We spend a lot of time thinking about food as fuel for our muscles, but what about our brains? According to “The 5 Best Foods to Eat for Better Mental Health,” research has linked whole-food-heavy diets to a lower risk of developing depressive or anxiety symptoms. The article suggests that nutrients in certain foods can help your body produce mood-regulating neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, and can also help reduce inflammation. Director of nutritional and lifestyle psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Uma Naidoo, even calls B vitamins “brain vitamins,” which you can find in leafy greens. Other options for your gray matter include fatty fish packed with anti-inflammatory omega-3s and berries loaded with antioxidants. Of course, a healthy diet is also about what you avoid, which brings us to the great sugar debate. In “Cane Sugar Vs. High-Fructose Corn Syrup: Is One Sweetener Healthier?,” we learned that Coca-Cola will now offer a cane sugar version of its soda, following a recent push from Health and Human Services to move away from high-fructose corn syrup. But before you rush out to buy the new cans, some experts suggest the switch won’t make much difference. Both sweeteners are made up of glucose and fructose (albeit at slightly different ratios), meaning their metabolic impact is nearly identical. As registered dietitian Angel Planells explains, your body processes both similarly, and professor Marie-Pierre St-Onge notes that it’s just “changing a sugar for a sugar.” You may be better off focusing on reducing added sugars altogether.

#Don’tSugarCoatIt