May 2025

What Do Doritos Have to Do with Mental Health?

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and this year I found myself reflecting on something unexpected: Doritos.

But before we get to the chips, let’s zoom out for a moment... What exactly is mental health?

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA):

• Mental health and mental illness are not the same.
• Mental health is like physical health — it refers to your overall well-being, including emotions, thoughts, relationships, and your ability to handle life’s ups and downs.
• Someone with a mental illness can have strong mental health, just as someone without a diagnosis might still struggle emotionally.
• Substance use is sometimes a coping strategy for untreated trauma, distress, or underlying health issues.

This broader definition reminds us that mental health isn’t just about diagnosis — it’s about how we function, connect, and cope day to day.

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So, Let’s Talk Doritos.

I recently finished reading The Dorito Effect — a fascinating book about how synthetic flavours have hijacked our food system. It explores how the rise of artificial flavorings has pulled us away from real food, real nutrition, and ultimately, real wellness.

Our bodies evolved to seek out flavours as signals:

• Sweetness for energy
• Bitterness for phytonutrients
• Umami for protein

But when flavours are artificially engineered, our bodies get confused. We crave more, eat more, and yet receive less of the nutrients we truly need for both physical and emotional wellbeing.

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What the Science Says

A growing body of research is showing that ultra-processed foods, packed with synthetic flavours, additives, and preservatives are linked to increased risk of mood disorders:

• Numerous studies have found that people who eat more ultra-processed foods have significantly higher rates of depression and anxiety.
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• Additives like emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners can disrupt the gut microbiome which plays a key role in serotonin production and emotional regulation.
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• Diets high in processed foods often lack essential nutrients for brain health including B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, and omega-3s.

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Whole Foods, Whole Wellness

The good news? Real food supports real emotional resilience.

In the SMILES Trial (a landmark 2017 study), participants with moderate to severe depression experienced significant improvements in mood after just 12 weeks on a Mediterranean-style diet rich in vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and healthy fats.

Supporting your mental health starts with feeding your brain and that means real food.

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Try These Simple Shifts This Month

Here are a few small but powerful ways to support your mood through food:

• Swap artificially flavored snacks for roasted nuts with herbs or sea salt
• Cook one extra meal at home each week using whole ingredients
• Add one gut-friendly food (like kimchi or sauerkraut) to a daily meal
• Read ingredient labels — if you can’t pronounce it, question it

These aren’t huge overhauls, just gentle shifts toward awareness, balance, and nourishment.

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If you’re curious about how food might be affecting your mental health, I’d love to help.

I offer personalized, flexible nutrition sessions to explore what works for your body, lifestyle, and emotional well-being. Take care of your gut, and your brain will thank you.

Be well,
Peggy

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There’s something deeply comforting about starting the day with a warm, creamy bowl of oats and this coconut steel cut oats recipe has become one of my favorite ways to break the fast. It’s whole-food plant-based and filled with gut-friendly ingredients like fibre-rich steel cut oats and prebiotic-rich bananas. These foods support healthy digestion, blood sugar balance, and steady energy—key foundations for both physical and mental wellbeing.

To give your bowl an extra mental health boost, try topping your oats with:

• Ground flaxseed and/or chia seeds, rich in ALA (a type of omega-3 fatty acid), which has been linked to improved brain health and mood regulation.
• Pumpkin seeds, packed with magnesium, zinc, and tryptophan. Magnesium supports mood regulation, and tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin—a neurotransmitter that helps promote feelings of calm and happiness.

With its cozy flavor, customizable toppings, and make-ahead convenience, this is a grounding, feel-good breakfast I return to again and again—especially when I need a little extra care in the mornings.

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Book Review: The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor by Mark Schatzker

Is “natural flavour” really natural? Spoiler alert: nope.

This eye-opening read explores how real food has lost its flavour—thanks to industrial farming—and how the food industry uses artificial flavour to trick our taste buds. Schatzker explains how this shift messes with our body’s “nutritional wisdom,” leading us to crave fake-flavoured, nutrient-poor foods that taste great but don’t nourish us. (Think strawberry yogurt with zero strawberries.)

I’m not sure how The Dorito Effect ended up on my reading list (it came out back in 2015), but I’m glad it did. It’s an interesting dive into the world of flavor and how the food industry has quietly changed the way we eat.

See you next month!

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