Good food for a good mood
Did you know that improving your food will improve your mood?
Research shows what we eat has a significant impact on our mental health.
Step up the fibre intake and step up your mood
A great place to start is by having plenty of fibre. Fibre feeds the bacteria in our gut called the ‘gut microbiome’ and produces substances that make us feel happy, bright and steady.
Fibre is found in vegetables, fruit, grains (such as brown rice, bread and pasta), nuts, seeds and legumes (such as beans, lentils and chickpeas).
How much should we have? It’s recommended to have 30g of fibre per day.
In a day this could look like:
Breakfast: ½ cup rolled oats + milk + 1 banana
Morning tea: 4x multigrain crackers + hummus
Lunch: chicken salad sandwich (wholegrain bread)
Afternoon tea: 1 apple + small handful of raw nuts (eg. almonds or walnuts)
Dinner: Mexican bean burritos + salad fillings
If you’re not used to having much fibre across the day, making big changes to your food choices all at once can overwhelm the gut and cause uncomfortable symptoms. Don't forget to have plenty of water across the day too.
Why don’t you feed yourself happy with the 1-2-3 Fibre Challenge and notice the positive difference it makes to your life?
The 1-2-3 Fibre Challenge: Plan
Step 1: How much fibre is normal for you?
Write down all the things you eat from when you wake up to when you go to sleep. Circle the high-fibre foods.
Step 2: What’s one high-fibre food you could add to one meal or snack today (or swap to)? (eg. have a small handful of nuts as a snack)
Step 3: What’s one more high-fibre food you could add to two meals or snacks tomorrow, and three meals or snacks the day after that? (eg. have a small handful of nuts as a snack and choose the wholegrain sandwich option)
Read more on how you can enhance wellbeing.
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