Nutrition and Mental Health

“You know, they’re called comfort foods for a reason. They do elicit a dopamine response.” Popi Kasvis is a faculty lecturer at McGill University’s School of Human Nutrition in Montreal. Her specialty is in oncology and supportive and palliative care, working with patients who have cancer, to try to get them to eat when everything is working against them. “Sometimes patients in my practice will get distraught because those comfort foods are no longer comfortable. All the things they used to love, they can’t eat anymore, and it’s extremely distressing.”

Isn’t that the (dry spice) rub? How do you make peace with denying yourself something you love, and replace it with something you love less because it’s better for you? How do you deny the spirit in order to care for the body?

Why do we crave?

It helps to understand that nature assumes we’re helpless. Our body needs fat, sugar, and salt to survive, although our baseline state of evolution didn’t account for whipped cream and peanut butter cups.

Aside from battling junk food dopamine surges, we must also contend with our empty stomachs, which produce ghrelin, a hunger hormone that increases our craving for calorie-dense foods. We then consume those snacks to satisfy our cravings, releasing more pleasure hormones, which drag us through that circular pattern like junk food thoroughbreds.

A vicious circle

The cruel irony is that our bodies then trigger a sort of physical shame and guilt. Eating those calorie-dense, delicious processed foods can create an imbalance within our gut microbiome which can lead to depressive symptoms. In turn, we soothe those symptoms by consuming more unhealthy foods.

Fortunately, the opposite is also true. Nicholas Fabiano, MD, is a resident physician in the department of psychiatry at the University of Ottawa. He says, “People who eat a healthier diet, [including] have a lower prevalence of both depression and depressive symptoms.”

Fabiano says that processed foods can be spotted simply by reading the label. “When you look at the ingredients list, they have so many [ingredients] that you can’t even finish reading it.

My family’s roots are Eastern European, which may explain why I eat like a pregnant woman; I enjoy weird combinations, like a bowl of yogurt followed by a serving of sauerkraut. Luckily, these foods may be beneficial to my mood.

“There is some data in the literature showing associations between a healthy gut microbiome and less depression,” Kasvis says. “Eating probiotic or prebiotic foods and fermented foods could play a role in having healthy gut bacteria, and that can help with mood.”

One chip at a time

This is the third installment in the series on mental health. We began with “Meditation and Mindfulness,” followed by “Exercise.” Two threads run through the series. The first is baby steps. Simplify the task. Turn Everest into a grassy knoll. The mind is always the birthplace of change.

“Be aware of why you’re eating and when,” Kasvis suggests. “Before you open the bag of chips, ask yourself:

• What is it that’s making me want to eat them?
• Is there something else I could do that’s a little more positive, that’ll give me a little bit of stress relief?
• Should I just stop everything I’m doing and just walk around the block and shake it off?

“Maybe you can prepare crunchy vegetables in advance and have them all cut in the fridge so you can just grab them in a moment of desperation,” suggests Kasvis. “If we have to go and peel carrots, it’s likely going to be easier for you to open a bag of chips.”

The second thread is practising self-compassion. “Sometimes we’re going to go for those chips,” says Kasvis, “and it shouldn’t be a crime against humanity.” She also says a nutritionist will listen to their patient, will try to work within their boundaries, and set realistic and attainable goals. Seeking the advice of a mental health professional or a dietician can help get you on the right track.

I know that taking baby steps and being kind to myself are both part of the challenge, along with being mindful by accepting that chips are not a crime against humanity.

You know what is a crime? Teasing a poor mule with a crummy carrot.

This article was originally published in the July 2025 issue of alive magazine.