By: Allain Dumon Fonte
On and off lockdowns, faces covered, economic insecurity, and inability to travel to see family and friends can be very depressing. Many of us are experiencing severe depression and series of anxiety attacks. But life must go on and we must learn to be strong to survive. So, wake up! Get out of your beds, walk to the kitchen, check your fridge, or go to the nearest grocer, and start enjoying these happy foods that will surelypower you up from your worries.
Many nutritionists and food researchers have backed up these food and beverages with data that support brain function and could boost up our oxytocin. So, whenever you are feeling down, these following meals can power you up.
1. CHAMOMILE TEA
Photo by Küflü Çıkın.
Chamomile tea is popularly known as the relaxing tea. In the shared research of Adelphi University and Rutgers University, chamomile tea is found to contain anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties; and is believed to help regulate neurotransmitters that affect the mood of a person. The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine also found out that chamomile tea helps in regulating how our bodies respond to stress, or also known as hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical
(HPA) axis.
2. DARK CHOCOLATE
Photo by Vie Studio
Researchers in the University of L’Aquila in Italy found that dark chocolate contains flavanols that helps improve brain function by efficiently improving blood flow to the brain and have neuroprotective effects. This helps in uplifting the mood and has significantly lowered the depressive symptoms.
3. SALMON
Photo by Christina Voinova
Salmon is one of the favorite seafoods all over the world, and as they say, “no one can go wrong when cooking salmon”. Apart from being a delicious treat no matter how you prepare it, salmon is also one of the most healthful foods there is. UK’s Bournemouth University researches the effects of Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) that is found in salmon. In the research, it was found out that PUFA exhibits treatment to a variety of neurodegenerative and neurological disorders. Researchers in Aix Marseilles Universite in France also found out that salmon prevents various heart diseases and degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s.
4. TURMERIC SPICE
Photo by Karl Solano
Turmeric spice contains curcumin, a compound that increases conversion of alpha-linolenic acid to DHA. In a joint-research of Reim University Hospital of France, Autonomous University of Tlaxcala of Mexico, and the University of Hong Kong, they found out that turmeric spices increase effectively the Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels in the brain, and that DHA is an effective treatment for anxiety and depressive disorders. UCLA’s Brain Injury Research Center found out that curcumin in turmeric spices is an effective treatment for major depressive disorders, schizophrenia, and impaired attention.
5. YOGURT
Photo by Visual Stories || Micheile
Yogurt has probiotics, otherwise known as the healthy bacteria, which is well-known to cure gastrointestinal problems. However, the Neuroscience Department of the University of Verona in Italy presents a research that probiotics help on improving cognitive reactivity, mood, and sleep quality. In the research of Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Occidente at Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social and of Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes in Mexico, it stipulates that probiotic in yogurt improve the gut-brain-axis by increasing the production
serotonin. Serotonin helps in mood, sexual desire and function, appetite, sleep, memory and learning, temperature regulation, and some social behavior.