The Real Connection Between Your Gut, Mood, Food, and Mental Well-being—A Doctor’s Guide for a Sustainable and Healthy Lifestyle

Nutritional psychiatrist and farmer Dr. Drew Ramsey MD—author of Eat Complete and Health Advisory Board member—attempts to explain how our gut health affects our mood and how good eating habits can promote well-being. After reading this, you might just realize that we are what we eat, after all!

Healthy food promotes overall mental well-being.

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We know the connection between food and physical well-being, but not everyone knows about food’s relationship to our mental health. Instead of just telling people what to eat and what not to eat, Ramsey wants everyone to realize the importance of healthy eating habits, so they can use food as an effective way to improve their mental health. In this way, people can start valuing their mental health a lot more by purposely eating well to achieve a sustainable and healthy life, both physically and mentally.

We usually eat healthily to help cure various diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and tumors, etc., But what can we eat to cure depression or even dementia? All these diseases can’t be cured just by eating right. However, it is something that we can include in our daily routines to help make life a bit better. Medications and psychotherapies aren’t the only ones we can turn to for curing illnesses, and for us, that’s an empowering thought.

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It also prevents depression and boosts brain health.

In 2011, after Ramsey’s book titled “The Happiness Diet” was published, it became apparent, due to the exploration of data regarding dietary patterns, that conventional nutritional habits can significantly lower the risk of depression and dementia for people. One example is the Mediterranean diet, which can help people live a sustainable healthy life with a healthy mind.

We, as humans, somewhat know that our eating does affect our moods. We can say, in simpler words, that we are aware of how our eating patterns change our feelings. However, we don’t take into account how it affects our brains and our mental well-being. Mental well-being is a mixture of our gut feelings and our brains’ processing.

How do we nurture our relationship with food?

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According to Ramsey, we can only pursue healthier eating habits if we enjoy the process. We can do this by thinking creatively and increasing our nutrient-intake through healthy foods we like the most. If you love carbs, then eat the kinds that are packed with more nutrients per calorie like sweet potato.

Also, eat with folks that you care about, share food, and prepare food together because food has the power to connect us, which is its most significant mental health aspects.