The darker days around winter solstice can start weighing us down. Add to that some extra pressure at work, to-do's that need to be ticked off before New Years, and an overflowing social calendar, and there it is: The End of Year drain. Our brains, wired to automatically seek a quick fix, often turn to food for salvation, which makes sense, but there are different ways to approach this tactic. Breathing in some pizza and ice cream unfortunately (or luckily) won't always get you what you need. The 'what you eat, you become' thing usually creeps up on you, and especially in times of distress, we should take extra good care of ourselves. Here's a list of foods that biologically support your body and mind in facing those stressful situations or dark winter feels.
Complex carbs.
Something inside you knew all along that pasta and bread would be the answer. And yes it actually does help your body produce serotonin more efficiently, but make sure you pick the right, wholesome carbs. Flex the complex ones. Simple carbs will have the opposite effect, since they break into sugar in your body really quickly. We want the slow-digesting kind.
Foods: whole grains, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, beans, lentils and peas.
Our Juicery products of choice: Sweet Potato Soup, Carrot Lentil Soup, Pea Mint Soup, and Kobocha, Butternut Squash & Quinoa Curry
Gut boosts.
Microbiologist Kiran Krishnan states that virtually 80 percent(!) of your mental state, well-being and happiness is controlled by how happy your gut is. A lot of neurotransmitter production occurs in the gut, such as dopamine, and 95% of your serotonin produce. Plus a healthy gut helps you deal with stress. You've probably experienced the link between your digestion and being under a lot of stress? To help your metabolism, focus on the diversity in your fibre-rich foods, as they provide the prebiotics where the probiotic bacteria in your gut feed off of.
Foods: fermented, like (dairy-free) yoghurts, sourdough, miso, kombucha, kimchi and sauerkraut.
Our Juicery products of choice: The Pro Juice, Miso & Mixed Veggie Soup, or Bio-Kult Probiotic Supplements.
Omega 3.
An all-rounder for your overall stability. This anti-inflammatory fatty acid is good for dodging the effects of the hormone cortisol, which means it's going to lower your stress-levels and anxiety for you. It stabilizes your blood-sugar, so fights cravings, and it's brain food, as it improves the flexibility of neurotransmitters in your brain, so more mental clarity.
Foods: walnuts, flaxseeds and chia seeds.
Our Juicery products of choice: The Strawberry Lemon Chia Seed Pudding, The Lightsaber Juice
Magnesium.
Magnesium is a natural relaxer. A big part of your serotonin levels depend on it, it calms the nervous system, and if you lack magnesium, the produce of your natural sleep-hormone melatonin will be disturbed. As an active adult, your ideal daily intake is proximally 2000 mg, which is quite a lot. Inconveniently, when we are stressed, our magnesium levels drop, so this one deserves some special attention.
Foods: dark leafy greens, cacao, buckwheat, avocado, nuts like almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts.
Our Juicery products of choice: The Super Bowl, The Sh*t Smoothie, Sprouted Buckwheat Granola, Hot Chocolate & Chaga Superfoodlatte