Inspired by watching the actors indulging in chocolate ice cream when they hit the rock bottom of the movies and like various other things that we have adapted from movies in our lives, we all have done this when we were going through the bad times of our lives.
Eating is a crucial part of our life and it affects our mood significantly. But once we enter the vicious cycle of only depending on food to uplift our mood, one may not notice but the amount of time we spent being depressed increases.
First of all, it is important to understand that what we eat is going to affect how we feel, but eating unhealthy food is not only affecting one immediately but in the long term as well. It will affect your body image, your confidence and can be a foundation of the chronic diseases and injuries one has to face.
Why do healthy foods make your mood uplift?
Well, from any packaged food to extra coffee we choose to opt for our uplifted mood, all them are inclusive of the four main ingredients in one form or another that uplifts our mood.
They include saturated fats, refined sugars, heavily processed ingredients and caffeine, all these ingredients in the junk food we consume when feeling low leads us to feel better as the sugar increases the energy at first but it won't take long before one crashes.
Healthy Foods and Lifestyle Changes
Rather than facing the negative consequences of sugary food, it is essential to understand the emerging relationship between nutrition and mental health. It is not only food that affects our mood, but it can also be stress, environment, poor sleep, genetics, mood disorders, nutritional deficiencies and other factors like such.
Nonetheless, some healthy foods can uplift your mood without making you feel guilty later on. So, the next time you are feeling the blues, well, you have a healthy meal or snack at your rescue.
REPLACE UNHEALTHY WITH HEALTHY OPTIONS:
Replace milk chocolate with dark chocolate: Well, we have mentioned that chocolate is a factor that helps in uplifting the mood. Essentially, it is the sugar we are talking about that improves the mood and is a quick source of fuel for the brain. It is time to replace the milk chocolate with high amounts of sugar with dark chocolate. The 70% dark chocolates reduce the levels of our stress hormone cortisol.
Replace unhealthy fermented foods: Most people easily turn to alcohol or other methods of "self-medication, which are inclusive of the fermented drinks beer and wine. Well, these are not exactly beneficial as the fermented goods include probiotics, the live microorganisms support the growth of healthy bacteria in your gut and may increase serotonin levels. It's time to replace the pieces of bread and alcoholic drinks with the healthy fermented food options like kimchi, kefir, kombucha and sauerkraut for a healthy gut.
Replace your carbohydrates triggers: The fruits are a great source of the natural sugar like Bananas enriched with vitamin B6, and prebiotic fibre, which works together to keep the blood sugar levels and mood stable. They help in increasing the blood sugar levels slowly as the sugar is realised in the bloodstream when it is paired with fibre.
Replace the foods with unhealthy fat with the omega-3s rich foods: rather than consuming junk that is filled with nothing but the fat, one can indulge in the nuts, seeds, canola oil, flaxseed oil, nuts, dark green leafy vegetables that are rich in healthy foods which are good sources of omega 3s.
Replace the chips with lentils and beans: While snacking with the potato chips or other fried or packaged food, all we are doing is satisfying our taste buds. Thus, replacing thee unhealthy snacks with a bowl of the high in fibre lentil or beans is a good option. They include feel-good nutrients including B vitamins which are important for lifting mood as they increase the levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA),
It's Time
It is time to stop being trapped in the same cycle of being hopeless in life and depending on unhealthy eating habits which causes even more depression. It is time to open up and talk about your feelings without the fear of being judged and take your life's control in your hands.
The next time when you are feeling blue and may crave calorie-rich, high sugar foods like ice cream or cookies to try to lift your spirits, remember their effects are temporary and the sugar rush is unlikely to help you in the long term. Having these above-mentioned foods in the diet is essential but it is also the lifestyle change that one has to go through to ensure that they're not falling into the vicious cycle we have talked about earlier.
Keep these foods close to you and ensure that you have a lifestyle where you are consciously deciding to choose these foods to be a part of your diet allowing yourself to have a healthy and positive body and mind at the same time.
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