Good Mood Food

Scoffing chocolate and cake is a common reaction to stress and bad moods. Yet sugary comfort foods can actually leave you feeling worse. Research has found that healthy foods such as fruit, oily fish and vegetables help your body cope with stress and therefore have a better effect on your mood.

High levels of stress take its toll on your immune system and your general health. 'Sadness, anger, worry, fear and shock release hormones into the body which tax the liver,' says nutritionist Dr Gillian McKeith. Stress also depletes stores of vitamin C. Not only is vitamin C essential for your immune system, but it aids the absorption of iron and magnesium - the minerals that control activity of all muscles, including the heart.

TheSite Org recommended women to keep junk food to a minimum, because highly processed foods are often low in essential vitamins and minerals, which are needed to keep the nervous system in tip-top condition. Eat leafy green veg, meat, fortified breakfast cereal, marmite, and wholemeal bread for vitamins B and meat, green veg (such as peas and spinach), pulses, and eggs for iron. Avoid caffeine in the evenings and watch the alcohol intake.

A healthy, balanced diet is one of the basic foundations of general well being, and should protect you from nutritional deficiencies that can leave you feeling irritable, washed out, or really down.

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