CAN YOU CHANGE YOUR MOOD WITH FOOD?
Researchers have long suspected that what you eat can influence
your mood. Frequent press reports on aggressive meat-eaters,
mellow carbohydrate-loaders and candy-bingers with "sugar blues"
tend to support that idea. But is it really true? Can eating a
candy bar depress you? Will eating fish make you think more
clearly?
Food-mood strategies can be used to boost alertness and help you
relax, as well as allow you to ride out life's ups and downs,
says Judith J. Wurtman, Ph.D., author of Managing your Mind and
Mood Through Food.
The key to our emotions lies in certain brain chemicals in our
bloodstreams. Since scientists know how some brain chemicals
affect our moods, it follows that we may be able to influence our
emotions by eating foods that produce the right brain chemicals.
Moods seem to be manipulated by the brain chemicals called
neurotransmitters, particularly serotonin, dopamine and
norepinephrine. The three are made from nutrients in the food we
eat, especially folic acid, vitamins B-6 and B-12 and amino
acids, the building blocks of proteins.
If any of these nutrients are in either short or abundant supply,
the levels of the neurotransmitters sad, correspondingly, your
mood, can be affected. This phenomenon explains how coffee
functions as a mental stimulant. Studies confirm that one to two
cups of coffee can boost mental performance, enhance reaction
time and improve alertness. Why? Caffine eliminates the
neurotransmitters that slow down brain activity.
On the other hand, you can get pepped up by having an abundance
of norepinephrine and dopamine, the neurotransmitters involved
with alertness. They depend on the amino acid tyrosine. According
to some researchers, if your brain is using a lot of
norepinephrine and dopamine to keep you attentive as you comb
through paperwork, the chicken may boost your level of
norepinephrine and dopamine. The result: heightened
concentration. Eating fish can make you smarter, at Serotonin,
formed from the amino acid tryptophan, is considered the calming
chemical. But boosting your tryptophan level to increase
serotonin production is a little tricky. When you eat
protein-rich foods containing tryptophan, it has to fight with
the other amino acids to get into the brain. Usually there are
more of the others, so and, presumably, serotonin levels. Turkey
meat is one good high-protein source of tryptophan.
Eating a high-carbohydrate meal -- a noodle casserole or pancakes
-- is the best way to boost your tryptophan level. That's because
your body releases insulin whenever you eat carbohydrates-sugars
or starches. As insulin helps your body's cells (not your
brain's) use up the competing amino acids, tryptophan slips into
the brain and starts to produce calming serotonin.
"For many people, carbohydrates may act like a tranquilizer,"
says Beth Lowe, clinical dietitian at Johnson City Speciality
Hospital in Johnson City, Tennessee. A baked potato or a bowl of
rice can relax your jitters or even make you sleepy. The key is
to eat the carbohydrates without protein. That means pasta with
tomato sause may help you unwind. Topping pasta with high-protein
chicken or stir-frying beef with noodles may reduce any claming
effects by lowering serotonin levels.
A load of carbohydrates, usually sugars eaten without protein,
leaves some sensitive individuals exhausted for hours. That's
where the term "sugar blues" comes from. But others can't wait to
gobble up a pint of high-carbohydrate sorbet to get engerized.
Scientists aren't sure why but theorize that the carbohydrate --
cravers may have ultra-low serotonin levels. Hence, if you find
yourself irritable and inattentive in the afternoon, and in teh
mood for a snack, don't deny your cravings. You may have a
depleted serotonin supply. Grab a quick handful of pretzels or a
muffin and see if your mood picks up.
If that doesn't work, try a chocolate bar. Researchers are also
looking into morphine-like brain proteins called endorphines,
which appear to be linked to chocolate.
"For some, chocolate can act as a mood lifter," says Dean Faulk,
M.D., medical administrator at Mainland Medical Center in Texas
City, Texas, and assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at
University of Texas Medical Branch. He notes that the sugar and
fat in chocolate may "feel-good" brain chemicals that aerobic
exercise produces, suggesting that this may be a rare
circumstance where a candy bar can be differnetly for the
chocolate bar mood swing: possibly the sugar in chocolate boosts
serotonin levels.
The scientific evidence linking moods to food leaves some
questions unanswered, however, it's clear that emotions are tied
to the multiple chemical reactions that begin with eating. Can we
engineer our moods by controlling what we eat? Probably. Eat fish
to concentrste; eat pasta to relax.
From there, you be the judge. Become a close observer of your own
reactions to the food in your diet; find out and remember what
makes you edgy and what puts you to sleep. Make sure that your
mood-altering neurotransmitters don't become depleted. Consume
enough of the right nutrients: folic acid (in green, leafy
vegetables, oranges and whole wheat); vitamins B-6 (in fish,
pork, soybeans and peanuts) and B-12 (in meeat, fish, chicken and
milk); and protein (in meat, fish, chicken and soybeans).
While the food-mood connection is not completely clear, where's
the harm in juggling what you eat in teh context of a balanced,
low-fat diet?
Energizing Options:
Protein:
        cereal with skim milk
        bagel with non-fat cream cheese
        tuna
        fish
        lean beef
        chicken
        veal
        shellfish
        turkey
        yogurt
        cottage cheese
        low-fat cheese
Calming Concoctions:
Carbohydrates:
        crackers
        baked potato
        tortilla chips
        dried fruit
        whole-grain bread
        pasta
        pretzels
        rice
        corn
        oatmeal
        dry cereal
        rice cakes
        air-popped popcorn
Mood-Mending Tips:
        Skipping breakfast may make you gulp down a large,
        endorphin-draining lunch later in teh day.
        A sugary breakfast (donuts or Danish) puts some people
        into a mental slump later in the morning.
        Mix protein and complex carbohydrates for a light,
        balanced breackfast:
                eggs with toast adn fruit
                a muffin with yogurt and juice
        A large lunch, especially one rich in carbohydrates,
        doesn't help the post-lunch slump.
        Skipping lunch is not the answer either.
        Keep awake with a small low-fat lunch rich in protein
        like chicken breast, tuna, yogurt and mood-neutral foods
        like a green salad with fresh fruit.
        For between-meal snacks, if you're not a carbohydrate
        craver, try low-fat cheese adn crackers, turkey on a pita
        or non-fat cottage cheese with fruit. For carbohydrate
        lovers, try crackers, pretzels or breadsticks.
        If you need to be on full alert after dinner, look to a
        high-protein meal of chicken with noodles or fish with
        rice.
        To relax a revved-up system at teh end of the day, pick
        from pasta, rice or potatoes on your dinner plate plus a
        salad and juice.
        If you just have to nibble on something before bed, make
        it a carbo-rich snack like dry cereal or a waffle topped
        with fruit.
--- PPoint 2.00
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