Table 1.
Summary of biological factors and food influencing mood, emotions, food intake, and brain signaling pathways.
| Foods and biological factors | Influence on mood, emotion, food intake, and brain signaling pathways | References |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate | Increases pleasant feeling, reduce tension, and results in good mood via serotonin and cannabinoid receptors signaling | Ottley, 2000; Osman and Sobal, 2006; Parker et al., 2006b; Cartwright et al., 2007; Fletcher et al., 2007 |
| Caffeine | Enhances alertness and increases anxiety and results in withdrawal symptoms in some individuals via cannabinoid CB1 receptor signaling pathway | Rogers, 1995; Acquas et al., 2002; Rossi et al., 2010 |
| Omega-3 fatty acids | Influences neuroticism, mood, behavior, and plays a role in mood disorders. Omega-3 fatty acids in receptor functioning, neurotransmitters levels, and monoamine metabolism are all implicated in depression (see review Parker et al., 2006a) | Lombard, 2000; Young and Martin, 2003; Parker et al., 2006a; Van Strater and Bouvy, 2006; Conklin et al., 2007; Sanchez-Villegas et al., 2007; Stahl et al., 2008; Antypa et al., 2012; Moranis et al., 2012; Kang and Gleason, 2013; Grosso et al., 2014 |
| Micronutrients | Thiamine plays a role in emotion, mood states, and cognitive functioning. The pathway is unknown | Benton et al., 1995, 1997; Benton and Donohoe, 1999 |
| Iron | Iron deficiency results in depressed mood and lethargy. The pathway is unknown | Benton and Donohoe, 1999 |
| Folic acid | Folic acid deficiency is associated with depressed mood. The pathway is unknown | Coppen and Bolander-Gouaille, 2005; Young, 2007 |
| Ghrelin | Linked to stress mediated food reward behavior, depression, and anxiety via ghrelin receptor signaling pathway | Schanze et al., 2008; Barim et al., 2009; Kluge et al., 2009, 2011; Perello et al., 2010; Chuang et al., 2011; Diz-Chaves, 2011; Kumar et al., 2013 |
| Serotonin | Linked to food intake, depression, and anxiety via serotonin receptor signaling pathway | Wurtman and Wurtman, 1989; Benton and Donohoe, 1999; Pepino et al., 2009; Shabbir et al., 2013 |
| Dopamine | Linked to food reward behavior and mood via dopamine receptor signaling pathway | Cantello et al., 1989; Diehl and Gershon, 1992; Fochtmann and Fink, 1992; Berridge, 1996; Black et al., 2002; Davis et al., 2009; Cawley et al., 2013 |
| Leptin | Linked to food intake, depression, anxiety, and mood disorder via leptin receptor signaling pathway | Collin et al., 2000; Asakawa et al., 2003; Lu et al., 2006; Finger et al., 2010; Liu et al., 2010; Sharma et al., 2010; Yamada et al., 2011; Guo et al., 2012, 2013 |
| Adiponectin | Linked to depression and mood disorder. May involve adiponectin-induced inhibition of GSK-3β pathway | Arita et al., 1999; Maeda et al., 2001; Milan et al., 2002; Cnop et al., 2003; Delporte et al., 2004; Ryo et al., 2004; Leo et al., 2006; Narita et al., 2006; Hanley et al., 2007; Weber-Hamann et al., 2007; Ye et al., 2007; Yilmaz, 2008; Zeman et al., 2009; Jeong et al., 2012; Wilhelm et al., 2013 |
| Resistin | Indirect link to depression. The pathway is unknown | Krsek et al., 2004; Silha et al., 2004; Weber-Hamann et al., 2007; Lehto et al., 2010 |
| Insulin | Linked to mood, depression, anxiety and negative emotion via insulin receptor signaling | Gustafson et al., 1999; Benedict et al., 2004; Koponen et al., 2008; Akbaraly et al., 2009; Almeida et al., 2009; Benoit et al., 2009; Kleinridders et al., 2009; Marks et al., 2009; Pulkki-Raback et al., 2009; Grillo et al., 2011; Chapman et al., 2013; Platt et al., 2013 |