Happy are We

Of the 350,000 surveyed in 52 countries, Denmark is in first, the United States ranks 16th and Zimbabwe comes in dead last. What did this survey ask? How well people were doing economically? How satisfied people were with their government? Actually, the survey asked how happy people were. And according to the 17-year study, the United States is the 16th happiest country in the world.  

Determining a country’s happiness was based on how those surveyed responded to two basic questions, one of which was multiple choice: (1) “Taking all things together, would you say you are very happy, rather happy, not very happy, not at all happy” and (2) “How satisfied are you as a whole with life these days?” Believe it or not, despite a worsening of the global economy, 40 countries surveyed showed increased happiness today compared to 1981 which was when the survey was initiated. Just 12 countries showed decreased happiness.

The reasons for the increased happiness, as indicated in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, are believed to be more democratic countries since 1981 as well as several bullish economies that were once bearish.

Though I have no reason to doubt the researchers’ conclusions regarding why happiness has increased over the years, I’d like to propose an additional variable worth considering. Could the diets, or lack there of, of these countries’ inhabitants be playing a role in happiness? After all, according to research done on mood and hunger, the brain chemical that affects our level of happiness – serotonin – decreases when we’re deprived of food. And last time I checked, Zimbabwe wasn’t a land of plentiful (the Associated Press reports that the sky high inflation rate in Zimbabwe has made food nearly impossible to buy for most natives).

Our attitude, economy, and genetic makeup clearly play a role in our level of happiness, but it’s also true that our diets play a role in our mood as well.

Writing in her health blog at Fox News.com, Tanya Zuckerbrot talks about this very thing. For instance, Zuckerbrot writes that strawberry jam and whole wheat toast increases dopamine levels, a neurotransmitter that impacts our mood. Feeling a bad mood coming on? Zuckberbrot says a lack of selenium might be to blame. Boost those selenium levels with brazil nuts, sunflower seeds and tuna. Speaking of tuna, studies indicate that people who eat seafood regularly are at a lower risk for developing depression due to the high amount of Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish like salmon and flounder.

Of course, more studies need to be done before even hinting that the food countries eat most prevalently contributes to their level of happiness. But given the fact that natural health experts have long touted the link between what we eat and how happy we are and this is becoming more widely accepted – and given the fact that impoverished nations like Rwanda and Moldova join Zimbabwe among the unhappiest countries – I think it’s a theory at least worth considering. In the meantime, I’ll trust the researchers’ conclusions.