090 - Top Foods That Affect Mood and Behavior: Gluten, Dairy, Sugar, Food Dyes & the Gut-Brain Connection

Can the foods we eat influence mood, focus, impulsivity, anxiety, and behavior? In this follow-up to the gut-brain connection episode, Dr. Taylor Krick explores how food communicates with the brain through the microbiome, immune system, blood sugar, neurotransmitters, and gut-brain axis.

Dr. Taylor breaks down several common dietary triggers that may contribute to behavioral or neurological changes in susceptible children and adults, including gluten, dairy, sugar, synthetic food dyes, artificial sweeteners, MSG, and other ultra-processed food additives.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why behavior can sometimes be an outward expression of what is happening internally
• How genetics and the microbiome influence individual reactions to food
• The potential connections between gluten, dairy, inflammation, and opioid-like peptides
• How sugar may affect blood sugar, dopamine, and reward pathways
• Why food dyes, aspartame, MSG, and excitatory signaling deserve attention
• How a short-term elimination approach may help reveal individual triggers
• Why supporting the gut may also improve clarity, focus, mood, sleep, and executive functioning

Food is not the only factor influencing behavior—but it may be an important and often overlooked piece of the puzzle. This episode offers a practical, root-cause perspective for parents and adults who want to better understand the relationship between food, the gut, the brain, and everyday behavior.

This episode is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or replace individualized medical care.