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: Depression
Food: Kale

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

It is rich in sulforaphane, a sulfur-rich compound found in cruciferous vegetables that nurtures the microbiome for reduced neuroinflammation.

Kale is loaded with Vitamin A and Vitamin C, both of which act as antioxidants and help to protect the brain against the damaging effects of oxidative stress that can exacerbate symptoms of depression.

It is also an excellent source of Folate, a vitamin that helps to regulate neurotransmitter function whose deficiency has been linked to depression.

How to add this MOOD FOOD to your diet:
Kale is a tough but versatile leafy green that can be enjoyed raw or cooked and prepared in a variety of ways. It is a cruciferous vegetable, and is a delicious base to a big green salad with your favorite colorful veggies. If serving kale raw like this, it is recommended to massage it well with olive oil and lemon juice beforehand to break down the leaves a bit.

Kale is also a great green to use when cooking, whether you saute it in a bit of avocado oil, add it to a batch of roasted veggies, or mix it in a hearty soup or stew. It can also be blended into a green smoothie or added to soups, stews and sauces. Because it’s a tougher green, the leaves can be used for lettuce wraps or baked in the oven or air fryer to make kale chips!

MDPI: Check out this research paper on A Comparative Review of Key Isothiocyanates and Their Health Benefits 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!

5 Anti-Inflammatory Foods To Eat For A Younger, Healthier Brain: This week on mindbodygreen, take a look at this list of the top five "anti-aging" foods I recommend to help protect your brain from damage over time.

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