Food makes you happy - this is not novelty. But what exactly is there in many foodstuffs that our mood suddenly gets better?
Food does not only fill
Food intake is not only full, but also happy. The cause lies in the fact that food is firmly linked to the motivation and reward system in the brain. In short, we could be told that we are simply programmed to be full of good food after a rich meal. The hormones released during the meal, such as serotonin, dopamine as well as body-specific opioids, which include, for example, the endorphins.
But when you think that you just have to eat unhealthy fat food to be happy, you are wrong: The building blocks for the happiness hormones are found mainly in healthy, protein-rich and low-sugar foods.
Serotonin makes us feel happy
The main hormone when it comes to good mood is the serotonin. As a building material for the hormone mainly B-vitamins, zinc and the amino acid L-tryptophan, which is contained in numerous foods serve. If we want to provide the body with sufficient building material for the synthesis of serotonin, we only have to take sufficient tryptophan-rich foods.
Tryptophan rich "good mood food"
The best sources of tryptophan are, of course, protein-rich foods such as fatty sea fish, chicken, eggs, and healthy oils (olive oil and other cold-pressed vegetable oils). Also, nuts like cashew kernels are wonderful tryptophan suppliers. Instead of the schnitzel it may be the salmon or the mackerel - instead of the chips in the evening more often the handful nuts.
Another building block of serotonin in food
In addition to the amino acid tryptophan, however, the body also needs other building blocks to produce the desired serotonin. At this point, the vitamin B6 as well as various minerals such as zinc can be mentioned. Outstanding sources here are green leafy vegetables such as spinach, but also broccoli and starchy vegetable varieties such as sweet potatoes and carrots.
If you need it fast: dates, cocoa and bananas gives you the kick
If you want a short-term tryptophan kick to give your body more serotonin, you can use dates, bananas or cocoa, for example. Take care that the cocoa is not so heavily de-oiled and in the best case does not contain hardened palm fat. Even too much added (grapes) sugar increases the mood in the short term, but has a bad effect on the serotonin level in the long term.