How Foods and Nutrients Control Our Moods: Your Guide to Feeling Good Through the Holiday Season

The holiday season is full of things we look forward to. Food. Family. Friends. And depending on the year, a little chaos.
But there’s something else happening quietly in the background that most people don’t realise:

Your food choices are negotiating with your emotions.

Cravings, calmness, sudden energy spikes, that nap you swear you didn’t plan, the sudden urge to reorganise the pantry at 11 pm — it all has a biochemical explanation.

Once you understand the patterns, you can enjoy the season a lot more without feeling hijacked by your own biology.

Let’s break it down.

Attraction and Aversion: Why That Pavlova Suddenly Looks Like a Soulmate

Every time you walk past a dessert table and feel something shift inside you, that isn’t weakness.
It’s your gut and your brain having a conversation in real time.

Attraction comes from things like:

• low nutrients
• unstable glucose
• stress
• your microbiome whispering eat this
• your memories whispering remember last year

Aversion works the same way. If your gut is overloaded, inflamed or tired, your brain will push certain foods away.

We call it instinct. It is actually data.

Sugar, the Vagus Nerve and That Temporary Christmas Cheer

Sugar takes the fast lane straight to your emotional centres.
You feel lighter, happier, maybe even more social.
And then comes the crash. The slump. The why did I do that even though it was delicious moment.

It is not personal.
It is physiology.

The vagus nerve is simply reporting in with a status update:
Energy spike received. Please prepare for turbulence.

Gut Feelings Are Not Metaphors

You know that feeling when you’re excited, anxious or overwhelmed and you feel it in your stomach before your brain even catches up?

Here is why:

• hidden sugars
• amino acids
• gut microbes
• inflammation
• digestive stress

The gut sends its messages to the brain faster than the brain sends messages back.
So yes, those feelings are real.
And yes, your holiday menu can influence them.

Dopamine and the Cravings You Pretend Are a Mystery

Holiday cravings have a logic. Dopamine drives you toward anything that once gave pleasure.
Chocolate. Christmas biscuits. That strange marshmallow slice your aunt brings every year that you swear you don’t like but somehow vanish into.

If you’re low in L tyrosine or haven’t eaten much protein, your dopamine production drops and cravings feel louder.

It’s not hunger.
It’s chemistry calling for reinforcements.

Serotonin and Why Comfort Food Actually Feels Comforting

Carbohydrates help the brain make serotonin.
This is why the mashed potatoes seem to glow at you from across the room.

The trick is balance.
A little creates calm.
A lot creates a post meal emotional plot twist.

Omega 3s: Your Mood’s Quiet Best Friend

If your diet gets heavier, oilier or more sugar focused through December, omega 3s help keep your mood stable and inflammation in check.

They don’t get applause, but they absolutely do the work.

Gut Brain Axis: When Your Microbiome Has Opinions

Your gut microbes are sensitive and highly talkative.
They comment on every food choice you make.

A balanced microbiome says things like
We feel great, keep going.

An irritated microbiome says
Really. Ice cream after trifle and champagne. Interesting choice.

When the gut is off, you may notice:

• anxiety
• irritability
• brain fog
• digestive drama
• mood dips

Nothing is wrong with you. Your internal ecosystem just needs a moment.

Probiotics, Fermented Foods and That Foggy After Lunch Feeling

Fermented foods support the gut microbes that keep you mentally clear.
Artificial sweeteners, on the other hand, can make things foggy for some people.

So if you suddenly cant remember what you walked into the room for after eating sugar free anything, it might not be the heat. It might be the ingredients list.

Ketogenic or High Carb Holidays: Why It Works for Some and Not Others

Some people go low carb and feel sharper.
Some go low carb and feel like a wilted houseplant.

The microbiome decides a lot of this.
The important part is knowing your own body.
Copying someone else’s holiday diet rarely ends well.

Belief Effects Are Real Biology

If you believe a certain dish calms you, your brain prepares the body for calm.
If you believe a food will upset your stomach, your gut tightens in advance.

Mindset and metabolism work together.
This is not fake.
It is physiology with a psychological accent.

Key Holiday Takeaways for Better Mood and Better Days

1. Anchor your day with protein to reduce cravings.
2. Keep carbohydrates intentional instead of constant.
3. Support your gut with fermented foods.
4. Add omega 3s when your meals get heavier.
5. Pay attention to how different foods shift your mood.
6. Remember that emotions around food are biology, not moral failure.

The holiday season is easier when you understand the chemistry behind the feelings.
Once you learn the signals, you get to choose how you want to feel instead of reacting to every spike and slump.

Your biology wants you to enjoy the season.
It just needs a little help navigating the buffet table.