These two classic comfort foods might make us feel good in the moment but shortly after, we're bound for a crash. "Eating a diet high in white pasta and bread will cause a surge in blood sugar causing your pancreas to respond by producing insulin to help clear the sugar from your blood," says Jeanette Kimszal, RDN. "These carbohydrates make your body work harder to digest, leaving you feeling lethargic, prone to mood swings and less alert." Gotta have your carbs? Fill up on the complex kind — true whole grains and vegetables like quinoa or spaghetti squash, which contain fiber to slow digestion and keep your metabolism in check.
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Mood Booster: Magnesium-Rich Foods
This all-important nutrient is responsible for many bodily functions, including regulating nerve function, maintaining blood sugar levels, making protein and ensuring that blood levels are stable. "Low levels of magnesium are associated with increased inflammation and oxidative stress, both of which are associated with depression," explains Alissa Rumsey MS, RD, founder of Alissa Rumsey Nutrition and Wellness and creator of the 5-Minute Mindful Eating Exercise. Eating enough magnesium from sources like quinoa, spinach, beans, pumpkin seeds, brazil nuts, almonds, cashews and flaxseed may help lower symptoms of anxiety and depression, she adds.
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Mood Crusher: Diet Soda
Whether you're sipping diet soda to help slash calories or you simply like the flavor, you probably already know it's not the greatest for you. But did you also know that zero-calorie sugar substitute aspartame may be linked to headaches, dizziness, digestive problems, mood changes, Alzheimer disease, multiple sclerosis and some cancers? "Sugar in moderation is a healthy alternative to aspartame," says Ross.
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Mood Booster: Leafy Greens
You're probably already familiar with the myriad reasons you should be incorporating more greens into your diet but you might not have realized the influence one of the main nutrients found in these greens can have on your mood — specifically, B-vitamin folate. "Increasing foods high in folate, like kale, spinach and collard greens, may help stabilize mood by reducing depression," says Amidor. One study published in PrevMED analyzed hundreds of thousands of adults and found that consumption of fruits and veggies rich in folate and antioxidants significantly reduced the risk of depression, anxiety and other psychological disorders.
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Mood Crusher: Processed Foods
A diet high in processed foods, such as processed meats (bacon, sausage, ham), sugar-sweetened soda and sugary foods (desserts, baked goods) is linked to higher risks of depression, says Palmer. Studies that analyzed adults suffering from major depressive disorder found that those who had a diet higher in processed foods had a smaller hippocampus (the area of the brain that controls memory, mood and learning) than those who had a diet high in nutrient-rich fruits, vegetables and fish.
