The Benefits of Good Nutrition and Mood
Do you ever eat when you're feeling down, stressed, or depressed? What kinds of foods do you turn to? What effect are you hoping to achieve? With the knowledge of nutrition you can feed yourself and your brain the correct nutrients to improve your mood, focus, and cognition.
Quick Healthy Snacks for a Mood Boost
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Turkey and cheese roll ups
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Chicken broth
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Edamame
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Eggs on wholegrain toast
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Celery sticks/apple slices and natural nut butter
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Peppers/tomatoes/carrots and hummus
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Cinnamon covered apple
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Berries and greek yogurt
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Raw unsalted nuts
Treats
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Natural/fresh squeezed fruit juices
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Dark chocolate covered frozen fruits (banana/raspberries)
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Dark chocolate with nuts
If you find yourself struggling to choose healtheir options try to remember your WHY. Why are you choosing healthy options instead of high fat/high sugar items? Remind yourself that you prefer to eat blueberries for the nutrients and improved mood as opposed to the chocolate that keeps you awake at night!
Why You Want to Eat Them
High protein foods, either meat or soy, can improve mood, cognitive abilities, control appetite, and decrease anxiety and depression symptoms, especially in men.
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Fruits and vegetables are full of micronutrients, antioxidants, and phytochemicals with antimugenic effects. They have a correlated positive effect on mood, and cognition and are beneficial amongst every age group especially when a variety of different colors are eaten.
Nuts are composed of nutrients like folate, Vitamin E, and omega 3 fatty acids, which have “neuroprotective characteristics” and are correlated to improved mood and reduced tension.
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Treats should be limited but they can also be used to boost mood, energy, and concentration. If you decide to treat yourself, try a healthier alternative such as dark chocolate. Adding fruit/nuts to your chocolate allows you to recieve nutrients you might not otherwise get! But limit consumption of these treats as overconsumption of chocolate is associated with increased anxiety.
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Al Ammar,W.A., Albeesh, F.H., & Khattab, R.Y. (2020). Food and mood: the corresponsive effect. Current Nutrition Reports, 9 (4), 296–308. doi.org/10.1007/s13668-020-00331-3
Don't Forget to Hydrate!
A decreased water intake can lead to fatigue, decreased activity, and poor sleep quality.
Men Need: ~ 3 Liters/100 ounces of water a day
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Women Need: ~ 2.12 Liters/73 ounces of water a day
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For your personal hydration needs use the Daily Water Intake Calculator below:
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