Food, the Mind, the Body, and the Quiet Science of Wellbeing

Some time ago, I stumbled upon a dilemma I had never truly thought about. Throughout my life, I had never given more thought to what I ate than to what I drank. It was on a beautiful afternoon back in the early 2000s. I cannot recall the exact day, but I remember it was the weekend, either Saturday or Sunday. But first, let me go back to the week before.

I remember relaxing and reminiscing, reflecting on my younger self, in my twenties and thirties, living on my own, and remembering the things I enjoyed back then, as we all do every now and then. Then I suddenly felt the urge to eat foods I hadn't eaten in ages, and I thought to myself, huh, I’m going to put that right.

Now, I will not say what dish I ate, but I will tell you this much: it was a West Indian meal. And even if I say it myself, it was beautiful, tasty, comforting, and full of flavour. However, it wasn’t long after I ate that I began to feel a sudden wave of tiredness, like a dark cloud, forcing me to engage in some deep recovery sleep. I was astounded.

Before eating, I felt fine, energetic, and alert. So when I started feeling tired and sleepy, I couldn't figure out why. But after a few moments of reflection, I realised and burst into laughter as it dawned on me that the food I had eaten fifteen minutes earlier was the culprit behind my sleepy demise. “Damn,” I said to my wife, laughing, “it is the food I just ate that is making me tired.”

Can you imagine? But then something interesting happened. My laughter slowly turned into curiosity. We all know alcohol can influence our thoughts, behaviour, emotions, confidence, and judgement. We know it can slow the mind or alter personality. Yet how often do we stop and consider that food can do something similar? How often do we think deeply about how food influences the mind and body?

More Than a Satisfying Meal

Most of the time, we think about the pleasure of eating. We think about satisfying hunger, gaining energy, surviving, enjoying flavour, or gathering around a table with family and friends. But food is more than pleasure. More than fuel. More than survival. Food is chemistry. Food is information. Food is medicine, and sometimes, depending on what we consume and how often, it can quietly become our poison, too.

What we eat nourishes not only the muscles, bones, blood, and organs of the body, but also the brain itself, the very organ responsible for memory, imagination, emotion, focus, decision-making, creativity, and the iridescent beauty of thought. Once I understood that, I could never look at food the same way again.

The human brain, though it makes up only a small percentage of the body’s weight, requires a steady supply of energy and essential nutrients. Healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, water, amino acids, and glucose all play important roles in how it functions. Poor nutrition can contribute to fatigue and difficulties with concentration, but changes in mood, sleep or anxiety can have many causes. Food is one part of that picture, not an explanation for every difficulty.

Many people live their entire lives without realising they are feeding their stomach while starving their brain.

Some eating patterns support brain and body health more effectively than others. Over time, a diet consistently high in certain heavily processed foods can contribute to health problems, while a varied, balanced diet helps provide what the body needs. It is astonishing when you truly think about it. The same hands that prepare our meals often unknowingly shape the future health of our bodies and minds.

What Research Reveals About the Body

In a controlled study published in 2019, 20 adults spent two weeks eating an ultra-processed diet and two weeks eating an unprocessed diet. They could eat as much as they wanted. On the ultra-processed diet, they consumed about 508 extra calories a day and gained an average of 0.9 kg; during the unprocessed diet, they lost about 0.9 kg. This was a small, short study, but it showed that the foods offered could influence intake without anyone being instructed to overeat. [1]

Meals can influence blood glucose, particularly when they contain large amounts of rapidly digested carbohydrate. In some people, a post-meal drop in glucose can cause tiredness, irritability, or difficulty concentrating. However, reactive hypoglycaemia usually occurs two to four hours after a meal. Feeling sleepy after fifteen minutes does not establish that a glucose crash occurred. My afternoon experience had prompted a useful question, but it could not, by itself, provide a medical answer. [2]

That distinction does not make the connection between food and health any less important. It simply reminds us to stay curious without diagnosing ourselves based on one experience. Sudden or recurring symptoms deserve attention, particularly if they interfere with daily life. Yet on the other side of this story lies something beautiful and hopeful. With appropriate care, the body can often recover, strengthen and function better, even when improvement takes time.

Nourishing the Mind as Well as the Body

Foods such as salmon and sardines supply long-chain omega-3 fats, while walnuts, flaxseeds and chia seeds provide a different, plant-based omega-3. Leafy greens, berries, and eggs offer a range of useful nutrients, including choline in eggs, which supports normal nervous system function. Fermented foods such as yoghurt and kefir can add variety to your diet. Researchers are also studying the gut-brain axis, the two-way communication between the digestive system and the brain.

The digestive system and the brain are in conversation more often than many of us realise. That does not mean a particular food can reliably improve everyone’s memory or mood. A more useful question is what our overall eating pattern provides day after day, and how it fits alongside sleep, movement, medical care, and the circumstances of our lives.

