Nutrition: Food, Mood & Health

If it doesn’t have a face or it doesn’t grow, don’t eat it.

Most of what we eat today isn’t really food — it’s hyper-industrial, manufactured “edible products.” Take fruit snacks. Instead of eating fruit, we grow crops, process them into raw materials, create artificial dyes like Red 40, injection-mold cartoon fruit shapes, wrap them in plastic… and sell them back to ourselves.

We could have just eaten the fruit.

So here’s a simple rule for health and weight management: eat mostly single-ingredient, unprocessed foods — things you’d find on a farm or growing outside.

There’s also a strong food–mood connection. Research by Dr. Felice Jacka and others shows that diets rich in whole foods (especially fruits and vegetables) are associated with greater happiness and mental health.

When you strip away nutrition tribalism — keto vs. vegan vs. paleo — the research converges on two pillars:

Protein and fiber.

Fiber consistently lowers mortality risk and helps regulate appetite. High-calorie-density foods drive overeating. You could eat three Hershey’s Kisses… or a whole handful of grapes for the same calories.

Even simple changes help. Drink a glass of water and eat an apple before meals and you’ll naturally eat less without trying.

Protein matters too. It increases satiety, preserves muscle, and supports brain health. A practical target is about 0.7 grams per pound of bodyweight per day, split across meals. For a 150-lb person, that’s ~105 grams total, or ~35 grams per meal.

Build every meal around:

• A solid protein source

• A generous serving of fruits and vegetables

Once those are in place, layer in carbs and fats as needed.

You don’t need a crash diet for health or happiness. Eat real food, prioritize protein and fiber, avoid excess calories, and hydrate well (roughly 50–80 oz of water per day for most people).

Simple works.

Read the full entry in my Happiness Encyclopedia on substack!