FOOD and MOOD

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FOOD and MOOD

• Exploring the connection between what we eat and
  how we feel
• Sophie Dallender

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Workshop Aims

• How food influences our mood
• Which foods cause a problem
• Which foods can help
• How to change your diet for the better

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Do you ever feel.?

• fatigued
• irritable
• that you crave sweet foods/drinks
• have a need for regular snacks
• a lapse in mood or concentration
• light-headed
• butterflies in the stomach for no apparent
  reason

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Blood-sugar Balance

• Regular fluctuations in mood and energy are often
  linked to highs and lows in blood sugar levels
• A major contributor to this pattern is diet
• Certain foods can produce extreme changes
• This see-saw motion between peaks and troughs can
  add to the pressure felt from external stresses

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• Therefore maintaining an even blood sugar level
  is a key way of helping to improve your mood

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Glycemic Index

• This ranks carbohydrates on a scale from 0-100,
  according to the extent to which they raise blood
  sugar levels after eating
• Low scoring foods release sugars into the body at
  as slower rate steady flow of energy/ stable
  moods/ delay hunger
• High scoring foods release sugars into the body
  quickly burst of energy/ mood highs followed by
  lows/ hungry sooner

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High, low or medium?
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• Breads, Grains and Pasta - fruit loaf,
  multi-grain bread, bulgar wheat, semolina,
  barley, noodles, al dente pasta
• Breakfast cereals - All Bran, porridge, Special
  K
• Legumes - all beans, chick peas, peas, lentils
• Starchy vegetables - sweet potato, boiled
  potatoes
• Fruit - cherries, grapefruit, peach, dried
  apricots, apple, pear, plums, orange, grapes,
  kiwi, banana
• Vegetables - all of them
• Other - skimmed milk, plain yoghurt, low-fat
  fruit yoghurt, soy milk, banana cake, peanuts

• Breads, Grains and Pasta - sourdough, pitta,
  wholemeal, rice, overcooked pasta
• Breakfast cereals - oatmeal, muesli, Shredded
  Wheat
• Starchy vegetables - beetroot, new potatoes
• Fruit - raisons, apricots, mango, pineapple
• Other - orange juice, Ryvita, croissant, low-fat
  ice cream, oatmeal cookies, Mars bar, popcorn

• Breads, Grains and Pasta - instant rice, bagels,
  white bread
• Breakfast cereals - Rice Krispies, Cheerios,
  Weetabix, Cornflakes
• Starchy vegetables - roast potatoes, mashed
  potatoes, parsnips, chips
• Other -jelly beans, doughnuts, waffles, rice
  cakes, pretzels

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Awareness is Key

• A healthy diet can contain high GI foods
• Eat them in moderation
• Avoid eating them on their own
• Combine them with fibre or protein
• Or with a low GI food
• Dont overcook starches
• Regular meals

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High vs Low GI Meal

• Low GI - 39

• High GI - 85

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Mood and Food

• How we feel can influences the food we eat too
• Stress from external sources steals appetite for
  good mood food
• Eat more foods that lack nutrients
• Levels of natural mood enhancers fall
• Stress is now exacerbated by internal sources
• - Adrenaline - Fight or flight response
• - Cortisol - Long term stress response

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Bad Mood Food

• empty calories
• additives
• stimulants
• depressants
• refined or processed foods
• nutrient poor foods
• not exactly a food but. skipping meals is
  definitely a bad idea!

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Caffeine and Alcohol

• Coffee is a stimulant which perks you up but the
  buzz doesnt last long.
• Alcohol is a depressant which blocks out the
  problem but leaves you feeling dehydrated, tired,
  and with a headache (hangover!)
• Increase production of Cortisol - stress hormone

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• Recommendation
• Remove from diet or reduce by half

• Replace with water

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Natural Mood Enhancers

• Dopamine - stimulating neurotransmitter, reward,
  motivation and pleasure
• Serotonin - feel-good neurotransmitter, anxiety
  buffer
• Endorphins - amplify pleasure and make pain
  tolerable
• GABA - brains natural Valium, relaxing

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Good Mood Foods

• Protein - provide amino acid building blocks
• fish, poultry, meat, eggs, dairy products
• Essential fat, omega 3 - keep cells healthy
• oily fish, walnuts, flaxseed
• Vitamins, especially Bs and Cs -aid production
• liver, bananas, avocados, sunflower seeds

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Breakfast

• Eat high fibre breakfast cereals (oats, barley or
  bran)
• OR
• Add fruit, flaxseed or nuts to high GI ones
• OR
• Wholemeal toast with poached egg

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Lunch/Snacks

• Baked potato with tuna and salad
• OR
• Rice cakes smothered in houmous
• OR
• Banana with handful of pumpkin seeds

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Dinner

• Swap white potatoes for sweet potatoes
• OR
• Rice with stir-fry chicken and green vegetable
• OR
• Frittata made with courgettes and new potatoes

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So if you ever feel.?

• exhausted
• lacking in motivation
• easily angered
• difficulty sleeping
• waking up anxious
• over-reacting to lifes everyday stresses
• as though you cant cope

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Reach for theflaxseed!!
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Want to find out more?

• Search function to check foods GI
• http//www.glycemicindex.com/
• Recipes
• The Kitchen Shrink - Natalie Savona