How Food Affects Mood
By Galina Pembroke
Everyone can benefit from understanding how food affects our mood
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,” wrote the eminent Greek physician Hippocrates during the dawn of western medicine. We took his advice. Thousands of years later we use chicken soup to nourish our bodies, yet we question whether the right food choices can heal our mind. Some people are sure.
Inspired by personal experience, Amanda Geary founded the UK’s Food and Mood Project in 1998. “I started the Food and Mood Project following from my own experience of recovery from depression where I noticed that what I was eating was having an effect on my emotional and mental health,” says Geary. “In 1998 I won an award from Mind, the UK’s leading mental health charity, to start the Project and help others to explore the links between what we eat and how we feel.”
The Food and Mood Project is extensive. Geary’s fascination with the relationship between nutrition and mind has prompted a website, www.foodandmood.org, online support group, handbook, posters and large-scale survey. This recruited 200 individuals between the ages of 26 and 55 who lived in London or SE England. The results were substantial. Says Geary: “From the Food and Mood Survey results, those using this form of self-help found that cutting down or avoiding potential food stressors like sugar (80%), caffeine (79%), alcohol (55%) and chocolate (53%) and having more food supporters like water (80%), vegetables (78%), fruit (72%) and oil rich fish (52%) had the most beneficial effects on mental health.”
Moderating Stress Foods
For many the knowledge of food and mood is restricted to word of mouth and stigma. Consider turkey’s apparent sleep inducing power. Many Thanksgiving dinners end with a nap or at the very least, droopy eyelids. Though the tryptophan in turkey seems to be the culprit, our sluggishness is really due to overeating. Though tryptophan does elevate the brain’s sleep-inducing serotonin, it does so in very small amounts. The true cause? An overflow of mashed potatoes, stuffing, pie and alcohol which shifts blood away from the brain and down to the digestive tract.
Popular Vitamins & Supplements...
Herbal Phentermine is a Non-Prescription appetite suppressant that is 100% natural and safe. Scientifically designed to create the similar effects of the popular prescription phentermine version, Herbal-Phentermine works to increase your metabolism, suppress your appetite, burn calories and increase energy...
Dietrine - Popular! Read More - Dietrine Patch - Check Prices & Specials
One Dietrine Capsule taken prior to a meal can block up to 1125 calories from fat and carbohydrate foods...
HGH Energizer - Read More - Check Prices & Specials
Recent studies have shown the direct impact HGH has on multiple body functions. By the time you reach 60, your natural production of HGH is most likely to be half of what it was when you were 20. This means that you will have less energy, more body fat, heal slower and have a weaker immune system...
Glucosium Diabetes Control - Read More - Check Prices & Specials
Glucosium is a revolutionary natural supplement that may stimulate your own body's insulin production to reduce your blood glucose levels. It has shown fantastic benefits for people with diabetes, as well as preventative properties for those who are exposed to a higher risk for diabetes. Take control of your life and fix the problem. Exercise, eat right and supplement your body with the proper nutrients that can help your body produce the insulin it was designed to have...
Other Popular Products: Venapro Hemorrhoids Treatment, Eazol Natural Pain Relief, Acuzine Natural Skin Antioxidant Treatment, Relagen Stress Anxiety & Weight Loss Formula, Melatrol Natural Sleeping Aid
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 30th, 2005 at Wednesday - March 30, 2005 and is filed under Mental Health.