TheSoko.com - How Food Affects Your Mood

Food can have a big effect on how you feel, mentally and physically. Lyra Pappin explores the role of proteins, carbs and other important elements of your diet.

If you are having trouble with stress or mood swings, there may be a surprising remedy: food! What you eat and when you eat can have a huge impact on the way that you feel. While new diet fads and so-called crucial nutritional information are constantly being thrown at us, it isn’t too often that we stop to think about the immediate effect eating well can have on our lives. Usually when someone tells you to eat your vegetables, it’s for the intangible (but important) benefit to your health by ensuring your body is getting all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals it requires to function at an optimum level. However, eating right does more than improve your internal health; it can improve your emotional health as well.

Carbohydrate Breakdown

Is any part of the food industry more discussed than carbs? Because of their high profile, carbs are probably the most misunderstood aspect of nutrition. Carbohydrates are not the enemy. They aren’t evil, they aren’t automatically going to make you fat and they aren’t only found in bread, pasta and cereal.

People get obsessed with the notion of cutting out carbs due to diets that claim protein is a better, longer-lasting source of fuel and carbs can’t be burned fast enough to be a good source of energy. Part of that is true. If you load up on high-sugar, and subsequently high-carb foods and then go back to your desk for hours of sedentary work, your body will not use the calories that carbs provide and they will be converted into stored energy, a.k.a. fat.

But don’t get scared! We need carbs. It’s about choosing the right carbs for the right time. Carbohydrates are necessary elements of the food chain, and your body needs them for energy. Among other essential tasks, they help convert certain proteins into serotonin, which is well known to influence moods and provide mental boosts.

Carbs aren’t just found in bread; they are in fruits, vegetables, rice, grains and legumes too. The carbs provided by vegetables and legumes in particular are better for your body because they are complex and will take longer to absorb. This gives you more time to burn off the calories they give you. Understanding carbs is the first step in understanding how food can affect your mood.

Curbing a Vicious Cycle

Carbs have the fastest effect on your blood sugar level. Keeping your blood sugar at a steady rate is essential to balancing your moods. If you eat a doughnut in the morning, your blood sugar will be spiked crazy high, giving you an instant energy boost, but as fast as that blood sugar rushes upward, it will come down just as hard. This leaves you feeling irritated, tired and hungry! Next time you snap at your co-worker, friend or spouse, think about if this happened after eating something high in sugar a couple hours ago.

To keep your blood sugar at a constant level throughout the day and subsequently your moods, it is important to eat the right things and eat them at the right time. Avoiding high-sugar carbs is key to feeling good. It’s not all about eating loads of meat and running scared at the sight of bread, it’s just about understanding what these foods do to your body and how they affect your attitude as well. Carbs are great for pre-workout fuel because your body will use them right away. Also, if you are hooked on something, have it in the morning for a source of energy that can be burned during the day.

The New GI

You may have heard of something called the Glycemic Index, which can help you use food to balance your mood. The GI gives a number to food that basically measures how fast your body will absorb the sugar in it. The lower the number, the slower it will affect your blood sugar.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Generally, proteins have a low GI number, which is why they are promoted by many diets. Eating a small amount of protein with a healthy carb every three to four hours is a fantastic way to ensure stable blood sugar and a happy, healthy system all day long. It takes about three to four hours for foods to absorb into your blood stream and start coming down again. The key is to make that absorption go slowly, so there aren’t constant fluctuations in your system. If you eat something small every few hours, you will never get really full and you will never be starving.

Avoiding hunger is an amazing way to stay in a good mood. Also, if you are eating small, healthy meals throughout the day, you know that you are doing your body right, which gives you a positive feeling instead of beating yourself up for eating burgers and fries at lunch.

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eat right, feel good

It may take some adjusting, but eating right is a favour you owe yourself. Whenever people say they “deserve” chocolate or junk food, think about this: do you really deserve headaches, bloating, frustrating weight gain and subsequent hours in the gym? You don’t really deserve cake and pie; you deserve nutrients and a healthy life!

Sources:
FoodandMood
Glycemic Index