for alertness (dopamine and noradrenaline), while carbohydrates – such as wheat, rye, millet, oats, rice, bread, pasta and starchy vegetables – cause an increase in the brain-calming chemical, serotonin.
The brain synthesises these chemicals (neurotransmitters) from the amino acids tryptophan and tyrosine. (Amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, are also present as individual amino acids in carbohydrates.) As tyrosine is the precursor to dopamine and noradrenaline, and tryptophan creates serotonin, you would think that an indulgence of protein with these two key precursors would cause all three chemical neurotransmitters to increase in the brain, thus causing calmness with alertness at the same time. But not so – once again the ingenuity of the body is such that this doesn’t happen.
The more protein you eat, the greater the tyrosine levels in your blood, thus causing an increase in the alertness chemicals in the brain (dopamine and noradrenaline). But this is not true for tryptophan. Tryptophan, tyrosine and four other amino acids enter the brain through the blood brain barrier (BBB), competitively, via the same mechanism. When we eat a protein, tyrosine and the four other amino acids become plentiful while tryptophan becomes scarce, therefore very little tryptophan can pass through the BBB. But when we eat a meal of carbohydrates, tyrosine and the other four amino acids become scarce, while tryptophan found in carbohydrates becomes the dominating amino acid, thus passing through the BBB easily with very little competition. Choose Your Mood by Choosing Your FoodCalming Carbohydrates
All carbohydrates are not equal in their ability to offer mood-altering results. The best way to consume carbohydrates is in the form of whole grains and complex carbohydrates. Oats, millet, cracked wheat, buckwheat and rice are prime examples. Whole grains are broken down over a long period of time, keeping a constant flow of serotonin in our brain. To experience the maximum effect of carbohydrates on your mood, it is important to eat them without any protein.
Peppy Proteins
If you’re feeling sluggish, protein power can produce the effect you want. Protein encourages the production of dopamine and noradrenaline, which produce alertness, mental energy and quicker reaction time. The effects of eating protein last about two to three hours. To maximise the ‘arousal’ effect of a protein meal, limit the intake of fat and carbohydrates. If you are not a good sleeper it is important not to eat protein for several hours before bedtime or you may experience difficulty falling asleep.
Neutral Fruit and Vegetables
Most fruits and vegetables are mood-neutral foods, so you can consume them without affecting your mood. If you’re feeling the way you want to feel, a meal of fruit or a healthy salad might be the best option.
Sabotaging Fatty Foods
Fatty foods cause havoc with moods. An overburden of fats means digestion overload, causing a large portion of blood flow to leave the brain and be shunted to the digestive tract to help with digestion and absorption, thus causing a condition I call ‘brain flag’. The brain simply stops working at peak efficiency and goes into slow mode, causing tiredness, forgetfulness, lack of concentration and all other mind-confusing, unwanted feelings. (By the way, a very large indulgent meal will also give the same symptoms.)
Antagonising Alcohol
Difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slow reaction times, impaired memory: clearly, alcohol affects the brain and our moods. Alcoholism destroys the brain, but current research shows that moderate alcohol consumption increases blood flow to the brain, which seems to suggest a link with improved mental function. The results of the research show some specificity in the association between alcohol consumption and cognitive ability. Research at University College, London, has found that those who drink only one glass of wine a week have significantly sharper thought processes than teetotallers.
Exhilarating Caffeine
While caffeine is an addictive drug it can also be a very useful tool for changing moods and states of alertness. Scientists have developed various theories to explain caffeine’s wake-promoting and mind-altering power. It seems to interfere with the chemical adenosine, which is a natural sleeping pill made by the body. Caffeine has been shown to enhance mood and increase alertness; in moderate amounts it’s potent for athletes, students, brain-storming committees and the like. Used wisely, and not as an hourly pick-me-up, caffeine taken as tea or coffee can alter brain performance, making it a very useful tool.
Outstanding Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish like salmon and mackerel, as well as many nuts, like walnuts, can help stave off depression. Recent research has revealed that omega-3 is excellent for improving concentration and energy levels.
Helpful Herbs
Herbs have been used for centuries, not only for flavour in cooking but as natural remedies too. Ginger can lift the spirit, cinnamon counteracts exhaustion, camomile helps with nervous tension, while peppermint can be taken to help calm nerves and relieve anger. Basil is thought to clarify the mind, so try a large batch of pesto stirred through some healthy pasta to give your mind clarity.
Vital Vitamins and Minerals
B-vitamins play an important role in brain function. B6 helps to convert tryptophan into serotonin, vitamin B1 helps build and maintain healthy brain cells, and folic acid is also an essential brain food. Zinc is a mineral that helps keep the senses sharp as well as encouraging a healthy immune system – it is critical for proper growth and development of the nervous system.
