nutrition
by The Researcher

Fat Effect on Your Mood

Fats have been a game changer for me. When I decided to start intentionally eating more healthy fats, I was a little scared of doing so. I thought eating more fats would make me gain more fat, but that hasn’t happened because it’s more satiating than carbs so I don’t overeat.

Fats can be generally separated into Omega-3 and Omega-6. Both fatty acids have positive health benefits that can help fight inflammation, but I personally try to eat more foods higher in Omega-3 than Omega-6 because the latter is found in packaged carbs like cookies and pastries.

  • Omega-3 fats include: cold-water fish, such as salmon, halibut, tuna; walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseed oil
  • Omega-6 fats include: vegetable oils (which is why a lot is found in packaged/processed foods), meat products from animals that were fed corn or soy, deep fried foods

Our brains are nearly 60% fat and Omega-3 fatty acids make up some of the nutrients that reside in our brain. Components of Omega-3 fatty acids, specifically EPA and DHA, play an important role in supporting brain function. Researchers and scientists have looked at the correlation between EPA and DHA levels in the brain and mood disorders as well as cognitive impairments. A number of these studies support hypotheses that people with higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids in their brains are less anxious and depressed and maintain better mental acuity.

I can attest from personal experience that when I reduced my intake of packaged/processed carbs and increased my consumption of foods like salmon and olive oil, I felt better. Let me qualify “better” – for me, better is consistent energy levels with no dramatic spikes or crashes, easier ability to focus and accomplish my tasks, and less reactive to everyday annoyances, e.g., getting cut off in traffic.

Fat Studies on Mental Health

If you look up Omega-3 fats and mood, you can find a lot of research that hypothesizes the effect of healthy fat consumption on mood disorders like depression. I started with the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) overview of Omega-3 supplements, which summarizes different meta-analyses on Omega-3 fat research. The summary findings offer both positive and inconclusive evidence about the impact of fat supplementation on conditions like depression, PTSD, and anxiety. Some of those studies show that certain depressed patients who added Omega-3, i.e. fish oil pills, to their diets experienced improvements in their behavior.

Getting deeper into why fish oil supplements can improve mood disorders, I perused some of the studies that were referenced on the NIH page. Some of these studies map out the biochemical processes of mood disorders and find that inflammation is a key factor. Inflammation was also shown to make people more vulnerable to the negative impacts of stress. I note this because one study looks at how Omega-3 fatty acids interact with certain brain chemicals in ways that can mitigate inflammation and inflammatory responses to stress.

I think it’s interesting that some of studies do show higher fat consumption leads to improvements in mood. Perhaps it’s cognitive bias, but I can extrapolate those findings to my own experience. As a I mentioned before, I feel much calmer and generally in a better mood when I consume more healthy fats.*

Ultimately, it appears that if you can help combat inflammation through your diet then you can improve your health and mood overall. Omega-3 fats seem to play a not so insignificant role in that process.

*The studies use fish oil pills to increase participants’ levels of EPA and DHA. Personally, I don’t take fish oil supplements and instead try to increase my fat intake through my diet to ensure I’m getting, what for me, feels like adequate amounts.

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