Plants or vegetables that bring happiness

Can plants or vegetables bring happiness? Well, you will be surprised to find out that just growing them brings benefits, as horticultural and garden therapies have proven in the last years studies. Besides taking care and cultivating a garden, there are specific vegetables whose influence on our mood is very straightforward, growing but even more directly eating them can make ourselves happier and help us lowering stress and daily anxiety.

Here after follow the best five.

Valerian

Valerian is known to be one of the most efficient plants in relaxing people. More precisely its root is the one having an effect on our central nervous system. The role of relaxing and calming is played mainly by the gamma-aminobutyric acid, present in almost the 40% of brain synapsis, is able to inhibit neurotransmitters and regulating nervous excitement.  What makes valerian so special is that it does not cause tiredness or distraction status even if it helps calming down. This characteristic has been known for centuries, and the name itself comes from the Latin word “vàlere” which means “wellness”,“healthy”.

Melissa

Melissa has effects similar to the ones of Valeriana. It can be assumed both fresh and exsiccated, in its powder variety. It greatly helps against sadness and anxiety, and it is indeed considered an extraordinary plant by many. Acting on our body are geraniol, rosmarinic acid and flavonoids, all of them present on its leaves. Also the benefits coming from Melissa have been known for a long time, and ancient Greeks were aware of them too.

Lettuce

Would you like to fall asleep without any thought? In this case a good tisane could be a remedy, but if you drink it after a dinner with lettuce than you can be sure to fall into the deepest sleep as soon as you touch the pillow, very likely to your childhood.

Into lettuce you can indeed find great quantities of vitamin B6, which favours the production of serotonin and, acting in synchrony with magnesium, present into lettuce too, strengths the neuros system. The result is a pleasant feeling of ease and peace.

Carrot

No B6 can go without B3. Ok, they don’t say exactly like this, but it sounds perfect in our case. While vitamin B6 promotes the production of serotonin, the B3 fosters the process.

Where to find a little bit of B3? In many foods of course, but one of the most plenty is carrot. Therefore, when having dinner, do not forget to add some to your lettuce.

Sage

Sage is an aromatic plant often used while cooking. Also this plant is characterized by remarkable beneficial properties. Not too long time ago they were used to say that taking care of this plant would have resulted in a happy and serene life!

Forgetting legends, this plant is truly useful to improve states of anxiety and panic. And, if eaten regularly, is one of those natural products that help focusing.

Foto credits: Cyn74, Rictor Norton & David Allen, Wendell Smith, Quinn Dombrowski, Chiot’s Run, suttonhoo