Stress, mood swings, and more are all around us these days, often caused by stressful world events and the difficult lives that many of us lead. However, there are many ways to improve your mood that you may not have realized. One such example is by eating the right foods and following the principles of functional nutrition.
What is Functional Nutrition?
Functional nutrition is a broad, holistic approach to diet. It involves using nutrition to keep people healthy and help them get healthier. It is also meant to be included as part of an overall effort to keep someone healthy, meaning that it only works if someone engages in the appropriate lifestyle changes and exercise. Indeed, that is the core of this type of nutrition: Using it as part of a customized, personalized effort to help someone feel better.
For additional questions about this important method of self-care, make sure to consult our San Francisco functional nutritionist.
How Can Food Help Your Mood?
While it may seem surprising, the truth is that this makes perfect sense. The foods you eat can obviously alter the types of chemicals that you ingest into your body. This, in turn, can impact a variety of physical and emotional sensations – including your mood. It’s actually even more than just the types of chemicals you take in, as some dietary changes can even alter your brain structure.
It’s also worth noting that there are ancillary benefits of eating healthy food to improve your mood, as this type of food often can help make you feel physically better. The connection between brain and body health has been well established. Thus, by making your body function better, your mood may improve as well.
What Are Examples of Mood-Boosting Foods?
The science is still evolving in this area, but there are many foods that have mood-boosting properties. These include:
- Fish: Fish contain omega-3 fatty acids. These acids are thought to be critical to improving brain health and your overall mood. Indeed, people who don’t eat fish can still benefit from omega-3 fatty acids by taking a regular dose of fish oil. Fish oil is also thought to have other benefits for your overall health, potentially improving joint and heart health.
- Dark chocolate: Who doesn’t love chocolate? Sugar may have some mood-boosting properties, but dark chocolate also contains other chemicals and flavonoids that have been found to have a positive impact on your mood.
- Bananas: Bananas contain a variety of mood-boosting chemicals, including B6, sugar, and fiber. All of this can not only make your mood better but help to stabilize and regulate your blood sugar. This, in turn, can help stabilize your mood and levels of fatigue.
Eating food to improve your mood seems like something that doesn’t make any sense, but there is no doubt that it can make a huge difference in how you feel. Visiting people like a nutritionist or chiropractor can be an alternative way of helping to heal yourself. Contact us for more information on how we can help direct you on a healthy path!
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