Food, inflammation & mood

Many people are surprised when I talk about food during a psychiatry visit. Here's the simple reason: your brain and your body are not separate.

What you eat can quietly create inflammation inside your body — and that inflammation can directly affect your mood, energy, anxiety, and even how well medications work.

The short version

• Certain foods — especially ultra-processed foods, lots of sugar, and unhealthy fats — can trigger low-grade inflammation in the body.
• This inflammation sends signals to the brain that can make you feel more tired, irritable, sad, or anxious.
• On the other hand, anti-inflammatory foods — vegetables, fruits, fatty fish, nuts, olive oil, and fiber-rich foods — help calm that inflammation and support a more stable, positive mood.

Think of it like this: chronic inflammation is like a low-level fire in the body. When the fire is burning, the brain has a harder time regulating emotions. When the fire is smaller, the brain works better.

This connection is now well-studied in psychiatry and is called the gut–brain–inflammation link.

It's biology — and we can work with it together.

— Dr. Alicja Wasilewski
Good Mind MD