Bad Foods, Bad Moods – Avoid These Food MIstakes with Anxiety and Depression

In our last post, we discussed how foods can impact your gut health and mental health and also gave you a few examples of foods that are great for your well-being. This week we want to cover the other side of the coin and go over the foods that could be giving you bad moods. Did you know that food mistakes could be causing or elevating your anxiety or depression?

How Does a Bad Diet Affect Your Mental Health?

Poor food choices can absolutely be leading you towards an increase in anxiety or worsening your depression. Since your gastrointestinal tract and brain “talk,” choosing bad foods could be causing the conversation to go in the wrong direction. As a result, you could find it difficult to sleep, you could be constantly “down,” or your anxiety could spike when you eat the wrong thing.

Poor food choices can cause inflammation, stress, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and other digestive issues. It can also harm your healthy gut bacteria and feed the “bad” microbes in your guts.

Anxiety and Your Gut Health

Stress can also impact your gut health. It affects your GI tract’s ability to move and contract. This causes a cyclical problem for many. If your gut health is causing you anxiety, your anxiety then makes your gut health worse, and so on. It can be difficult to break the cycle once it starts.

Anxiety can also impact how you perceive pain in your gut. It has been found that those with disorders in their GI tract perceive pain more acutely – and stress makes this pain seem worse, too!

How Can You Improve Your Gut Health?

Breaking out of the cycle of GI tract problems, stress, worsening GI tract problems, and more stress can be difficult. However, there are steps you can take to improve both your gut and mental health, including these.

Bad Foods – Avoid These for Anxiety and Depression

If you want to take charge of your mental health and cut down on your anxiety and depression while improving your GI tract’s health, first you need to review your diet. While some of these foods can be okay on occasion or in moderation, eating too much could be feeding the bad bacteria or causing digestive issues such as inflammation.

Sugar
Sugary foods can lead to inflammation and feed the bad bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract. The sugar crash that happens after can also lead to anxiety or a bad mood.
Caffeine
Coffee, sodas, and other drinks that contain caffeine should always be enjoyed in moderation. They can worsen anxiety and stress.
Alcohol
Alcohol can impact gut bacteria and also increase stress and anxiety. Like caffeine, it should always be consumed in moderation.
Processed Foods
Just like whole foods are good for your health, processed options tend to be bad for your gut. Additives, such as food coloring, have been shown to increase hyperactivity and worsen depression.
Artificial Sweeteners
While they may seem like a good replacement for sugar, artificial sweeteners aren’t actually digested. Instead, they affect the composition of the microbes in your gut. Studies have even shown that this could lead to glucose intolerance.
Red Meat
A study from the Cleveland Clinic found that red meat can negatively interact with gut bacteria. Together, they produce trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) which, in turn, can lead to atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in arteries).
Fried Food
Full of saturated and trans fats, fried food can lead to a whole host of gut issues including pain, gas, and diarrhea.

Instead, focus on eating more of these foods that we listed in Good Foods for Good Moods.

Exercise

Exercise can play a big part in improving mental health, but it’s also great for your gut as well! Whether you’re doing a hard workout or a walk around the block, it can absolutely make the difference. It has been shown to reduce stress, improve your mood, and help your physical wellbeing.

Stay Hydrated

Failing to stay hydrated can cause constipation as your large intestine simply can’t get enough water to soften your stool. Dehydration can also cause nausea, bloating, stomach ulcers, and acid reflux.

Reduce Your Stress

From exercise to getting enough sleep and meditation to hobbies, there are plenty of ways to reduce your stress. Finding the routine that works for you is essential. Talking to a therapist or doctor can also help you to find the right methods to lower your anxiety and uncover exactly what’s going on with your gut health. This in turn will help you to elevate your mood.

Your gut health can absolutely cause an increase in anxiety, stress, and depression. Anxiety, if left unchecked, can then worsen your gut health. It’s important to care for both sides of the coin to ensure you’re not getting stuck in a cycle.

If you feel like you’re constantly dealing with GI problems and stress, it’s time to schedule an appointment with a doctor. Start with a 15 minute Unlimited Health Strategy Session.

Sources

Snyder, C. (2022, June 29). Can your diet affect your mental health? Healthline. Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/diet-and-mental-health-can-what-you-eat-affect-how-you-feel
Food & your mood: How food affects mental health – aetna: Foods that help your brain health. Aetna. (n.d.). Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://www.aetna.com/health-guide/food-affects-mental-health.html
Raman, R. (2019, October 29). The leaky gut diet plan. Healthline. Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/leaky-gut-diet
Lainey Younkin Headshot Lainey Younkin, M. S. (n.d.). Best and worst foods to eat for gut health. EatingWell. Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://www.eatingwell.com/article/2059033/best-and-worst-foods-to-eat-for-gut-health/
“The Gut-Brain Connection.” Harvard Health, 19 Apr. 2021, https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/the-gut-brain-connection.
6 Worst Foods for Gut Health | U.S. News – US News & World Report. https://health.usnews.com/wellness/food/slideshows/worst-food-for-gut-health.