Fit by Health

Worst Foods to Eat for Mental Health

Sugary, processed food.

That 3pm chocolate bar spikes your blood sugar, then crashes it just as fast.

Crashing blood sugar means crashing mood, crashing focus, crashing patience. Your brain runs on glucose, and processed food gives it a rollercoaster instead of a steady supply.

Here’s the thing. The paradox is, these are the EXACT foods people want when in a low mood.

So if you don’t have measures in place for when you are in a low mood…You’ll eat sugary, processed foods.

Two things that actually work:

Eat well when you’re already in a good headspace.

That’s when your decisions are easiest, so use that window to set yourself up (batch cook, prep meals, stock the fridge properly).

Then build a fallback for the low moments.

Have practical, ready-to-go healthy options that need zero thought or effort. When you’re stressed and foggy, you won’t choose the “best” option.

You’ll choose the easiest one. Make sure the easiest one is good for you.

And the boring but brutal truth: keep the processed stuff out of the house. You can’t eat what isn’t there.

What’s your go-to “low mood” food right now?

Most adults can’t do this.
Get up off the floor without using their hands or forearms.

Try it now. Seriously.

If you struggled, you’re not alone. I’ve worked with people in their mid-30s who can’t do it.

Not people who are ill. Not people who are elderly. People in the prime of their working life who look fine on the outside but whose body is quietly losing its most basic functional capacity.

And that should concern you.
Because this isn’t just a party trick. The ability to get up and down off the floor is one of the strongest predictors of all-cause mortality we have.

A study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that people who scored poorly on this test had a significantly higher risk of dying within the following six years.

What it tests is a combination of mobility, balance, strength and coordination working together. When those qualities decline, everything declines with them.

Joints stiffen. Core stability disappears. The body starts to compensate in ways you don’t notice until something goes wrong.

And it happens slowly. Quietly. Especially when your life is a desk, a car, and a sofa on repeat.

The 30s are not too early to start losing this. They’re just too early to notice.

Don’t wait until you do.
What did you score?

Stop eating these foods immediately.

I bet you thought I’d say sugary processed foods.

Yet, these foods are cheap, abundant and taste good.

Every food has consequences long term.

Eaten regularly they either compromise or contribute to good health.

But eliminating sugary processed foods can be challenging & even prompt you to want them more.

Instead, with Processed foods either reduce or ring-fence it (to a particular day or time of the day)

Natural foods - eat abundantly

This is a smart way of dealing with processed foods.

What do you think?