Besides the body, does what we eat affect our emotions? If you learn more about the structure of the brain and how brain cells connect and communicate with each other, you will find that the food we eat will partly form the structure of the brain, and the nutrients we take in will also affect the operation of the brain. Moreover, the brain is an organ that consumes nutrients surprisingly, and it is also the master of the body. It is a pity that ordinary people often ignore the nutrition of the brain, and many people do not know that emotions have a lot to do with the food we eat.
Emotions are very broad, and negative emotions include impulsive personality, inexplicable depression, insomnia, inability to concentrate, etc. These problems can actually be improved through proper diet. What we eat affects the brain. Many people eat indiscriminately when they are in a bad mood, trying to use junk food to sweep away the rubbish in their hearts. As a result, the emotional rubbish accumulates because of the wrong food; what we eat is not. The food that the brain asks for, of course, does not get a kind response from the brain.
Table of Contents
5 Nutrients That Keep Your Brain Happy and Healthy
Diet and mood are closely related. Let’s start with the three major nutrients:
1. Do dietary carbohydrates affect mood?
Some people think of fat when it comes to carbohydrates, such as whole grains, rice, and pasta. This is a dangerous and misleading notion. We must not eliminate carbohydrates from our diet. The brain will become angry if we remove this vital substance. People who lose weight don’t eat starch, and their spirits will suffer for a long time.
Our brain can only consume glucose. Most of the glucose in our diet is converted to starch or stored as fruit sugars. If we don’t eat starch or fruit, our bodies will activate the defence mechanism. The brain doesn’t have anything to eat, so it produces ketone bodies. It also breaks down muscles to release amino acids. These are then converted to glucose in the liver. Let the brain have fun. People who don’t eat starch for long periods might lose more weight in muscle than fat.
Some people might think that the brain loves glucose, so it would be better to give it sugary treats to make it happy. The brain loves glucose but prefers slow food and not too much. Because too much glucose is bad for the brain, it will eat less slowly. The insulin picket will remove most of it, but the brain won’t have enough food. The brain will feel depressed and unhappy at this point.
The brain doesn’t like high blood sugar fluctuations. Living in an environment that fluctuates between high and low is not happy. To function properly, blood sugar concentration must remain stable. Avoid delicate sweets. They can be too absorbed quickly, which can cause rapid rises in blood sugar. Complex carbohydrates are those that take longer to digest before being absorbed by the body. This is why it is important to choose a staple food such as brown rice, sweet potatoes, corn, pumpkin, sweet potato, and other foods high in dietary fiber. You can also eat fruits instead of juice to stabilize your blood sugar. Your brain will enjoy the food slowly, and your mood will stabilize.
2. Does protein affect mood?
Protein is found in all foods, including beans, eggs, milk, meat, and fish. Protein is essential for growth and development. Many hormones and enzymes also require protein to produce materials. But you may not know that the communication between hundreds to hundreds of billions of brain cells in our brain needs to be transmitted by neurotransmitters, which play a role like a postman, sending the information transmitted by the previous cell to the next cell. When protein is consumed, it is broken down into amino acids. Some amino acids are also used to synthesize neurotransmitters in the brain.
You can see that eating too much protein or the wrong kind of protein can cause nerve conduction problems between brain cells. This could also lead to emotional problems. Some people lose weight and avoid eating meat, while others choose to eat lower-calorie vegetables. This can lead to emotional problems down the road. Vegetarians who do not choose the best source of protein are more likely to develop emotional disorders. Vegetarians should also eat soybeans, edamame and black soybeans, as well as their products.
3. Does fat affect mood?
The oils we use to cook, or the fats in milk, meat, and nuts are all sources of dietary fats. Everyone thinks only of obesity and heart disease when it comes to fat. Some people don’t even want to eat any oil and are afraid to drain it. Did you know that between 40-50% of brain cells’ solid matter is made up of fats? Because the brain’s fat is functional, it is very different to the fat that accumulates in the body and causes obesity. It is used to build up the cell membrane of our brain. The fat structure in the cell membrane will significantly impact the release and receipt of neurotransmitters. The brain will not function well if the fat we consume is not what it needs.
People are afraid of oil. This is a problem because oil can cause damage to brain cells. People love junk food, especially fried foods. Some oxidized fats are consumed in their bodies. They can cause brain cells to receive fats, but they are not high-quality fats. Another serious problem is this. This is another serious dietary problem.
4. The relationship between “vitamins” and “minerals” and the brain
Everyone should be able to understand that the nutrients that supply heat to the body aren’t just for heating but also have the responsibility of helping brain cells function well. Let’s now discuss vitamins and minerals. These nutrients are not calories, but they are vital to the body’s metabolism and the function of brain cells. Many foods contain vitamins and minerals, but fruits and vegetables are the most plentiful. It is important to include fruits and vegetables in your diet.
Neurotransmitters are essential for brain cell connections, as we have already mentioned. It doesn’t matter how many brain cells you have; without these messengers, it will be useless. These neurotransmitters are mostly metabolized from amino acid, which requires catalysis enzymes. Coenzymes are an important role in many vitamins and minerals. Enzymes cannot function smoothly without these coenzymes. Without coenzymes, enzymes cannot function smoothly. It is like an enzyme (enzyme), but without screws (coenzyme), it can’t run. The synthesis of neurotransmitters can be viewed as a production line. We can think of each machine at each station as an enzyme, vitamin, or mineral. If the key screw on a machine is missing or loose, it can affect production.
This means that if a vitamin or mineral is not regularly consumed, it can affect the brain’s ability to synthesize neurotransmitters, which, in turn, can impact our mood. Fruits and vegetables contain many vitamins and minerals. Some people don’t like eating fruits and vegetables. This partial eclipse behavior can cause poor metabolism and emotional problems.
Hi, am Sukanya Sharma, a professional blogger and writer, from Bhubaneswar. I completed my graduation from Delhi University in 2018. My expertise is in Lifestyle, Food & Health.
