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Last updated on August 12th, 2025 at 09:11 pm
What you put on your plate can do more than fuel your body, it can also brighten your mood and support mental well-being. “Good mood foods” are nutrient-rich ingredients that may help balance brain chemicals, reduce stress, and improve energy levels throughout the day.
From omega-3 packed salmon to antioxidant-rich berries, these foods work with your body’s natural chemistry to support emotional health. Whether you’re looking to ease anxiety, fight fatigue, or simply feel more vibrant, learning how to incorporate mood-boosting foods into your meals is a simple step toward a happier, healthier you.Foods for a good mood are about more than just what you eat. It also includes how you eat it.
Mood and energy will improve by:
- Getting enough to eat
- Properly hydrating
- Including a wide variety of food choices
- Honoring both appetite and hunger
This article will explore both how to structure meals and snacks, which foods to choose, and when to choose them for optimized mental wellness and energy.
Superfoods for Mental Health
Folate Rich Foods
Folate, also known as vitamin B9, is an essential nutrient that plays a key role in brain health and emotional well-being. It helps your body produce neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine—chemicals that regulate mood, motivation, and stress response.
Low folate levels have been linked to an increased risk of depression, fatigue, and irritability, partly because insufficient folate can disrupt the methylation process your brain uses to produce and balance mood-related chemicals. Folate also supports healthy nerve function and reduces inflammation in the brain, both of which are important for maintaining a stable, positive outlook.
Foods Rich in B Vitamins
B vitamins play a crucial role in maintaining brain health and emotional well being. These water-soluble nutrients help your body convert food into energy, support healthy nerve function, and assist in the production of neurotransmitters chemical messengers like serotonin, dopamine, and GABA that regulate mood, motivation, and stress levels. Because B vitamins are not stored in large amounts in the body, they need to be replenished regularly through diet.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential fats that play a vital role in brain health and emotional well-being. EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) are critical for building and maintaining healthy brain cell membranes, improving communication between brain cells, and regulating inflammation in the nervous system.
Research shows that people with higher omega-3 intake tend to have lower rates of depression, anxiety, and mood swings. EPA, in particular, is linked to reduced symptoms of depression, while DHA supports brain structure and function, helping with memory, focus, and emotional stability. Omega-3s also influence the production and function of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which are essential for a balanced mood.
Vitamin D Foods
Vitamin D isn’t just important for bone health, it’s also essential for brain function and emotional well-being. Known as the “sunshine vitamin” because our skin can produce it when exposed to sunlight, vitamin D plays a role in regulating mood-related neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. Low vitamin D levels have been linked to increased risk of depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and fatigue.Vitamin D helps reduce inflammation in the brain, supports healthy nerve signaling, and influences the expression of genes involved in mood regulation.
27 Good Mood Foods
Incorporating mood-boosting foods like leafy greens, nuts, dark chocolate, and fatty fish into your daily meals can help stabilize energy levels, reduce stress, and improve overall well-being. Whether you’re looking to naturally lift your spirits, enhance focus, or support long-term brain health, learning about good mood food is a delicious and science-backed place to start.
Heres a comprehensive list of foods that improve your mood and energy:
- Leafy greens
- Broccoli
- Lentils
- Avocado
- Beets
- Beans
- Legumes
- Citrus
- Whole grain bread and cereals
- Quinoa
- Bulger
- Legumes
- Steel cut oats
- Anchovies
- Salmon
- Mackerel
- Albacore Tuna
- Herring
- Mushrooms
- Salmon with bones
- Fortified orange juice
- Fortified milk
- Fortified Soy Milk
- Egg Yolks
- White Beans
- Kale
- Collards
Balanced Meals For Better Mental Health
Eating balanced meals that include a mix of protein, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, and plenty of vitamins and minerals can help keep your mood and energy levels more stable throughout the day. When your body receives steady, slow-releasing energy from foods like whole grains, lean proteins, and fiber-rich vegetables, your blood sugar remains more consistent, reducing mood swings, irritability, and fatigue.
Balanced meals also provide the nutrients your brain needs to produce mood-regulating chemicals like serotonin and dopamine. You will need meals and snacks at regular intervals throughout the day to keep you energized. Follow this three step daily meal structure to optimize your mood and energy throughout the day. You should adjust the size of the meals to match your hunger levels and physical activity demands to optimize energy and overall mental wellbeing.
Balancing meals to improve mood and energy looks like:
- 3 Meals 3 snacks daily
- Meals: Carbohydrate + Protein + Fruit/Veg
- Snacks: Pick 1-2 (Carb, Protein, Fruit/Veg)
Gut Microbiome and Mental Health
It’s not all about what and when you eat that will optimize your mood and energy. It’s also about how happy your gut microbiome is. The gut microbiome is a community of trillions of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms living in your digestive tract and it plays a surprisingly powerful role in mental health. Often called the “second brain,” the gut communicates with the brain through the gut-brain axis, a network that uses the nervous system, immune system, and chemical messengers like neurotransmitters.
Over 90% of your feel-good transmitter serotonin is produced in the gut. It may surprise you to learn that the number of nerves in the gut exceeds that in the spinal column.
Some foods that keep your gut microbiome happy and thus your body and brain happy include:
- Fermented foods like kimchi or kombucha
- Prebiotics to feed your gut bacteria like grains, soybeans, and garlic
- Probiotics like yogurt and miso
Tips To Improve Your Mood With Food
You will never improve your mood when it comes to food through food restriction. Denying yourself foods you simply enjoy eating will likely cause a spike in both physical hunger and head hunger and create anxiety, guilt and shame around food rather than improving your mood.
Every food can boost mood and energy levels under the right conditions. You should never deny yourself foods because they are not considered “mood boosting.” When it comes to incorporating “good mood foods” use an “add but never take away approach.” Adding mood boosting foods to a balanced diet with foods you already enjoy is key to optimizing your mental health.
Use food to improve a low mood by:
- Intuitively eating
- Enjoying food at a social gathering even when you’re not physically hungry
- Eating a food you are craving
- Eating dessert first
- Soothing a stressful event with your favorite food
- Eating something now because you won’t have time later
- Enjoying your favorite treat on a regular basis
- Eat without guilt
- Practice food neutrality (no good foods or bad foods)
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