Category: Informative Articles

Food and Mood

Anxiety and depression are two conditions that few of us will escape in life. While sometimes the etiology is unclear, anxiety and depression can be triggered by traumatic life experiences, chronic stress, caregiver responsibilities, chronic health conditions, drugs and alcohol – to name a few. But can anxiety, depression and overall mood also be triggered by our dietary habits and overall nutrition? Conversely, are there certain foods that can positively effect our mood and behavior? In other words, do certain foods have natural anxiolytic and antidepressant abilities?

Well to address the first question, a diet high in refined carbohydrates (white rice, white bread, pop, donuts, pastries) causes sharp elevations then sharp drops in blood sugar. In addition to screwing up the regulation of insulin, this can lead to a decrease in energy, irritability and a general feeling of yuck. But it’s even worse than that. Diets high in refined sugars are actually harmful to the brain. There are many studies concluding that refined sugar impairs brain function, contributes to and even worsens mood disorders like depression.

Junk, fried and processed foods (fast foods, frozen meals, processed meats) have been the focus of many studies. It appears as though these foods alter gut bacteria which effects the immune system and leads to inflammation throughout the body and brain. This chronic inflammation has widely been tied to poorer mental health in adults and children and most notably depression. The SMILES trial of 2017 (Supporting the Modification of Lifestyle in Lowered Emotional States) compared the effect of eating an anti-inflammatory diet to supportive counseling in 67 patients diagnosed with depression. The conclusion was the patients who received the dietary intervention showed a significantly greater improvement compared to the counseling group.

So to address the second question. Diets high in anti-inflammatory type foods (nuts, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and oily fish) are known to balance neurochemicals within the brain and help to regulate mood and cognition. Antioxidant nutrients such as vitamin C and E as well as natural plant compounds reduce free radical damage to the brain which effects mental health. Folic acid, a B vitamin found in legumes, green leafy vegetables, asparagus, beets, brussel sprouts, broccoli, nut and seeds, bananas, papaya, blueberries, fortified grains and yeast, is necessary for the production of serotonin which is a brain chemical responsible for mood regulation.

In my research on specific plants that have been studied for their effect on mood I found the following interesting information. The National Institute of Health (NIH) published a study on PARSLEY with this conclusion:

“Parsley, a culinary herb used worldwide, presents enormous health benefits and through this study it has been known to have remarkable antidepressant and anxiolytic activity especially in the dose of 100mg/kg body weight. In the search for an effective medicine with few or no side effects parsley could be a well-placed alternative.” The study encourages daily consumption. I love how they classify parsley as a medicine!

According to the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, BASIL has anti-anxiety and anti-depressant properties that are comparable to diazepam (valium) and antidepressant medications. People who took 500mg of basil extract each day felt less anxious, stressed, depressed and more social. This is one of the reasons I have a huge valium basil plant in my house!

An article written in Scientific Wellness states BLUEBERRIES have been shown to have a positive effect on mood within two hours after consumption. Blueberries increase blood flow to the brain, increase monoamine oxidase which is an enzyme needed to produce serotonin and dopamine and binds to benzodiazapine receptors for anti-anxiety effects. I eat a half a cup of blueberries every day – that’s right – 7 days a week for this very reason.

While prescription medication certainly has its place in cases of diagnosed clinical depression and anxiety, sometimes all that is needed is a prescription for good nutrition. The food-mood connection is not hokey pokey. Nutritional psychiatry is a very real thing. We are what we eat and also what we don’t eat!

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28137247/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33916097/

https://www.scientificwellness.com/blog-view/blueberries-improve-mood-within-hours–597

Salt Sense

Ninety percent of Americans eat way too much salt. The average American consumes approximately 3,400 milligrams of sodium per day. That is the equivalent of about 1 1/2 teaspoons.

The FDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 recommends that individuals 14 and over consume no more then 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. The American Heart Association is even more conservative and recommends no more than 1,500 milligrams per day “ideally” for most adults especially those with heart disease.

A healthy active body needs only 200 to 500 milligrams of sodium per day to maintain proper fluid and electrolyte balance, conduct nerve impulses and contract and relax muscles. This computes to only 0.216 to 0.540 teaspoon per day.

Did you know that whole foods contain salt naturally? That’s right. A stalk of celery may not taste salty but it contains just over 30 milligrams of sodium. One cup of artichokes contain about 160 milligrams. One half cup of cooked carrots contain 45 milligrams. One cup of tap water contains 9 milligrams of sodium. Sodium is found in the earth naturally so it makes sense that it exists in foods that get nutrients from the soil. Even if you never add another speck of salt to your food you will not be sodium deficient by eating a balanced plant based diet.