The 2017 SMILES trial offers a hopeful example. Researchers enrolled 67 adults with major depression in a twelve-week study of dietary support or a social support comparison programme. Of those who completed the final assessment, 32.3% in the dietary group met the study’s remission threshold, compared with 8.0% in the comparison group. Most participants were also receiving medication, psychological therapy or both. This small trial supports food as a possible addition to depression care, rather than a replacement for it or a promise that eating differently will cure depression. [3]

The Value of the Whole Pattern

Even herbs and spices, things once dismissed as merely flavouring, are being studied for possible health benefits. Turmeric, ginger, garlic, and cinnamon have attracted scientific interest, but findings vary, and research on concentrated extracts doesn't translate to a pinch in a meal. Cinnamon, for example, is not an established treatment for diabetes. Their dependable place in the kitchen is also a joyful one: they bring flavour and variety to food we can enjoy. [4]

For centuries, many traditional cultures understood something modern society often forgot. Nature had already provided medicine long before laboratories learned how to bottle it. But balance is the true secret. Even healthy foods can become harmful in excess. Even exercise, when abused, can damage the body. Wellbeing is not built through obsession. It is built through rhythm, consistency, moderation, awareness, and care.

A larger study helps put the emphasis on the whole diet. The revised 2018 PREDIMED report followed 7,447 adults in Spain at high cardiovascular risk. Over a median of 4.8 years, major cardiovascular events occurred in 3.8% of the Mediterranean-diet group given extra-virgin olive oil, 3.4% of the group given nuts and 4.4% of the comparison group. The revised analyses addressed problems with some original group assignments. These findings concern dietary patterns in a particular population, not a guarantee that one ingredient prevents disease. [5]

Movement Belongs in the Conversation

And this is where exercise enters the story. The body was designed for movement. Modern life has made many of us stationary creatures. We sit for hours in offices, cars, trains, on sofas, and in front of glowing screens, wondering why our energy disappears and our minds feel trapped in fog. Yet movement changes the body's chemistry almost immediately.

Exercise improves circulation. It strengthens the heart. It supports metabolism. It reduces stress hormones while increasing endorphins, natural chemicals linked to well-being and happiness. Walking, swimming, cycling, stretching, dancing, weight training, even simple daily movement can improve mood, mental sharpness, sleep quality, and confidence.

Sometimes the mind does not need another motivational speech. Sometimes it simply needs water, oxygen, sunlight, rest, movement, and better food. That alone can change a life more than people realise.

There are people searching desperately for energy while struggling with poor sleep, stress, inadequate nutrition or too little opportunity for movement. Excessive caffeine or alcohol can complicate the picture too. But anxiety, fatigue, pain and illness are not proof that someone has neglected themselves. They can have many causes, including circumstances outside a person’s control. Looking after ourselves includes recognising when we need help, rather than treating every symptom as a failure of discipline.

Wellbeing Is the Relationship Between Daily Choices

The truth is, wellbeing is not one thing. It is not merely dieting. Not merely exercising. Not merely meditating. Not merely resting. It is the relationship between all these things working together. The food we eat. The water we drink. The thoughts we entertain. The sleep we get. The stress we carry. The movement we engage in. The habits we repeat daily. Together they shape the quality of our lives.

A healthy body can support a healthier mind, and a healthier mind often makes healthier choices for the body. One strengthens the other in an endless cycle. And perhaps that is what fascinated me most after that sleepy afternoon all those years ago. Something as ordinary as a plate of food had accidentally revealed something extraordinary.

Every day, often without noticing, we either build ourselves up or slowly break ourselves down. Meal by meal. Habit by habit. Choice by choice. The body listens to everything we do. The mind remembers how we treat ourselves. And wellbeing, true wellbeing, is often hidden in the small daily decisions nobody applauds, but the body never forgets.

Things That Improve Overall Wellbeing

• Eating more whole foods and fewer highly processed foods
• Drinking enough water throughout the day
• Reducing excessive sugar and alcohol intake
• Including fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and protein in balance
• Using herbs and spices with natural health benefits
• Exercising consistently, even if moderately
• Getting proper sleep and recovery
• Managing stress through rest, reflection, prayer, meditation, or mindfulness
• Spending time outdoors and in sunlight
• Maintaining meaningful social connection and emotional balance

Recommended Books

• Food Rules by Michael Pollan
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
• How Not to Die by Michael Greger
• Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
• Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John J. Ratey
• The Blue Zones by Dan Buettner

Final Thought

The older I become, the more I realise that health is not merely about avoiding sickness. It is about protecting the quality of your thoughts, your energy, your peace, your movement, your joy, your longevity, and your ability to experience life fully while you are still here to live it. And strangely enough, one sleepy afternoon taught me all of that.

Reference List

1. Hall, K. D., et al. (2019). Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake and weight gain: An inpatient randomized controlled trial of ad libitum food intake. Cell Metabolism, 30(1), 67–77.e3. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2019.05.008. View source

2. Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust. Reactive hypoglycaemia. Patient information on symptoms and their usual timing after meals. View source

3. Jacka, F. N., et al. (2017). A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the SMILES trial). BMC Medicine, 15, 23. DOI: 10.1186/s12916-017-0791-y. View source

4. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Cinnamon: Usefulness and Safety. Updated November 2024. View source

5. Estruch, R., et al. (2018). Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts. New England Journal of Medicine, 378, e34. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1800389. Revised report. View source