Running Head: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF THE WAY WE DIET AND EXERCISE

The Psychological Effects of

The Way We Diet
Hannah R. Sutton
Gods Bible School and College

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Abstract
The Principle objective of this paper is to explain why it is important to
eat healthy. I also demonstrate in this paper some benefits and
consequences of our dietary habits. Some of the benefits and the
consequences that are discussed in the paper is how our dietary habits affect
our stress level, hormones, emotions, self-esteem, cognitive abilities, and
even IQ scores. Through the researching for this paper, I found that what eat
can have dramatic effects in our lives. Ultimately what we eat should be
good for the body, first of all because we perform better in nearly all areas in
life, because if one is fit psychically they are generally sharp in the mind as
well. The last reason of why we should take care of our body is because from
the Christian worldview we are not our own, and our body is the temple of
God. God does care what we eat.
Keywords: health, dietary habits, benefits and consequences

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The Psychological Effects of

The Way We Diet
We all know that exercise and healthy eating is good for us. We also
know how unhealthy food and little, to no exercise is damaging our health.
Unfortunately, I think that many of us dont completely understand how far
reaching the affects of the way we eat and exercise are. Studies have shown
that those who are physically unhealthy are likely to be mentally unhealthy
as well.
It is important to know how eating healthy or unhealthy foods affects
your body because knowledge in this area can make you aware of the health
benefits of consuming foods considered healthy and the consequences of
eating unhealthy foods. When we are informed on this topic it can help us
make wise choices when deciding on what foods to eat, resulting in better
health.
What are some of these psychological effects of our diet? In 2010 "The
American Journal of Psychiatry" did a study of dietary habits of 1,046 women
from ages 20-93. The researchers found evidence that it has effects on
emotion and also psychological affects in the form of, depression, anxiety,
low self-esteem, and stress. However, those are just the negative effects and
I would like to present the positive if you do have a healthy life.

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The researchers found that the women who ate the traditional
balanced diet, of vegetables, fruit, fish, meat and whole grains were less
likely to have issues with depressions. However, the women who ate a more
fatty diet, such as lots of sugars, fried food and over processed food, were
more likely to have depression disorders. The second group of womens diet
often lacks important vitamins, minerals, and fiber required for the brain to
function healthily.
A journal magazine called Nutrition in 2009 did a study of college
students that had healthy dietary habits for nine months. The students eat a
consistently healthy diet of mixed grains throughout the whole study. The
researchers found through neuropsychological tests and self-testing, that the
students were less likely to receive mental fatigue. Also, levels of a protein
produced by healthy brain cells were significantly higher, indicating that the
mixed-grain diet improved brain health.
According to Christopher Duggin, co-author of Nutrition in Pediatrics:
Basic Science, Clinical Applications There can be diminished learning ability
in malnourished children, in part, from impaired stress response in an area of
the brain known as the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, or HPA. Poor nutrition
can lead to excess of stress hormones being produced. The stress hormone,
cortisol, has the effect on the brain to prepare the body for fight-or-flight
response. This hormone also has effects in the brain that impair learning,
memory, attention and impulse control. Students with poor dietary habits, of

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highly processed food and low nutrients foods tend to have lower test scores
and more behavior problems than the students who had healthy diets.
In another research, bulimia and binge eating disorders seem to be
more prevalent in minority populations than what was once thought. In a
series of articles in the November 2007 special issue of the International
Journal of Eating Disorders (Vol. 40, No. S3), researchers reported that
Latinos who spent more than 70 percent of their lives in the United States
had significantly higher rates of eating disorders than those who had spent
more of their lives in their native countries. They also found that blacks who
reported higher levels of acculturated stress were at greater risk for body
image dissatisfaction and bulimia.
PositScience.com Recently wrote an article entitled Physical
Exercise for Brain Health; in the article they suggest that usage of physical
exercise increases your chances of higher cognitive abilities, with including
amount of exercise and style of exercise. Interestingly, a difference between
exercise styles, such as cycling instead of running, is associated with an
enhanced brain function during and after working out. The article explains
that an activity such as ballroom dancing with both physical and mental
demands has had a higher impact on cognitive functioning over exercise or
mental tasks alone, indicating that the best brain health workouts involve
those that integrate different parts of the brain such as coordination, rhythm,
and strategy.

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Many psychological professionals see a strong link between selfesteem and healthy dieting, says Shirley W. Kaplan, a psychologist affiliated
with the American Nutrition Association. Unhealthy eating habits hinder brain
function and cause reduced self-esteem as a result of foggy thinking, mood
swings and confusion. Low self-esteem is an effect of being overweight
especially
So where do we go from here? We can see that the way diet clearly
affects our brain, body and hormones/emotions. The benefits and
consequences of our eating habits have affect in nearly every part of our life,
including our test scores, IQ test, cognitive abilities, hormones, self-esteem,
stress level, etc.
I have discussed some reasons of how we can have benefits and
consequences of dietary habits. I think the most important reason of why we
should eat healthy is because our bodies are the temple of God. Too often I
think we forget that this is not our body and stuff ourselves full of harmful
ingredients to the body. It says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Or do you not know
that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from
God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God
in your body. I will close with this thought; So, whether you eat or drink, or
whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31
References
The American Journal of Psychiatry (2010)

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http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/emotional-effects-bad-diet-2711.html
Nutrition Magazine (February 2012)
Christopher Duggin, M.D., co-author Nutrition in Pediatrics: Basic Science,
Clinical Applications (January 1, 2008)
International Journal of Eating Disorders (Vol. 40, No. S3) (November 2009)
PositScience.com Physical Exercise for Brain Health (2013)
http://www.positscience.com/brain-resources/everyday-brain-fitness/physicalexercise#
Shirley W. Kaplan, M.A. Psychology (2013)
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/emotional-effects-bad-diet-2711.html