Food and Mood
How does food affect your mood and functionality?
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1.
Food nutrients feed emotional well being.
Depression and anxiety/overwhelm is likely due at a root level to nutritional imbalances of many varieties.
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2.
Modern people aren’t absorbing enough nutrients due to low digestion.
Poor digestion is a leading cause of emotional upset and brain fog/fatigue because it leads to under-assimilated nutrients, and therefore nutritional deficiencies. If digestion is extremely poor, then nutrients that are essential to your energy, thinking, and happiness don’t do their important jobs in your body. One of these jobs is supporting all of your internal, biological happiness and motivation mechanisms.
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3.
Modern food is a major culprit.
Many foods actively work against the biology that supports your daily motivation and mood. Sorry to be the one to break it to you, but it’s true. Certain foods need to be eliminated long enough for the body to heal, de-stress, and learn to utilize nutrients to your benefit once again. Some foods are truly harmful to your happiness, and should be forgotten for the most part.
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4.
Many foods heal your gut, so you can assimilate happiness!
But here’s the awesome part: you can have a lot of fun focusing on happiness foods, and these healing foods can be easy, fun, fast, and affordable!
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Let the damage begin!
Largely because of our modern food and chemical consumption, prescription 
meds, and stress, to name a few of the top factors. That’s bad, m’kay? Poor digestion will leave you open to all sorts of nutritional deficiencies or imbalances that are a direct cause of anxiety, overwhelm, moodiness, and depression!
Many of the most common foods that we eat every day actually directly contribute to feelings of depression, anxiety, and moodiness. Reasons for this range from neurological disturbances and digestive lining deterioration, to addictive properties in the foods or chemicals that repeatedly put you in a certain state.
Get support.
Food shifts can improve your life and outlook in amazing ways you may not realize. If this sounds appealing but overwhelming to you, you’ll benefit from working with a professional who specializes in gut health to rebuild your digestion.
I am a nutrition-based herbalist with this specialty! I can help you create your personalized Happy Foods Plan! You can heal your anxiety and overwhelm, allowing you wake up, take a look around, take action in life. You will finally get the chance show up as a bigger, stronger, happier version of yourself every day! Deliciously, sustainably, and simply.
Oftentimes, a great counselor, meaning “the right counselor for you” or even committed friend to listen, can have amazing benefit as well.
Or maybe you feel that you could do it yourself, given a bunch more info. If this sounds like you, check out the “good mood food” and “bad mood food” sections here under the DIY Happiness tab!
In all cases, exercise, proper nutrition through delicious foods, and lifestyle changes or adjustments are the number one ways to keep depression at bay or get get rid of it!
Chronic depression, allergies, and professional help:
The first thing that is necessary is to determine if your anxiety and moods are just the winter blues, long term potential depression, or related to personal or life events.
This will take some self analysis. Take some time and put your finger on the cause. If you cannot figure it out, food will still help you, and may be your only problem after all!
If you realize that you have been depressed for more than one or two months, physicians would often define that as chronic. Long term or repeated bouts of depression lasting three months or longer definitely warrant a consultation with a qualified psychotherapist. Psychotherapists do NOT prescribe drugs.
Hidden allergies are very likely in the case of chronic depression. Look deeply into what you may be eating that you’re allergic to, and eliminate them from your diet, as they are likely to be exacerbating your symptoms. I can get you the “science” on that if you need it 😉
Reach out and get help right away if you have suicidal thoughts or consider harming yourself, or if your anxiety or depression feels severe and crippling. Even if you don’t talk to anyone regularly, many people care about you and would help you if you asked! I know it does not always seem like it, and it’s hard to reach out. You will be glad you did.
Sometimes these issues are ancient and/or of energetic origin. You might like to look into bodywork or a type of energy healing that resonates with you, such as Rolfing, Reiki or Jin Chin.