Salmon For a Stronger You | Season 2 Ep 2 | Nutritional Psychiatry

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:00]Episode two, [music] salmon's role in nutritional psychiatry.

[00:00:03]Can food really improve mental health?

[00:00:05][music] Hi everyone, I'm Brooke, a registered and licensed dietitian, and welcome to episode two [music] of Feeding Health, the multifaceted benefits of salmon, sponsored by Mowi Salmon. Today, we're talking about something I think every family thinks about. How does nutrition really affect how we feel? This is called nutritional psychiatry, >> [music] >> and once you understand the connection, it can change your entire approach to food. Section [music] one, how processed foods affect your mood. When most people think about mood, irritability, anxiety, and that heavy depressed feeling, [music] they don't really think about food. But, our brains are incredibly sensitive to what we eat. Foods high in sugar, refined [music] carbs, and processed oils can create huge blood sugar spikes and crashes. When your blood sugar crashes, your mood crashes with it. That's when you feel irritable, anxious, emotional, foggy, [music] and easily overwhelmed. And that's the same thing that happens with kids. There's research showing that high sugar diets can cause trouble focusing, hyperactivity, emotional dysregulation, and impulsivity. And when we eat mostly processed foods, it disrupts the gut microbiome, which communicates [music] directly to your brain. So, a stressed gut will equal a stressed brain. [music] The beautiful thing is, food can work the opposite way, too. When we eat real foods filled with nutrients, fiber, [music] antioxidants, and healthy fats, our blood sugar stays stable, our mood becomes more even, and our brain can work the way it's [music] supposed to.

[00:01:31]And that's why salmon, especially high-quality salmon like Mowi, is so powerful. Omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, directly affect our brain structure and how we regulate mood. EPA helps calm inflammation in the brain, [music] and low-grade inflammation is linked to depression and anxiety. So, EPA [music] supports emotional balance and a more stable mood. Research shows that people with depression often have lower omega-3 levels, and adding [music] EPA and DHA, or simply eating more salmon, has been linked to reduced depressive [music] symptoms, lower anxiety, improved emotional resilience, better cognitive performance, and [music] in kids and adults with ADHD, omega-3 supports the brain regions involved in attention and impulse control. They're not a replacement for treatment, but they do help with focus, task [music] follow-through, emotional regulation, irritability, and nutrition isn't everything, but it's something. And it's something that we can control. About 90% of serotonin, [music] which is your feel-good, stabilizing, calming chemical, is produced in your gut. So, when we feed the gut healthy foods, we feed the brain. Fiber, healthy fats, lean proteins, and antioxidants [music] support healthy gut bacteria, which send healthier signals to the brain. This is another reason why foods like salmon, leafy greens, berries, and [music] nuts are tied to lower rates of depression and anxiety. So, here's the big picture.

[00:02:54]Food affects how we [music] feel emotionally, mentally, and energetically. Processed foods make that roller coaster go up and down. But, nutrient-rich foods like Mowi Salmon [music] help us think clearly, handle stress better, and support emotional balance.

[00:03:07][music] This isn't about perfection, it's about knowing what your brain actually needs and giving it to yourself more often. Thank [music] you for watching episode two of Feeding Health, the multifaceted benefits of salmon, sponsored by Mowi Salmon. I'm Brooke, and in our next episode, we're talking about how salmon supports natural energy and metabolism without the crash.