Healthy Food and Mood

Many factors contribute to your moods, including your stress level, sleep habits, exercise routine, age and dietary habits. Your dietary habits may also influence your moods, in positive or negative ways. If you're experiencing mood problems as a result of an illness, such as hypothyroidism, an eating disorder or depression, seeking treatment from a qualified professional is important. Regardless, aiming for a balanced diet, sufficient in nutrients and calories, can benefit your physical and emotional well-being.

Relationship

Your diet and moods can interact in numerous ways. In some cases, emotional stress increases food cravings and appetite and can lead to binge eating, according to MayoClinic.com. In this way, moods can influence your food choices and behaviors. On the flip-side, certain foods and eating habits may help manage your moods by preventing irritability and depression associated with blood sugar imbalances and nutrient deficiencies. While dietary changes aren't known to cure mood disorders, such as clinical depression or bipolar disorder, they may support other forms of treatment, such as psychotherapy and medications, and help manage or prevent complications.

Helpful Foods

A variety of nutritious foods may help attain or maintain positive moods. Carbohydrates may help your brain produce the feel-good brain chemical serotonin, according to MayoClinic.com psychiatrist Dr. Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, and help reduce anxiety. Choose carbohydrate sources that promote positive blood sugar balance, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Omega-3 fats, prevalent in salmon, tuna, herring, walnuts and flaxseed, play an important role in brain function and may help reduce emotional symptoms related to depression, bipolar disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Milk, bananas, potatoes, soy and poultry provide the amino acid tryptophan, which, when combined with carbohydrates, promotes a sense of calmness.

Damaging Foods

Eating a particular food, even an unhealthy one, isn't like to permanently damage your moods. Psychologist and coauthor of "The Good Mood Diet: Feel Great While You Lose Weight" Susan M. Kleiner recommends limiting processed foods and added sugars. Consuming candy, soft drinks, white bread, milk chocolate and potato chips may offset your blood sugar levels, increase food cravings and lead to feelings of anxiety, depression and irritability. Limiting saturated fat sources, such as red meat, high-fat cheese and butter, leaves more room in your diet for fatty fish, walnuts, canola oil, flaxseed and other beneficial fat sources. Limit alcohol and caffeine, since they, too, can disturb your moods and prevent restful sleep, all of which exacerbates mood problems.

Dietary Habits

The way you approach food and eating may also influence your moods. Kleiner recommends not skipping meals, since doing so may cause your blood sugar levels to plummet, along with your mood. At each meal, consume a complex carbohydrate, such as brown rice or whole grain bread, a lean protein source, such as grilled salmon or white-meat chicken, and colorful fruits and/or vegetables. Top it off with a healthy fat source, such as nuts, or prepare your chicken using olive oil. Stay properly hydrated by drinking fluids, particularly water, throughout each day. Other fluid options include low-fat milk, broth, pure vegetable juice and fruits and vegetables, such as watermelon and cucumbers. Avoid fad and restrictive diets, which may lead to a sense of deprivation, low energy, depression, anxiety, overeating and weight gain, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. Seek foods and dining experiences you enjoy for heightened pleasure.