Best foods to elevate your moods naturally

Are you feeling depressed? Studies suggest that the following foods may help reduce stress, ease anxiety and fight depression. Here is the list of foods that can lift your mood when you feel depressed.

Fruits and vegetables: Fruits and veggies are good for us. They are rich in polyphenols which can improve the health of our brain cells. Especially Folate, a B vitamin found in beans, citrus and dark green vegetables like spinach, affects neurotransmitters that impact mood.

Chocolate: Experts found that eating dark chocolate (1.4 ounces of it, to be exact) every day for two weeks reduced stress hormones, including cortisol, in people who were highly stressed. The antioxidants in chocolate help people in boosting their mood naturally.

Fish: Try to consume more amount of omega 3 fatty acids through your diet.  Omega 3 fatty acids are rich in fatty fish like salmon, tuna, sardines, rainbow trout. Omega-3s alter brain chemicals linked with mood specifically dopamine and serotonin. So people who consume more fish can feel less depressed.

Almonds: Almonds are rich in nutrients, including folate and magnesium. Magnesium is essential to brain health, and studies have linked it to a reduction in depression, but is often deficient in modern diets. So experts suggest eating more of those almonds to elevate mood.

Tea: Drinking caffeinated black, green tea may elicit a more alert state of mind. To reap the benefits, the study’s results suggest drinking 5 to 6 (8-ounce) cups of tea daily.

Coconut: When you’re stressed, the scent of coconut enhances alertness while soothing our response to stress. It also helps in slowing heart rate.

By Lizitha