by Chris Shugart
Want to be successful in life? It helps to have a healthy personality, and new research shows you can shape it. Here's how.
Back in college, my psychology professor said that our personalities are set in stone by the time we enter kindergarten. If you're an introverted, irritable, lazy, or anxious kid, you'll be that way as an adult, too.
Luckily, he was wrong. Personality is more malleable than we thought. It's plastic, not stone.
That's good news because your personality largely determines your relationship success. One study even showed that 78% of employers value a "good" personality more than an applicant's skill set. So, if you want to have happy relationships and gainful employment, personality is the pathway.
Your personality is what makes you YOU. It's formed by genetics, environment, and life experiences. With work, you can slowly adjust your personality to fit your goals thanks to neuroplasticity – your brain's ability to adapt.
Today, a new personality influencer has entered the chat: diet. Austin Perlmutter M.D., co-author of Brain Wash, posits that nutrition also molds and shapes our personalities.
What is personality anyway?
The Big Five Personality Model is the accepted framework for understanding personality. It identifies core traits that describe the broad dimensions of personality and behavior. You can be high or low in each trait:
- Openness: Your curiosity, imagination, creativity, and openness to new ideas and experiences.
- Conscientiousness: Your level of organization, responsibility, and goal-oriented behavior.
- Extraversion: How outgoing, energetic, and social you are.
- Agreeableness: Your tendency to be compassionate, cooperative, and kind.
- Neuroticism: Your emotional stability and how you handle negative emotions.
There's no "good" or "bad" trait. Each has its pros and cons. For example, people high in conscientiousness are dedicated, driven, and hardworking, but have a tendency for self-contempt (they beat themselves up for failures).
A person high in agreeableness is very kind, but sometimes naively trusting – people can take advantage of them. A person low in neuroticism isn't anxious and tolerates stress well, but sometimes he or she doesn't worry enough and takes too many risks.
The diet connection
While there's no good or bad personality trait, most people would like to be more conscientious (to be more successful) and less neurotic (because anxiety sucks). Being more extroverted and open means life is more fun, and the right dose of agreeableness makes us all better people.
Dr. Perlmutter says that new research suggests diet influences personality traits by affecting the gut, neuroplasticity, and immunity. Genetics, he says, account for 30-40% of personality development, but environmental factors, including diet, shape the rest:
- Diet affects your gut microbiome (good and bad bacteria), which affects how your brain works via the gut-brain axis. A person with a healthy balance of gut bacteria experiences less anxiety and is more emotionally stable, while an imbalance (dysbiosis) contributes to neuroticism and irritability.
- Diet also affects your brain's neuroplasticity. Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly DHA, play a big role here. Dr. Perlmutter says that omega-3s, along with antioxidants, affect our adaptability, creativity, and emotional resilience. Without enough omega-3s, we get moody and can't handle stress.
- Your metabolism, largely controlled by what you eat, also directs personality. For example, blood sugar regulation impacts mood. Dysregulated blood sugar is linked to higher neuroticism and lower openness to experience, and fat gain is linked to impulsiveness.
- Chronic inflammation also shapes personality, lowering conscientiousness and extraversion. Inflammation is also linked to depression and neuroticism.
Feeding a good personality
A "good" personality is essentially a balanced personality. Dr. Perlmutter says, "Nourishing the body with the right nutrients creates biological conditions that support psychological well-being, potentially fostering subtle shifts in personality over time." He recommends ditching processed sugar, prioritizing sleep, and exercising. Based on related research, here's what else we can do:
1. Take fish oil
Inflammation changes how our brains work, which negatively affects our personalities. Your brain runs on DHA. This omega-3 maintains the integrity of neuronal cell membranes, reduces the activity of the enzyme that turns on the production of inflammatory chemicals, and improves neuroplasticity.
Most people today are deficient in omega-3s, which partially explains their crappy personalities. Don't be one of them. Take a DHA-enhanced fish oil supplement. Unlike other fatty acid supplements, Flameout DHA-Rich Fish Oil (Buy at Amazon) contains five times more DHA than EPA.
Omega-3s also positively change your gut microbiome, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria while reducing the bad stuff. Fish oil strengthens the gut lining, reducing permeability and helping prevent systemic inflammation.
2. Get your antioxidants
Antioxidants support neuroplasticity, enhancing adaptability, resilience, and cognitive flexibility. Diets rich in berries reduce systemic inflammation, linked to depression and irritability.
If you're not eating a wide variety of plants daily, take Biotest Superfood (Buy at Amazon). It's packed with antioxidants.
As a bonus, omega-3s and antioxidants help prevent mental decline. So, if you already have a fantastic personality, they help keep it that way as you age.
Other personality protectors and enhancers
- Vitamin D: Deficiency causes depressive symptoms and low energy, affecting sociability and optimism. Take microencapsulated D3.
- Magnesium and Zinc: These minerals are critical for stress regulation and mood. Low levels contribute to anxiety or irritability. Take an Albion-chelated supplement for best results.
How quickly can I improve my personality?
It's tough to say. It depends on how hard you work at it. Traits like agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability (related to neuroticism) are more malleable and can improve within months. Traits like openness and extraversion may require longer periods of effort.
However, previous research focused mostly on habit formation, cognitive therapy, and mindfulness. If the emerging research on diet is correct, it should be much easier and faster to shape our personalities in a way that makes life a whole lot more enjoyable.
Reference
- Perlmutter, Can Food Change Your Personality?, Psychology Today, January 12, 2025.