Let’s talk about mood foods. With the new year upon us, it is a great time to take stock of our health and choose lifestyle habits to move us towards our goals.
This past month I have treated many clients, and almost all have used the word ‘overwhelmed’ when describing how they feel. We have no magic pill that will influence your life demands, but we can strengthen you, so your life feels more effortless and enjoyable.
I often describe this feeling of being out of control and overwhelmed as being in a cave where you cannot see the light to “walk out your healing”. We are here to be a lamp to your feet and to help you find your unique wellness path so you can thrive and live a life you love.
Food is medicine and affects your mental and physical health. With so much change and uncertainty in the world now, it is vital to boost our mood with organic, natural methods. With increased stress levels, many are craving foods with a high Glycemic Index (GI) rating such as sugar, bread, pasta, desserts, chocolate, etc. This will exaggerate your emotions and make you feel more out of control. Therefore it is best to stay with foods with a GI rating of 55 or less and incorporate mood foods like those in this blog.
Eating clean to nourish one’s self is all part of the Seven Pillars of Wellness, and you can download our FREE Good Habits Guide which walks you through 30 days of good habits to transform your life. If we focus on the good, the habits that no longer serve us will simply fall away.
Top 10 Mood Foods
Here are my top 10 Mood Foods to help transform your mood, which in turn will change your life:
1) Blueberries
Berries are one of my favourite antioxidant containing foods for they support brain function & help make your brain happy. Studies have shown that the flavonoids in blueberries can improve your mood.
2) Add Rosemary to Your Mood Food List!
Research has found that the rosemary scent has a remarkable ability to reduce tension and anxiety. Rosemary works even better than Lavender and other scents.
Adding rosemary to your food will help your health as it is high in antioxidants, acting as a brilliant free radical scavenger to prevent disease. I personally love the smell of rosemary but find it hard to eat regularly. This is why I added rosemary as one of my hero ingredients in our Brain Support Capsules to help improve cognition and mood.
I no longer drink coffee regularly; instead, I take these capsules with my super greens juice each morning.
3) Pre & Probiotics
Pre and probiotics boost the levels of good bacteria in your gut. Due to the gut-brain axis, we also know that the gut produces serotonin, dopamine, and GABA, so if you want to feel happy, your gut is a great place to start.
If you find eating pre- and probiotic-rich foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi and kefir hard to handle, you can use supplements too. For a high level of probiotics, we have our Rejuv Probiotic Max with 20 billion good bacteria. We have our Rejuv Prebiotic Immune capsules for probiotics, which feed the good bacteria in your gut, reduce cravings and balance appetite and blood sugar levels, so a win-win for an elevated mood.
Here is an excellent paper confirming the link between gut health and mood.
4) Avocado
Avocados are rich in B vitamins — particularly vitamin B6 and they are a rich source of folate. B vitamins help your body deal with stress. The omega-three good fats in avocado are great at keeping your blood sugar levels balanced – helping you feel mentally and physically balanced.
The Rejuv Blood Sugar Support Capsules is another great way to supplement and keep your blood sugar levels balanced.
5) Dark Chocolate is the Ultimate Mood Food!
Dark Chocolate’s remarkable effects on human mood are no secret. This is due to phenethylamine, which triggers the release of pleasurable endorphins & dopamine (just like when you fall in love).
Dark chocolate also contains polyphenols, which has been linked to positively impacting your mood. The darker the chocolate, the higher the polyphenols. So choose fair trade organic dark chocolate as part of a balanced diet, and if you are prone to hypo’s pr getting hangry, choose dark chocolate with added nuts (particularly walnuts & brazil nuts).
6) Walnuts
Walnuts have many brain-protective compounds, such as vitamin E, folate, antioxidant polyphenols and good essential fats, proven to boost brain function, cognition and mood. I say they also look like a brain, so there are no coincidences in nature. Walnuts are also low GI having a brilliant balancing blood sugar effect too.
7) Lion’s Mane Mushrooms
Lion’s Mane mushrooms have the remarkable ability to synthesise the peptide “nerve growth factor” NGF, which is necessary for the growth and survival of brain neurones and supports a balanced mood. Lion’s Mane and other medicinal mushrooms are so influential on the mood that they have been linked to reducing depression and anxiety.
If you find sourcing medicinal mushrooms difficult, you can try our Rejuv Mushroom Complex.
8) Green Tea
Research has linked green tea to lower Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and depression rates. Matcha is a particularly rich source of the amino acid L-Theanine, which can help you relax and maintain a calm, balanced mood and boost focus and cognition.
9) Brazil Nuts
Low levels of selenium in your diet have been linked to increasing the risk of depression and mood disorders.
Therefore researchers suggest that selenium-rich foods could be beneficial for primary prevention. I take three brazil nuts per day as medicine to keep my brain and mood happy, for this will satisfy your optimum daily selenium requirements.
10) Dark Leafy Greens
Dark, leafy green vegetables are high in folate and magnesium, linked to reducing anxiety and depression, so to keep your mood up, I strongly advise eating dark leafy greens every day.
Broccoli is rich in chromium, which can increase your body’s serotonin, norepinephrine, and melatonin levels. Because chromium works directly with mood regulators, it is an effective treatment for depression.
If you find it hard to eat your greens, you can always add it in a vegan capsule form like our Rejuv Sea & Soil Super Greens Capsules.
Here is an excellent article linking low magnesium and mood disorders.
Even if you are having a treat meal, always have your greens on the side.
Food & Habits to Shape Your Wellness
Now more than ever, this quote by Hippocrates is vital to living:
“Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food.”
So embrace mood foods, get strong mentally and physically and embrace good lifestyle habits to transform your life into a life you LOVE!
Not sure where or how to start your Wellness Journey? Take our FREE Wellness Quiz, which will identify your top 3 areas to focus on to level up your life.
