Dr. Uma's Mood Foods

Hi ,

Are you looking for ways to naturally boost your mood and emotional wellbeing? Are you interested in making healthy choices now that will benefit your health in the future?

Nutritional Psychiatry focuses not only on how specific foods help improve our mood and reduce stress, but also how we can use food to impact our cognitive ability and memory as we age.

Simple adjustments can slowly but steadily become habits you can incorporate for the rest of your life in order to create lasting mental fitness. Each week, I’ll share recommendations here using foods you can add to your diet to support your mental health.

I love bringing you the latest in Nutritional Psychiatry each week to boost your overall well-being. My new book, Calm Your Mind with Food is a revolutionary full-body approach to relieving anxiety, including anti-anxiety recipes and meal plan guidelines.

Mood: Anxiety
Food: Ginger

Research has shown that ginger can help calm the mind because…

It contains gingerol, which acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory to help prevent damage associated with oxidative stress in the brain that can lead to increased stress and anxiety.

Ginger is rich in antioxidant Vitamin C which helps to support focus by relieving brain fog.

Ginger is also a good source of magnesium, a nutrient that has been shown to help support a healthy nervous system and stress response.

How to add this MOOD FOOD to your diet:
Ginger is a spicy root that adds a flavorful kick to foods and beverages. The root itself can be sliced and added to beverages for a soothing drink, or grated into sauces, soups and stews. It can be used to season clean proteins like salmon or chicken and the root can be pickled in a way that is similar to what’s typically served with sushi.

For South Asian curry dishes, ginger is sometimes ground into a soft pulp and added to the base along with onions, tomatoes and other condiments. For this reason, I keep a glass jar of freshly ground ginger root in my fridge at all times. You may prefer to use the dried powdered version in place of the root with any of these foods but note that the processing involved in turning ginger root into dried ginger reduces its nutritional benefits.

Time Magazine: I’m so honored to be featured in Time as a pioneer of Nutritional Psychiatry and thrilled to see this field continue to grow. Check out my feature here.

Well+Good: Eating foods that decrease gut inflammation is an effective way to boost your mood! Learn more here.

Keeping It Real with Jillian Michaels: Check out this podcast where I talk with Jillian Michaels about the worst offending foods and added ingredients that exacerbate anxiety and depression, as well as the most powerful foods and nutrients to optimize focus, contentment, and calm. Plus, top foods to boost libido!

Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta: I join CNN’s Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta on his podcast to talk about how to build a strong brain and keep it sharp. Listen in here.