Mood Boosting Food: How to Eat Your Way to Happiness

There are many conflicting ideas on how to handle the drawbacks of modern society- especially on how to handle the increasing number of people with mental and emotional disorders like stress, depression, and anxiety.  In our corner of the world, the things we NEED to survive (food, water, shelter,) are in abundant supply.  Somehow, we are still plagued with worry.  There are lots of options.  You can see a mental health professional.  You can take a prescription drug.  You can whine about it to your friends.  Or, you can try eating your way to happiness.  After all, working on tailoring your diet to your personal overall needs is the option with which you have nothing to lose.  As long as you continue to eat a broad spectrum of foods to meet basic nutritional needs, adding or subtracting some foods based on a current medical or emotional issue can only help. (Eating the right foods will not always eliminate the need to see a mental health professional, but may help suggested treatments work better for people with more severe versions of these emotional disorders.)

People battling any level of depression can benefit greatly from consuming foods rich in omega-3's.  Omega-3's are something your body does not make on its own so the only way to get them is to ingest them.  There are some delicious foods out there that are naturally rich in these nutrients including walnuts and cold water fishes: salmon, tuna, and halibut.  Complex carbohydrates also help to regulate blood sugar which in turn helps to regulate mood.  Simple carbs like white bread, pasta, and anything else made with refined flour will lead to mood swings.  If you want to find contentment you will have to look in whole grains and potatoes. 

Whole grains are also useful to people who are dealing with stress.  Whole grains help the brain release seratonin, the "feel good" chemical.  When feeling stressed it is also important to up your intake of vitamin C.  Vitamin C has been shown to help people reduce their stress.  On top of that, stress causes your body to release more free radicals and vitamin C helps to keep free radicals in check and repair the body.  You can simply take a vitamin C supplement or just eat blueberries and citrus fruits.

All of the foods useful to treating depression are also useful to treating anxiety.  But those with anxiety will also want to make sure they are getting Tryptophan.  Nuts, oats, bananas, and sesame seeds are full of tryptophan which releases chemicals in the brain that help us to relax.

So, if you are like me and you get the "winter blues" on cold, cloudy days or if you simply have more going on in your life than you believe you can deal with you might find comfort and relief in having a piece of broiled salmon served next to a cous cous salad with a bowl of fress blueberries for dessert.  It will certainly do more for you than a candy bar!