Have you just had your heart broken? Try these healing food that have been proven to help you feel better.
Everyone gets their heart broken at some point – be it unrequited love, a romantic relationship gone sour, or the betrayal of a platonic friend. Although the passing of time is the only real way a heart can mend, there are foods you can eat that can boost your mood and more. Here are a few you can try for a healthy pick-me-up:
1. Chocolate
You might think that chocolate is a sinful snack, but the health benefits of eating chocolate regularly are widely documented. They include doing wonders for your brain.
The cocoa in chocolate has been found to increase blood flow in three areas of your brain which contribute to alertness, cognition, and creativity, but only for two to three hours. The chemicals responsible are cocoa’s flavanols, which are powerful antioxidants that have already been found to promote better cardiovascular health.
But most commercial chocolate bars contain less than 20 percent cocoa. It’s better to buy 100 percent cocoa from the grocery and make a chocolate shake with stevia or sugar to get cocoa’s brain-boosting effects. You’ll probably feel a adrenaline-like high and feel your mental faculties increase significantly. If you have a written test and you’re feeling down because of your broken heart, drinking this will give you a brain boost during your exam. You can also buy a dark chocolate bar, which can contain between 60 to 85 percent cocoa!
But cocoa’s brain-boosting flavanols are only the beginning when it comes to chocolate’s ability to heal your broken heart! Neuropsychologist Dr. David Lewis conducted a study with two groups of couples. One group ate chocolate, and the other group shared a very passionate kiss. The couples had electrodes attached to their scalps measuring their brain activity, and also had their hearts monitored.
Surprisingly, the couples who ate chocolate had more stimulated heart rates and brain activity than the couples who kissed passionately! When the chocolate started melting in the couples’ mouths, all their brain regions were excited far more than the couples who kissed. These brain- and heart- exciting effects for the couples who ate chocolate lasted four times longer than the lesser effects of the couples kissing.
Psychologist Sue Wright offers an explanation for the phenomenon. She says that chocolate’s phenylethylamine can boost your endorphin levels, which are the notorious compounds responsible for the highs that drug abusers chase after.
A dark chocolate bar should definitely be your go-to snack if you’re getting over a broken heart. It will immediately boost your brain power and excite your brain and heart far more than a passionate kiss!
2. Dark Leafy Greens Salad
Magnesium is an important mineral for your mood. Your body uses it to make serotonin, which combats depression and helps calm you down and lower anxiety. Studies show that supplementing with magnesium boosts your mood and combats depression in clinically depressed patients. Upping your magnesium intake will definitely lift your spirits while you’re in the process of mending your broken heart. If you’re feeling too emotional, the magnesium will boost your serotonin, which will help calm you down.
A salad filled with dark leafy greens is brimming with magnesium. A cup of broccoli gives you 100 milligrams of magnesium. Add spinach, kale, and other dark green veggies to that and you’ll easily be pumping between 200 to 300 milligrams of this perk-me-up nutrient into your body!
3. Fish or Nuts
One of the most popular things people do when they feel down is binging TV and snacking on something. Most TV snacks are bad for your health and will only make you feel worse because of the carb overload. But if you snack on nuts or fish, they’ll boost your mood.
Fish and nuts, like walnuts and almonds, are high in omega-3 fatty acids. Researchers who supplemented bipolar depressive patients and children with depression with omega-3 fatty acids saw greater than 50 percent improvement in their depression scores.
If you’ve turned to your favorite streaming show to help forget about your broken heart, grab a couple of packages of nuts from the grocery! After snacking and watching, you might feel your mood pick up as the omega-3 fatty acids take into effect.
Remember that only time can truly mend a broken heart. But try these three healthy foods with special mood-lifting properties and you might feel better sooner!
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