Foods & Tips for Boosting Your Mental & Emotional Health

The connection between food and mood is real. We know how food impacts our physical health, but we’re not always taught how good nutrition can significantly affect our mental health, too. If you want to improve your mental and emotional health with lifestyle changes, read our tips to get started.

Foods that Nurture Mental Health
Fruits & Veggies: Studies have shown that high consumption of fruits and veggies may promote increased levels of optimism and self-efficacy as well as lower levels of distress and depression. To support your mental health, try consuming a minimum of five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
Complex Carbohydrates: Providing energy and a boost of serotonin, complex carbs like brown rice, quinoa, millet, beets, squash, carrots and sweet potatoes can decrease the risk for anxiety and depression and improve overall brain function.
Lean Protein: The amino acids in lean proteins help regulate the brain’s function and feelings. One of these essential aminos is tryptophan, which is notoriously in charge of producing serotonin. Consume good sources of lean protein such as fish, eggs, tofu, soybeans, oatmeal, nuts and seeds.
Fatty Acids: Crucial for the function of your brain and nervous system, fatty acids help sharpen memory, improve mood and protect the brain against cognitive decline. Find them in fish, walnuts, avocados and flaxseeds.

Activities that Nurture Mental Health
Journaling: Journaling can get negative thoughts out of your head and onto paper. If you’re taking the time to journal, make sure it’s a place where you can vent your genuine thoughts and feelings and reflect on them. Use journaling to release negativity, express gratitude and acknowledge your accomplishments and visions of who you want to become.

Exercise: The physical effects of exercise are obvious, but what about the cognitive effects? Regular exercising can be a powerful medicine for many common mental health challenges. It can help boost energy, improve sleep and memories, and help you feel more relaxed and positive about yourself. The best part? You don’t have to be a fitness fanatic to reap the benefits; moderate exercise can make a huge difference.

Meditation: Meditation involves training the mind to increase attention and awareness to achieve emotional calm. Sitting and following your breath may seem simple, but its effects are far-reaching. When practiced regularly, meditation can improve concentration, offer pain relief, reduce anxiety and depression, and enhance empathy and compassion. Lean on the power of the present moment to receive these positive impacts.

Setting Smaller Goals: Goals are beneficial for mental health because they provide a sense of purpose, but they don’t have to be extravagant. Set small goals such as building a morning routine you love, letting go of one bad habit each month or learning something new every day. Set short-term goals and do your best to work towards them. Then celebrate your small wins and see your self-esteem rise.