Food and mood: Eat to feel better
As the pandemic is increasing stress levels, it’s obvious to look for mood-boosting foods. If the hot and humid weather or the news of lockdown extension has you feeling blah, what you choose to eat can make a difference.
Wellness advocate Eshanka Wahi says, “The general energy and sentiment all around is inevitably very low as everyone is fighting with the virus on some level. The only thing we can do is try to lift our mood with what is in our control. There is an extremely intimate correlation between food and our mood.”
She adds, “90% of serotonin is actually produced in the gut and then transmitted to our brain through neurotransmitters, which therefore stabilises our mood. Increasing the intake of foods that induce serotonin production can easily help in lifting our mood.”
Celebrity dietician Shweta Shah suggests incorporating probiotics for gut health. “Probiotics positively affect the gut by decreasing stress in the body, thereby, increasing the transformation of tryptophan to serotonin in the brain which in turn elevates our mood,” Shah explains.
Agreeing that gut health plays a crucial role in our overall well-being and helps in uplifting the spirit, nutritionist Arooshi Aggarwal says, “Foods like kanjee, kimchi, kefir, buttermilk, curd, yogurt, sauerkraut, garlic onion, fermented pickles will help in keeping the gut flora healthy.”
It’s natural to feel down in the dumps sometimes, but it seems to be happening more and more in 2021. You might believe the right diet is essential just for the sake of your waistline and physical health, but the right food is vital for your mental health, too. In such tough times, remember that consuming certain foods will naturally help you avoid mood disorders in the long run. If you are craving some thing sweet, Kanika Malhotra, nutritionist and weight loss expert, suggests having a few bites of dark chocolate. She also recommends banana, “as it is a rich source of vitamin B6 and helps in kicking in the feel-good hormones”. She adds, “To beat mental fatigue without extra calories, ice creams can be replaced with parfait bowls consisting of frozen fruit smoothies topped with nuts and chia seeds. Also, salmon is a great source of Omega-3 and helps lower the depression score.”