This World Mental Health Day, at The Slimming Clinic we wanted to talk more about how your mental health is affected by your diet and lifestyle choices.
What is the link between food and mental health?
What we consume and how we live is intrinsically linked with our mental health and it is more important than ever to consider our lifestyles to support our mental wellbeing.
Some foods, particularly high calorie, sugary foods, can trick our brains into releasing hormones that give us a quick energy boost and temporary feeling of elation but actually increase poor mental health long term.
We frequently see patients who use food as a way to lift their mood, and when it doesn’t have the anticipated reward, it leads to food addiction as they consume more and more until they are satisfied.
This is compounded by the fact that when we are stressed or anxious, we release more of the hormone cortisol, which can trigger higher blood insulin levels, causing those cravings for sugary and fatty foods.
How to improve our mental health with diet
If we know that that our diet and lifestyle effects our mental health, where can we start to make changes for the better?
A good place to start is to consider when you are eating and why. How often do you eat when you are not necessarily hungry?
For a lot of us, we eat because we’re bored, anxious, depressed or even happy.
Next time you find yourself eating, particularly outside of mealtimes, stop and think about why you are eating.
When we can see what our diet looks like, we can then start to implement healthier habits and changes to what we consume, to support our mental health.
Get Professional Support
It is important to remember that your symptoms of low mood, depression, anxiety or stress may be different to the next person’s and that any diet and lifestyle changes should be tailored to you and your needs.
That is why at The Slimming Clinic, our doctor-led programmes are tailored around you to suit your needs, lifestyle and any conditions you might be dealing with.
Our weight loss doctors are experts in dealing with whatever it is that is causing you to gain weight or be unable to lose weight.
We have two ways for you to get started.