7 Ways to Improve Your Mood Through Diet

7 Ways to Improve Your Mood Through Diet

Pretending that food doesn't matter to health is at best denial, at worst a serious delusion. But we have all been there when we have reached for a sugary snack when stressed out or feeling grouchy. We had that fleeting moment of satisfaction followed by the inevitable blood-sugar crash, with added irritability to boot. Not nice! Well, I am here to help and I am going to help you improve your mood with these 7 tips.

1. REPLACE PROCESSED FOODS WITH FRESH ORGANIC WHOLE FOODS

Our bodies are extremely clever: when we try to feed them something that is processed, they recognise that they're eating something but cant quite figure out what it is, because its missing so many nutrients and its molecular structure has been altered. So, to make up for the missing nutrients, our bodies have to tap into our own reserves and they end up taking minerals from our blood and bones. This is obviously not a sustainable way to eat because our nutrient reserves need to be replenished and if all we do is eat processed foods then pretty soon we mill find ourselves malnourished and on a slippery slope to irritability and illness.

2. EAT MORE SOLUBLE FIBRE

Fibre helps to slow down the absorption of sugar in your blood stream into your body and therefore lessens those dreaded mood swings. Oats, brown rice, barley, apples, pears, carrots, beans and sweet potatoes are good sources. Avoid processed grains like white rice, white pasta or white bread, which have been stripped of their fibre.

3. REPLACE COFFEE, SOFT DRINKS & BOTTLED JUICES

... with water, herbal tea & fresh juices

4. AVOID FOODS THAT CONTAIN ARTIFICIAL CHEMICAL ADDITIVES

The one area that all clever wellness experts agree upon: the chemicals in our foods are the real villains that need eradicating. Processed foods are loaded with salt, sugar, bad fats, preservatives and other chemical additive like ingredients that you'd need a scientific dictionary to decipher. In our bodies these preservatives and chemical additives literally wreak havoc to our neuro-transmitters, creating imbalances and disrupting their normal flow and function. We must avoid processed foods at all costs in order to keep cool, calm and collected. Here are the most common additives to avoid: artificial sweeteners (please, please, please!), high-fructose corn syrup, monosodium glutamate (MSG), refined sugar, artificial colours, pesticides, sodium nitrate and nitrate, BHA and BHT, olestra (olean) and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

5. EAT MORE SEROTONIN-RICH FOODS

Eat a diet rich in pineapples, bananas, kiwi fruits, plums and tomatoes as well as foods that enhance serotonin production and absorption like spirulina, beans, cereals, leafy greens and avocado.

6. EAT GOOD SOURCES OF OMEGA 3 FATS

... like walnuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds and spirulina.

7. EXERCISE

I know, this isn't something related to your diet, but exercise is one of the quickest ways to pick yourself up. In fact, people who exercise are better at dealing with stressors in their environment. Frequent, regular exercise actually alters a part of the brain known as dorsal raphe nucleus which is responsible for mood regulation. This part of the brain produces the neurotransmitter serotonin which helps keep your moods under control but it also produces the neurotransmitter called Substance P which alerts you to stress in your environment.