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Feeling like some Food?
By Kylie Andrew (Dietitian)
Your body is like a finely tuned motor that requires fuel to function. The muscles need fuel so that they can contract allowing us to move and be active.
Similarly the brain also requires petrol so that we can think, concentrate and a make decisions. A lack of the right fuel for your brain will affect your mood and how you feel.
Eat for Energy
Like petrol is fuel for the car, food is fuel for your body. Eating a balanced and nutritious diet is the key to maximising energy levels and improving mood.
Consume Carbs
Carbohydrate-rich foods are the best source of energy for active muscles and are the only usable fuel for the brain. So ensure that you consume some carbohydrate in your daily diet, from cereals, breads, rice, pasta, noodles, starchy vegetables, legumes and fruit.
Go Low GI
The best type of carbohydrate are those with a low glycaemic index (GI). These foods are more slowly digested and absorbed into the bloodstream, resulting in a slow and gradual rise in blood glucose levels. This is better for maintaining energy levels, concentration and mood. Low GI foods include wholegrain breads and cereals, pasta, legumes, most fruits (with the exception of bananas and tropical fruits) and dairy products.
Break-the-Fast
As the saying goes “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. After an overnight fast, blood glucose levels are typically low. Breaking the fast by eating, will top up blood glucose levels providing energy to the brain, leading to better memory and more positive mood.
Get the Graze Craze
Eating at regular intervals throughout the day is important to maintain even blood glucose levels and hence ensure consistency in energy levels and improve mood. Three balanced meals with nutritious snacks in between is the recipe to grazing.
Snack Attack
Between meal snacks should ideally provide carbohydrate (preferably of the low GI type) from nutritious sources.
Eating your B’s
B group vitamins play a role in converting the carbohydrate from the foods we eat into energy in the body. Folate, from certain fruits and vegetables, plays a role in the brain. A deficiency of this vitamin can lead to depressed mood.
Ironed out
Iron is required for the formation of haemoglobin, which carries oxygen around the body. A deficiency of iron results in tiredness, fatigue, apathy and depressed mood. The best source of iron is lean red meat. Other sources include legumes, green leafy vegetables and fortified breads and cereals.
Try Tryptophan
An amino acid, found in milk, tryptophan increases serotonin levels – a brain chemical responsible for calming, mood and sleep.
Water
Equally as important as food is fluid. Maintaining adequate hydration levels is essential to optimal health as well as optimal energy levels and performance. Dehydration (caused by inadequate fluid intake) can result in irritability, difficulty concentrating and headaches. Six to eight glasses (or 2 litres) is the recommended daily water intake.
Cut Caffeine
Although caffeine from tea, coffee, cola and energy drinks is a stimulant, the message is still to cut caffeine. Small amounts of caffeine (1-2 cups of coffee a day) will stimulate the brain and central nervous system, so that you feel more aware and alert. However, in excess, caffeine is associated with anxiety, depression, insomnia, mood swings and nervousness.
Avoid Alcohol
Alcohol affects mood in many ways, and its affects vary from person to person. While in small doses it may make you feel happy and have a positive affect on mood, in excess it can have the opposite affect and may cause depression.
Omega 3
Omega 3 fatty acids improve your mood. Country comparisons have found a correlation between low intakes of omega-3 & depression. The richest sources of omega 3 are oily fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, trout, mackerel), canola oil, walnuts, linseeds, soy beans.
Chocolate - a feel good food
Chocolate works in several ways to affect mood. It contains phenylethylamine, an amino acid which enhances endorphin levels, acting as a natural anti-depressant. It also contains caffeine and theobromine (a muscle stimulant). Of course the feel good factor may also be due to sensory factors.
Move it!
Exercise improves mood, self-esteem and mental well-being and can be effective in reducing depression.