DID YOU KNOW YOUR DIET CAN HELP BOOST YOUR MOODS?

What you eat plays a role in how you feel emotionally as well as physically according to nutrition experts. Key nutrients in certain foods can influence the levels of feel-good hormones such as serotonin whereas others can do the exact opposite, leaving you feeling tired and cranky.

HIGH FIBER, LOW FAT

Eating a diet high in fibre and low in fat goes a great way in boosting your mood. Foods that fall under this category include pasta, beans and fish. The latter contains unsaturated fats which are essential for a healthy body.

Fibre rich foods which are naturally low in fat  have been associated with decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease by carrying LDL (bad) cholesterol out of the body and are also said to contain cancer-fighting properties.

FOLIC ACID (FOLATE) AND VITAMIN B12

Apart from helping with mood disorders, Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 are believed to help prevent dementia and disorders of the central nervous system.

Folic acid is usually found in beans and greens while Vitamin B12 is found in meats, fish, poultry, and dairy products.

Foods rich in folate include fortified whole-grain breakfast cereals, lentils, black-eyed peas, soybeans, oatmeal, broccoli, sunflower seeds.

Additionally, studies show that people who get higher than average amounts of folate from their diets, or from folic acid supplements for 15 years or more, have lower risks of colon cancer and breast cancer.

VITAMIN D

Vitamin D is believed to help relieve mood down-swings as it seems to increase the amounts of serotonin. Foods rich in this vitamin include boned fish, fat free and low-fat milk, fortified soy milk and egg yolks.

Dark chocolate and apples have also been cited as one of the ‘mood lifters especially in women.

REDUCE SUGAR AND COFFEE INTAKE

In order to avert a foul mood you need to keep off foods that are high in sugar because they tend to increase your blood sugar level which leaves you feeling low when the BSL goes down. Examples of these foods include cupcakes and doughnuts.

A reduction in your coffee intake is also something that you ought to consider as caffeine is a diuretic and a stimulant so it can cause you to become irritable.

‘You are what you eat’ goes a common phrase,  so if are feeling cranky and desire to release your feel-good hormones, you know what to eat.