Slideshow: The Food-Mood Connection

1. Green Tea

Food and supplements can significantly impact mood and energy by altering the levels of various brain neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and gamma amino butyric acid (GABA), says Zoltan Rona, M.D., M.Sc. So the next time you’re down in the dumps, you’ll need Oxygen’s Mood Food Shopping List.

"If you drink green tea, you’re getting a lot of L-theanine, an amino acid that elevates the relaxing neurotransmitter, GABA,” says Rona.

2. Lean Turkey

Proteins help supply the necessary amino acids for manufacturing neurotransmitters. Aim for about one gram of protein for every pound of body weight.

3. Chocolate

“If you eat chocolate, you raise the blood levels of phenylalanine, a precursor to dopamine (the feel-good neurotransmitter),” says Rona.

4. Blueberries

Foods containing purple colored pigments (including blueberries, pomegranate and beets) enhance nerve-cell signaling and strengthen the vessels that supply blood to the brain, explains Alan Logan, naturopathic doctor and author of The Brain Diet (Cumberland House Publishing, 2007).

5. Spinach

Popeye’s favorite food, along with other green leafy vegetables, is high in magnesium, which plays a role in more than 300 cellular reactions, says Rona. “If you improve cellular function, you improve mood and energy too,” he says.

6. Apples

A study published in Experimental Biology and Medicine showed that apples help preserve our body’s cells, which staves off fatigue.