How to manage your mood with food
Updated: 6:00 PM EDT Mar 22, 2025
EVERYONE. YOU TWO ANGEL OKAY. FIVE ON YOUR HEALTH THIS MORNING. MANAGING YOUR MOOD WITH FOOD. RESEARCH SHOWS SOME INGREDIENTS CAN TREAT OR EVEN PREVENT ANXIETY. HERE TO EXPLAIN IS DOCTOR UMA NAIDOO, DIRECTOR OF NUTRITIONAL AND METABOLIC PSYCHIATRY AT MASS GENERAL HOSPITAL. AND AS IF THAT WASN’T ENOUGH, AUTHOR OF A BOOK CALLED CALM YOUR MIND WITH FOOD. DOCTOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING TIME FOR US THIS MORNING. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. WELL, WE’VE HEARD IT ALL BEFORE. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. DO YOU THINK FOOD MATTERS? MORE SPECIFICALLY TO OUR MENTAL HEALTH THAN, SAY, EXERCISE OR EVEN SLEEP? TO BE HONEST, I THINK THEY ALL WORK TOGETHER, SO I WOULDN’T WANT TO HAVE YOU DO ONE AND NOT THE OTHER. I LIKE TO TELL PEOPLE YOU KNOW HOW YOU SLEEP, WHETHER YOU EXERCISE YOUR NUTRITION, EVEN YOUR HYDRATION, ALL OF THAT WORKS TOGETHER. BUT I THINK AS AMERICANS, WE TEND TO MAYBE LET THE NUTRITION GO A LITTLE BIT SINCE MANY OF US EAT THE STANDARD AMERICAN DIET, A WESTERN DIET. SO I DO THINK THAT A LOT OF MY WORK HAS JUST FOCUSED ON HOW CAN WE MAKE WHAT WE EAT HEALTHIER FOR OUR BRAIN AND THEREFORE OUR MENTAL WELL-BEING? IT’S SATURDAY MORNING. MANY PEOPLE MIGHT BE WAKING UP TO THE SMELL OF BACON COOKING FOR BREAKFAST. THAT SOUNDS LIKE A MOOD BOOSTER, EVEN IF IT’S NOT A HEALTHY ONE. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS THERE? SO I THINK IT’S ABOUT TAKING FOODS THAT WE LOVE AND MAYBE MAKING THEM A LITTLE BIT HEALTHIER. CAN YOU HAVE TURKEY BACON? OR IF YOU HAVE A PIECE OF BACON, EAT LESS OF IT AND COOK IT IN AN AIR FRYER OR EVEN IN THE OVEN. SO YOU GET THAT CRISPINESS WITHOUT ALL THE EXTRA FAT THAT YOU MAY NOT NEED. AND TAKE THE, YOU KNOW, EGGS. GREAT HEALTHY OPTION FOR YOU. IF EGGS ARE TOO EXPENSIVE RIGHT NOW, THERE’S ACTUALLY A WAY TO MAKE EGGS USING CHICKPEA FLOUR, AND IT’S A WAY TO MAKE SORT OF A VEGAN OMELET. BUT YOU STILL GET THAT FLAVOR. YOU CAN GET YOUR VEGGIES IN AND LOTS OF TASTE, BUT YOU GET MOOD BOOSTING INGREDIENTS IN ALL OF THESE FOODS. SO EGGS ARE PERFECTLY FINE. THROW IN EXTRA VEGGIES. THINK ABOUT A CHIA PUDDING AND VERY EASY TO MAKE. YOU CAN MAKE AHEAD FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY AND TOP IT WITH, YOU KNOW, DELICIOUS YOGURT AND BERRIES AND NUTS. MAKE IT HEALTHY AND ENJOYABLE FOR THE FAMILY. TOGETHER. IS THIS ALL ABOUT NOT REALLY HAVING ANY SPIKE IN BLOOD SUGAR OR TOO MUCH SALT? IS IT ABOUT JUST KIND OF STAYING EVEN? THAT’S ONE OF THE COMPONENTS. YOU KNOW, HOW WE FEED OURSELVES IS ALSO HOW WE FEED OUR GUT MICROBES. THE THE GUT BRAIN CONNECTION EXPLAINS THE MOOD, FOOD CONNECTION. SO IF WE’RE FEEDING THOSE MICROBES WITH UNHEALTHY