How to boost your mood with food
Nutritionist JULIETTE KELLOW reveals what to eat to remain upbeat
AT The top of the list for feeling blissful rather than blue is eating regularly and not skipping meals.
This may be harder than normal when usual routines have been disrupted as it’s vital to keep blood sugar levels steady. When they drop dramatically, for example due to missing a meal, many people feel irritable, tired, unable to focus, miserable and ‘hangry’.
BE CARB CLEVER
To keep blood sugar levels steady it’s important to limit chocolate, sweets, cakes, biscuits and sugary drinks as sugary carbs are quickly broken down, leaving us lethargic.
it’s also important to swap white starchy carbs for higher-fibre versions such as brown rice, wholemeal bread and pasta, cereals, oats and potatoes in their skins.
FEED YOUR BRAIN
CARBS also help to boost levels of serotonin – the chemical in the brain that promotes sleep and keeps us happier and calmer.
Carbs trigger the release of insulin, which allows amino acid tryptophan – found in foods such as chicken, turkey, lean red meat, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts and seeds – into the brain. This is used to make serotonin.
MEDITERRANEAN DIETS WORK
STUDIES have shown a traditional Mediterranean-style diet of fruit, vegetables, fish, wholegrains, olive oil and nuts, fewer processed foods and smaller amounts of meat – is linked to less depression, possibly cutting the risk by 32%.
NET SOME HAPPINESS
THE Mediterranean diet’s moodlifting benefits may be due to seafood as people who eat more fish are less likely to suffer depression – possibly due to omega-3 fats.
Fish is also rich in other nutrients such as some B vitamins, so eat two portions a week, including one oily variety. Tinned and frozen count.
TAKE FIVE
EATING more fruit and veg may also partly explain the benefits of a Mediterranean diet. They are rich in antioxidants, which mop up cell damaging free radicals, and studies have found lower antioxidant blood levels in depressed people. Frozen and tinned both count.
TASTE THE SUNSHINE
STudieS show low vitamin d levels are linked to a greater risk of depression. We make this vitamin in our body when skin is exposed to sunlight.
Self-isolating means many of us are stuck indoors, so, eat more vitamin d-rich foods such as oil-rich fish, eggs and fortified foods such as breakfast cereals and yogurts.
and if you’re getting little or no sunlight, take a 10mcg vitamin d supplement daily.