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You are here: Home / Archives for anxiety

anxiety

Foods To Boost Your Mood

January 21, 2020 by Joni Leave a Comment

Food is Fuel

Food has the ability to improve your mood. If you have a fairly good diet, you can open up your pantry and come upon plenty of mood-boosting delicacies that are both healthy and delicious.

When you are dealing with any mood changes, whether it is more irritability, anger, or just mood swings, it is a good idea to take a look at your health and lifestyle first. While it might be related to a medical condition that your doctor can help treat, consider what your current lifestyle is like.

Are you drinking alcohol or caffeine more than normal? Do you get enough exercise? How is your stress level?

Another important aspect of your mood and mental health is with your diet. There are quite a few healthy and delicious foods that are not only food for your body, but can help boost your mood as well.

Here are the top 14 foods that are going to give you a nice mood boost.

1. Dark Leafy Greens 
The first type of food that can be amazing for your mood is dark, leafy greens. Greens have a variety of nutrients. These include fiber, which balances your blood sugar, B vitamins for brain health, as well as iron.

spinach

Studies show that iron deficiency is closely linked to anxiety and disrupted neurotransmitters as well, which provides even more reason to eat these nutritious veggies.

Iron also helps to produce energy, which can lead to positive feelings. While it can be great for boosting your mood, you also want to be sure not to have too much iron. Talk to your doctor to discuss the right amount.

 2. Salmon 
Salmon acts as a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are exceptional for helping to boost your mood. Omega-3 fatty acids act as crucial elements in the development of your nervous system and brain. In geographical areas where the residents eat more fatty fish, they become less likely to get anxious or depressed, so it makes sense that it would be good for your mood! 

salmon

There are also high amounts of protein as well as vitamins B12 and D in omega-3 fatty foods like salmon. If you haven’t had much salmon before, try adding it into your diet slowly. And please do not buy farm raised salmon. Definitely not your healthy choice!

You can just have a little bit of salmon on your salad with lots of veggies (and leafy greens!), or make a small serving of blackened salmon with brown rice and steamed veggies. Super simple. 

3. Turkey 
Full of tryptophan, turkey produces a neurotransmitter called serotonin. When you have lower levels of tryptophan in your body, that can lead to less serotonin development as well as an increase in depression and anxiety. Turkey also has tyrosine, an amino acid that is related to neurotransmitters.

turkey

Turkey is a healthy, low-fat protein option, so it is great for most people’s diets. Whether you are on a general healthy diet, low-carb or low-fat diet, it is going to work great for you. Start adding turkey to your sandwiches, have roasted turkey for dinner, or use ground turkey in place of ground beef in different recipes.

Some other mood-boosting elements of turkey include vitamins B6 and B12, as well as zinc. Zinc deficiencies often lead to increased occurrences of depression and anxiety. 

Other high tryptophan foods include nuts, seeds, tofu, cheese, red meat, chicken, turkey, fish, oats, beans, lentils, and eggs.

4. Chia Seeds 
Chia seeds act as another rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, as well as nutrients such as iron, calcium, fiber, and protein. These powerful seeds also contains magnesium, which increases feelings of well-being. 

chia pudding

There are so many benefits to chia seeds, that they will not only help aid in boosting your mood along with these other nutritious foods, but they provide overall health and wellness for your body and mind.

The easiest way to incorporate more chai seeds into your diet is by adding them to your smoothie or protein shake. This chia seed pudding is an easy make-ahead treat.

5. Eggs 
Eggs were previously thought to be a slightly unhealthy options because of the higher fat content, but many studies have shown that they don’t have the effect on your cholesterol than was once predicted. Of course, if your doctor advises against them, they might still be something to pass up.

However, if you like eggs, definitely add them to your diet to help boost your mood. They are high in vitamins B12 and D, as well as protein. Eggs have choline, which helps with your nervous system, mood, and makes neurotransmitters and selenium, an antioxidant. When you eat antioxidant-rich foods, it helps with your brain health and boosts your mood. 

6. Lentils 
Next up is lentil, which supply folate, a vitamin that helps your nervous system develop. Those who are deficient in folate experience higher rates of depression. They also contain fiber, which helps with blood sugar, protein, vitamin B6, and iron. Vitamin B6 makes neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. 

lentils

If you are not accustomed to eating lentils, just start small by adding some to salads or having soup with lentils in them.

7. Avocados 
The good thing about avocados is that not only do they help boost your mood, but they are delicious! Many people love eating avocados but had no idea they could actually be good for you.

avocado

It is true that avocados are higher in fat, but it is the healthy type of fat. They contain fiber and vitamins B6, E and C. Another valuable vitamin you can get from avocados is B5, which helps your neurotransmitters develop. 

