Can You Really Eat Your Way to Happiness? by Jolien Durwael

It's a question that has been coming up more and more in recent years. Not only in scientific articles, but also in conversations, podcasts and on social media. As if we somehow hope the answer is simple. That by simply eating differently, we can also start feeling differently. That what's on our plate is a direct gateway to what's going on in our heads.

And in a way, that idea isn't so far-fetched. Eating is something we do every day. It's tangible, something we can influence, and it's close to home. So it makes sense that we look for a foothold there, especially when things feel a little harder mentally.

What science is telling us today

Science also seems to partially confirm that intuition. In recent years, there has been growing research into the link between nutrition and mental health. We now have a better understanding that our gut and our brain are in constant communication through what is known as the gut-brain axis. This system encompasses nerve pathways, hormones and immune responses that together form a complex network in which signals are exchanged in both directions.

Our gut is also home to trillions of bacteria that play a role in this process. They not only assist with digestion, but also produce substances involved in our mood and stress regulation. There are also neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and GABA, which help determine how we feel, and for which certain nutrients are required as building blocks. Inflammatory processes also appear to play a role: chronic, low-grade inflammation is increasingly being linked to depressive symptoms and mental exhaustion, and nutrition can influence these processes.

It is therefore not surprising that certain dietary patterns — such as a Mediterranean diet or a more plant-based, balanced way of eating — are associated with better mental health. People who eat this way report, on average, fewer depressive symptoms and a more stable mood.

Why it's not a simple story

But this is where it's important to slow down and allow for some nuance.

Much of the research in this field is observational. This means we see associations, but cannot say with certainty what is the cause and what is the effect. We see that people with a certain dietary pattern feel better, but we don't always know whether that is due to their diet, or because they were already feeling better and therefore making different choices.

It is therefore not a straightforward story of cause and effect. It is likely an interplay, in which diet is one of many factors at work. Because mental health is never determined by a single element alone. Sleep, stress, movement, social connection and a sense of safety play equally important roles. Nutrition is part of that picture, but it doesn't stand apart from it.

Not just what you eat, but how

There is also another layer that often goes underexposed, and that is at least equally important. Not only what we eat, but also how we relate to food, influences our mental well-being.

In a context where "eating healthy" is receiving ever more attention, the focus on it can also go too far. When eating becomes something we have to do perfectly, when rules, control and pressure arise, that can actually contribute to stress and unease.

And that very stress, in turn, impacts the same systems that nutrition acts upon — our nervous system, our hormones, our gut health. In other words: it is perfectly possible to eat "healthily" by the rules and still feel worse mentally, precisely because the way you approach it has become burdensome.

Health is more than nutrients

That is why it is important to keep seeing the bigger picture. Health is not found in nutrients alone. Not only in fibre, vitamins or fatty acids. It also lies in flexibility, in being able to let go of control, in experiencing pleasure and ease around food.

In the feeling that you don't have to be constantly focused on optimising, but that there is room to simply eat and live.

So… can you eat your way to happiness?

If you ask whether you can eat your way to happiness, the honest answer is: not in a simple, straightforward way. You can't put together a meal that suddenly fixes everything. Food is not a magic remedy that exists separately from the rest of your life.

But that doesn't mean it plays no role. Quite the opposite. What you eat can support your body and your brain. It can contribute to greater stability, more energy and a better foundation for dealing with stress and emotions. Only, that effect is always embedded in a larger whole.

Perhaps the true value of nutrition therefore lies not in the idea that it is the key to happiness, but in the understanding that it is one of the ways in which you can take care of yourself. Not perfectly, not strictly, but in a way that nourishes without creating tension.

And perhaps that is a gentler, but also more honest approach. That it's not only about what's on your plate, but also about how you relate to it, and about everything that surrounds it. Because ultimately, your mental health is not determined by one single choice, but by the whole of how you live, feel and care for yourself.

Sources

Adjibade, M., Assmann, K. E., Andreeva, V. A., Lemogne, C., Hercberg, S., Galan, P., &Kesse-Guyot, E. (2019). Prospective association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and risk of depressive symptoms in the French SU.VI.MAX cohort. European Journal of Nutrition, 58(3), 1221–1232. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-018-1637-0

Firth, J., Gangwisch, J. E., Borsini, A., Wootton, R. E., & Mayer, E. A. (2020). Food and mood: How do diet and nutrition affect mental wellbeing? BMJ, 369, m2382.
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