One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has
not dined well." - Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf was on to something: food - and our
relationship to it - is our sustenance, our lifeblood. It
has the potential to be a source of nourishment and
wellbeing or, as is the case for many people, a source of
angst and unhappiness.
Last month, I wrote about sugar and its impact on our mood,
cravings, attention, and energy. I know, based on your
notes to me, that many of you resonated with my thoughts,
and that many of you struggle with sugar cravings, sugar
crashes, and sugar conflicts of your own.
This month, I want to extend that conversation to talk in
general terms about food and how it affects our
biochemistry (mood, cravings, attention, energy, etc. . .).
It has become clearer and clearer to me as a therapist and
a certified health counselor that everything we eat has a
powerful effect on our lives. No, not just our weight
(which is what most of us focus on), but on how we feel
physically AND emotionally.
As a psychotherapist, I was never taught to think about
food and nutrition. I was taught that people's unhappiness
or anxiety or eating disorders or other various struggles
were a result of their early upbringing or difficult
experiences or traumatic losses. I was taught that if
there was something going on with a person's brain
chemistry (as evidenced by specific signs and symptoms), it
should be treated with medication.
Although this perspective is useful, it leaves out a huge
missing piece: The idea that food matters; that my
clients' nutrition might be contributing to their
depression, their anxiety, their binging, their purging,
their lethargy, their attentional problems, their
behavioral concerns, and their mood instabilities. And even
more importantly that these feelings, in part caused by
mis-firing or mis-wiring in their brain, might be improved
by nutritional changes.
At this point in my career, I know better, but many people
-psychotherapists, doctors, and consumers included - still
do not think this way.
Yes, when a destructive or negative mood hits, it often
does have some psychological and historical origins, and in
some cases, medication may be needed. However, this is not
always the case and it is almost never the only thing going
on. What, how and when we eat - as well as the quality and
quantity of the food we put in our mouths - has a profound
effect on our mind and our mood.
According to Anne Marie Colbin, in her book, Food and
Healing, "mood. . . can be one of the first indicators that
something is out of kilter . . . A change in diet, which
can be embarked upon at any time, at any hour of the day,
can make us feel more centered, improve our disposition and
concentration, and even increase our joyfulness and good
cheer."
And in her book, The Mood Cure, Julia Ross contends that
the brain is responsible for most of our feelings. If our
brain is high in certain neurotransmitters (like serotonin
and endorphins, for example), we will feel happy and
optimistic, focused and calm. However, when our brains run
low on these neurotransmitters, due to genetic factors,
stress, or diet - "it stops producing normal emotions on a
consistent basis" and we feel bad. She states loud and
clear that "regardless of your genes, but especially if
your mood-programming genes are inefficient, good nutrition
is essential." According to Ms. Ross, we can repair our
brain with foods and nutritional supplements.
However, some of us may use food (or other substances) to
self-medicate. This is what I often see in my practice.
Unfortunately, the foods we usually turn to are the foods
that make us feel worse. Truth is, the Standard American
Diet (also known as "SAD") consists primarily of highly
processed, refined foods . . . foods which are altered so
much from their original state, that it's not clear whether
they are actually even a food anymore (I mean, what are
Cheetos anyway???!).
Not only do these foods lack nutrients, enzymes, and
essential fats, which are key to stable and healthy brain
chemistry, but they contain a whole bunch of additives,
dyes, pesticides and other neurotoxins. Many of the
additives found in most processed foods (like sugar and
refined flour, MSG and its relatives, aspartame and other
fake sugars, and dyes) have been implicated in a host of
neurological, behavioral and mood problems. In addition,
thanks to these additives, many of these foods are
addictive and enticing - they temporarily provide some
relief, excitement and an energy boost, and keep us coming
back for more.
Over time, however, eating SAD foods contributes to a SAD
life. When our diets are primarily made up of these "fake"
foods, is it a wonder we feel depressed, anxious, have
trouble focusing, or feel stuck in a binge-diet or
binge-purge cycle?
Remember, food and mood go hand in hand. Yes, the way we
eat not only affects how we feel and the quality of our
lives, but the opposite is also true: the way we live, the
way we work, the way we love profoundly impacts how we
choose to feed and nourish ourselves.
If you'd like to make changes in your diet to improve your
mood, here are a few ideas to get you started:
1) Keep a food journal. This is not to be used as
ammunition to criticize yourself but rather to notice how
certain foods affect you. Take special note of your mood,
your energy, your cravings or whatever symptoms you
struggle with, both right after you eat as well as several
hours later. You may find that you are sensitive to common
foods found in your everyday diet that may be contributing
to your crankiness.
2) If your diet is not rich in vegetables (and maybe
even if it is), consider a good, whole-food based
multi-vitamin and mineral supplement.
3) Reduce the worst bad-mood foods: sugar, white
flour, caffeine, fake sweeteners, and chemicals. (Don't
recognize a word on a label? Don't eat it!). Yes, sorry,
but this does include diet soda!
4) Get enough of the best good-mood foods: high quality
protein, water, unprocessed or minimally processed grains,
fruits and veggies.
5) Get enough of the right kinds of fats(I know I need
to write a whole separate article on this!). Consider an
Omega-3 (fish oil) supplement (I like Nordic Naturals),
which has been found to have a very positive impact on mood
(of course check with your doctor if you have any medical
concerns).
6) Get out and enjoy the SUNSHINE! The longer and
brighter days of Spring can help us get out of a bad mood
rut.
----------------------------------------------------
Karen Schachter is a licensed clinical social worker &
certified nutrition counselor who works with women who want
to have a healthier relationship with food & in turn,
improve their nutrition, improve their mood & energy,
decrease their cravings and just generally enjoy life more
fully. She helps parents figure out what to feed their
children & how to feed their children. Sign up for her FREE
newsletter @ http://www.healthybodieshappyminds.com/
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