Food for Mood: The Link Between Nutrition & Mental Health

30.04.25

I was sitting on the couch on the weekend after a particularly chocolate-heavy day (I’ll get through the Easter eggs eventually, right?), feeling sluggish and half-watching a movie. On the surface, it was a relaxed afternoon — no deadlines, no pressure. But despite the downtime, I noticed I felt oddly flat and foggy. It wasn’t until I caught sight of the crumpled Easter egg wrappers beside me that it clicked: the sugar was probably impacting how I was feeling.

It made me reflect on something I often explore with clients — how do the ways in which we nourish our body, also nourish our mind and mental health? In this blog I’ll share different ways that food can impact on mental health, and what you can do to boost your mood.

Body and Brain Connection: The Gut-Brain Axis

You might have heard people talking about the link between our digestive system and our brain; it’s been increasingly researched over the past ten or so years. The gist is, our brains aren’t isolated from the rest of our bodies — they’re deeply connected, especially to the gut. The “gut-brain axis” is a two-way communication system (comprised of the enteric nervous system and the vagus nerve) where the health of our gut can influence many aspects of our overall health, including mood, stress, and even immune system function, pain sensitivity, and cognitive function!

Supporting a thriving gut microbiome through a variety of foods (like fibre-rich plants, fermented foods, and diverse meals) can be one way of nurturing not just physical health, but emotional resilience too. The key is not to get caught in ‘shoulds’. Instead, try to focus on variety and keeping things interesting. Your gut health will benefit, and you get the mood boost from eating fun, new foods too!

Nutrients and Mental Health

Rather than focusing on what’s missing or “wrong” with what you eat, it can be helpful to think about what you might *add* to better support your mental health. Certain nutrients — like iron, B vitamins, and omega-3 fatty acids — are known to play important roles in brain function and emotional wellbeing.

Modern diets, especially when shaped by busy lifestyles or stress, sometimes fall short on these supportive nutrients (‘diet’ is used here to represent a pattern of eating, not reflect a particular set of rules e.g. the ‘Mediterranean diet’ etc.). This is because being busy or stressed means we often head first for what’s convenient, which is also often highly processed.

Wellness is not about achieving a perfectly balanced diet or even strictly following a ‘Recommended Daily Intake’ guideline— it’s about offering our bodies a steady stream of nourishment to help us feel more balanced, focused, and resilient.

Steady Blood Sugar Helps Steady Emotions

Have you ever felt ‘hangry’, so hungry you became irritable? What about sleepy and a bit flat after a big lunch, or sugary snack (hello my collection of Easter eggs)? Blood sugar levels play a significant role in how we feel physically and emotionally.

When we eat foods that cause sharp spikes and dips in blood sugar, it can lead to irritability, fatigue, and feeling “off.” Eating in a way that offers more steady energy — for example, including a balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fats across meals — can support emotional steadiness too.

Again, it’s not about restricting or prioritising certain foods over others, as all foods have a role to play. It’s about experimenting with patterns that support you feeling nourished and grounded, and learning to notice how your body feels after meals (keep reading!).

Trusting Your Body’s Intuition

‘Intuitive eating’ is an approach that offers an alternative to diet culture, by encouraging us to listen to our bodies’ internal cues of hunger, fullness, and satisfaction. It moves away from rigid food rules and focuses instead on curiosity, connection, and self-compassion around eating.

Rather than labelling foods as “good” or “bad,” intuitive eating invites us to notice what feels satisfying and sustaining. Research shows that practicing intuitive eating is linked to better psychological wellbeing, greater body trust, and lower rates of disordered eating (e.g. this study).

Nourishing yourself becomes less about control and more about care — responding to your body’s needs with kindness and attentiveness rather than judgment and ‘shoulds’. The key is to learn to listen to how your body feels during and after eating, and notice and respond helpfully to signals like hunger and thirst as they arise.

Not Just ‘What’ but ‘How’

How we eat can be just as important as what we eat. Skipping meals, eating on the run, or ignoring hunger cues can leave us feeling disconnected and unsettled. In contrast, making time to pause, eat with intention, and check in with our body’s signals can support not just physical nourishment, but emotional wellbeing too.

Mindful eating — slowing down, noticing textures and flavours, tuning into fullness — is one simple practice that can strengthen our relationship with food. It reminds us that eating is not just a task to “get through” — it’s an act of care and connection with ourselves.

Small, Sustainable Shifts Toward Self-Nourishment

If you’re reading all this and wondering where to start, the good news is that you don’t need to overhaul your entire way of eating to better support your mental health. Small, flexible shifts – based on curiosity and self-care – can have a really meaningful impact. Perhaps try a couple of the following suggestions and go from there:

Eat the rainbow: Try to ensure you’re eating lots of different-coloured fruits and vegetables cross the day, as this will help ensure a balance of nutrients.
Eat regularly: Avoid long stretches (more than 3-4 hours) without a meal or a snack.
Protein is your friend: Try to have a little bit of protein (like some dairy, nuts/seeds, tofu, or meat) with each meal.
Hydration helps: Drink water regularly throughout the day, aiming to stay comfortably hydrated.
A little prep goes a long way: Meal prep or plan some snacks ahead of time, especially for when you know you’ll have a busy day.
Listen to your body: Tune into your body’s hunger and fullness cues as best you can, and then respond to these as if your body were a close friend telling you what they need.
Slow down: Sit down to eat, even if just for a few minutes, to enjoy your meal without distraction. Savour that meal!

Conclusion: Food as a Form of Self-Care

Looking back on that Easter-egg-afternoon, I’m reminded that food is not just fuel — it’s a way we can connect to our bodies and support our wellbeing. There’s no need for guilt or rigid rules; instead, nutrition can be an accessible, compassionate part of self-care. By staying curious about how different foods make us feel, and responding to our bodies with kindness, we can build a relationship with eating that supports not just physical health, but emotional vitality too.

Food can be a particularly complex and difficult topic for some people. If you struggle with disordered eating, you can read here about how Peaceful Mind Psychology can support you. If you know someone struggling with an eating disorder, we also have some tips for how to support them here. And, if you want to know more details about food and mental health, one of our favourite podcasts, The Imperfects, has a whole episode dedicated to exploring this topic.