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3 Nontraditional Comfort Foods
That bowl of ice cream made you feel better. For about 2 minutes. Now you need a nap.
Next time you need a pick-me-up, reach for one of these three foods instead. Research shows they offer real mood-boosting benefits -- without inducing a food coma.
1. Fortified cereal
Yep, another reason to eat your Wheaties. A bowl of fortified cereal is a great way to get a boatload of energy-boosting B vitamins, which work to curb tension, moodiness, irritability, and depression. (Or get a whole string of Bs -- B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, folate, biotin -- by taking a B-complex supplement or a multivitamin. But don't take too much. Here's what the YOU Docs recommend.)
2. Something made with saffron
Small-scale studies have found that saffron -- the trademark spice in many yellow-hued Indian, Moroccan, and Asian dishes -- can ease symptoms of depression with virtually no risk of side effects. Although it's a somewhat pricey spice, a little bit goes a long way, as you'll see in these flavorful dishes from EatingWell:
3. Fish dishes
Research shows that people with lower blood levels of EPA and DHA -- two fatty acids found in several kinds of fish -- are more likely to show symptoms of mild to moderate depression. So snack on some tuna salad or finish off the salmon from last night's dinner. (Eating fish could be good for your love life, too. Find out why.)
Feeling down? Need someone to talk to? Check out the message boards at DailyStrength.
RealAge Benefit:
Taking care of your emotional health and well-being can make your RealAge up to 16 years younger.
RealAge Smart Search: Find more mood-boosting tips from RealAge.
Comparison of petal of Crocus sativus L. and fluoxetine in the treatment of depressed outpatients: a pilot double-blind randomized trial. Akhondzadeh Basti, A. et al., Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry. 2007 Mar 30;31(2):439-442.
Crocus sativus L. (petal) in the treatment of mild-to-moderate depression: a double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial. Moshiri, E. et al., Phytomedicine 2006 Nov;13(9-10):607-611.
The Food-Mood Solution. Challem, J., New Jersey: Wiley, 2007.
Serum omega-3 fatty acids are associated with variation in mood, personality and behavior in hypercholesterolemic community volunteers. Conklin, S. M. et al., Psychiatry Research 2007 Jul 30;152(1):1-10.
