Seasonal affective disorder can easily lead to binge eating. Here are 3 tips to overcome the crisis! Must-eat avocados and nuts happy foods

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAID) is common in late winter and early spring, when seasons change. Because the amount of sunlight changes during this period, the human body cannot adapt to the change in daylight hours, which can easily cause an imbalance in metabolism, neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, leading to emotional and mental disorders and possible binge eating.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAID)

Nutritionist Chen Yanzhen from Daqian Medical Association Nanshih Hospital said that if you want to avoid binge eating, you can overcome the crisis of seasonal affective disorder by changing your eating behavior, choosing foods that make you happy, and maintaining a fixed biological clock.

Step 1: Change your eating behavior

The most important thing to change your eating behavior is to learn mindful eating. First of all, learn to distinguish whether you are hungry or want to eat. Start from understanding yourself and find out the reason why you want to eat. Next, we must learn to be grateful for food. Every food is not easy to come by, so we must be grateful before enjoying it. Chew food slowly and take 20-30 bites at a time, feeling the color, aroma, and taste of each bite of food and enjoying the process of eating. Finally, remember to take a walk after eating to help digestion, and avoid lying down immediately after eating.

Tip 2: Choose foods that make you happy

Since serotonin can make people feel happy, and the material for making serotonin is tryptophan, when choosing foods that can make you feel happy, you can start with protein foods rich in tryptophan to help stabilize the secretion of serotonin and make your mood more stable and cheerful. Suggested foods include:

1. Fish:

Oily fish such as saury and salmon contain natural fish oils such as EPA and DHA, which can help activate brain cells and relieve depression.

2. Avocado:

Avocado has a high nutritional density and is a high-quality source of fat, while milk is rich in calcium and protein. Therefore, avocado milk, which combines the two, can increase satiety and make you feel happy.

Nuts and seeds such as almonds, cashews, and walnuts are not only rich in tryptophan, but also provide B vitamins to improve your spirits and make you more energetic.

3. Nuts:

Nuts and seeds such as almonds, cashews, and walnuts are not only rich in tryptophan, but also provide B vitamins to improve your spirits and make you more energetic.

4. Chocolate:

Chocolate is also a food rich in tryptophan, but you must choose dark chocolate to get the benefits of cocoa butter and promote metabolism. At the same time, dark chocolate is rich in magnesium, which can help you fall asleep.

Tip 3: Keep a fixed biological clock

In order to maintain a stable endocrine system and appetite, it is important to maintain a fixed biological clock. Eating three meals at fixed times and in fixed quantities can stabilize emotional endocrine regulation. At the same time, moderate exercise and a regular work and rest schedule can avoid overeating and help you successfully overcome the emotional instability caused by seasonal changes.