I realise the irony of someone of my rotund proportions writing a blog about ‘eating yourself happy’, but my love of food (and lots of it) aside, over the past few years, I have become increasingly aware of the difference that balanced nutrition makes to my moods and my overall sense of happiness, or emotional well-being.<\/p>\n
The mental health charity Mind<\/em> have some great advice about nutrition<\/a>.<\/p>\n From time to time, I also take vitamin supplements (and have recently started giving my youngest daughter multi-vitamins, as she is studying hard towards her A-levels and is feeling very tired most of the time). \u00a0 There is some research(1, 2) to suggest that, aside from potential physical health benefits of supplementing our diets with vitamins, there are benefits in terms of mood enhancement.<\/p>\n A healthy, balanced diet is key to ensuring adequate vitamin and mineral intake and combined with regular exercise, is essential to overall health and wellbeing\u201d. Says Thomas Siebel, Managing Director at V\u00d6OST <\/a>Effervescent Vitamin Company.<\/p>\n “There are also specific vitamins and minerals which have been shown to help reduce tiredness and fatigue\u201d he adds. \u00a0\u201cIn particular, these include vitamin B, vitamin C and Iron.”<\/p>\n Vitamin B, Vitamin C and Iron rich food such as leafy greens, contribute to normal energy yielding metabolism i.e. they help to unlock energy from food and so not getting enough of these vitamins in your diet can contribute to feelings of lethargy\u201d.<\/p>\n So, don’t just think about the ‘body beautiful’, which can often result in unhealthy ‘crash diets’ before summer, potentially depriving\u00a0you of essential nutrients. \u00a0Think, instead, of your beautiful mind, and how you can support it from within, by eating nutritionally rich and balanced foods and drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated.<\/p>\n