Keeping a healthy diet will greatly influence the quality of your life. A diet consisting of plenty of fruits and vegetables, along with whole grains, seeds and nuts will elevate serotonin levels which aids in reducing depression and increasing motivation. Conversely, diets low in complex carbohydrates can lower your serotonin levels.
Remove artificially-sweetened products with aspartame from your diet. Aspartame, contained in Equal and NutraSweet, is responsible for blocking serotonin formation, causing insomnia, headaches, and blue moods in people who already have some serotonin depletion. For a natural sweetener that does not affect serotonin, blood sugar or calorie levels, try stevia.
You can help yourself battle depression by making sure your diet is filled with enough complex carbohydrates. Studies show by not getting enough complex carbohydrates, you may lose serotonin which can cause depression. Make sure your diet is filled with fruits, vegetables and foods made with soy to avoid this.
Rule out diet and nutritional deficiencies as a cause for depression or anxiety. Systematically remove certain things from your diet and monitor how your moods change. Start with caffeine and alcohol, which can deplete serotonin. Avoid processed foods. Remove some of the foods that commonly cause allergies, such as corn, wheat and milk products. Have your hair strands analyzed to determine whether you suffer from any nutritional deficiencies.
When trying to handle depression, focus on your diet and increase your complex carbohydrates. Serotonin can be depleted without enough complex carbs in your diet. You can accomplish this by increasing the amounts of raw vegetables and fresh fruits, as well as nuts, whole grains, brown rice and assorted beans.
As the above article discussed, the establishment and maintenance of boundaries whether it’s in relation to others or our own behavior is a useful self improvement tool. Whether it is relationships where we compromise or tolerate behaviors that do not coincide with our value system or whether it’s eating foods we do not want to eat, it is important to identify and maintain boundaries in order to achieve successful change.