Food and Your Mood: Eat Well!

We all hear it every day: "it's so important to have a balanced diet", "are you eating enough fruit and vegetables?", "you need more vitamins" - but do we really appreciate the importance of these statements? Sure, it's annoying being told what to do, but do you know the importance of the food you eat on your mood?

Have you ever noticed that after eating a sugary snack or some chips with your lunch that you hit a low and feel extremely tired? You might feel an initial spike of energy, but the tiredness kicks in pretty quickly. After eating a meal, blood sugar rises, which triggers pancreatic cells to produce insulin. The “crash” that follows is due to the rapid increase and subsequent decline of blood sugar levels.

What foods to eat?

However, what about avoiding the high-sugar foods and focusing on a more nutritious diet? Research shows that certain vitamins can influence mood positively. Vitamin D, for example, helps relieve mood disorders. The best source of Vitamin D is sunlight, but alternatively you can find it in foods such as low-fat milk, soy-milk and egg yolks.

Certain foods enhance your mood.

Vitamins folate and B-12 can help to ease depression. You can add folate to your diet by eating broccoli, lentils, oranges and oatmeal. These foods are generally ‘sides’ rather than main courses, and can be eaten every day.

In conclusion, we need to give our mental health all the support it needs. Eating the right foods may not be the one and only ‘cure’, but it’s certainly not going to hinder you. Maybe next time you are encouraged to eat your veg, you could give it a try!

While you're here, why not let us know which foods you think best support a positive mood!