Can Eating Fruits & Vegetables Boost Your Mood?
You know you’re supposed to eat more fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy diet, but did you know that the nutrients in fruits and veggies are essential for balancing your mood? It’s true and science is now proving it.
Researchers and economists from the University of Warwick in the UK, in conjunction with Dartmouth College in the US, studied the eating habits of 80,000 adults living in Britain. What they found was that the more fruits and veggies participants ate, the happier they reported feeling.
If you’re looking for a way to naturally boost your mood, start eating more fruits and veggies. Here are some to consider adding to your grocery list.
Bananas
Did you know that all of that potassium in bananas helps improve brain function? But beyond better cognition, the tryptophan in bananas eventually gets converted into serotonin, the “feel-good” hormone.
Broccoli
Besides being responsible for cell growth and the production of healthy red blood cells, folic acid is essential for proper mood regulation. Folic acid is actually responsible for boosting serotonin levels and it just so happens that broccoli is a rich source of folic acid.
Spinach
And speaking of getting enough folic acid, spinach, as with most leafy veggies, boasts an impressive amount of the stuff. On top of that, spinach also contains a significant amount of magnesium. Magnesium is known to relax our muscles and calm anxiety. When you are deficient in magnesium, you may feel tired and irritable and find it hard to concentrate.
Olives
Olives: people tend to love them or hate them. If you’re someone who loves them, good news – olives contain “good fats” that are essential for lowering anger and anxiety levels. Don’t like olives? No worry, just start incorporating more olive oil into your diet. To receive all of the benefits, eat olive oil cold, as in a salad dressing.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are chock full of complex carbohydrates. Not only are these types of carbs better for glucose levels, they also increase our serotonin levels, making us feel calm and happy.
The even better news is, when you begin eating more fruits and vegetables to boost your mood, you’ll also increase your antioxidant intake. As you know, antioxidants are what fight the free radicals in our body that cause us to age and get sick. So, eating more produce is a significant win/win.
One local resource
We are fortunate that there are a lot of wonderful resources in the Columbia, Missouri area for eating healthy and living a lifestyle that promotes better mental health. One of my favorite resources for increasing your vegetable intake in particular is Back 2 Basics Cooking. She provides paleo meals that are full of vegetables. Even if you don’t eat paleo, an occasional meal from Back 2 Basics can help you get in a few more veggies.
A healthy lifestyle + Counseling = A Double Dose
While nutrition can greatly impact your mood, if you think you may be suffering from depression, it’s best to seek guidance from a therapist who can help you manage your symptoms and work through any issues you may be having. As a Columbia, MO counseling center, we have therapists who help people learn new coping skills and ways to boost their mood all the time! We believe in the mind/body connection and want to help you with the “mind” part of the equation.
If you or a loved one is interested in exploring mental health treatment, please e-mail Aspire Counseling today. Our intake coordinator would be happy to help you figure out which therapist would be the best fit so you can set up a counseling appointment. You can also read a little about each of our therapists here and even follow links to a page with a video each therapist has made to help you get to know us.
