In 1979 McDonalds launched the mostsuccessful campaign in restaurant history, the Happy Meal. Still going strong, reportedly 3.2 million Happy Meals are sold daily. Whoever thought of putting those two very powerful words together was a genius. Food does have a lot to do with our happiness. I have had individuals walk into my office and state, “I’d rather die happy even if I die sooner. I’m not interested in changing the way I eat. It makes me happy.” Now who can argue against that? After all, life without happiness doesn’t sound worth living does it?
There are a number of ways in which food is central to feeling good, but its ability to stimulate the brain’s pleasure reward pathway is pretty much what we are referring to when we’re talking about food making us happy. Fully aware of how food can potentiate pleasure, food companies have produced an abundance of easily accessible foods crafted to excite our bliss point. Now, our brains were designed to feel rewarded by pleasure and for that experience to influence behavior. Unfortunately, this God-given design has been hijacked. Many know the experience of being driven to eat based on compulsion and cravings. While more than one chemical conversation is occurring in the brain leading to this experience, the desire for the pleasure surge is a loud one. Apples or a salad don’t hold a candle to the sweet, high-fat foods that light up our pleasure reward pathway (PRP). The next time you feel down, tired, bored, lonely, or stressed the brain remembers where it got a fast pick-me-up and there you are with a pint of ice cream in your lap.
As with recreational drugs, food has the capacity to over-stimulate the PRP. This overstimulation can be likened to music that is too loud too often. In response, it is as if earplugs are inserted in the pleasure receptors in the PRP. As a result of our pleasure response being down regulated, a bigger hit will eventually be needed to elicit the same initial response. Tolerance is the process of needing more of the food while experiencing less satisfaction. The shut down pleasure receptors and eventual reduction in the production of pleasure hormones literally reduces one’s capacity to experience pleasure. This can occur with fame, sex, drugs, and yes, our happy meals. In fact,research and experience reveals that overstimulation of the PRP can become the greatest enemy to happiness.
In 13,486 Iranian children and adolescents, age 6 to 18 years old, “the frequency of junk food consumption was significantly associated with psychiatric distress. . . . There was a significant association between violent behaviors and intake of junk foods.”1
A Spanish study followed 8,964 educated adults for over 6 years. The researchers assessed intake of fast food such as hamburgers, sausages, pizza and processed pastries at baseline. At the end of the study 493 participants were diagnosed with depression and prescribed antidepressants. Of these the researchers observed a dose-response relationship between the amount of junk food consumed and risk of depression. “Consumption of fast food in the highest category was associated with a 40% higher risk of depression.”2
A systematic review of 41 studies found a robust association between those who consumed “higher fruits, vegetables, and nut intake, lower intakes of pro-inflammatory food items” and lower risk of depression.3 Focusing on healthier foods is good for the brain not just the body and can be a powerful strategy to prevent depression.
There are numerous reasons as to why and how diet impacts mental health. Next month we will focus on one that is absolutely foundational to whatever makes you happy. Trust me. I get it. Food makes me happy too. The last thing I want to do is take anyone’s happiness away. But, I have learned that the path to happiness is not always self-evident to us. We need a little education, a roadmap, a Guide. Scripture says, “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalms 16:11
- Zahedi, H., Kelishadi, R., Heshmat, R., Motlagh, M. E., Ranjbar, S. H., Ardalan, G., Payab, M., Chinian, M., Asayesh, H., Larijani, B., & Qorbani, M. (2014). Association between junk food consumption and mental health in a national sample of Iranian children and adolescents: the CASPIAN-IV study. Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.), 30(11-12), 1391–1397.
- Sánchez-Villegas, A., Toledo, E., de Irala, J., Ruiz-Canela, M., Pla-Vidal, J., & Martínez-González, M. A. (2012). Fast-food and commercial baked goods consumption and the risk of depression. Public health nutrition, 15(3), 424–432.
- Lassale, C., Batty, G. D., Baghdadli, A., Jacka, F., Sánchez-Villegas, A., Kivimäki, M., & Akbaraly, T. (2019). Healthy dietary indices and risk of depressive outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Molecular psychiatry, 24(7), 965–986.
