Living in the middle of the pandemic is stressful. We’re not enjoying the normal happy healthy foods we know.
We are forced into isolation far from our loved ones.
Businesses have shut-down.
Whereas, doctors are working 24/7 to keep everyone safe and secure.
While it’s difficult to overcome the gloominess that has prevailed in the environment, there is one way that can help you cope up with the situation better.
I am talking about making the right choice of happy healthy food!
Yes, you read that right.
Eating healthy food is not essential for your immunity, but it can certainly help you overcome the despair and sorrow of these tough times.
Let me explain to you how!
How do You Feel Happy With Food?
We’ll dig deeper into the working of your brain to understand how healthy food can help turn down your frown.
Well, two hormones predominantly regulate happiness, dopamine and serotonin.
Dopamine is the ultimate reward center of the brain.
It provides a feeling of pleasure and comfort. Ever wondered why you feel joyous after fulfilling your pizza craving?
It’s the dopamine in action.
So, does that mean the only way to happiness is by satisfying your junk food cravings?
Obviously, not!
Fortunately, nature has enriched certain foods, that I’ll call happy healthy food with either dopamine or its precursors.
Eating these foods produces and releases dopamine, which relaxes the otherwise stressed brain and brings happiness to life.
Though I have discussed these foods in detail below, to calm down your curiosity, protein-based food is one example of a happier food choice to lift the mood.
Likewise, eating food rich in Vitamin B6 and B12 aids in the production of serotonin.
Neuroscientists literally call serotonin as a happy neurotransmitter because it regulates the mood to bring merriment regardless of the situation.
However, the happy neurotransmitter alone cannot help alleviate the mood if the brain is continuously releasing the stress hormones.
Therefore, it is essential to accompany the dose of happy neurotransmitters with a stress suppressor, which is magnesium.
Dark chocolate and legumes are some examples of your happy healthy food enriched with magnesium.
Thus, the point here is, you MUST eat a complete package of food, having all the nutrients required to keep you healthy and happy!
Let me introduce you to this package to have a healthier life!
1. Keep Your Family Close, But Oily Fish Closer
My first happier choice to stay healthy is the consumption of oily fish. They are rich in omega 3-fatty acids, which decrease depression and improve mental health.
If you are already a fan of salmon, sardines and mackerel, you have the good news. Eat more of them!
However, if you are one of those rare people who dislike oily fish, then do not worry.
I have more in store to curb your sadness and bring satisfaction.
2. Go For Gut-Friendly Food
You cannot ditch these now.
Gut supporting food is not only the hottest trend but one happy healthy food group.
These foods offer probiotics- the friendly bacteria that have a significant role in your digestive tract and gut.
Interestingly, these bacteria also communicate, send and receive signals to & from the brain to turn despair into hope.
Examples of food having probiotics include yogurt kefir, buttermilk, pickled vegetables and sauerkraut.
3. Make BlackBerries A Part of Your Day
If you’d ask me to make one happy choice, I’d go with blackberries.
Blackberries provide sufficient magnesium to curb the production of the stress hormone, cortisol.
The less production of cortisol means instead of stress triggers; you’d experience mood boosters.
Blackberries are also loaded with vitamins, fibre and antioxidants that remove the damaged cell from the body and prevent the onset of diseases.
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Hence, a win-win situation!
4. Feel Right With Whole-Grains
Whole grains are the most abundant source of B vitamins.
Remember how Vitamin B6 and B12 help the production and release of serotonin?
Your shortest way to have these vitamins is whole-grains.
This requires you to grab some oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa and bulgur in the grocery stores the next time.
Besides, vitamin B6 and B12, whole grains also provide B1 and B5. While B1 vitamin turns glucose into energy for the brain, B5 facilitates the brain functioning by improving memory.
The two functions that help the brain find out the pathways of happiness and then preserve them in memory.
5. Kickstart The Day With Egg
There is a slim chance of having a sad day when you decide to kickstart it with mood boosters.
Take an egg or two in the morning for one week, regularly and see how you’d feel better.
Eggs provide loads of proteins, and so loads of dopamine to lift your mood. Besides the proteins, eggs also have omega-3-fatty acids, zinc, vitamin B and iodine!
Additionally, do you know that eating two eggs regularly in the morning helps you lose weight?
I don’t think you now have any reasons to not crack the shells the first thing in the morning.
6. Spread Some Coconut
So, if you want to double the dose of your morning mood booster, then whisp some coconut cream over your morning coffee.
Coconut provides medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) to the body that are instantly converted into ketones. Ketones are the real brain boosters!
When the brain is deprived of energy, it acts dull, which makes you feel sad and lethargic.
To overcome the situation, the brain needs energy.
This energy can be provided in form ketones.
Thus, ketones activate the brain cells, which then help you survive miseries.
7. Get Your Dark chocolate Cravings Satisfied
Hold your seat belts, chocolate lovers!
When you are sad, the blood circulation to your brain also slows down.
As a result of which the brain receives fewer nutrients and loses its potential. Instead of helping you cope up with sadness, your brain takes you towards the anxiety.
However, increasing the blood flow to the brain makes the necessary nutrients available.
It helps the brain to stay vibrant and active. This, in turn, lifts the mood, gives you concentration and focus required to slay at work.
Dark chocolate also provides the flavonoids that protect the brain from toxins & stressors and improve cognitive performance.
One thing to know here is that you cannot reap these benefits from mars bars.
The only catch is dark chocolate.
You can have this happy healthy food either between the meals, in the evening or as filler for your midnight cravings.
8. Don’t Say Nah To Banana
The next happy healthy food on the list is bananas.
I remember how my mum used to try every possible effort to fill my tummy with bananas when I was two years old.
I never understood then, but now I know why I was a happy kid then.
Bananas have vitamin B6 that helps to release serotonin.
You do know that serotonin helps your brain find its way to happiness.
Hence, make bananas your go-to midday snack.
Also, it’s not only about vitamin B, but bananas have a lot of sugar and fibre to offer.
One large banana consists of 16 grams of sugar and 3.5 grams of fibre.
This fibre- sugar duo keeps the blood sugar levels stable.
A normal blood sugar level alleviates the mood, keeping you away from irritability.
9. Chase Down Beans & Lentils
I really mean that!
Beans and lentils are the most nutritious plant-based proteins (ah, another dopamine source?).
They are also high in B vitamins, which help the release of serotonin and GABA.
Just like dopamine and serotonin, GABA is also a calm neurotransmitter and a mood regulator.
They are also an excellent source of zinc, selenium, magnesium and iron that play a crucial role in brain communication essential to keep the spirit high.
Ready to have the triplet of mood regulators?
Oh, and did I tell you that beans and lentils are low in fat, contain no cholesterol, thus helps keep the overall health in check.
10. Quench Your Thirst With Lemon Juice
Though water should always be your priority, your body needs electrolytes as well!
Lemon contains a balance of sodium and magnesium that enables smooth electrical transmission in the brain cells. Smoother brain communication means better mental health!
The best thing about this happy healthy food is that you can have it the way you want.
Interested in a lemon drink? Add lemon to water and reap the benefits.
Want a citrus taste to your burger?
Sprinkle some lemon juice over the patty?
Lemons are also high in vitamin C, which makes lemon an antioxidant. Consequently, lemon can also help boost immunity as well.
However, this is also a fact that eating a single food for one week cannot bring happiness and desired health to your life. After all, we aren’t robots.
A healthy diet throughout life can have a significant effect.
Preferring healthy food over processed ones should be your new motto.
After all, health brings wealth! It enables us to face and fight the challenges in the best way possible.