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If eating lots of refined carbs and sugar may exacerbate our responses to stress, are there other types of food that make us more resilient? Researcher Joe Hibbeln of the National Institutes of Health believes the answer is yes.
"I think there's a very strong connection between what you eat and your mood," Hibbeln says.
He has spent the past two decades investigating links between the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and emotional health.
"One of the most basic ways that omega-3s help to regulate mood is by quieting down the [body's] response to inflammation," Hibbeln says.
When you get walloped by something, whether it's a virus or an emotional stressor, you want to bounce back as quickly as possible, he notes.
"You can either be good at weathering stress or you can be brittle. And omega-3s make your stress system more flexible," Hibbeln says. He points tostudies showing that omega-3s can help protect neurons against the damage that can be done by chronic stress.
He also points to clinical trials that have found that omega-3s may help control depressive symptoms. And a study of schoolchildren in England linked omega-3s to more pro-social behavior.
Hibbeln knows that some people shy away from fish due to the cost, so he points to affordable options such as canned light tuna and sardines, which are good sources of omega-3s. There are also plant-based sources of omega-3s, such as flaxseed and chia seeds.
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