Moods And Foods

Mood fluctuations cause us to binge-eat unhealthy foods, but a little awareness can help us drive away the blues through conscious eating.

- Naini Setalvad

It is unfortunate that we reach out for the worst foods when our moods are spewing out anger, anxiety, stress or gloom, thereby further accentuating our negativity. Call it a gut feeling or just a craving but there is a connection between a particular emotion and the food we reach out for while experiencing it.

So when the hand reaches out for fried and processed food, let us see how we can make smart choices that support the connection without endangering our health. To keep your mood generally stable, I would suggest that you eat a banana and a couple of leaves of the tulsi plant daily. These two keep in check a majority of the mood swings that occur throughout the day. Other supportive resources include fresh foods, seasonal foods, slow eating, lots of vegetables, good quality fat from ghee, nuts and seeds, lots of water, fresh air, exercise and deep breathing, so make them part of your daily routine.

Emotions and their corresponding foods

• Anger: When you feel your blood boil and anger surges within, the neuro-transmitters in your brain go into a fight mode and your hands automatically reach out for the terrible transfats found in fried food like batata wada, chips, bhujiyas and french fries. Eating these foods add fuel to the fire and aggravate anger. Swap this for foods that will help cool anger and fuel your brain to think rationally, making you more calm and collected. Fat is the brain food so grasp a handful of nuts and seeds like almonds, cashew nuts, pistachios, walnuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and see the fire die down.

Potato-peanut chaat (counteracts gloom)