The impact of your diet on your mental health

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – What you eat on a daily basis can have a significant impact on your physical health. But, your diet can impact your mental health, as well.

Consumption of caffeine, alcohol and ultra-processed foods can all have an impact on your mental health.

“Think of a vending machine, when you walk up to a vending machine, what do you see? You see potato chips, you see candy bars, you see honey buns, muffins, that’s ultra-processed food, and it is 60% of the American diet,” Registered Dietitian and Patient Navigator with Christus Ochsner Lake Area Kristie Evans said.

She says in order to lower the risk of depression and anxiety, you have to start crowding out ultra-processed foods with healthy whole foods.

“A lot of those foods also have additives in there, they have dyes and preservatives and additives, non-nutritive sweeteners that are linked to depression and anxiety,” Evans said.

Now, you may be wondering how your mind and your stomach work parallel.

Well, it’s something called brain-gut connection. It’s basically when your brain talks to your gut.

“So, in our gut it produces a chemical call serotonin, most people have heard of that, it’s our feel-good chemical. So, whenever you have a healthy gut, you are producing more of the serotonin,” Evans said.

Evans says eating foods high in probiotics is the number one thing you can do to promote a healthy gut.

Yogurt, Sauerkraut, Kimchi and Miso are just a few foods that are high in probiotics.

Evans says Omega 3s are essential to brain health.

“It’s a fat that we can’t get unless we get it from our diet, so this things like salmon, walnuts, your chia seeds. If you’re a person that doesn’t eat fish on a normal, you might consider supplementing with an Omega 3 fatty acid,” she said.

If you are interested in getting an individualized nutrition plan or want to know more about nutrition, reach out to a Registered Dietitian.

Copyright 2025 KPLC. All rights reserved.