My new-found way of eating is very informative being a Metaphysical Psychologist (ret,
) I have observed many a human personality
Those eating the worst diets seem more likely to be depressed, stolid, and dispassionate, and it's pretty usual to hear those eating healthy low-fat raw vegan diets based around fruit and greens comment on how they're just inexplicably happier since their dietary switch.
I rebelled against this connection, and I wondered at the chicken or egg quality of the subject. Do happier people just eat better, or does a superior diet actually have some unexpected ability to lift our spirits?
It's a tough subject to get empirical evidence on because regardless of diet, no two people live the same life and happiness is kind of subjective, which obviously leaves huge room for the thousands of outside factors and personal norms that affect our how we might describe our mood to wreak havoc.
Recently, though, some interesting science has started to indicate that food and mood are closely intertwined.
What's going on here?
The researchers noted two things: First, the vegetarians and vegans had much lower intakes and circulation of arachidonic acid, a substance found only in animal foods that is known to inflame the brain and may contribute to brain disorders like Alzheimer's Disease (2).
They also noted the inclusion of more plant foods in the diets of the meat abstainers may have played into the food and mood connection. Vegetarians are noted for having higher circulating concentrations of antioxidants and less oxidative stress than meat eaters, which is a likely a result of their plant-focused diets (3, 4).
Just observing .