8. Fermented Foods 
In the past few years, research has shown a definite link between your brain and gut. Over 90 percent of serotonin gets produced in your digestive system. So, to get your moods back on track, you will need to prioritize your gut health.

These days, researchers have looked at the link between mood and gut bacteria. Some meta-analyses even say that probiotics can help with depression. 

Whether your fermented food item of choice is sauerkraut, kombucha, or even dairy-free yogurt, all of these foods are excellent sources of probiotics. 

9. Chocolate 
There is a reason you tend to feel better and happier after eating chocolate, and it is not just from the sugar. Chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, is amazing for health and wellness. It contains compounds such as phenylethylamine (for endorphins) and anandamide, which researchers call the “bliss” chemical. Not only is chocolate a good source of antioxidants, but it can also improve cognition and mood. 

chocolate

For a healthier option, try to go for the darkest chocolate you are able to enjoy, looking for lower amounts of sugar in the chocolate.

10. Ghee 
If you don’t like butter or can’t eat it due to a dairy allergy, you’re in luck! You can instead use ghee, which is made from butter, but doesn’t have the same effect on your body. It also happens to be another great food for improving your mood.

Also known as clarified butter, ghee has a lot of nutritious fats as well as vitamin D. It also helps to heal the digestive tract, which allows your gut bacteria to develop. 

11. Sunflower Seeds 
A great source of vitamins B6, E, and magnesium, sunflower seeds are a good mood booster for those with allergies to nuts. You can easily switch any type of nut called for in a recipe for sunflower seeds. 

sunflower seeds

Try adding sunflower seeds to your salads, or just having a handful of the seeds as a snack with a piece of fruit or cheese.

12. Almonds 
Almonds act as an amazing source of protein, vitamin E, fiber, and magnesium. Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant, which helps fight damage caused by free radicals. This food item also improves your cognition and memory. 

Not only can they help improve your mood and your overall health, but they are really easy to add to your diet. There are so many ways to incorporate more almonds into your diet, from dipping apple slices in almond butter, to switching to almond flour in your baked goods when you want a healthier option.

13. Bell Peppers 
Before finishing off this list, we can’t forget about bell peppers. All colors of bell peppers are great for you, low in fat, low in carbohydrates, and have lots of vitamins and minerals.

pepper

Bell peppers have the antioxidant vitamin C, which helps the functioning of your nervous system and the improvement of your cognition. Studies show that vitamin C reduces your stress and helps with mood. 

14. Sardines
Last, but not least, are sardines. These are an acquired taste and not mandatory, but a good option if you enjoy the salty fish. Sardines come with a bunch of mood-boosting elements. In addition to high levels of vitamin B12, sardines have choline, vitamin D, protein, selenium, and omega-3 fatty acids. 

Simple Changes = Big Rewards!

Boosting your mood with food is one of the easiest ways to improve your well-being over time. You can see results even if you don’t overhaul your diet right away. Just making one or two changes to your diet to include more mood-friendly foods can be just the thing to change your life for the better.

Whether that change involves getting acquainted with kombucha or keeping a dark chocolate bar in your drawer “in case of emergency”, making tweaks to your diet now can pay dividends in the future.

Filed Under: Body, Health, Healthy Eats, Mind, Science Tagged With: antioxidants, anxiety, avocado, beans, chocolate, depression, fermented, food-mood connection, ghee, gut, mood, omegas, peppers

How to Use Mindfulness to Tame Anxiety

December 10, 2019 by Joni Leave a Comment

woman in stress

Anxiety is something an increasing number of people suffer from. This is primarily due to the fact that we as a society live and operate such hectic and busy lives. We have work, some have school, children, and a full calendar of things we have to do. This is just the daily stress. This doesn’t get into the issues with family, personal life, financial issues, and so much more. All of this combined will eventually lead to anxiety issues.

Breathing Techniques

When you become anxious about something, and your anxiety issues start to kick in, the first thing that happens is your heart rate increases. You become panicked, on some stages more panicked than others. When this happens it can be harder to focus and harder to calm down. Breathing techniques work in several ways. They help you stop and refocus. They also help you slow your breath and take calming breaths that help your heart rate lower to a reasonable level, and ultimately help your blood pressure to lower. This helps you calm down and figure out what steps to take next.

Focus on the Issue at Hand

Mindfulness techniques like meditation and mind mapping can help you focus on the issue at hand. What mindfulness does is help you use and find techniques that can take a jumble of thoughts and work them into one connected thought with a clear path to a goal that have a starting point and ending point. Mindfulness can help you find joy in the task at hand, even if it is simply completing the task and moving to the next one. Though meditation, mind mapping, breathing, and gratitude you can focus on the issue at hand.

