Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to lose
weight or eat the foods that suit you, when you are happy? Along with
maintaining your happiness through a positive mental attitude, you can actually
stimulate it through the food you eat. Yes, that’s right you can really eat to
be happy!
It is all down to the foods you eat and their effect on
the chemical reactions in your brain. Serotonin is a brain chemical, a type of
messenger, that operates between nerve cells. It is aided in its use in the
brain by vital fats from fish oils, cold-pressed flax and walnut oil. As a
natural anti-depressant it can also reduces craving and comfort eating.
So where does this serotonin come from? Well, we make it in our body from an amino acid called tryptophan. Just think of the foods that give you a fast ‘quick fix’ high. The foods that offer this limited ‘quick fix’ serotonin effect include sweets, confectionary, crisps, white bread, white rice, alcohol and other processed foods.
These particular amino acid rich foods
have a quick release but short-term effect on the body. All, however,
perpetuate your cravings when the initial serotonin ‘high’ dissipates. That
makes them foods that increase your cravings as the tryptophan levels suddenly
decrease. This is one reason why, when your brain is lacking in serotonin, you
reach out for these tryptophan ‘quick fix’ foods as a comforter. There is no
doubt that they do give you the desired boost of serotonin but it is temporary
and therefore you are more likely to eat inappropriately.
By eating foods that steadily release
tryptophan, the ones that don't give you a quick serotonin fix, you can
naturally boost your long-term levels of serotonin. This in turn reduces your
food cravings and raises your happiness levels. How great is that!
Maintaining correct levels of tryptophan
is critical in balancing your moods and behaviour. It heals the unhappiness or
depression that leads you back into inappropriate eating habits. In addition
these ‘slow release’ tryptophan foods give you a long-term sense of well being.
If levels in your body are normal, you won't crave or feel the need to overeat
sugary and refined carbohydrate foods. Steady, long-term releasing tryptophan is
found mainly in…
ü
Turkey
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Chicken;
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Fish;
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Pheasant;
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Partridge;
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Cottage
cheese;
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Bananas;
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Eggs;
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Nuts;
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Wheat
germ;
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Avocados;
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Milk;
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Cheese;
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Legumes
(peas, beans, pulses, soya);
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In
smaller amounts in potatoes, wholegrain breads, cereals, and brown rice.
Eating a balanced diet that includes
some of these foods can help raise your happiness motivators. With other amino
acids competing with tryptophan to be absorbed into the body, it is helpful to
raise insulin levels moderately. This can be achieved by eating small amounts
of starchy foods such as brown rice, wholemeal bread, porridge oats and jacket
potatoes, alongside protein foods. Sunlight is also essential for the
development of serotonin in our bodies.
