How Food affects your Mood

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How Food affects your Mood
We all know that food is important to us and helps to give us physical energy. But did you know that food also affects how you feel. We need food to be able to think clearly and so by eating the right foods can help to lift our mood. Ensuring we keep hydrated also affects how we feel, a lack of hydration can lead to headaches, stomach aches and feeling agitated.

Quick tips:

  1. Stay hydrated- drink lots of water and avoid sugary drinks including energy drinks, aim to drink between 6-8 glasses of water per day. Tea and coffee count towards this number but try not to drink too much caffeine as this can lead to headaches and feeling irritable. Try hot water and a slice of lemon or herbal teas.
  2. Eat breakfast- some say breakfast is the most important part of the day, it sets you up for the day ahead, you have better memory and concentration and you feel less agitated.
  3. Carry small healthy snacks- snacking on fruit, nuts and seeds will again help you to have better concentration, keep you fuelled for the day ahead and help you to boost your serotonin levels (the chemical in your body related to mood, sleep and appetite)
  4. Avoid sugary foods which make your blood sugar levels rise and fall very quickly. Energy drinks and sugary drinks give you a boost at first, but very quickly your blood sugar levels crash, leaving you craving for sugar again, feeling tired and lacking in concentration.
  5. Vitamin C is super important, it helps your body to use fats as an energy source meaning that you will have energy for a longer period of time. A diet rich in vitamin C is an essential step toward all round good health and disease prevention.
  6. Medical research being undertaken currently is showing how Vitamin C foods help to improve depression and anxiety.

Mood boosting foods:

  1. Berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries)
  2. Food high in Vitamin C (oranges, mango, pineapple, watermelon, broccoli, yellow peppers, sprouts!)
  3. Dark chocolate
  4. Brazil nuts
  5. Oily fish
  6. Chicken
  7. Banana’s
  8. Oats

Things that will put you in a bad mood:

  1. Caffeine
  2. Fizzy drinks (including diet)
  3. Alcohol
  4. Sugar
  5. Fast foods

For more information visit: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/eight-tips-for-healthy-eating/

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