This is a list of things that could^ boost your mood / and general health. It is only related to food and diet and is not medical advice. I have been following this for about a month now (mostly with regards to oats, milk, vitamins and minerals, omega 3s, and lots of cereals for breakfast) and whilst I don't necessarily feel noticeably happier due to the diet, I do feel generally healthier, and have used some of these recommendations along with increased exercise to help boost my general fitness.
Daily Diet could / should include:
2 - 4 cups of filter coffee or tea (for caffeine, less tea if you want to avoid staining your teeth)
6 brazil nuts a day (for selenium*)
Hot chillies (a couple, releases endorphins)
Dark chocolate with 60% or more cocoa (30g/day has phenylethylamine)
Garlic cloves (1 or 2 a day - horribly strong when eaten raw)
Oats (bowl/day)
Wheat germ (30g/day increases dopamine - found in wholemeal bread)
Milk (dopamine)
Zinc 10-15mg day (Zinc can increase sex drive in men and "deficiency is linked to poor memory, slow response and depression")
1 - 2 glasses of wine a day (2 - 4 units of alcohol for increased dopamine, 11units /week for men)
- nb should be moderate amounts, as too much reduces oxytocin (the love "drug") levels
Vitamins (A, C, E, B, B6, Folic Acid, Magnesium)
Increase:
Olive oil**, Oily fish, Flaxseed oil or Omega 3 supplements (Omega 3 is good, Omega 6 is bad fat)
Whole grains: rice, barley, wholemeal bread
Unprocessed foods
Vegetables including green leafy vegetables
Fruit, Nuts, Seeds, Legumes
Vigorous exercise
Reduce:
Fatty foods: Lamb, Beef, Dairy, Veg oils, Margerine, Omega 6
Processed foods (vitamins and minerals are reduced through processing)
Excessive alcohol (can increase depression, and cause long term health problems)
Some soft drinks contain phenylethylamine - although the other contents in most soft drinks probably makes it quite unappealling as they often have highly refined / overly processed sugar.
Recommendations from "How To Be Happier" by Paul Jenner / Teach Yourself.
* Selenium Sulphide is derived from Selenium and is used in some (good) anti-dandruff products such as "Selsun" and "Selsun Blue" - it would be interesting to see if an increased intake of edible selenium would reduce the effects of dandruff?
** Extra virgin olive oil also contains plant stanols / plant sterols which can reduce cholesterol. (see this pdf guide to plant stanols / plant sterols for more information on other foods that contain them, such as olive and peanute oils, fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, cereals, and legumes)
Blueberries said to increase memory details at boingboing.net.
^ "Could" being the operative word here. It could also be a load of a) bollocks b) a placebo or c) considered simply increasing your healthy intake of a health well balanced diet. (Reposted as the original post was receiving daily comment spam.) ALL Comments are moderated!
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