Eating with your eyes and your gut: the feel-good potential of colourful foods

by Lara Mills

At this time of year, there’s something instantly joyful about creating—or being served—a colourful plate of food. Vibrant berries on Greek yoghurt, fresh green herbs garnishing egg dishes, cherry tomato salads, pickled pink onions on tacos… the arrival of summer translates to a welcome explosion of technicolour produce, as warmer days often prompt cravings for fresher, lighter and crunchier foods.

It turns out that a vibrant dish doesn’t just serve our Instagram aesthetic: the colours on our plate can influence how we feel both psychologically and physiologically. Colour psychology suggests that visual variety and bright, natural foods can positively shape mood, appetite, and our overall eating experience. ¹

While we’re all familiar with “eat the rainbow”, the real benefit goes far beyond simply ticking off the colours. Many of those rich reds, deep purples, vibrant greens and golden yellows are indicators of polyphenols—natural compounds in plant foods that help support our gut, inflammatory processes, and may even play a role in how we feel .²

In many ways, a colourful plate is doing more than brightening your mood at first glance—it’s supporting your wellbeing from the inside out.

The power of polyphenols

Polyphenols sit within the wider family of phytonutrients—natural compounds produced by plants to protect themselves from environmental stressors like UV exposure, pests, and pollution. These same compounds can offer us protective benefits when we eat them.

Alongside carotenoids (found in carrots and sweet potatoes) and glucosinolates (found in broccoli and kale), polyphenols are one of the most abundant and well-researched groups of phytonutrients. They’re found in foods like berries, cacao, coffee, green tea, herbs, spices, extra virgin olive oil, cherries, grapes, and red onions. Beyond colour, they’re often responsible for a food’s bitterness or astringency. ³

So how do polyphenols protect us? Every day, our cells are exposed to oxidative stress—a natural process driven by factors including exercise, pollution, alcohol, poor sleep, and chronic stress. This creates unstable molecules called free radicals, which can damage healthy cells if they outnumber antioxidants. Antioxidants help neutralise these molecules, which is part of the body’s natural processes for maintaining cellular balance. ⁴

This matters because chronic, low-grade inflammation is increasingly recognised as one of the drivers behind many modern health concerns, including digestive issues, fatigue, and even lower mood.⁵

The gut–brain axis

We often think of stress as something that happens in the mind, but if you’ve experienced stress-induced bloating, appetite fluctuations, or digestive discomfort, you’ll know the gut feels it too. The phrases “go with your gut”, “gut feelings”, and “butterflies in your stomach” are very much rooted in truth, since we have a two-way communication system between the gut and the brain known as the gut–brain axis. Their shared language is the nervous system, immune system, and hormones.

In fact, around 90% of serotonin—often referred to as our “feel good” neurotransmitter—is produced in the gut, and the balance of bacteria in our microbiome plays a major role in how these signals are regulated.

Rather than being fully absorbed in the small intestine, many polyphenols travel to the colon where they interact with our gut microbes.  There, they can be used by gut bacteria and contribute to the diversity of the gut microbiome. In return, those bacteria produce helpful compounds like short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which play a role in normal gut function and form part of the communication pathways within the gut–brain axis.⁶

Research suggests that polyphenols may support mental well-being by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, modulating neurotransmitter pathways such as serotonin and dopamine, and helping regulate the body’s stress response through the HPA axis. They may also support neuroplasticity and resilience by influencing neurogenesis and protecting brain cells from chronic inflammatory stress.⁷

This doesn’t mean a handful of blueberries will erase a bad day—but it does reinforce the idea that our everyday food choices can have a meaningful cumulative impact by supporting resilience over time.

Beyond “eat the rainbow”

Although the reminder to eat a range of colourful plants is helpful, it can sometimes reduce nutrition to a checklist. It’s all too easy to get stuck in a habit of repeatedly buying the same imported fruit and vegetables year-round, despite an abundance of colourful, diverse produce available from UK or mainland Europe, with shorter transport routes resulting in better nutrient preservation.

It’s important to remember that different plant foods provide an abundance of polyphenols, fibres, and nutrients, which feed different strains of beneficial bacteria, so a varied diet will always have more impact than regularly eating a singular “superfood”.

