Delicious Mood-Boosting Foods to Incorporate into Any Meal

A healthy lifestyle begins in the kitchen! Eating good and feeling good are synonymous with one another, and food truly is medicine. Need a little mood boost? Why not try some of these delicious, mood-boosting foods.

 

There is stacks of evidence and research that points to how changes in what people eat can significantly boost their moods and even improve symptoms of anxiety and depression. An article on Eating Well recently revealed the telling results of a clinic study known as the SMILES trial.

 

The study split participants (all diagnosed with depression and all on poor diets) into two groups. One group had no form of therapy but switched to a healthy diet based on Mediterranean style eating — including fruits, vegetables, olive oil, low-fat dairy, fish, eggs, seeds and nuts. The other group met with a support group but continued to enjoy their regular diets including sweets, processed deli meats and salty snacks.

After three months, the healthy eaters showed fewer symptoms of depression than the second group... and more than a third of them no longer even met the criteria for being depressed. Here are a few delicious mood-boosting foods to add to any meal:

 

Fish — Salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring and other fatty fish are among foods in this category. The omega-3 fatty acids found in these fish can help boost moods by altering the brain chemicals linked to mood— specifically dopamine and serotonin. The body doesn’t produce this nutrient on its own, so getting in in the form of delicious fish can help increase mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety.

 

Leafy Greens, Beans, Almonds and Avocados — These foods are loaded magnesium, which can reduce anxiety. These foods can also boost brain health.

 

Green Tea — Sipping some soothing green tea can ease the senses and calm the nerves. With a combination of mood-increasing nutrients, such as L-Theanine, which helps fight anxiety, green tea has also just enough caffeine to provide a little energy boost without the jitters that coffee can cause.

 

A few other mood-boosting foods include blueberries, oysters, spinach, yogurt and dark chocolate. These delicious ingredients can be incorporate into meals in so many ways!

 

Remember that eating right to boost a mood or to improve one’s health in other ways requires consistency. Eating healthy foods regularly can lead to a healthier life — but it takes dedication and commitment. Find whole delicious nutrient-dense foods to incorporate into every day and reap the benefits of a healthy whole food lifestyle.