Do you feel lonelier and lonelier as the air grows colder and colder? It’s quite clear that you have what’s called the winter blues. If you want to look beaming on those Holiday photos, continue reading. This article will tell you some of the foods to eat if you want those winter blues to go away.

Before we discuss which foods you should have, let’s first tackle briefly why the winter blues strike.

The sun is one of the best sources of vitamin D, a nutrient that works together with calcium and a few other minerals in the fight against osteoporosis. However, it’s not just bone strengthening that vitamin D does, but also lifting the mood.

Since near the end of autumn and throughout winter the days tend to be shorter and the nights tend to be longer, you fail to get enough vitamin D from the sun. And because vitamin D is important for normalizing the mood, it’s not unlikely for you to feel depressed. But it’s not just you — many are affected as well.

The good news is it’s not just the sun and its vitamin D that can help lift your mood, but a bunch of other nutrients which you can obtain plenty of from certain foods! So by serving more of those foods in front of you, making those winter blues go away is very much possible. In other words, you can be merry simply be eating those foods!

So without further ado, let’s take a look at those foods that can help beat the winter blues:

Oatmeal

Having a bowl of oatmeal every breakfast or during snack time is something that can help bring back that smile on your face this time of the year. It’s for the fact that this healthy treat contains magnesium and selenium, both of which are known to possess mood-lifting properties.

Turkey

Without turkey, the Holidays won’t seem complete. The fact that turkey comes aplenty during this time of the year is great news because it’s a phenomenal source of tryptophan, which is an amino acid that is known boost the brain’s levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that can make you feel great.

Chicken

Aside from turkey, you can also obtain good amounts of tryptophan from chicken. It only means that regularly consuming it can help you beat the winter blues almost effortlessly. By the way, tryptophan is also known to counter insomnia, a common problem faced by depressed people.

Bananas

If you are a vegetarian or you simply want to reduce your overall intake of animal food products, reach for some bananas on a regular basis to obtain good amounts of that mood-boosting and insomnia-busting tryptophan. Bananas also help fight off high blood pressure and constipation, by the way.

Oily Fish

Experts say that a lot of people who have the winter blues are not getting enough omega-3 fatty acids, healthy fats that have plenty of health benefits including mood lifting. You can get superb levels of those omega-3s from various types of oily fish such as mackerel, herring, trout, salmon, tuna and sardines.

Chocolate

Just the thought of snacking on chocolates is usually enough to put a smile on your face. Wait until you are actually doing it for real! However, the best type of chocolate for the job is the dark kind which consists of at least 70% cocoa. Who knew that such dark-colored treat can help brighten the Holidays?

Don’t forget to repost this article on your various social media sites to let your family and friends who feel down during wintertime know which foods can help lift their mood, making the Holidays memorable in all the right ways!