Fall Column, 1999
BAD ATTITUDE ?? Eating May Help!!
By Jim Sayih
If you think what you eat affects how you feel, you’re right. Food can alter your brain chemistry, which in turn influences your mood. Protein, for instance, can stimulate the production of alertness chemicals in your brain. And carbohydrates boost serotonin activity, which may increase calmness and drowsiness. So, in theory, eating certain foods can affect your feelings.
But don’t expect food to work massive or magical changes on your mood. Compared to the effect you’d get from a mood-altering drug, the affects from food, though detectable, are tiny. You can’t expect pasta to work like Prozac. Not only that, it takes at least two to three hours for food to affect brain chemistry. That doesn’t mean that you won’t feel more energetic, sleepier or less anxious after you eat; though your brain chemistry won’t be altered immediately, other body and mind factors kick in right away.
For maximum energy, satisfy your hunger – but don’t overdo it.
When you haven’t eaten for several hours, your blood sugar drops, which can make you feel slow and listless. Eating fixes that by boosting your blood sugar, usually within 20 to 30 minutes. But don’t assume that the more you eat, the more energetic you’ll feel: A light snack can do the trick, but a big, fatty meal may leave you sleepy. Why? Fat slows the rate at which food leaves the stomach, so your blood sugar rises much more slowly.
Go for mood altering textures.
Food’s sensory properties – such as crispness or smoothness – can have an immediate effect on mood. Some people find that crunching on an apple or cracker or vigorously chewing on caramel helps relieve tension, or that rich, creamy foods can be comforting. Identify the mouth feel you’re looking for – cold, hot, smooth, or crunchy. Think about what will satisfy you.
Harness your associations.
We all have pleasurable feelings about certain foods; they might stem from memories of good times or love for the person who prepared that food for you. Eating a food that sparks those memories could improve your mood. On the flip side, certain foods might aggravate stress. If you generally try to avoid high-fat or high calorie foods, and only succumb to cookie after cookie or pizza with the works when you’re feeling down or out of control, your associations with those foods will be negative, even guilty. But if you allow yourself to eat the food when you’re calm – and find that the sky doesn’t fall – you can begin to break that cycle of negative feelings.
Don’t count on chocolate.
For centuries people have insisted chocolate is an aphrodisiac. Could such a divine theory possibly be true? Sort of: Chocolate does contain phenylethylamine (PEA), a compound that stimulates pleasurable feelings. But even if you’re a complete chocoholic, you could never eat enough chocolate to get yourself "in the mood" because the amount of PEA it contains is much too small to have an effect.
Still, few would dispute that a bite of fine chocolate can be an almost sensual experience. But that’s more likely due to its flavor, aroma and meltingly delicious texture – it’s not a love drug.
Don’t underestimate the power of suggestion.
If you think scrambled eggs will make you more alert for an important meeting, they might. Just don’t depend on their effect. Bottom line: To maximize the potentially beneficial effects of food on mood, choose the foods that give you the most pleasure. The delight you take in eating a food has more impact on your spirits than its chemical properties.