
How to combat depressed mood, improve your self-esteem and avoid anxiety? Taking foods that increase serotonin production, such as oatmeal and banana smoothie. Serotonin is the brain’s neurotransmitter that produces a calming effect, relieves nervousness and relaxes. In short, it produces general well-being and happiness.
The depressed mood is something very common in our daily life characterized. It is characterized by lack of energy, decay, disinterest and little desire to perform daily tasks. Anxiety has also become very present in our lives, and can be temporary or become chronic, dangerous to health, leading to hypertension, tachycardia, dizziness …
When we hear about self-esteem or anxiety, we automatically attribute it to the pace of life, stress at work and in everyday life, tensions and personal problems, but what we do not know is that one of the main causes of depression and anxiety is poor diet. A diet composed of fats and sweets and poor in the necessary vitamins is directly related to a depressed mood.
The relationship between low self-esteem and anxiety and eating
Complex carbohydrates are rich in serotonin and foods containing tryptophan are also generators of this neurotransmitter, therefore, they are essential to reduce anxiety and raise self-esteem levels. The best way to get carbohydrates is whole grains, such as oatmeal. It is necessary to avoid refined carbohydrates such as sliced bread, sugar or white rice, which remain in the blood in the form of sugar and only offer momentary energy, so it is important that the oats you consume are natural and without added sugars.
On the other hand, banana is the food that contains the most tryptophan. Therefore, the combination of oatmeal and banana in a smoothie is the ideal breakfast, as it will give you the energy and positive mood necessary to face the new day. However, if you choose to take this smoothie in the afternoon or at night it will also help you relax, since another of the properties of these two foods combined is that they help you fall asleep peacefully.
In addition, if serotonin levels are high you will not only feel better, but your desire to eat sweets and flours will be reduced, but if your serotonin levels are low, you will have more desire to eat this type of food, which contributes nothing but calories to your body, which will then cost you to burn.
But we do not only want to recommend this delicious combination in the form of a smoothie, with which you will feel much better on a daily basis. We also want you to take into account the habits that have the opposite effect on your body, that is, that enhance depressed mood and anxiety. Alcohol is the first of them, since it can produce momentary euphoria, but it will disappear and what will result is a worsening of the mood. You should also avoid abusing tobacco and caffeine, as they cause a sensation similar to alcohol.