Food can convey such an array of emotions. People can express love to their partners with their cooking. An exquisite and rare dish could make a dreary vacation totally worth it. A healthy meal can perk you up, and fast food can, ironically, make you feel sluggish. Food can make us feel so many ways, that’s why cuisine is such an art. 

Did you know, though, that food can also affect your personality? 

“You are what you eat”

A new study from Texas A&M University found that your personality could be directly tied to your microbiome and the variety of foods you eat. We’ve written before about how your microbiome can affect your anxiety, and now we know it goes beyond that. 

Researchers looked at the correlation between the microbiome and four traits: mental energy (ME), mental fatigue (MF), physical energy (PE), and physical fatigue (PF). They found that bacteria linked to metabolism were associated with mental and physical energy, and bacteria linked to inflammation were associated with mental and physical fatigue. These are all factors at play in how a person feels or behaves. 

Published in the journal Nutrients, the study looked at participants involved in a larger study on microbiome health. The participants were surveyed to attribute their moods and energy levels to what exactly was in their guts’ microbiomes. They found that ME, MF, PE, and PF were connected to distinct, and also sometimes overlapping, gut bacteria profiles. 

Helping other nutrition-related issues

While fatigue is a pervasive issue, it is not very well understood. Many nutritionists and researchers agree that poor diet is a contributor, but more research is needed to understand how that is. Diet can often be overlooked in the cases of people with other health issues, and doctors may not consider what a patient with other health issues eats when trying to help their fatigue. Now that there is a link between certain microbiomes and certain energy and fatigue levels, researchers can pursue more investigations into how nutrition can specifically affect people with chronic health issues. 

Source Study: Texas A&M Today — What You Eat May Help Shape Your Personality – Texas A&M Today (tamu.edu)