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7 foods you can easily incorporate into meals to make you happier

Father and daughter making sandwich in kitchen
Eating these foods help boost your mood and make you happier. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

Wouldn’t life be easier if specific foods you can eat uplift your mood and make you happier on a challenging day?

Thankfully, research has shown that certain foods and produce have properties that can make you happier, and they can be easily incorporated into your daily meals. Yahoo Life SEA has compiled a list of seven foods that you can eat to boost your mood, improve your energy, and make you feel better and healthier on the whole.

1. Dark chocolate

Happiness in a bar: Dark chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA), a brain chemical that promotes the release of endorphins and gives you an instant boost. Endorphins help to reduce stress and feelings of pain while triggering a positive feeling in the body.

Dark chocolate is also a good source of antioxidants and helps boost your cognitive performance, making you healthier while helping you concentrate and perform better at work.

Healthy organic food fresh fruit banana
Banana is packed with potassium. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

2. Banana

Packed with potassium, banana is an excellent fruit to add to your daily diet. Research has shown that potassium helps reduce symptoms of depression and stress, making bananas a low-glycemic food and a great snack to uplift your mood.

Not only that, bananas also contain tryptophan, a brain chemical that helps regulate mood and boost serotonin, the happy hormone.

3. Salmon

According to a study, omega-3 fatty acids, which are found commonly in salmon, can help to uplift and stabilise moods, fighting depression.

Furthermore, not only will eating salmon makes you happier, but it also boosts your health in various ways, such as decreasing inflammation in your body, lowering blood pressure, and improving the function of the cells that line your arteries.

Cropped shot of young Asian woman shopping for fresh organic green apples in supermarket. She is shopping with a cotton mesh eco bag and carries a variety of fruits and vegetables. Zero waste concept
Apples help to strengthen your immune system. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

4. Apple

An apple a day keeps the doctor and the blues away. In addition, incorporating fruits and vegetables into your daily meals has been proven to help increase happiness and promote better emotional well-being.

Apples also help to strengthen your immune system, lessening your worries about your health and allowing you to enjoy a fuller life.

5. Spinach

Spinach is an excellent source of magnesium, which helps reduce anxiety and contains folic acid and zinc, both of which helps to fight depression and uplift your mood.

Low in calories yet high in various nutrients, spinach is rich in iron, helping to tackle iron deficiency, which can cause exhaustion, weakness, and irritability.

Pumpkin seeds in a wooden bowl on a white table
Pumpkin seeds contain a high level of tryptophan. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

6. Pumpkin seeds

One of the best food sources of tryptophan, an amino acid that helps promote serotonin production, pumpkin seeds keeps you happy while you munch on these healthy snacks. Tryptophan also has a calming effect, helping you feel less irritated and helping you to fall asleep quicker at night.

Furthermore, pumpkin seeds are also packed with zinc and magnesium, which helps reduce anxiety and uplift your mood.

7. Green Tea

Switch out your sugary Starbucks lattes for a glass of green tea. Full of theanine, green tea is known to help lower psychological distress, reduces stress and anxiety, and elevating your mood.

Get a boost in concentration from the naturally occurring caffeine in green tea, and see an improvement to your mood thanks to the epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) found in the beverage.