FOOD, THE BAD MICROBES ARE GOING TO TAKE OVER AND THEY’RE GOING TO CAUSE REALLY WHAT WE CALL DYSBIOSIS OR INFLAMMATION IN THE GUT. AND ULTIMATELY THAT WILL LEAD TO A LOW MOOD OR HIGH ANXIETY. SO HOW WE FEED OURSELVES IS REALLY SUPER IMPORTANT FOR OUR BRAIN AND OUR MENTAL WELL-BEING. A LOT OF PEOPLE MIGHT BE HEADED TO THE GROCERY STORE. WHAT WOULD BE LIKE MAYBE SOME HERBS OR OTHER ITEMS WE MIGHT WANT TO HAVE ON HAND JUST TO HELP OUR MOOD WHEN NEEDED. I LOVE THINGS, I LOVE FRESH MINT, I LOVE PARSLEY, THYME, OREGANO, CAPSAICIN FROM CHILI PEPPERS. ACTUALLY HELPS, YOU KNOW, HELPS MOOD AND ACTUALLY HELPS METABOLISM. SO LOTS OF GREAT INGREDIENTS IN THE PRODUCE AISLE FOR YOU. PICK UP ANY ONE OF THEM. AND IF YOU FIND THE FRESH HERB YOU CAN USE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THAT THAN THE DRY SPICE TURMERIC, DRY SPICE. EASY TO USE WITH PINCH OF BLACK PEPPER. GOOD AMOUNT OF EVIDENCE TO HELP ANXIETY. I TOSS A LITTLE BIT A QUARTER TEASPOON WITH A PINCH OF BLACK PEPPER INTO SOUP OR SMOOTHIE, EVEN A TEA. SO IT’S GREAT TO ADD THESE INTO YOUR FOODS. NOT ONLY MAKE THEM FLAVORFUL, BUT A PURE SPICE OR JUST AN HERB. THEY HAVE VIRTUALLY NO CALORIES IN THEM AND NO ADDED SALT. LIKE YOU MENTIONED. BEFORE WE LET YOU GO, CAN I ASK YOU ONE THING THAT I’M GUILTY OF? IS IT OKAY TO DRINK COFFEE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH? YOU KNOW THAT MUCH? SO COFFEE ZONE IS A HEALTHY IS IS A A HAS A LOT OF PLANT POLYPHENOLS. SO IT’S GREAT IF IT’S IF YOU CAN TOLERATE THAT AND IT DOESN’T CAUSE REFLUX OR DISCOMFORT. GO FOR IT. WE ALL RESPOND TO FOODS DIFFERENTLY. AND EVEN IN MY WORK OVER TIME IT’S BECOME HIGHLY MORE PERSONALIZED. SO I WOULD BE NOT BE WORRIED ABOUT THAT, BUT I’D BE A LITTLE CONCERNED IF YOU PUT IN EIGHT TEASPOONS OF SUGAR AND A LOT OF ULTRA PROCESSED CREAMER THAT THAT WE CAN TWEAK AN EMPTY STOMACH IF YOU ENJOY IT. THAT WORKS. I WAS A LITTLE WORRIED ABOUT THE ANSWER THERE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GET IN THE CAR AT 233 IN THE MORNING, IT’S AN EMPTY STOMACH AND A CUP OF COFFEE. THANK YOU DOCTOR. UMA NAIDOO, DIRECTOR TO SEE YOU. IT’S ALWAYS GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE. DIRECTOR OF NUTRITIONAL AND METABOLIC PSYCHIATRY AT MASS
How to manage your mood with food
Updated: 6:00 PM EDT Mar 22, 2025
As research shows some foods and some ingredients can manage or treat anxiety, NewsCenter 5 spoke to Dr. Uma Naidoo, the Director of Nutritional and Metabolic Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, to learn more.
NEEDHAM, Mass. —
As research shows some foods and some ingredients can manage or treat anxiety, NewsCenter 5 spoke to Dr. Uma Naidoo, the Director of Nutritional and Metabolic Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, to learn more.