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Food4Mood: How does your diet influence your mood?
Last June (2025), Wageningen Food & Biobased Research and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam launched the Food4Mood research project: a public–private partnership – of which we are part – to explore how what you eat influences your mental health.
Objective of the study
For three years, Wageningen Food & Biobased Research and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam will collaborate with companies and societal organisations. Their goal: to find out whether a targeted diet combined with supplements can stimulate the gut–brain axis and thereby improve mental health.
Why is this research important?
Mental health complaints among young adults in the Netherlands are on the rise. Increasing evidence suggests that what we eat affects not only our physical health but also our mood, concentration and emotional well-being.
Study design
Food4Mood will investigate whether switching to a plant-based, high-fibre diet plus pre-, pro- and postbiotics can help. Young adult participants with mild to moderate mental health complaints will take part in a large citizen-science study. They will follow personalised advice, provide samples and share data, bringing science and daily life together.
“This project offers a unique opportunity to link academic knowledge to practical innovation,” says Nicole de Wit of Wageningen Food & Biobased Research. Remco Kort of VU Amsterdam adds: “If we understand how high-fibre, plant-based diets and supplements influence our microbiome and the gut–brain axis, we can develop targeted strategies to support mental health.”
Research collaboration
Food4Mood is funded by the Topsector Life Sciences & Health and a broad consortium including Keep Food Simple, The Akkermansia Company, Ani AI, DSM-Firmenich, Medex, MyMicroZoo, International Probiotics Association, HorAlzon, Gezondeboel, Stichting MDL fonds and GlycanAge.
Together, these partners aim to generate new insights for improved diets, supplements, biomarkers and technologies that promote mental well-being.
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