17/03/2026
For years I’ve talked about the relationship between food (what we eat) and emotional wellbeing (how we feel)
Never in a restrictive ‘fix yourself’ way,
Always in a curious, compassionate way.
Over the years, my work has expanded far beyond nutrition, True nourishment = all the pieces of the puzzle that make you, truly YOU.
That’s why I was excited when shared an article exploring the relationship between diet quality, emotion regulation and mental health symptoms.
Want to know one of the most interesting findings?
Diet didn’t appear to influence symptoms directly.
Instead, diet influenced emotion regulation - and emotion regulation influenced symptom severity.
Put simply:
𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
Researchers found that lower quality diets and lower intake of Omega-3 rich foods were associated with greater emotional deregulation, which predicted more severe symptoms.
This doesn’t mean nutrition = the cure for mental health challenges.
But it does suggest something many holistic practitioners have long suspected:
𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀.
The brain is an organ - and like every organ, it depends on nutrients to function.
Over time my understanding of nourishment has evolved (and evolved again). True nourishment is diet and 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲.
It’s sleep
Connection
Safety
Movement
Meaning
Rest
When these things work together, our system has more capacity to regulate emotion and meet life.
What I love about research like this is that it opens the door to 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 - not only therapy, not only medication, but the full ecosystem that supports us.
Food won’t solve everything, but a nourished nervous system has more capacity to meet life.
𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆?
For me, it’s breakfast with a view of water.
Bliss 🧘🏼♀️🌊☕️✌🏻
