Food and mood

Now, a favourite topic today: food, and how food can influence your mood. Dan, tell me, what food makes you happy?

Oh, you know, ice cream, chocolate... chocolate always puts a smile on my face. 

And a few inches round your waistline! Sadly, the research we'll be looking at today doesn't suggest you eat more chocolate...but it does talk about bacteria!

Bacteria- those simple, small organisms- they make me happy?

Absolutely- the so-called 'good' bacteria do! We'll get to that, but first we'll look at today's question. How many bacteria are there in the human body?

a) 39 million  b) 39 billion   c) 39 trillion  

They are pretty small. I'm going to go for c) 39 trillion. 

Well, we'll find out if you're right...by counting them one by one. 

That's going to take longer than six minutes!

Yes, it is, so let's get moving! Scientists believe your mental state is connected to the bacteria in your gut. 

My gut- my stomach and the other organs my food passes through...

Yes. Researchers at McMaster University in Canada and University College Cork in Ireland have found that certain bacgeria help reduce ancxiety in mice...

Anxiety- the state of being worried or anxious. I don't like the sound of an anxious mouse. 

Well, I'm afraid there's another mouse experiment coming up. Researchers at Kyushu University found germ- free mice showed more stress...

Germs- a general word of rbacteria and microorganisms, usually the ones which cause disease...So germs help reduce stress and anxiety in mice. Any research on humans?

The BBC TV programme Trust me, I'm a Doctor has just explored this. They looked at foods which are high in 'good' bacteria- a claim which more and more food products are making these days. 

Yes, it's a phrase that appears a lot in marketing. 

But many traditonal foods are high in food bacteria as well. They found that homemade fermented food was best. 

So things like miso soup, kimchi, yoghurt, sauerkraut- all these are fermented. Have you tried all of those?

I love miso soup and kimchi. And fermentation is the process where sugars in food are turned into acids and alcohol. 

Fermented foods are full of lots of good bacteria for your gut... Anything else from the BBC programme?

Well, this is the man behind the BBC study, Dr Michae Mosleyh. In this clip, a radio presenter asks him about the best kind of food to make us happy.

What's the good mood food? What shall we eat now to cheer ourselves up?

Mediterranean diet. Olive oil: oily fish, full of omega 3, which is really good for the brain: whole grains: lots of fruits and vegetables. Sugar: terrible for you. 

Not chocolate eclairs then?

Sadly not. That will make you feel good for about 30 seconds until you finish it and then you feel terrible guilty. 

Right. OK. Mediterranean it is. 

He said the best kind of food is the Mediterranean diet. Now, a diet can mean 'an seating plan designed to help you lose weight'.

But that's not what it means here. Here it refers to the food and drink eaten by a group of people- in this case, the people living around the Mediterranean Sea. 

Lots of oily fish, olive oil, grains, fruits and vegetables. And of course, add in plenty of fermented food too. 

And don't eat too many fatty, sugary, chocolaty things like chocolae eclairs- those are buns filled with cream and covered in chocolate. It's really not rocket science, is it?

Eating healthy is pretty straightforward, even if the science behind it is complex. When you say something is not rocket science, you mean it's not difficult to understand.

Now, are you ready for some counting?

Ah yes, you wanted me to count all the bacteria  in my body! I said 39 trillion.