Excerpts adapted from The Happiness Diet (thehappinessdietbook.com)
What if you discovered that the best place to begin your pursuit of happiness is at the end of your fork? Emerging research from neuroscience and nutrition shows that by changing what you eat, you can stabilize your mood, improve your focus, and boost your brain, while you’re trimming your tummy.
Food is directly linked to three areas of brain function that create your happiness. The first is your capacity to focus, think, plan, and remember. The second is emotional regulation. The third are the foods that give you the ability to get through a deadline and control anxiety.
Basic guidelines:
- Eat less processed food
- Eat more fruit, vegetables, and whole grains
- Eat meat from grass-fed cows whenever possible
- Eat a variety of foods
Specific foods to have in your diet to nourish your brain:
- Eggs
- Butter (from grass-fed cows preferably)
- Beef (from grass-fed cows preferably)
- Anchovies – the richest source of omega-3 fatty acids
- Coffee – caffeine increases dopamine
- Arugula – dark leafy greens are all nutrient rich
- Walnuts – all nuts are important sources of nutrients, just a small handful provides what you need
- Blue or red skinned potatoes
- Wild salmon – one of the highest in fish oils
- Tomatoes
- Beets
- Chile peppers and garlic
For sugars, as much as possible choose:
- Agave
- Honey
- Pure maple syrup
- Blackstrap molasses
I love it that more and more information is coming out about how important food choices are. Meanwhile food manufacturers are inundating us with incredible amounts of processed “food-like substances.”