What you eat can affect your mood

The New Year may have you thinking more about what you eat.

Maybe you're trying to eat more fruits and veggies, cut down on fat, and drink more water.

What you choose to put in your body can ultimately affect your mood.

There's a reason why you've been told to eat all your meals. Skipping them can have a domino effect on your diet.

Jason Bosley Smith, a nutrition coordinator with the Maryland Athletic Club says, "If you're really hungry and your appetite is off kilter you're going to reach for foods that are probably not the best option, probably ones that are unhealthy versions like junk food."

Bosley Smith, says eating fruits and veggies can boost your mood and supply your body with a much needed nutrient.

"One of the big things they provide is fiber. Fiber is going to help stabilize your blood sugar levels which again domino effect of keeping you more even keel with your appetite which will affect your mood in the long run too."

A good way to filter the good and bad foods in your diet is to keep a log of what you eat.

Bosley Smith says, "So within an hour or two after you eat how do you feel, do you feel irritable, do you feel anxious, do you feel sort of low energy, fatigue, and depressed and that can really help give you a picture, a window into how your food is affecting your mood."

And when you eat, don't be preoccupied with something else. "A lot of us are on the go, we're running around, we may be eating hopefully not in the car but sometimes in the car or distracted by other things like the TV or our phones, but in those situations that can really affect our mood because we're not conscious of what we're eating, how quickly we're eating."