Full Transcript Introduction to Mood Food and Brain Health 0:00 These are the worst foods for brain inflammation. 0:04 Hello, I'm Dr. 0:05 Uma, your mood food expert and welcome to my channel. 0:08 I am a nutritional psychiatrist and what I do is fuse my knowledge of brain health and food to help my patients and students and now you watching this. 0:20 Also, a national and international bestseller, published two books all related to mood and The reason I want to share my knowledge with you today is that 0:35 I've seen the impact of changing nutrition in my patients and how this has impacted their mental well-being and in some cases their physical well being 0:46 and sometimes even their weight. 0:48 In this channel, expect to learn more about how the food you eat affects your mood. 0:54 We will also be sharing tips on food, recipes and anything related to brain health to help you combat, understand or at least manage your Mood swings, 1:03 anxiety, lack of focus, brain fog, poor sleep, depression, Anxiety or even ADHD. 1:11 If you're experiencing any of these, I invite you to this channel and I hope that with what we share, your everyday will get just a little bit better and
How Food Affects the Gut-Brain Connection 1:21 that you'll feel that get to know the foods to eat and the better decisions to make for a better mood. 1:28 We are thinking beings, so it's important for us to love and take care of our brain. 1:34 And the easiest way to Love our Brain is to Eat Healthy. 1:38 In one of my previous videos, I discussed how the two brains, the gut-brain connection in our body is connected. 1:46 The one in your head and the one your gut. 1:49 That what you eat affects the health of your brain. 1:54 But eating healthy has become more difficult. 1:57 Why? 1:58 It's because there are tons of available choices or lack of healthy ones, I should say. 2:04 There's a ton of distracting social media posts and information. 2:09 Other media platforms are always telling you about the new superfood, the best diet, how to lose weight. 2:15 So we grab the easiest, fastest food we can, also known as fast foods, processed foods ultra-processed foods. 2:23 all without understanding what we are actually eating. 2:26 What ingredients are in them, what preservatives, colourants and dyes, all of these things actually affect our brain. 2:35 Fast and processed foods have been known to be high in sugar, salt, trans fats, calories and preservatives, and the gut is trying to digest all of these. 2:45 Since the Gut views these added chemicals or artificial ingredients found in unhealthy foods as infectious, it triggers a mild inflammatory and immune response.
Processed Foods and Brain Inflammation 2:58 When you scrape your knee, what do you notice about that wound on your knees? 3:03 This is the process of inflammation in action and this is important because it is helping to heal that cut or that wounded. 3:13 In the gut, inflammation happens as well, but this is a more chronic and insidious inflammation, and it is there to help us fight off toxins. 3:23 Imagine what is happening to your gut every time you eat an unhealthy or processed food. 3:28 Well, it leads to chronic low-grade inflammation over time. 3:32 This chronic inflammation of the guts leads into neuroinflammation or inflammation in the brain and nervous tissue, also known as brain inflammation. 3:42 Neuroinflammation affects your brain's health, triggering anxiety, depression, lack of focus, brain fog, and even neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive problems. 3:54 If there's inflammation in the brain, it's not good. 3:58 if the brains not in good, your mood won't be good either. 4:02 So what do you have to do? 4:03 What should you do. 4:05 You have avoid eating too much of the unhealthy foods and drinks that cause brain inflammation. 4:11 The number one food that you want to stay away from are processed and ultra processed junk foods and fast foods. 4:18 Most of these foods actually have a very long shelf life because they contain chemical additives, preservatives, colorants, 4:25 dyes and food stabilizers, which are actually toxic to the gut. 4:30 Therefore, they cause inflammation and they can over time cause you to not feel good emotionally. 4:37 They may even worsen conditions like anxiety. 4:41 Some examples of these foods are sausages, deli meats, and hot dogs. 4:46 The number two food are the added and refined sugars.
Sugar, Seed Oils, Alcohol, and Coffee 4:51 These sugars have the potential to wreck our gut health and overwhelm our brain because of the amount of sugar. 4:58 High fructose corn syrup is the most commonly used added sugar and there are more than 262 other names for sugar on food labels. 5:07 Brown rice syrup, is actually simply sugar, so Familiarize yourself with how to read and label so that you know the added sugars in a food. 5:17 An unhealthy type of gut flora leads to obesity, decreased libido and poor sleep. 5:23 Examples of these less healthy foods are boxed cereals, granola bars, salad dressings, cakes, pastries and shelf-stable breads that actually may contain 5:34 sugar and other unhealthy ingredients. 5:36 The third food to stay away from are the industrial vegetable and seed oils. 5:41 Highly processed oils such as corn, grape seed and soybean oil are particularly high in inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids and low in anti-inflammatory omega 3 5:53 fatty acid and are drivers of both gut and neuroinflammation. 5:57 The consumption of these oils has been associated with increased anxiety, worsening mood and increased progression of cognitive disorders as well. 6:08 For your next grocery run, instead of the usual types of oils, try getting olive oil or even an avocado oil. 6:17 Number four, too much alcohol and coffee. 6:21 My guideline for both of these is set mindfully and in moderation. 6:25 If either starts to affect you, then cutting back is important and also pay attention to the added sugars, sweeteners, liqueurs, 6:33 juices added to either of the beverages. 6:36 I call this having a clean cup of coffee and if you consume alcohol, a clear cocktail. 6:42 If you'd like to start making changes in your diet, I've added in the description box the link to my previous video of the Top 7 Foods for Brain Health 6:51 that you can watch right now. 6:53 Easily start by adding these 7 foods into your Diet for better brain health. 6:58 Making changes to your Diets is not easy, so take it one step at a time. 7:03 Observe what you eat often and see whether they belong to these 4 foods that we just talked about.
Practical Swaps and Final Takeaways 7:10 If yes, cut back on your intake, do it slowly, start to replace with a healthier food. 7:17 Options like almonds or avocados or a fermented food are much better than these foods we talked about today. 7:24 If the change is too much, then eat in moderation. 7:27 Do not make these food your everyday meal. 7:30 start eating less of them, then gradually remove them over time from your diet with healthier options. 7:37 Also, always remember you can add in physical activity, like a consistent short walk, which has been shown to be better for brain health, 7:45 and exercise uplifts your mood. 7:48 As your mood food expert, there are several things that I want you to take away from this video. 7:54 Always remember that what you eat affects your brain. 7:57 Eating healthy equals a healthy brain, as much as you can avoid processed foods, ultra-processed foods refined sugars, industrial vegetable oils, 8:06 and drinking too much coffee and alcohol. 8:10 Lastly, there's help for what you're going through. 8:13 With that frequent lack of focus, brain fog, anxiety or even a low mood. 8:19 Each week I publish a newsletter with tips to help you with your brain health. 8:23 If you'd like to receive those, please feel free to sign up through the link pinned in the comment section. 8:29 if you would like know more about the science of your mood and food, check the description box below. 8:36 Download my free mini ebook and don't forget, Eat good food for a good mood. 8:42 See you in the next video.
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