Biting into a piece of dark chocolate or eating a bowl of your favorite food can bring a temporary smile to your face, but experts say there’s a way to extend those fleeting feelings of joy.
“There is a connection between food and mood,” says nutritional psychiatrist Dr. Uma Naidoo, director of nutritional and metabolic psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and author of This is your brain on food. “Any change you make to your diet will not [boost happiness] overnight, but they will have an impact over time.”
Do you want happiness that lasts long after your next meal? These eight foods can help.
1. Turmeric
Add turmeric to soups, stews, and smoothies. Curcumin, the active ingredient that gives turmeric its yellow color, has been shown have antidepressant effects.
For the biggest impact, Naidoo suggests using ¼ teaspoon of turmeric daily and adding a pinch of black pepper, adding: “Black pepper makes curcumin 2,000% more bioavailable.”
2. Kombucha
Fermented tea could quench your thirst and improve your mood. Kombucha is packed with probiotics and live microorganisms. Appear have antidepressant effects. Other fermented foods, including tempeh, miso, kimchi and sauerkraut, could have a similar impact on mood, according to Ramsey.
“Eating fermented foods leads to a more diverse set of bacteria in the gut. [and] that tends to calm down our overactive immune system,” he adds. “Fermented foods are one of the food categories that can have a big impact on mental health.”
3. cinnamon
A little cinnamon has big benefits for your mood because it’s loaded with antioxidants, fights inflammation and protects against neurodegenerative diseases like dementia, notes Naidoo. It also seems to have a positive effect in the mood, so go ahead and sprinkle the tasty spice on toast or add it to coffee for a dash of happiness.
4. Salmon
A diet high in omega-3 fatty acids has been bound to reduce the risk of depression. The happiness superfood is also high in vitamin B12, a vitamin that is associated with a positive mood, and may even aid prevent depression or enhance the impact of antidepressants.
5. Green leafy vegetables
Stock up at the salad bar. Kale, spinach, collard greens, cabbage, and other green leafy vegetables contain high levels of magnesium, a nutrient that can increase serotonin, the so-called hormone of happiness. Green leafy vegetables also contain a lot of fiber.
“Fiber feeds the microbiome,” says Dr. Drew Ramsey, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and author of Eat to beat depression and anxiety. “How clearly do you think [and] how anxious you feel… are dictated by the diversity of organisms that live in your intestine.”
6. Yogurt
There seems to be a Link between depression and the amount of Lactobacillus in the intestine. Eating yogurt reintroduces the powerful probiotic and may actually reverse symptoms of depression.
“Probiotics can be very powerful when it comes to improving mood even compared to [antidepressant] medications,” says Naidoo.
Following a vegan diet? Many plant-based yogurts also contain probiotics.
7. Legumes
The fewer beans, peas, and lentils in your diet, the higher the depression risk. The benefits of adding legumes to your diet seem to come from high levels of magnesium, tryptophan, fiber, folate, and omega-3 fatty acids that are linked to better mood.
8. almonds
Take a handful of almonds like snack or add them to salads, yogurt or oatmeal. Regular consumption of nutrient-dense snacks has been bound to reduce rates of depression and improve mood. Ramsey credits the healthy fats in almonds and other nuts for their mood-enhancing benefits.
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