eating to heal: food, inflammation& mental health
Feeling chronically anxious? How about low energy? Does your mood feel off ? Feel mentally foggy? Trust me, you’re not imagining it. Ongoing stress, emotional burnout, and inherited pressure are all things that can lead to chronic inflammation in our body and it can impact the way your body and brain feels.
Research shows chronic inflammation is linked to:
~ Anxiety & depression
~ Brain fog & fatigue
~ Disrupted sleep
~ Emotional exhaustion
~Slower emotional recovery
~ Increased risk of long-term mood disorders
Gut Health=Mental Health. An unhealthy gut triggers inflammation. Our gut health and mental health are intertwined, as our gut and brain talk 24/7 via the gut-brain axis. An unhealthy gut can trigger inflammation, which affects mood, stress, and can promote depression. So the less inflammation we have the better our brain health.
The BrAIN diet (Brain-supportive, Anti-Inflammatory Nutrition). Built on research connecting gut health to mental health the BrAIN lifestyle is designed to reduce inflammation, promote gut health and energy, and improve mental health through food.
In a 2023 study, people with anxiety and depression who followed the BrAIN lifestyle for 6–8 weeks showed:
~ Lower anxiety
~ Fewer depressive symptoms
~ Clearer thinking & better energy
What This Can Look Like...many of these already live in our ancestral dishes:
~ Leafy greens, fruits, & vegetables
~ Whole grains
~ Lentils & beans
~ Nuts & seeds (esp. walnuts)
~ Fermented foods (like yogurt, kimchi, kefir, lebneh, pickled vegetables)
~ Omega-3s (salmon, mackerel, sardines, flaxseed)
~ Olive oil (esp. extra virgin)
~ Spices (turmeric, ginger, garlic)
What to gently reduce. Not restrict. Just relate differently to:
~ Ultra processed foods (UPFs)
~ Fried or fast food
~ High red/processed meat
~ Sugary drinks and snacks
~ Caffeine or alcohol in excess
For children of immigrants: We grew up watching food be about survival—stretching, saving, feeding everyone else first. We may have been socialized to relate to food based on how thin our body looked instead of tuning into how good or bad our body felt.
Allow yourself to eat for your healing: Anti-inflammatory nutrition is one pathway that can help us reconnect to our body, nourish it, and support our mental health- especially when the pressure of all the responsibilities we carry feels heavy.
We don’t need to change everything overnight. Start small. One nourishing shift. One meal. One breath.
Interested in starting therapy with Calamansi Counseling? Book a free consultation here. In-person therapy in Ellicott City, MD & virtually in Washington DC, Maryland & select countries internationally. Not ready for therapy? How about just coffee? For more information visit: www.calamansicounseling.com/store/
