The main reasons behind why and what we eat is all about sustaining our bodies. However, over time we have learned to eat for pleasure, out of boredom, and even for romance. There seems to be a real connection between our moods whether good or bad and what we put into our bodies. However, does food affect your mood? Are they really interconnected or is there something more at hand in all of this?
For many years scientists have told people that our moods and what types of foods we eat are connected. In order to find out what foods make your mood certain ways then you might want to start what is called a food diary. Many doctors suggest people create a food diary when they are ill, are counting their calories, or when people are trying to figure out what they are allergic to. When you are creating a food journal you will need to write down everything that you ate that day. About an hour after each meal you should write down how you felt and what type of mood you are in. The food journal will really help you to see what eat pattern when you are happy and what eat pattern when you are stressed.
Watch what you eat and how it makes you feel for about one month to see if you notice an eating pattern when you are happy and an eating pattern when you are stressed. Once you have found a type of connection you will need to keep this in mind every time you plan a meal or a snack.
When you watch what you eat and how it makes you feel you tend to eat a little healthier. When most people that know what eating pattern makes them stressed they will tend to stay away from the food that make them stressed. Those that know what eating pattern makes them happy will try and eat more of the food that makes them happy.
The foods that tend to make most people happy are the healthy foods. There are a lot of people who report feeling happier and more awake when they eat a salad for lunch as opposed to greasy fast food. This is because our bodies were made to eat the foods that come from the earth. These foods are the fruits and vegetables. When we eat fruits and vegetables our bodies are better able to digest these foods leaving us feeling healthier and more awake.
If you were to eat a diet that consisted of a lot of fast food and junk food you might begin to feel more stressed out and fatigued. This is because you are not giving your body the proper nutrients that it needs. Our bodies are like cars. If you don’t give it the right fuel it does not run as well.
So how does food affect your mood? Your body knows better than you do what types of food it needs and how certain foods will affect it. If you are eating the wrong types of food it can cause stress on certain organs such as your digestive tract, kidneys and liver. This can affect not only your mood but your health. Your body uses what is known as the Neuroendometabolic (NEM) Stress Response systemin order to combat stress whether that is from poor dieting to any other type of stress. If you have a poor diet or nutrient deficiencies it can lead to stress on your digestive tract and weaken your immune system. Overtime a poor diet can lead to hormonal imbalances and even trigger Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome. Eating a diet that makes you feel good and is healthy can fix any of these imbalances and improve the quality of your life. If you have health conditions you should consult a nutritionist to help make a proper dieting plan for yourself. What you eat is vital for your health. It’s nice that it is linked to moods and giving you a more balanced life, however, at the end of the day you are what you eat and if put in the wrong foods it can be harmful to you.
© Copyright 2013 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.
