When a bad mood strikes, it's
tempting to lean into the emotions and just ride it out. But there are ways to
take a more proactive approach -- even with what you eat. Emerging research
suggests that the bacteria living in your gut may be impacting your mood, and
changing what you eat can be the bad-mood-buster you've been looking for.
Registered dietitian Rebecca
Scritchfield recently broke down the basics of this gut-mood research. She says to think of your gut and digestive system as
a "second brain" that communicates with your actual brain; because of
this connection, what exists in your gut can actually have a direct influence
on your feelings and emotions. To take back control, Scritchfield says to turn
to certain foods that contain healthy bacteria.
"I recommend eating what's
called fermented foods," she says. "Some of these might be familiar..."
• Yogurt
• Kefir
• Soy
Sauce
• Tempeh
(fermented tofu)
• Kimchi
("Basically fermented sauerkraut," Scritchfield says)
To help determine if certain
foods contain healthy bacteria, Scritchfield suggests looking closely at the
food labels.
"Especially for kefir and
yogurt, you want to see that it says it has live and active cultures," she
says. "Some of those other products may or may not emphasize that from a
marketing standpoint, but you are looking for foods that have been naturally
fermented."
Aside from eating foods with
healthy bacteria, you can also improve your digestion with one other key
practice: eating more fiber.
"One of the things that
we've known for a long time that's very good for our digestive wellness is
getting dietary fiber," Scritchfield says. "You can get that just
with a balanced, healthy eating of mostly plants. This is everything from our
fruits and veggies... [to] foods like beans, seeds and nuts."
There's also a compounding
effect, she adds, explaining that foods like garlic, artichokes, bananas and
berries help our healthy bacteria multiply.
"In a lot of these healthy
foods we consume, they contain fibers that we cannot digest. They're called
prebiotic fibers," Scritchfield says. "This actually serves as food
for our healthy bacteria. So, we're feeding them so they grow and populate, and
then do good things for our bodies."
For more foods that can bust a
bad mood, turn to these additional edible solutions when you're feeling down.
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