Stimulating Sunlight
The sun inhibits a hormone in the brain called melatonin. This hormone creates a calmness in the brain and gets the body and mind ready for sleep. It is a hormone that is needed at night so it is produced when the sun goes down, but during the day exposure to sunlight will help keep melatonin at bay and enhance the alert state of the brain, as well as help get rid of the blues.
Overboard Overeating
Overeating also creates mood changes. For example, what do you want to do straight after Christmas dinner? The usual answer is have a siesta. What has happened is that your digestive system is overloaded, so some of the blood from the brain, arms and legs is shunted to the digestive system to help in the process of delivering the food’s nutrients to the rest of the body. That’s why when you eat too much food you either want to sleep or you find it hard to get physically motivated. If you don’t digest the food within six hours or so then it begins to putrefy, releasing toxins into the blood and creating havoc with energy and mood.
You can use the principles of Food-Mood Connection in relation to sports performance. While peak performance of the physical body is important for athletes, many times the mind is the edge that makes the difference. Using the foods that cause alertness in the brain can make all the difference between winning and losing.
If you are someone who finds it hard to sleep at night, to help improve your sleep patterns it would be beneficial to have protein for lunch and carbohydrates for dinner. Stop drinking all caffeine drinks at midday, don’t eat any protein after lunch and make sure you sleep in a dark room. Just see what a difference it makes when your brain is calmed down.
If you want the upper hand at a business meeting then eat smart. To keep your brain sharp and alert it is important to be aware of the Food-Mood Connection. Two basic rules are: eat very little fat and eat your protein first. So a good business lunch would be a clear soup (hold the bread and butter), then fish (without sauce) and a salad and steamed vegetables (hold the alcohol). For dessert, have fruit salad – sorry, no cake or puddings. Watch what your lunch partner eats and see who has the upper hand by the end of the meal.Sitting down and listening to a speaker, either at a conference, university lecture or school, can sometimes become tiring. Usually, during the morning sessions most people are alert and full of questions, but after lunch the yawns start and the heads start to nod. The food that is offered at lunch is often starchy, full of breads, cheeses and other foods that cause drowsiness. My suggestion is that at morning tea, don’t touch the sweet pastries; just have a cup of coffee and some fruit if they are on offer. Then at lunch choose one type of meat and salad, with coffee and fruit again for afternoon tea. Using this strategy should make a difference by keeping you alert all day, allowing the brain to take in the information needed.
If you’re a shift worker, to allow yourself to work to the best of your ability it is important to manipulate the foods you eat to match when you want to sleep and when you want to be awake. Make sure that throughout your shift you eat foods to increase alertness, and then, when you are ready to sleep, eat foods that increase the brain-calming chemicals. It is also very important that when you sleep you are in a dark room. The darker the room the more abundant melatonin is, to help you sleep and heal.
With this awareness of the Food-Mood Connection, you can use your food as a powerful tool to enhance performance in all areas of life. Parents can also use these principles to help children manage their busy lives.
It intrigues me that the typical western diet is carbohydrates for breakfast and lunch, and then protein for dinner. If your moods and your sleeping patterns are not working for you, try changing and manipulating the foods you eat in order to change the brain neurotransmitters to those that best suit your needs.
From the time you wake up until approximately four hours before bed, try and consume some type of protein. For breakfast, include eggs or fish, or consume a complementary protein, which includes porridge or toast with nuts. Avoid refined breakfast cereals and starchy breakfasts like toast and jam. Snacks for morning and afternoon tea should not be muffins, cakes or cookies, but rather nuts and yoghurt, or a mix of crackers and nut butters or hummus and other protein dips. Lunch should also have some protein, like salmon, beef or chicken with vegetables. Then at night you can have pasta, rice and other high-carbohydrate meals.
Cyndi O¼Meara lives in Australia on Queensland¼s Sunshine Coast with her husband and three children. Renowned for her successful and unconventional approach to health, Cyndi provides new truths on food, lifestyle and wholistic wellbeing.
A qualified Nutritionist with a Bachelors degree in Science and post graduate studies in the human anatomy, diagnosis and health management, she is consistently called upon to share her health insights and has contributed to a host of National magazines, publications and newspaper articles. In addition Cyndi has also been featured on numerous TV Programs such as Today Tonight, 9am with David and Kim, Brisbane Extra and Nourish of which she is host. Well regarded for her immense knowledge, entertaining and enthusiastic approach to well being, she is regularly interviewed on talkback Radio programs nationally as well as being the weekly Nutritional expert for the ABC. A fabulous role model for healthy living, Cyndi is not your typical nutritionist: she disagrees with boring tasteless low-fat, low-calorie diets; she knows chocolate can be good for you.
What causes depression postpartum?
Family history of mental illness.