Ayushi Verma

What should we eat to live happily and healthily? Can food affect how we feel? Is there a secret to live longer and happily? To all such questions, there is just one answer and that is YES! Three things to keep in mind for a healthy life: 1. Implementing some basic nutrition strategies would provide framework for better mood hygiene. 2. Combining foods that have positive effect on your well-being can make you feel better 3. Avoiding foods that make you feel worse will help too. When you eat a sweet snack, for an instance candy bar or a cake, you will get an instant energy high, which is soon followed by a crashing low. This is just one of the many ways food can affect your mood. Nutrition strategies for maintaining food Eat often In a study it was found that people who eat regular meals at the same of the day every day, have steady blood sugar levels. When you eat at regular intervals, your body ensures the continuous supply of fuel, which makes you have a stable mood. Frequent dropping in blood sugar levels can be a symptom of Hypoglycemia, a health condition in which people feel a need to eat more frequently. Never skip meals Skipping meals seems like a nice idea when are trying to maintain their health and shape, but it is NOT. Breaking this myth, researchers have found that skipping meals makes our body unable to assimilate food, thus leading us to over eat the next meal. Keeping yourself from getting too hungry will avoid bad mood and the crankiness that comes with it. Avoid food that is bad for you Before including mood boosting foods to your diet, it is important to know about the foods you should leave or limit on your shopping list. The major bad mood culprit is refined carbohydrate, like sugar. These simple sugars that you consume on a daily basis, such as jams, syrups and fruit juices, can cause a spike in your blood sugar level followed by a low which leaves you tired with a cranky feeling. The same kind of effect can also be seen in refined white starches such as white bread, white rice and crackers. In a study it was found that despite satisfying our taste buds, junk foods do not have any other effect on our mood. Limiting alcohol is also advised for better mood, as it is a depressant and disturbs sleep. Foods that boosts your mind Here is a list of some foods to help you stay healthy and happy: 1. Protein Addition of proteins to your meals will help in slowing down the absorption of carbohydrates in our blood and also increasing the norepinephrine and dopamine release, which will improve your energy and mood for a few hours after eating. Poultry Tofu Eggs Seafood Low-fat Greek yogurt 2. Vitamins Vitamins can affect your health and mood on a drastic level. There are some doctor recommended vitamins that are helpful for mood. For example, vitamin B-12 and Folate help ease the depression. You can try these foods to add Folate in your diet. Lentils Oranges Broccoli Oatmeal Dark leafy greens Vitamin D can help relieve disorders related to mood. Sunlight is often the best source for vitamin D. Try adding these foods for vitamin D Egg yolks Low-fat milk Soymilk Include these foods to your diet for vitamin B-12 Lean beef Cottage cheese Salmon 3. Fiber Complex carbohydrates contain soluble fiber that slows down the absorption of sugar in our blood stream and also increases the serotonin levels, which is a “feel good” chemical, thus decreasing mood swings. Try these foods to include fiber Beans Peas Oats Pears Brussels sprouts So now we have established that there is a relationship between being healthy (food) and happy (state of mind). Combining all these strategies to include foods that have positive effect on your well-being and eating them regular, can help you to feel better.