This might look like adding cinnamon to your morning oats, swapping milk chocolate for a few squares of dark chocolate, using fresh herbs more generously, choosing extra virgin olive oil over more refined oils, switching up your smashed avocado for freshly mashed peas, or finishing dinner with local strawberries.

The great news is that coffee and tea count too. Green tea is rich in catechins, coffee contains chlorogenic acids, and herbal teas like chamomile and lemon balm provide polyphenols alongside their more calming, nervine properties.

Higher dietary polyphenol intake has also been associated with better mental health outcomes, including lower reported rates of depression, anxiety, and stress across multiple populations.⁴

Making polyphenols work for you

Sometimes food can be portrayed as overly functional, but enjoyment is key to creating consistency in new habits.

If raw red onions are too pungent for you in a salad, try quick-pickling them by adding slices to vinegar, water, salt and sugar—they keep well in the fridge for up to two weeks, are a versatile meal topper, and make it easier to enjoy more fibre-rich meals.

Don’t love the bitterness of dark chocolate? Cut Medjool dates open, spoon in a little peanut butter and dip them in dark chocolate—the sweetness of the dates offsets the bitterness and makes them a deliciously indulgent yet nutrient-dense treat, reminiscent of a Snickers chocolate bar.

Even keeping frozen berries on hand to throw into your morning smoothie or protein shake is a quick, easy and inexpensive way to enjoy a variety of plant compounds, including polyphenols.

Food as a multi-sensory experience

The sight, smell, texture, and ritual of preparing food all influence digestion before we even start eating. A colourful, varied plate invites us to pause and appreciate, and encourages satisfaction, mindfulness, and often better choices without rigid rules.

For those navigating stress, digestive symptoms, or the demands of a fast-paced lifestyle, supporting the gut–brain axis may also benefit from a broader approach. Alongside polyphenol-rich foods, factors like sleep, movement, stress management, and targeted microbiome support all play a role.

Bio.Me Mind+Mood Capsules combine live bacteria, and biotin. Biotin contributes to normal psychological function and the normal functioning of the nervous system. If you’re looking to complement a food-first approach when life feels a little less balanced, supporting both digestion and mood from multiple angles can help buffer your resilience.

Sometimes, food is comfort, connection, or even the satisfaction of sprinkling home-grown, bright green basil on top of your pasta. Sometimes, the simple act of adding more colour to your plate is also a quiet way of taking care of your mind.

References

1.     Silva, J., Lima, F. E., Souza, C., Moreira-Leite, B., & Sousa, P. (2025). The Influence of Food Colors on Emotional Perception and Consumer Acceptance: A Sensory and Emotional Profiling Approach in Gastronomy. Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 14(22), 3818. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14223818

2.     Jie, S., Fu, A., Wang, C., & Rajabi, S. (2025). A comprehensive review on the impact of polyphenol supplementation and exercise on depression and brain function parameters. Behavioral and brain functions : BBF, 21(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12993-025-00273-2

3.     Osakabe, N., Shimizu, T., Fujii, Y., Fushimi, T., & Calabrese, V. (2024). Sensory Nutrition and Bitterness and Astringency of Polyphenols. Biomolecules, 14(2), 234. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom14020234

4.     Mijailović, N. R., Milojević-Rakić, M., & Mihajlović, K. (2025). Polyphenols: A top-down approach to nutrition and depression. World journal of psychiatry, 15(9), 107828. https://doi.org/10.5498/wjp.v15.i9.107828

5.     Bayram, H.M., Aydın, A.G., Okur, H., Karalı, A.E., Öztürkcan, A. (2024). The relationship between dietary polyphenol intake and adherence to the Mediterranean diet, mental health, and sleep quality among Turkish adults: A cross-sectional study. Food and Health, 10(4), 262-272. https://doi.org/10.3153/FH24025

6.     Farhan, M., & Faisal, M. (2024). The Potential Role of Polyphenol Supplementation in Preventing and Managing Depression: A Review of Current Research. Life (Basel, Switzerland), 14(10), 1342. https://doi.org/10.3390/life14101342

7.     Gamage, E., Orr, R., Travica, N., Lane, M. M., Dissanayaka, T., Kim, J. H., Grosso, G., Godos, J., & Marx, W. (2023). Polyphenols as novel interventions for depression: Exploring the efficacy, mechanisms of action, and implications for future research. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 151, 105225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105225