MOOD BOOST

NUTRITION CHALLENGE

FEBRUARY 8-MARCH 7

Did you know that the food you eat to fuel you body has a direct impact on how you feel?

We have teamed up with our wellness partner, Marquee Health, to host a Mood Boost Nutrition challenge. Weekly emails will be shared with the registrants for this challenge, containing tips and healthy meal ideas to help you incorporate key nutrients into your diet to help improve memory, reduce anxiety, feel more energized, and more!

Each week will feature a specific mood boosting nutrient. The breakdown is as follows:

Week 1

Reduce Anxiety with Choline

Research shows that getting enough choline in your diet is essential to brain health, nervous system functions (mood, memory, and muscle movement), metabolism, and liver health (clears cholesterol from your body).

Choline rich foods include egg yolks, beef, chicken breast, fish (salmon, cod, haddock, and most white fish), broccoli, cauliflower, soy, dairy, and liver.

Week 2

Think Clearly with Folate

Folate is another name for B9. Like other B vitamins, folate plays an important role in metabolism, helps to form DNA, plays an essential role in heart and brain health, and is necessary for the production of healthy red blood cells. Insufficient folate intake can lead to fatigue, difficulty concentrating, depression, plays an essential role in heart and brain health, heart palpitations, and changes in your hair, nails and skin.

Foods with folate include leafy greens (particularly dark greens), spinach, legumes, asparagus, broccoli, oranges, bananas, eggs, beef liver.

Week 3

Feel Relaxed with Magnesium

The benefits of magnesium include bone health by contributing to bone mineral density and potentially lowering the risk of osteoporosis, diabetes prevention, and may lower blood pressure (both diastolic and systolic).

Foods high in magnesium include pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, certain nuts such as almonds and cashews, peanuts and peanut butter, spinach, black beans, and edamame

Week 4

Improve Memory with Omega 3-Fatty Acids

Omega-3s are a major building block of the brain. They play an important role in sharpening memory and improving mood, as well as protecting your brain against decline. Omega-3s are associated with a decreased risk for high blood pressure and triglyceride levels.

Fish is one of the bests sources for Omega-3 fatty acids including salmon, mackerel, herring, tuna, trout, anchovy, white fish, blue fish, halibut, and bass. Also good sources are ground or milled flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, chia seeds, walnuts, soy foods and canola oil

IMPORTANT DATES

• February 8, challenge starts

• February 15, report week 1 activity by 7:00 p.m.

• February 22, report week 2 activity by 7:00 p.m.

• March 1, report week 3 activity by 7:00 p.m.

• March 7, CHALLENGE ENDS!

• March 8, report week 4 activity by 7:00 p.m.