Are you Suffering from Mood Swings?

Mood swings can be linked to a variety of potential factors, which can not just be related to your nutritional status, or lack of exercises and sleep, or psychological disturbances. Some days you will indeed feel better and the other days you will feel sad, anxious, depressed.  

One of the common factors of mood swings is to understand how the brain's neurochemical balance is behaving. A person who suffers from this will be aware of the daily habits that affect the humour. 

Before we talk about how your lifestyle can improve your mood swings, it is important to understand how the chemical reactions in the body.

Understanding Neurotransmitter

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers used by the nervous system that regulate countless functions and processes in your body, from your metabolism system to your sleep patterns. Serotonin, noradrenaline, and dopamine are related to mood swings.

• Serotonin - stabilizes the entire body, enables every cell from the nervous system and brain to communicate with each other. Due to this fact it is the hormone that balances your mood, feelings of well-being and happiness. 

“Serotonin also helps with sleeping, eating, and digestion”.

• Dopamine - is a type of neurotransmitter that is involved in the neurological and physiological function of the body. It’s a contributing factor in motor function, mood, and even our decision making.
• Noradrenaline - is produced by adrenal glands being a chemical messenger, which transmit signals across nerve endings in the body. Together with other hormones, norepinephrine helps the body respond to stress, mood, energy levels.

Together these 3 neurotransmitters work to improve mood swings, release stress, improve your alertness and energy levels. For these hormones to develop their functions well it is necessary to have a balanced diet. 

Be Alert - Food that imbalance your Mood Swings 

• Blood Sugar 

Poor blood sugar imbalance perhaps might be the main reason for mood swings and the impact on how the brain functions. There are a lot of ways to balance your blood sugar levels and improve your humour.

1. Eat whole-grain carbohydrates instead of refined carbs.
2. Eating food low on the Glycaemic Index (GI).
3. Eat more protein in your meals, because it will help slow down the impact that carbohydrates have on blood sugar.
4. Snacks - choose a fruit, handful of unsalted nuts, natural yoghurt with berries, sticks of carrots with hummus. 

• Caffeine & Alcohol

Caffeine has a lot of impact on the stress hormone cortisol. While alcohol has a negative impact on the nervous system. Both of them can make controlling mood swings more difficult and will imbalance blood sugar levels. 

• Food Intolerances

Intolerance to certain kinds of foods can have a wide, but non-specific effect on human health. In some people, this can significantly extend and make the mood swings worse.  

Remember that food intolerances are linked to symptoms like headaches, skin conditions, dark eye circle, digestive complaints, mood swings. 

• Additives 

Nothing is better than enjoying eating a nutritional snack bar. However, there is a chance for you to find hidden additives that can be harmful to your nervous system as an example. Food additives such as food colourings, preservatives, sweeteners and flavourings can have a negative impact on your mood swings. 

Food to improve Mood Swings

The food that enters the body goes to make constituent parts of the brain, it will turn into neurochemical messengers that make the brain operate and provide the energy for the brain to function. 

It is important to understand that body and mind work together, and that treatment of the chemistry of the body like good food, healthy lifestyle, will affect the chemistry of the brain and thus mood. 

What to eat more:

• Calcium - may reduce the physiological effects of mood swings and anxiety. Rich foods are oats, milk, yoghurt, green vegetables, almonds, soybeans.
• B Vitamins - are often linked to being the mood vitamins because it is needed for energy production, nerve health and influences the hormone's health. Food such as meat, eggs, beans, lentils, sunflower and almond seeds, brown rice.
• Potassium can be related to mood changes and mental fatigue - Good sources are whole grains, bananas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, peas. 
• Zinc - works in brain health, mood and behavioural disorders. Find zinc in oyster, seafood, peanuts, cheese, pumpkin, eggs, meat.
• Magnesium - involves 300 different enzyme processes including nerve health and energy metabolism. Food sources like almond, spinach, cashew, pumpkin seeds, avocado, fish.
• Oily Fish - fatty acids like DHA, AA, and EPA resolve mood problems. Good sources are salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring, chia seeds, flax seeds. 

While we still have a lot of things to learn about the effects of our diet on mood swings and mental health. There is evidence suggesting that a healthy diet can support a healthy and happy body and mind. 

Nourish your body and mind with well-balanced meals at regular intervals throughout the day. Healthy lifestyle in combination with good eating habits, physical exercise, adequate sleep and social connection.

I am Simone Holz a Nutrition and Health Coach, who is helping people to improve eating habits, having a balanced diet using all food sources available. Encouraging clients to get into a routine of exercise, enhances sleep patterns, use mindfulness techniques that will manage a lot of factors in their life that will promote a healthy lifestyle.

If you want to improve your lifestyle and don’t know how to start the process. I’m here to help and guide you on this journey.

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