Posted June 0, 2009
If you’ve got the summertime blahs already, look at what you are eating.
“What you eat has a lot to do with how you feel,” said Mary Martin Nordness of Huntsville, a registered dietitian.
Even people being treated by doctors for clinical depression should look at their diet, she said. Some foods have more mood-boosting serotonin than others and can lift your spirits naturally.
“In these tough economic times, everyone can use a little help boosting their mood,” Nordness said. “But instead of turning to burgers and fries and comfort foods loaded with fats and calories, look for healthy, nutrient-rich foods to lift your spirits.”
“If you want to turn your mood around, limit refined sugars and alcohols, and eat every four or five hours,” she said. “Be sure to include fruits and vegetables, fish, whole grains, beans and nuts, which all help to lift spirits — and don’t forget the exercise.”
Eating foods fortified with vitamin D, such as salmon, tuna, sardines, eggs, fortified breakfast cereals and milk, can help improve your mood, too.
If you can’t get outside for 15 minutes a day of sunshine to help your body produce vitamin D naturally, take in more items fortified with vitamin D. According to the Institute of Medicine, the requirement for vitamin D varies with age. Adults 71 and older need the most, and 20 minutes of daily sunlight and three servings of foods with vitamin D can help with signs of depression.
Nordness, who is nutrition communications director for the Southeast United Dairy Industry Association, said drinking a glass of milk fortified with vitamin D (nearly all milk in the U.S. has vitamin D) is one way of getting the 25 percent you need each day.
“Think of milk as liquid sunshine,” she said, noting that three to four daily servings of dairy foods are recommended.
Other good-mood foods are complex carbohydrates, such as whole-grain breads and cereals, bananas, sweet potatoes and lentils. These are high in fiber and increase serotonin levels to make you calmer and less irritable.
Try to eat foods naturally high in folate, such as spinach, sunflower seeds and oranges. They can help the blues and lower the risk of Alzheimer’s.
Chewing crunchy foods such as popcorn, almonds, endive, apples, carrots, celery and salads also makes you happier by stimulating serotonin production, she said.
The American Heart Association recommends eating fish three times a week, Nordness said.
“Salmon is one of the ‘superfoods’ and helps the brain synapses (communication between cells), so I would love for people to eat salmon twice a week,” she said.
Wild salmon and trout have Omega 3 fats, which keep brain signals moving smoothly.
Other suggestions for improving your spirits include eating whole-grain crackers and preparing dishes with roasted red peppers and basil. Basil can also go into salad dressings and soups.
AP contributed to this report.
Date: June 3, 2009 >
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Copyright © 2009, The Decatur Daily, Ala.