Food For A Good Mood

✦ If you decide to drink coffee, aim for only one per day, and make sure to drink it at least 15 minutes away from food and medications, as drinking coffee impacts the absorption of essential B vitamins and can decrease our body’s capability to effectively use medicines such as levothyroxine, iron supplements, and some antidepressants (Belayneh and Molla, 2020). If you’re needing to rely on more than one coffee to get through the day, it’s important to consider dietary deficiencies and gut microbiome imbalances as possible driving factors.

✦ If we have food intolerances, continuing to eat those foods without addressing the underlying cause of why we’re reacting to them can make us feel fatigued, and gut inflammation may contribute to a low mood (Tuck et al 2019). If you ever plan to cut something out of your diet, it’s important to find appropriate replacements to ensure nutrients aren’t being cut out too, and that our gut microbes are still getting the food they need to do their job of helping to keep the gut lining nice and strong. At the end of the day, diversity is ideal.

✦ Omega-3 is one of the most common dietary deficiencies; yet it’s such an important and essential nutrient for energy and mood. Aim to include at least 2 sources of omega-3 fatty acids into your daily diet. Sources include oily fish, linseeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, or even a spoonful of an omega-3 plant-based oil blended into a smoothie. If you don’t like fish and aren’t a big fan of nuts and seeds, there’s a good chance you’re deficient.

Sometimes the smallest changes can make a big difference towards feeling more like the healthiest version of ourselves. We deserve better than letting our bodies keep going with the fuel light flashing when we could be feeling nourished and energised.