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You feel what you eat Know your mood-boosting foods from those that sap your goodwill and you’ll never eat wrong again. [mood_cart] [mood_ food images] The impact some foods have on the way you feel is obvious: A co-worker surprises you with a double chocolate cake on your birthday and you’re probably going to feel pretty good. You grab a sandwich on the way home from the office and the bread is stale and the innards tasteless, well, you’re probably going to feel pretty bad. But what if you could plan your meals based on the way in which those foods were going to impact your mood? Think of it as proactive eating. We’re not talking about grabbing a chocolate bar or drinking a beer to get a buzz. In truth, all manner of foods, from turkey to tea to tofu, have ingredients that can affect the way you feel. We outline which foods have which affect on your outlook. Take a look at these 10 pantry staples and their ingredients so you can learn to look for mood-altering foods every time you go to the store or order from a menu. Laurie Steelsmith, author of “Natural Choices for Women’s Health: How the Secrets of Natural and Chinese Medicine Can Create a Lifetime of Wellness” (Three Rivers Press, 2005) believes you don’t need to wait long to get results. “You can see changes in 24 hours,” she says. 1. Banana Alexandra Massey, author of “Improve Your Mood with Food” (Virgin Books, 2006), lists the yellow fruit as one of the foods you can plan to eat with frequency — up to five portions a day (a portion being about what you can hold in your hand). In addition to all the fiber and good nutrients the banana holds, it is the tryptophan that will impact your well-being. Tryptophan is an amino acid that the body converts into serotonin, the brain chemical that can be a happy boost for your body. 2. Chocolate You already know chocolate can make you feel better and there’s research to support it. When you want this pick-me-up, choose desserts that are at least 70 percent chocolate, rather than a milk chocolate. That way, you’re getting more of the flavonoid-rich cocoa, and less of the fat, sugar and other added ingredients. 3. Cottage cheese One of the “must eat” foods on every expert’s list, cottage cheese is recommended as a substitute for other soft cheeses and dairy products. Cottage cheese provides the protein that can help boost mood and energy levels, without some of the fat of hard cheeses. 4. Eggs Research from the University of California, Berkeley suggests that people who suffer from depression have low amount of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine in their brains. One natural antidepressant is to increase dopamine by eating protein-rich foods. Steelsmith is a fan of eggs for this purpose, because they are versatile and appeal to some people who choose not to eat meat. 5. Fish Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown in studies to stabilize moods. Those who suffer from depression may benefit from eating fish oil, such as salmon oil, which contains Omega-3s. Walnuts, sunflower oil and flaxseed are other options. 6. Honey Refined sugars, like those you get from a doughnut on the way to work, may give you a quick energy jump. But Steelsmith says they actually give you too much insulin, which will spike and cause your energy level to drop after an hour or two. Honey has the glucose, but also has minerals and can provide a more measured lift. 7. Milk Drinking a cup of warm milk to help you fall asleep is an old wives’ tale, but Steelsmith says there’s some truth that the drink can help calm nerves and settle an antsy attitude. Add some honey to that milk, and you’ll have carbohydrates that help shuttle the tryptophan and melatonin to the brain. The temperature of the milk doesn’t actually help even out your mood, but the psychological effect doesn’t hurt. 8. Tea “Tea leaves contain theanine, an amino acid that induces the brain into a state of ‘relaxed alertness’ where we have more alpha waves (associated with high levels of mental and physical performance) and fewer beta waves (associated with tension and anxiety),” says Shawn M. Talbott, Ph.D., of Draper, Utah-based SupplementWatch, Inc. 9. Tofu This meat substitute is another low-calorie protein source, with all the plusses of eggs, cheese and other proteins. In addition, the soy in tofu is thought to stabilize mood swings, caused by hormonal changes, that can accompany menopause. 10. Turkey Like bananas, turkey contains tryptophan. That’s why you’ve heard that long-standing story that turkey makes you tired. That’s how you justify your post-Thanksgiving nap, right? Well, again, there’s some merit to the tale. The tryptophan, an amino acid, may help treat depression and menstrual hormonal fluctuations, and acts as a mild sedative. (But, truth is, that Thanksgiving nap is probably caused by the fact that you ate too much …) One final piece of advice before you run to the store: No food – chock-full of antioxidants or not – alone can keep your body in prime form. You need regular, balanced meals, with a mix of complex carbohydrates, protein and all the rest in order to get the most from these ingredients. Adds Steelsmith: “Otherwise, you have those endorphin levels drop and stress hormones increase and it puts your body in a stressed place.” |
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