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12 Foods That Lift Your Moods
Sometimes you might find yourself in a bad disposition, perhaps you had a bad day at work, or you
had a fight with your best friend or maybe it is just the bad weather outside.
It is important to understand that you can get rid of your blues by eating the right foods. The secret
to happiness may be in your next meal.
According to findings from studies that have examined the connection between food and mood,
what you eat plays a role in how content you feel.
Eating certain foods will help you boost your mood, increase your energy and desire to stand up to
whatever might come next. Below you will find the main ones.
1. Atlantic Salmon
Oily fish like salmon is one of the best sources of omega-3 essential fatty acids, which help prevent
the blues. They boost serotonin levels, one of the key neurotransmitters influencing our mood.
Salmon is also one of the best food sources of Vitamin D. Research has suggested that vitamin D may
also increase the levels of serotonin, and help to relieve mood disorders.
2. Bananas
This fruit is loved all over the world by both humans and animals.
Bananas are a good source of tryptophan which serves as a precursor for serotonin, a
neurotransmitter that helps the body regulate appetite, sleep patterns, and mood.
3. Brazil nuts
Brazil nuts are the number one source of the mineral called selenium, which assists in stabilising
your mood and helps to prevent depression.
In fact it is so important that when the body’s store of selenium is being depleted, the brain is the
last organ to lose its supply.
Just six Brazil nuts give you your recommended daily intake.
Protein in nuts lowers the glycaemic index (GI), so your blood sugar levels don’t spike and plummet,
and this prevents the ‘sugar slump’ and accompanying crabbiness you’d get soon after eating a high
GI sugary snack like a biscuit.
4. Chillies
Chillies also have mood elevating effects. They work by stimulating a specific type of pain receptor
(called TRPV1) on sensory nerve endings.
When these nerves are stimulated they signal the brain to release chemicals called endorphins.
Endorphins, in turn, stimulate the release of the brain chemical, dopamine which acts as a mood
elevator and relieves depression.
5. Cinnamon
This spice has been remarked for its capacity to moderate the blood sugar of human beings. This, in
turn, helps you to prevent mood swings.
Cinnamon facilitates digestion, which is one of the causes for feeling depressed and lifeless.
You can add cinnamon in your porridge, hot cereal or yoghurt.
6. Dark chocolate
Those who crave chocolate tend to do so when they feel emotionally low.
Chocolate really can make you happy, it just has to be 70% or higher in cocoa for the added health
benefits like antioxidants.
As all palatable foods stimulate endorphin release in the brain, just about all the ingredients in
chocolate can lift your spirits and even offer a "fleeting feeling of euphoria : fat, sugar, caffeine,
phenylethylamine, anandamines, flavonols, theobromine, and tryptophan."
7. Lentils
A member of the legume family, lentils are an excellent source of folate, a B vitamin that appears to
be essential for mood and proper nerve function in the brain.
Folate deficiency appears to impair the metabolism of serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline,
neurotransmitters important for mood.
Lentils also contain protein and fibre, which are filling and help to stabilise blood sugar levels.
Whole dry lentils are also an excellent source of phenylalanine which is an essential amino acid
necessary to maintain normal brain chemicals (L-dopa, epinephrine, and norepinephrine).
Deficiency of this vital amino acid can cause confusion, lack of energy, depression, decreased
alertness, memory problems, and lack of appetite.
8. Oats
There is a reason why people have been consuming oats for centuries. This whole grain actually
calms, soothes and reduces stress.
Packed with fibre, oats help avoid the blood sugar crash-and-burn that can lead to mood swings.
Oatmeal at breakfast can stabilise your mood and help you begin your day in a calm state.
9. Saffron
For centuries, saffron has been used to treat depression in traditional Persian medical systems.
Recently several clinical trials have shown that this yellow spice is indeed as effective as many of our
current anti-depressant drugs in treating mild to moderate depression.
10. Spinach
Green leafy vegetables like spinach are high in folate (folic acid) and vitamin B6, two B vitamins that
also help convert tryptophan into serotonin.
According to a Harvard study low levels of folate have been associated with depression.
11. Turkey
Turkey is high in phenylalanine, an amino acid which the brain converts to dopamine, a brain
chemical that elevates mood and motivation and prevents depression.
A study published in a German psychiatry journal showed that phenylalanine was as effective as an
antidepressant drug.
Tryptophan found in turkey boosts serotonin levels to balance mood and provide a more positive
outlook.
12. Walnuts
Walnuts are especially mood-boosting and have long been thought of as a "brain food" because of
their wrinkled, brain-like appearance.
But now we know that walnuts are an excellent source of omega-3 essential fatty acids, a type of fat
that's needed for brain cells and mood-lifting neurotransmitters to function properly and possible
help some people with depression.
Walnuts also contain uridine. The combination of omega-3 and uridine, is thought to be a natural
antidepressant, according to another Harvard Medical Study.
A changing mood is often a normal part of the natural ebb and flow of life, seasons, hormones and
life experiences. But when those changing moods affect the normal habits and behaviours of our
lives, then you need to pay attention and seek help if you think that your moods are affecting you
and the people around you on a larger scale. Symptoms such as poor sleep or too much sleep,
outbursts of anger, despair or rage, poor interest in everyday life events, los s of libido, fatigue that
is not associated with exercise, nausea and anorexia are all signs that your mood and emotions may
be needing some help. A Naturopath can assess the reason for your affected moods and can use
functional testing and observations skills to identify the aggravating factors that may be causing this
and develop a treatment strategy to address this.