Food, Mood and the Pleasure-Pain See-Saw

May 30th 2023   By Margaret Artist, APD

Food, Mood And The Pleasure – Pain See-Saw

Just today I am enjoying a warm pumpkin soup, a bit of cracked pepper and a dollop of natural yoghurt. The soup mug warms my cold hands and the smell summons memories of Mum.

Components of our food play an active role in areas of our body and brain that affect our mood. You may recall a good feeling from eating a piece of chocolate, cake, lolly, hot chips etc. The good feeling may come from joy in the taste, texture, crunch, a happy memory, from satisfying a craving or desire. Enjoying food is a solo or a social experience. Almost all social gatherings are elevated with sharing in the joy of food and drink.

Good feelings can also come because you were genuinely hungry and you satisfied the hunger by eating!

Many of us reach for something soothing to eat or drink when we feel low, anxious, or stressed. More than 1/3 of Australians gained weight during the pandemic. Soothing with food or drink that is readily available in the kitchen, via drive-through or home delivery is clearly very common. After all, no appointment is required and nobody else has to know.

However, food and drink can affect our mood by relieving or inducing bad feelings too. Australians led the world in terms of increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic. The drug, alcohol, affects every cell in our body and crosses the blood- brain barrier with ease. Alcohol can make us feel happy, but excess alcohol can disinhibit feelings of rage, help us to block-out feelings and is a depressant on our mood. Reaching for food or drink can be so automatic we don’t even realise the moment it becomes a habit or worse, an addiction.

When we overload our brain with foods loaded with highly processed sugar- fat- salt combination we get a dopamine release that is higher than a natural piece of un-processed food or drink.  Australian neuroscientist, Dr Selena Bartlett’s team investigated the effect of highly processed sugar and alcohol on our brain and their findings suggest that sugar is addictive, along the lines of alcohol and nicotine. One of the more prominent pleasure-reward chemicals released in our brain is dopamine. Rats fed chocolate have an increase of dopamine release by 55% above that of normal food. 

Psychiatrist Dr Anna Lembke, observes that in our modern, busy society we are all trying to buffer or distract ourselves from pain. Food, alcohol, shopping, sex, drugs, binge watching TV are all efforts to soothe ourselves i.e. seek pleasure. When the pleasure-seeking behaviour, food or drug stimulates a release of dopamine that is excessive, the nasty flip-side is an excessive experience of pain. Dopamine and pain are basically sitting on a see-saw in our brain.

So, what might throw our pain and pleasure see-saw out of whack?

The Australian Dietary Guidelines describes foods that are high in processed sugar, saturated fats and or salty foods and alcohol, even soft drinks as “discretionary foods”. An interesting term considering the potential effects some of these have on our brain and adverse effects to our health! The Australian Dietary Guidelines refer to them as “discretionary” because they do not meet any nutritional requirement and when consumed occasionally or in small amounts they contribute to the overall enjoyment of eating. Australians are advised to limit intake. So, there is nothing good in these foods and drinks for our body other than the joy released in our brain when we eat or drink them.  Well before the COVID19 pandemic Australians were consuming discretionary foods without much discretion. The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommends between zero and a limit of three serves/day for adults, and only a ½ a serve for kids under 8yrs. Yet Australians of all ages were consuming more than three serves of discretionary food and drinks daily. Perhaps this term “discretionary” requires a re-think and we should replace these foods with a warning label? 

How to return to normal moods through food

Great news. To return to normal food and mood responses, you don’t need to jump on a fancy diet.

• Double your vegetables and eat a range of colourful vegies
• Weed out foods high in processed sugar, saturated fats, and salt from the shopping trolley
• Go easy on the booze
• Challenge yourself, “Do I need this food or drink or just want it?”
• See your dietitian for support with the above and to guide you through the food side of changes.

Making changes is harder than you think, and most people do need help to put their good intentions into action and keep them going long enough to form new habits.

So be clever about your eating, and book your nutrition appointment today.