Holiday Mood Foods - By: Jason Yun

The Holidays are right around the corner. The year went fast, just like all the others. With the Holidays comes stress. Plans need to be made, schedules need to be adjusted, presents & food need to be bought. With all that going on it's no wonder why most people put nutrition and fitness on hold.

The worst thing that happens around this time of year is that most people just drop their nutrition and workout programs. Bad nutrition and not working out will lead you to be a very unpleasant Mr. or Mrs. Scrooge. And with everything else going on top of that…

That’s why I stress the importance of good eating. Not good eating in the way of eating BBQ spare ribs everyday tastes good, but good eating in the way of staying healthy with your nutrition and only cheating on your diet less then 10% of the time.

This is what will keep your mood up. Be happy! The holidays are supposed to be fun. Don’t get stressed. So here are 5 foods that you can eat to help improve your mood. And they aren’t just for the Holiday season either; year round these foods can make you feel good.

Food #1 Spinach. Calorie for calorie this green leafy veggie provides more nutrients then almost every other food on Earth. Scientifically proven to help protect the brain from age-related declines. A healthy brain will make you happy. It's also loaded with the vitamin called Folate. Folate has been shown to cause depression if the levels are too low.

Did you know Subway has spinach? Replace your sandwich with the nutrient-dense spinach from that nutrient-less romaine lettuce next time. Always opt for a spinach-based salad when you can. Your mood will thank you.

Food #2 Dark Chocolate. No! I am not talking about Snickers or Milky Way Bars either. The chocolate you want to look for is ‘high cocoa-content dark chocolate’. 60 percent cocoa or above. 70 percent or higher are the best but it is hard to find. But don’t pig out on it either because of the palmitic acid type of fat in it. But chocolate has been proven to release endorphins and will boost serotonin levels, which will give you a happier you. But again keep the intake low—no more then a couple ounces a week.

Food #3 Walnuts. This nut contains more Omega-3 fatty acids then any other. You need Omega-3’s in your diet. One of the many benefits of Omega-3’s is that they support brain function. They have been used in depression studies and have helped considerably. Your brain and mood go hand-in-hand. They don’t call Omega-3 fats ‘brain food’ for nothing.

Food #4 Salmon. I’m only talking wild here, not the farm-raised. The most Omega-3 Fatty Acid you can find in one food item is probably found in Wild Salmon. Notice how we’re coming back to Omega-3’s? The wild kinds of salmon who dine on their oceanic friends are full of this wonderful fatty acid. However the farm-raised kinds are fed grains, not exactly the kind of grub you’ll find in the ocean and rivers where salmon live. The result is a fish that produces very little Omega-3 fats and produces a lot more of the inflammatory Omega-6 fats. We already get more then enough of this fat in our diets. So just eat the Wild Salmon and avoid the farm raised like the plague. Always ask if your at a restaurant, too.

Food #5 Eggs. And yes I mean the whole egg. I wrote an entire article on the benefits of this food. For starters, it is without question the absolute best whole protein food you can eat. People are worried about the cholesterol and fat though. But you see eggs contain Choline, which is a B Complex vitamin that many people will be low on if they avoid foods like eggs. Choline to be ‘used’ appropriately by the body needs to be in the presence of fat. Eggs are perfect because of the fat already naturally occurring. Without getting too scientific choline is connected to memory and thought- both very important for affecting mood.

There you go-- Eat Up!

About the Author

Jason Yun, a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Sports Nutritionist, is the owner of Yun Strength and Fitness Systems, LLC and is a Columbus fitness bootcamp instructor and weight management teacher. To learn more about the your free 2-week trial to bootcamp go to http://www.yunfitnessbootcamps.com

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