8 Eating Habits To Steal From Psychologists

How To Eat With Your Mental Health in Mind

While food certainly isn’t the be-all and end-all of health and wellness, what you eat has a big impact on both your physical and mental health. There’s so much talk about how different foods can impact your heart health, digestive health, energy levels and disease risk. What we don’t talk about quite as much is the role that food can play in your mental health and mood.

Getting adequate nutrition helps brain function by supporting the creation of neurotransmitters (which send signals to and from your brain) and maintenance of other tissues and cells. It also gives your brain the energy it needs to work properly. Cultivating a positive, sustainable relationship with food can help you feel better about yourself and your body.

While mental health experts aren’t the authority on food and nutrition, they do have some insight into how these things impact your mood and cognitive functioning. Here are nine eating habits to steal from psychologists, psychiatrists and licensed therapists.

Eat your greens.

“One of the best habits you can adopt is the daily inclusion of more antioxidant-rich foods into your diet,” says Clint Salo, MD, a psychiatrist and the medical director at The Grove Recovery Community in Santa Ana, California. Dark, leafy greens like kale and spinach are great sources, and easy to eat in salads, side dishes or blended into smoothies and soups. Antioxidants bind to free radicals in your body and “neutralize” them, which reduces oxidative stress and thus decreases your risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and Parkinson’s, Salo explains.

Go fish. (Or, go nuts.)

“Omega-3 fatty acids are required for optimal brain functioning, improve mood, help in the alleviation of depression and reduce the risk of dementia,” Salo says. “Including omega-3 fatty acids in your diet is a practice meant to improve the health of your brain for the years to come.”

If you eat seafood, including one to two servings of salmon, mackerel, sardines or other fatty fish in your diet each week is a great way to boost your omega-3 consumption. For a plant-based option, nuts and seeds like walnuts and flaxseeds are a great choice.

Eat mindfully.

“Eating more mindfully can help regulate mood and reduce anxiety,” says Holly Ann Schiff, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist at South County Psychiatry. “Sitting down without distractions, slowing the pace of meals and noticing hunger and fullness cues can help calm the nervous system.” This helps lower stress while also supporting better digestion. And if that sounds too simplistic or too good to be true, it’s not. A 2019 review of existing studies found that mindful eating (being deliberate about taking a break from your day to eat and focusing on the food, not other stressors or distractions) can help with digestion.

Build some structure around mealtimes.

“Choose a consistent time and space to eat with no phone or multitasking,” says Rene Mondy, LPC, a therapist in Atlanta, GA. “The structure piece helps stabilize the nervous system and gives clients space for their emotions to land. Clients often find this ritual improves social confidence and emotional regulation far more than a restrictive diet ever could.”

Eat regularly to prevent big blood sugar swings.

“The brain relies on a steady supply of glucose (which is what your body breaks carbs down into) to function optimally,” says Michael Wetter, PsyD, a clinical psychologist. When you eat irregularly — like skipping breakfast and lunch only to eat a huge dinner — or eat lots of high-carb foods without protein and fat to balance them out, your blood sugar can swing, meaning that there’s a ton of glucose available in your bloodstream sometimes, and very little at other times.

“Over time, chronic blood sugar instability and insulin resistance can damage small blood vessels in the brain, contributing to cognitive decline and an increased risk of dementia,” Wetter says. “Eating regular, balanced meals that include complex carbohydrates, lean proteins and healthy fats helps maintain stable glucose levels throughout the day.”

Prioritize fermented foods.

“Have one serving of fermented food (plain yogurt/kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso) a day,” says Barbar Sparacino, MD, a psychiatrist and founder of The Aging Parent Coach. The probiotic bacteria in these foods can help support a diverse gut microbiome, which directly impacts your mood and brain function.

Try adding kefir or yogurt to breakfast, having kimchi as a side or including miso in soups or even fish dishes.

Get plenty of fiber.

Fiber has numerous health benefits. One that’s not talked about as often is the fact that certain prebiotic fibers found in plant foods actually feed the probiotic bacteria in your gut to keep your microbiome healthy. Sparacino recommends trying to incorporate as many different types of plant foods into your diet as possible, since all contain fiber and different nutrients.

Try one change at a time.

The truth is, most people struggle to change their eating habits, even if they know that certain changes might improve their health and make them feel better, says Grand Hilary Brenner, MD, a psychiatrist in New York City. “While some people can make and sustain major shifts in eating and lifestyle quickly, many cannot. Instead of overhauling everything at once, try one change at a time — for example, adding a serving of fermented food every day for a month, or focusing on mindful eating at dinnertime — and repeating it until it feels like habit.