You’re halfway through your workday when your motivation goes downhill. You got a full night’s sleep, but you’re slumping forward at your desk. Put a hold on that late afternoon coffee and think back to what you had for lunch.
If you didn’t get the right amount of vitamins and minerals, your lowered energy levels might be your gut’s way of crying out to you. There is a direct correlation between food and mood.
If you fill your body with junk, you could experience common disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and insomnia. So, what are you supposed to eat? We have all the answers right here.
Does Food Affect Your Mood?
Serotonin is a chemical that your body naturally produces that’s in charge of your mood. If you don’t produce enough of this chemical, you may experience a long list of mental disorders.
Given this fact, you would think that your brain would be in charge of serotonin, but your gut makes much more of it. There’s a huge network of neurotransmitters there that are in direct communication with your brain on a normal basis. That means you have to keep your gut balanced and happy to put your mind at ease.
Food and Stress
When you’re stressed, it scatters your body’s hormones all over the place. It affects your metabolism and other things associated with your gut and appetite. You may start to crave foods that aren’t exactly good for your gut health.
Consuming a high amount of fast food and sugar will cause the stress hormones in your body to spike. This creates an endless cycle. You consume bad foods because you’re sad, but the act of eating the foods does nothing to lift your mood.
Don’t Skip Meals
Sometimes being stressed makes you do the opposite of eating more. Your appetite will drop to the point where you’re skipping meals on a normal basis. There are days when you don’t have time to eat breakfast, so you head out the door without it or stop and get a donut on the way.
While the donut isn’t the best choice of food, it’s honestly better than nothing. Trying to work on an empty stomach doesn’t equal productivity. Before long, your blood sugar will decrease making you tired, depressed, and more than a little bit irritable.
Start your day out with a protein-filled breakfast. It will provide you with short bursts of energy throughout the day that will help you make it through to lunch. Speaking of lunch, instead of going all out, consider eating small snacks on and off.
This will keep your blood sugar going strong, and you’ll be less likely to overindulge when you go to eat dinner. Try to stay away from foods that will make your insulin levels fluctuate rapidly. Like that donut, we were talking about before.
Keep Yourself Hydrated
You need more than a balanced diet to keep your gut healthy. You’re over 90% water, so it stands to reason that you need it to survive.
If you let yourself get dehydrated, it will be hard for you to concentrate on your daily tasks, and you can also become constipated. That’s enough to make anyone angry.
Fill up a water bottle and take it to work with you. Sipping on it throughout the day is the perfect way to get your recommended 8 glasses. You’ll also need to get up and refill it now and again, which will give you an excuse to stretch your legs.
If you don’t like water, we recommend diffusing it with fruit. You can do it yourself or buy a water bottle that will do it for you.
You can also drink fruit juices, coffee, and tea. They’re great in moderation, but they do contain unhealthy levels of sugar. Don’t go overboard with them.
Get Your Daily Fruits and Veggies
When there’s an imbalance of certain compounds in the body, it will put you into something known as oxidative stress. The best way to prevent this stress and keep everything balanced is by consuming plenty of antioxidants.
On top of dealing with oxidative stress, they also manage the inflammation that’s associated with depression. The main foods that contain these helpful antioxidants are fruits and veggies. You need to get at least 5 servings every day.
Consuming a few handfuls of frozen berries will do the trick. You’ll get a nice dose of fiber, which is also necessary for maintaining a healthy gut.
You Need Protein
Amino acids will keep your blood glucose levels balanced. This is essential for controlling your mood swings and stopping you from becoming too irritable. Proteins are probably the body’s biggest source of amino acids.
When we say proteins, we mean lean meats, nuts, fish, peas, beans, lentils, cheese, and eggs. If you have to choose a healthy snack to eat, nuts are the best thing on this list for you. They’re more than a source of protein.
They also have fiber. Almonds and walnuts contain something known as tryptophan. It’s a helpful substance that keeps your body’s production of serotonin going.
Brazil nuts have an abundance of zinc and selenium. Your brain needs these minerals to function and stop depression in its tracks.
Pump the Breaks on Caffeine
Contrary to popular belief, coffee isn’t on the foods to avoid list. It can help even out your cholesterol and stimulate positive receptors in the brain. You can’t go overboard if you want to take advantage of these health benefits.
Two cups should be your limit. If you push it to four or five cups, the sugar will bog your body down by making your blood sugar levels fluctuate all over the place.
You also have to be careful about when you drink the coffee. Caffine will stick with you for about ten hours after you drink it. That means if you consume a cup of coffee at four in the afternoon, it will be hard for you to sleep that night.
When you don’t get enough sleep, you won’t be able to handle stressors that well. You’ll become irritable and go through horrible mood swings throughout the day.
Limit Alcohol
Alcohol contains sugar which as you know by now, isn’t good for your glucose levels. Drinking a glass of wine before you go to bed might help you sleep, but if you get too toasty, it will interrupt your REM sleep.
You’ll still fall asleep, but it won’t be restful. You’ll wake up the next morning feeling like you didn’t sleep at all. As you can imagine, this doesn’t do wonders for your mood the next day.
Alcoholism and habitual lying go hand in hand, as well as financial loss. It’s enough to send anyone into a panic on a normal basis.
Consume Healthy Fats
Fats get a horrible reputation, but they aren’t all that bad. You actually need them to have a balanced diet. Keep in mind that you’ve got to eat the right stuff.
You can’t load up on trans fats. It will make you feel good in the short term when you’re stressed, but it’s not great for long-term health and happiness.
You need omega 3 and 6 fatty acids to keep your mind working like a well-oiled machine. You can get these from yogurt, cheese, avocados, milk, sunflower seeds, fish, poultry, and nuts.
Probiotics
Fermented produce is one of the best foods to boost your mental health. It promotes the growth of healthy bacteria in your gut. These bacteria convert sugars to acids, which is great for your body and mood.
Eating yogurt, kimchi, and kefir will also increase your supply of serotonin, and you’ll get a nice boost of vitamin B 12. Vitamin B 12 is essential for nerve function.
If you’re deficient in this vitamin, you’ll experience fatigue, weakness, and tingling. You may have issues with cognitive brain function and suffer from mental health problems as well.
Keep Your Food and Mood in Proper Balance
Do you find yourself wearing out by the end of the day? Is it hard for you to pay attention during work meetings and school lectures? If you’ve already had a coffee or two, you don’t need another one.
You’ll stay awake for a while, but after a few hours, you’ll fall back into the same slump. What you need is a change of diet. Food and mood are directly related to each other.
If you’re deficient in certain vitamins and minerals, it will put a damper on your energy levels and make it hard for you to function. Increase your consumption of fruits, veggies, proteins, and healthy fats. You need a good balance of all the food groups to stay happy and healthy.
Changing up your diet is a good start, but you’ll need to do a little more to keep your mood on track. Check out the Health & Fitness section of our blog to learn how to get started.