I knew there was a reason why, after all these years, I never got rid of the old Himalayan and sea salt. It came in handy for this blog photo. Trust me I do not use them!!

High blood pressure is the most common consequence of diets high in sodium. When we eat too much salt, the body holds on to extra water to balance things out. This extra fluid increases blood volume which then increases blood pressure. Increased blood pressure over time narrows and damages the delicate inner lining of the arteries. A low sodium diet centered around plant based eating seems to be the best way to bring down blood pressure.

But hypertension is not the only consequence. Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine found a connection between high salt diets and decreased nitric oxide levels. Nitric oxide is an essential molecule necessary for cerebrovascular health. Low levels of nitric oxide cause protein plaque deposits in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease. So reducing our intake of sodium may be all it takes to prevent dementia.

If dementia wasn’t enough to convince you to shake the salt habit maybe cancer will. Excess sodium intake has been linked to stomach cancer. In fact, it seems that the risk is on the same level as heavy alcohol use. How is this possible? Well it appears that excess sodium damages the delicate lining of the stomach causing lesions which, over time, can turn cancerous.

There’s more bad news. Eating too much salt can cause calcium to be leached out of the bones leading to low bone density and osteoporosis. High blood pressure can also lead to osteoporosis by increasing the rate that calcium is lost from the bones. For every 100 milligrams of sodium you consume above and beyond the recommended, you urinate out 1 milligram extra of calcium.

In addition to adopting a diet that is centered around plant based eating pay attention to nutrition facts on food labels. A general rule of thumb is to choose foods that have no more then 1 milligram of sodium per calorie.

I sincerely hope this article has been helpful. As always I love comments and questions. Lot’s of them!

I created these sodium visuals to help my patients understand how much sodium is in certain food choices. This was several years ago before the AHA lowered their recommendation to 1,500 milligrams or less (test tube #1). Look at how much sodium is in that frozen meal (test tube #2)? That’s double the daily recommendation in just one meal. Yikes!! Look at how little is in the apple and potato?

https://news.weill.cornell.edu/news/2019/10/high-salt-diet-promotes-cognitive-impairment-through-the-alzheimer-linked-protein-tau

Before You Eat Your Next Slice of Cheese

Everyone has at least one food weakness. Like if you were on death row and given your choice for one last thing to eat what would it be? Well for me that would be cheese. I am a cheese-aholic. Well, I should say, a reformed cheese-aholic. That’s right. I’ve been 3 years sober from cheese! Except for the occasional off the wagon for a party or something. But even then it is just a sliver or two.

The reason why cheese is so good is that it is loaded with fat. Saturated fat. The artery clogging kind of fat. And that is exactly the reason why it is a bad thing to indulge in.

So for the purpose of making a point I conducted a little food experiment. I melted 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese in the microwave allowing the fat to “oil off” from the protein mass. The result was pretty doggone disgusting.

Check out the first picture of the separated liquid saturated oil. Then the second picture of the oil that solidified at room temperature. Diets high in saturated fats drive up harmful LDL cholesterol which prompts blockages in the arteries.

Let’s face it, we all probably have some degree of plaque in our arteries. But switching over to plant-based eating can put the brakes on continued plaque formation and possibly even reverse the process.

The separated oil
Solidified at room temperature

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5466936/

Yes, We Can Control Aging!

At the end of each chromosome is a cap called a telomere which keeps DNA from fraying. As we age telomeres get shorter which causes biological aging and age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and cancer. I was shocked when I read that forensic scientists can actually look at DNA under a microscope to determine how old someone is based on telomere length.

Did you know cigarette smoking accelerates the rate of telomere loss threefold? Did you know that diets high in antioxidant rich foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and spices are associated with longer protective telomeres? Did you know that diets high in refined grains (white flour, white rice and white bread), processed foods, meat, sweets and soda are linked with shortened telomeres? This has been scientifically studied. In fact, endorsing a healthy lifestyle causes telomeres to shrink less and actually grow more. This suggests it really is possible to reverse aging. Heck I’d be happy with just slowing things down a bit. So we do have control over how quickly we age and it’s never too late to get started!

https://www.ornish.com/wp-content/uploads/increased-telomerase-activity-and-comprehensive-lifestyle-changes.pdf