Everyone gets in a bad mood occasionally. We experience work problems, relationship woes, or sometimes just wake up on the wrong side of the bed. It’s normal. But if you experience bad moods chronically or find your angry emotions are negatively impacting your life, your diet could be to blame. 

You are what you eat goes the well-known adage, and Chinese Medicine agrees. According to TCM knowledge, imbalances in our organ systems can cause emotional problems. You can help restore balance by avoiding certain foods and eating more of others. 

Read on to discover some common bad mood foods and which restorative foods you can add to your diet to feel better.  

Feeling Angry? Your Liver System Could be to Blame

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, a Liver imbalance is often the root cause of chronic anger problems. If you find you’re quick-tempered, easily irritated, or irrationally angry a lot of the time, you could be suffering from energy stagnation in the Liver system. 

Other symptoms of Liver imbalances include a feeling of constriction in the chest or upper abdomen, diarrhea or constipation.  

Foods to avoid:

• Alcohol 
• Fast food 
• Fried foods
• Hydrogenated fats 
• Excessive meat and dairy 
• Sugary foods
• Excessive caffeine

Foods to eat: 

• Steamed vegetables 
• Fruits 
• Mung beans 
• Dandelion 
• Radicchio 
• Broccoli
• Soy 
• Apple cider vinegar 

These Foods are Hard on the Spleen and Can Make You Worry

It’s normal to be uneasy in some situations, but if you feel nervous in scenarios that you once handled with ease (i.e. driving a car or talking on the phone) or you find yourself worrying about every little thing, you could be suffering from an imbalance of the Spleen. Other symptoms of Spleen imbalances include lethargy and an inability to focus. 

Foods to avoid: 

• Frozen, cold or raw foods
• Citrus
• Refined sugars
• Dairy
• Yeasty foods 
• Salty foods 
• Fried foods

Foods to eat: 

• Sesame, pumpkin or sunflower seeds
• Legumes like aduki beans, garbanzos or lentils
• Sweet potatoes
• Carrots
• Parsnips
• Squash 
• Chestnuts
• Figs
• Sea vegetables or kelp
• Beef or bison

Are You Eating Too Many of These Anxiety Inducing Foods?

Anxiety takes many forms and can be caused by different imbalances in the body. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Kidneys, which include the adrenal glands, are often the root cause of anxiety problems and can be restored to balance by eating certain foods. 

Other symptoms of Kidney imbalance or adrenal fatigue include lower back pain, ringing in the ears, infertility, hair loss, premature greying of the hair, decreased sexual appetite, phobias, panic attacks, and insomnia.  Hint: if you tend to be hot, it probably isn’t the Kidney. Qi deficiency.

Given that the kidneys are responsible for filtering toxins from our body, it makes sense that many people suffer from some Kidney imbalance symptoms. Modern life and modern diets are full of toxins, but a healthy diet can help restore the Kidney system to balance. 

Foods to avoid: 

• Processed foods 
• Foods grown with herbicides and pesticides
• Refined sugars 
• Artificial sweeteners
• Table salt (replace with sea salt) 
• Alcohol

Foods to eat: 

• Organic foods
• Duck
• Bone broth
• Venison
• Beets 
• Black sesame seeds 
• Walnuts
• Black beans
• Mung beans 
• Berries

The foods we eat affect more than our bodies. Cleaning up your diet can help ward off angry feelings, give you clarity of mind, and much more.