Mood Boosting Flavors and Foods

With the never-ending pressure and stress from daily life events and the occasional big life changes, consumers are on the hunt for foods that bring them comfort and contain mood boosting ingredients and flavors. Social, economic, professional, and personal pressures can all bring unwanted stress at times. Because of this, consumers are finding ways to combat those feelings of stress, and one way they’re doing this is by consuming food and drink products with flavors and ingredients that are known to help bring a sense of relaxation and can boost an overall mood.

Just like physical well-being, consumers now perceive mental and emotional well-being to be just as important. Read more about foods and beverages that support mental health in one of our previous blogs.

If they neglect to properly take care of their emotional well-being, consumers could find themselves in moods that could turn a day from bad to worse. However, taking positive action and catering towards their emotional well-being could have the potential to turn a day around in an instant. The functional ingredient trend is continuing to be at the front of many consumers’ minds, and the increasing interest in mood-enhancing foods is gaining more and more popularity with consumers of all ages.

Health-conscious consumers are exploring ingredients that are known to have mood boosting capabilities, in order to ultimately benefit their overall emotional well-being. Keep reading to learn about some of the most popular mood enhancing ingredients and get our takes on why consumers are so interested in adding these ingredients to their daily diets.

Ingredients & Flavors for a Better Mood

Consuming specific foods or foods featuring specific flavors and ingredients can be seen as just as important to consumers as ensuring they are getting the proper amount of nutrients for their overall health. Picking out food products that support well-being has the potential to decrease stress levels and provide benefits to emotional health. These mood enhancing foods are filled with specific vitamins and minerals and are associated with other health benefits that have been found to increase dopamine levels and/or improve mood.

So, what are some of the most popular foods known to have a positive impact on mood? Blueberries, avocado, mushrooms, chocolate, green tea, and coffee are among the most popular. It might seem self-explanatory as to why chocolate and chocolate flavored food products are associated with mood enhancement because chocolate is one of the more popular flavors that consumers like to indulge in, but it also has many health benefits. Chocolate contains phenethylamine, which triggers the release of pleasurable endorphins. In addition, it also helps release dopamine to have an overall positive impact on mood.

More well known as an ingredient that can boost one’s mood, green tea is incredibly good for emotional well-being. Many consumers have incorporated adding some type of green tea to their daily diet. Matcha, a type of green tea that originated in Japan, is known to be rich in amino acids, which help with relaxation and maintaining a calm demeanor.

Incorporating these mood boosting ingredients into food products can be an incentive for consumers to choose one product over another. It’s no secret that snacking has seen significant growth in the past few years, but now many consumers are turning toward better-for-you snacking options. Consumers may also find themselves seeking out flavors that are based off these same mood boosting ingredients over many mainstream flavors. It’s almost inevitable that health-conscious consumers will crave and favor flavor options that are based off good-for-you foods like mushrooms, avocados, or exotic fruits.

Mood Boosting Benefits

Consumers are finding that there is more to eating food products functional ingredients than just the physical benefits. The potential of raising dopamine levels, stimulating daily brain function, and sustaining a positive mood throughout the day could also help improve quality of sleep, aid social functioning, and increase motivation, energy, and productivity throughout the day. Functional ingredients are gaining traction with many consumers, so finding ways to incorporate these ingredients and flavors into new or current food products has the potential to help food service companies and retail brands stand out.

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