16 Mood Boosting Foods | Improve Your Mood With Foods
We all feel blue from time to time, and food can play an important role in helping us lift our mood and improve our outlook on life. Open up the fridge and poke through the pantry, where you’ll find a wide array of mood boosting foods that are healthful, satisfying and delicious.
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Before we get into the specific mood-boosting foods below, there are a couple of key dietary strategies to help you improve and balance your mood with food:
Balance blood sugar levels. Skipping meals, eating erratically or eating sugary meals and snacks can send our blood sugar levels out of whack. This leads to an imbalance of hormones – including stress hormones – and can make us irritable, cranky or ‘hangry’. Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, is linked to depression and anxiety. Consuming complex carbohydrates, protein, fat and fibre with each meal and snack will help your blood sugar levels stay on track.
Consume nourishing fats. Fats are essential to the nervous system. Our brains are about 60% fat and good fats help support brain function and integrity, aid the production of neurotransmitters and reduce inflammation. Learn more about the best fats and oils for health here, and discover the dangerous side of vegetable oils.
Eat your amino acids (protein). Certain amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, are the precursors to brain neurotransmitters that help balance and better our mood. These 21 ways to get more protein in your diet can certainly help you!
Get the B vitamins. The spectrum of B vitamins helps soothe stress and support the nervous system. Many of the B vitamins are also co-factors in aiding brain health and formulating neurotransmitters. B vitamins can be found in many vegetables, like dark leafy greens and gluten-free whole grains.
What If I’m Not in the Mood to Cook Mood Boosting Foods?
If you’re down in the…
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