Food and Mood: Are vegans happier than other food identities?

Have you ever noticed that after eating certain foods, your emotional level of well-being experiences a shift leading you either to feel good, neutral or, in some occasions, it can even make you feel upset. Food as such not only influences your physical well-being, or so-called health, but it also affects your mental states and subjective perceptions of emotional wellness.

In my PhD research on veg*anism and well-being, I have explored the levels of emotional well-being of young people in relation to their self-identified label of food identity. Within the labels of dietary identifications, participants could select from the most common food profiles in order to create an overall perspective of dietary behaviour in our modern society.

• omnivores
• organic omnivores
• flexitarians
• pescatarians
• vegetarians
• vegans

After retaining more than 1100 participants from the Mediterranean area (Andalusia) to complete the survey and studying their level of emotional wellness on a PANAS scale, the results on the graph bar below show a clear tendency of positive interpretation for the dietary profile of VEGANS. This observation leads us to adopt a new perspective on the dietary identity of the strictest plant-based dieters, vegans, who not only enjoy the benefits of vegan diets on their physical bodies but they also experience higher levels of positive emotional states such as happiness, contentment, joy and calm, among others, in comparison to meat eaters and vegetarians.

Notable to highlight is the effect of our daily food choices on our mood. Could what we eat be the cause to how we feel? Or is there more to investigate within the turmoil of our never-ending mental battles that try to beat the front of depressions, anxiety and get closer to the state, in which our mind becomes brighter, less worried and more inspired to create bigger things?

Obviously, this is a sample of a specific target group but it would be great if we could shed more light on the aspect of happiness that so many philosophers, scientists, artists, and common people are looking for. Even if this means to start a new nutritional route that can create fruitful sinergies for people and the planet.