Find New Healthier Focuses

Mindfulness has an added bonus of helping you remove the negative issues and resources in your life and focusing on healthier replacements. Instead of freaking out you can calm down with breathing. Instead of being upset about the day and feeling helpless, you can replace those thoughts with gratitude for at least one thing a day. You can find that your are happier first and healthier later and overall change your entire life outlook.

Though mindfulness will help you with anxiety issues, it can take some time. If you are having severe anxiety symptoms, you may also want to consult a physician for further assistance as well.

Filed Under: Body, Mind Tagged With: anxiety, breathing, mindfulne

3 Benefits of Mindfulness

December 4, 2019 by Joni Leave a Comment

mindfulness

Mindfulness is something you may have seen in the devotional section of bookstores, as part of a yoga DVD, or in various health and wellbeing stores. You may already know that there are different aspects to mindfulness, including meditation. What you may not know are the benefits of mindfulness in your life. Before you think there is too much involved and not enough reward for that involvement, consider these three benefits of mindfulness in your life.

Reducing Anxiety and Stress

There are several techniques in mindfulness that can help with anxiety and the reduction of stress. Breathing techniques, meditation, and mind mapping are just three of these methods. The key point to remember with each of these methods is that they benefit you by helping you refocus and reduce the triggers in your life. They help you sort out the issues that you would normally stress out over and eventually have anxiety over.  Mindfulness also helps you cope with future issues to avoid immediate reaction and increase your anxiety regarding the situation.

Body Acceptance

Body acceptance is something you may not think of when you think of mindfulness. The truth is, body acceptance can play a great deal into your stress and anxiety and how you view the world around you. Over the course of using meditation and other techniques you may find what is triggering your body related issues, including your weight loss obstacles and unhealthy options that you are moving towards during triggered issues that cause stress. Once you begin working with mindfulness techniques you will start to see a better appreciation for yourself, your body journey, and where you are in the moment.

Life Acceptance

Sometimes we just aren’t happy with our lives. We aren’t happy with different aspects that we feel we can’t change and must simply deal with. This can lead to depression and other issues including body issues. Mindfulness can help you find gratitude for various things in your life, find issues and people in your life that are toxic, and find ways to keep what works and get rid of what doesn’t with grace and acceptance. This can lead us to life acceptance and accepting the events that happen for what they are in that moment.

These benefits are just a starting point for mindfulness in your life. There are other benefits that will start to reveal themselves to you as you become deeper and more involved in the process.

Filed Under: Mind, Spirit Tagged With: anxiety, emotions, meditation, mindfulness

Mindfulness 101

December 2, 2019 by Joni Leave a Comment

Mindfulness is something that may sound very mystic and out there to most people. You may think it is all about meditation and how to find out more about yourself. What you may be thinking is that you don’t have time or that the process just won’t do anything for you in your life. There are actually several things you should know about mindfulness before you toss it out the door as something that won’t work for you or isn’t for you. Here are a few of those key points.

Mindfulness Helps Focus

One of the key points to mindfulness is how it helps with focus. By working through the stages of mindfulness and learning different techniques, such as breathing, you will start to learn to focus on certain stages and aspects of your life. For example, instead of focusing on all of your tasks for the day, the week, your friends tasks, and everything else going on you can focus on the task at hand and be present in that task. This allows you to get the task done quickly and easily.

Mindfulness Helps Stress

Stress can be brought on by a number of issues. One of the main issues is having too much on our task list and not enough time to focus on each item to completion. Other stressful aspects can be the outside influences of others including gossip and friends issues and problems. Mindfulness helps you by showing you ways and methods to avoid immediate reaction and instead focus on issues and decide what you need to take on and what you do not. For example, you can still be there for your fitness without allowing your friend’s issues to become your issues and cause more stress.

Mindfulness is a Routine

In addition to viewing mindfulness as a way to handle events and aspects of your daily life in order to be happier and less burdened, you should also remember that mindfulness is not a one time event. Mindfulness is not a quick fix and it is not a BandAid for your issues. Mindfulness is a routine that you incorporate into your life. By doing mindfulness techniques each day, you will find mindfulness becoming a part of you instead of something you just do.

This is just a very quick overview of mindfulness and what it can mean in your life. Consider these points along with some research on the benefits of mindfulness and how you can put it in your daily routine and life.

Filed Under: Mind, Spirit Tagged With: anxiety, meditation, mindfullness, stress

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