4 Nutrients to Boost your Mood

Interview with Licensed Clinical Nutritionist Aya Samara

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The quest for wellness in lockdown continues! For the most of us, the challenge we are facing in the times of the covid-19 pandemic is managing our wellbeing at home. This month Kuwait is in total lockdown for 20 days. Luckily Zoom allowed me to meet (virtually) Aya Samara, a local Clinical Nutritionist. She shares with us some insights on how nutrition can elevate our mood and help us feel better!

Tell me about Own Nutrition? How did you and your partner start it?

We opened the clinic in April 2019, after a year of preparation. My friend Noor Al Omar and I met when we first started 10 years ago at Al Salam Hospital. I moved to Dar Al Shifa while she stayed there. I eventually reached a point where I wanted to do something different and I wanted to leave my job. So I quit and I didn’t know what I was going to do next! My friend and I brainstormed plenty of ideas and then we came about the idea of a clinic. It is not just a clinic, we host workshops and educational sessions for students. We have dietitians and counselors coming into this interactive space. We like to think of it as a Wellness Center.”

How has it been working from home?

“We are still in touch with clients. We had planned to host yoga classes at the clinic before the lockdown, but soon we found ourselves in the current situation working from home and accepting the possibility of virtual workshops. We recently celebrated our one year anniversary – virtually!

What is the difference between a dietician and a nutritionist?

“In Kuwait I am a licensed clinical dietician, and in the UK I am registered as a clinical nutritionist. It depends on the country.”

“The difference is mostly in the Education. Both nutritionist and dietician complete a 4 year program, but the dietician then follows a 6 month training in hospitals. And they also take a clinical exam. For me since I have 10 year experience in clinical applications, and I’ve completed my training and licensing exam with the Ministry of Health, I am qualified as a Clinical Nutritionist”

How can diet help mental health? After all – you are what you eat!

“Yes you are! Mental health wasn’t a topic people spoke of very often. Or even connect it to the foods you eat. There was never a connection. I am not asking people who are clinically diagnosed with mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety to stop their medication, but to understand that food can help them along with the medication. And I strongly recommend people with mood swings, slight anxiety, sleep disturbances, especially in the times of this pandemic to look into their diet. I am noticing my clients’ energy levels dropping with the lockdown”

Can you share with us 4 main nutrients to boost our mood and manage the anxiety, mood swings and insomnia?

“Yes. But first let’s talk about gut health. All modern research suggests a strong connection between your gut and your brain. Having healthy bacteria in your intestines contributes to every aspect in your life. Most of receptors for neuro-transmitters are found in the gut lining. So if your gut lining isn’t healthy with a good mix of bacteria, the gut membrane allows substances to pass through it and into the body. The body then attacks these substances causing inflammation, leading to auto-immune diseases, IBS etc. People are stressed at the moment and are most probably eating pro-inflammatory foods such as sugars and processed foods.”

“One interesting study claims that following a mediterranean diet which is high in fruits, vegetables, healthy fats and whole grains is the best for mental health.”

Here are the 4 main nutrients Aya shared with me;

1 – Probiotics

Aya continued to emphasize on the importance of keeping the gut wall healthy – by eating probiotics, and less pro-inflammatory foods. Probiotics or fermented foods act as a fertiliser for healthy bacteria in your gut. These include yoghurt and kombucha! One study showed that women who had probiotic milk and yoghurts for 2 weeks showed signs of improved mental health than women who didn’t have any.

2 – Healthy Fats

Believe it or not your brain is mostly made out of fat! So eating healthy fats is essential to your mental health.

“Most people don’t eat healthy fats especially in this side of the world.”

Maybe they’re not easy to access?

“Well olive oil is easy to access! Walnuts, salmon, avocado, sardines, tuna..they are not difficult to access, people just may have a difficulty incorporating them into their diet!”

3 – Tryptophan

Lean Proteins contribute greatly to mental health. Speaking with Aya I learned about an amino acid – tryptophan. Tryptophan is a precursor of serotonin (which has a calming effect on mood) and a precursor of the hormone melatonin (which induces sleep).

“You find this amino acid in Turkey, chicken, eggs. That’s why people feel sleepy after eating a turkey sandwich! Even in whole grains, like high fibre foods – oats, wheat bran all have tryptophan. Oatmeal and bananas have tryptophan as well.”

You can find tryptophan in a variety of plant-based foods including spinach, asparagus, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, kidney beans, peanuts, pineapples and plums!

4 – Vitamin D

“Most people are forgetting about Vitamin D now because we are sitting at home! If you’re not getting enough sunlight, you should at least make sure you get your Vitamin D supplements or eat foods high in Vitamin D like Salmon and egg yolks.”

Are you going out and getting your vitamin D?

“Walking in the sun isn’t for me! But I do manage to get my steps done at home on my treadmill. I do my stretching. It is difficult to motivate yourself to exercise at home especially with the current situation. Although I keep pushing my clients to do so, I know how hard it is. Your mood changes after staying home – Ive missed my clinic and my clients. It’s not easy, but I try to move daily. This pandemic is really more of a mental challenge than anything else. A challenge to do the right thing and make the right choices daily – and sleep well.”

It was lovely catching up with Aya after so long! We met at Kuwait University while we were completing our Bachelor Degrees. She also helped me host yoga classes at Dar Al Shifa Hospital a few years ago.

Visit Aya and Noor’s “Own Nutrition” website here; https://www.ownkw.com