How to eat for happiness
You know what's fascinating? The fact that our moods are created from our food. I don't know about you, but I find this a bit mind blowing. Even after working in nutrition for so long and supporting so many families to balance their child's mood.... the idea that feelings and thoughts are created from the food on our plate feels like magic.
So how does this magic happen?
One of the neurotransmitters in the brain that is responsible for feelings of happiness and wellbeing is serotonin. Serotonin acts like a messenger. It travels from neuron to neuron (brain cell to brain cell) bringing with it these positive feelings. It's also responsible for learning and memory too.
How do we make serotonin?
Serotonin is made from a protein called tryptophan. And the only way to get tryptophan is from food. Good sources of tryptophan are found in turkey and chicken, milk, oats, cheese, nuts and seeds, banana and dark chocolate. What's interesting about these foods is that we often associate them with comfort. A hot chocolate, anything with melted cheese... these are the foods we often reach for when we are looking for feelings of wellbeing. So now that we know the foods to fuel our kid's with tryptophan, let's look at how the body converts that tryptophan into serotonin. Because of course this requires more nutrients from our plate. To change tryptophan into serotonin, the body needs vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate and magnesium. Here's a simple way to make sure your child receives these important nutrients:
Vitamin B6: found in chicken, peanuts, oats, bananas and milk. Easy to boost B6 at the same time as tryptophan! Vitamin C: found in citrus fruits such as oranges, and fruit like papaya and kiwi, as well as strawberries, sweet peppers and Brussel sprouts. Folate: found in peas, broccoli, spinach, chickpeas (meaning hummus!) and kidney beans. Magnesium: this is a tricky one as magnesium has been depleted in the soil and therefore in our food. It's found in spinach, nuts, seeds and whole grains. A simple way to ensure your child is receiving enough of the calming magnesium is to add it to their bath. Check out my guidance on adding in magnesium here.
What is interesting about serotonin is that 80% of it is made in the gut. This is one of the reasons that the gut brain connection, a term you may have heard of, is so important to consider. In order to boost our kid's mood, we need to strengthen their gut. The gut contains our microbiome. I like to think of the microbiome as a town, filled with bacteria. They live together, work together, and help our bodies to function. We really want the population of our town to be friendly and helpful. Some simple ways to support your child's gut health is to add in probiotics and probiotics. Prebiotics are foods that those gut bacteria love to eat. It feeds the town. Some examples of prebiotic foods are onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, bananas, oats and apples. These foods are important to keep our gut bacteria healthy and functioning. Probiotics are foods that contain bacteria. These may be naturally present in the food due to the way it is made, or may be added. These bacteria are friendly additions to the town. Some examples of prebiotic foods are yogurt with live cultures, kefir, tempeh and miso. A nice way to include probiotic foods into your child's day is to switch to a yogurt with live cultures added and make this a part of their usual breakfast.
So let's put this together to look at how to eat for happiness.
A breakfast of porridge made with whole milk, and some sliced bananas and a sprinkle of grated dark chocolate thrown in is an excellent source of tryptophan, as well as vitamin B6. Boost it even more by adding some chopped nuts for a source of magnesium. An after school snack of some yogurt with sliced strawberries is a lovely source of probiotics and vitamin C. Or a snack or some sweet red pepper dipped in hummus is a source of folate and vitamin C. If you have a picky eater or a selective eater, start with the foods you know they like and boost them. If you know they will eat toast in the morning, add a few slices of banana to their plate. If they love chocolate, slowly switch to a dark chocolate and make frozen bananas dipped in chocolate. These small steps will give them the nutrients their bodies need for that magic.... happiness.
Looking for help getting these nutrients in? Look no further! Join my Clever Nutrition group coaching program to give you strategies and support to help your child comfortably try new food. Read more to find out how I can help your child.
