When many people think about food, they often think about the effects it has on our body shape and size. While that is a huge factor, food effects so much more than our outer appearance. Depending on your diet, an individual’s mood can be greatly effected.
According to HealthMad, 2/3 of people who report to have no mental depression or serious issues also eat multiple servings of fresh fruit daily in their meals. Fruit contains many vitamins, minerals, and needed strength to keep the brain focused and alert. Live Strong also participated in a study about eating healthy. They found that people who reported to be happier in their daily lives ate more berries, nuts, and proteins and limited their sugar and fat in take. Specifically, almonds, kale, and avocados have been proven to sharpen the mind and create a sense of fulfillment which allows the human body to feel satisfied.
Of course, just like healthy foods can keep you positive and focused, unhealthy food has its own effects. Junk food provides consumers with a temporary “high” that quickly falls away. The reason this happens is because sugar enters the human blood stream very quickly. When it enters the blood stream, it creates this “high” or feeling of energy, but quickly after it leaves the individual feeling sluggish and drained. That is due to the fact that it is not a true satisfied feeling you would receive from healthy options, but a fake “high” that comes from sugar pumping through the veins.
In fact, ABC News did a study on how “Happy Meals” make people unhappy. The name of the study was “Happy Meals: Are fast food and depression linked?” The study discusses how foods high in fat and cholesterol can make the body feel bloated and tired, which in result, can make the person feel low and wiped out.
Of course, there will always be outside “Z” factors in life that cause us to be happy and sad. Food itself can not make or break a person’s mood or mindset. However, the ingredients healthy food and unhealthy food contain can certainly make at least a small difference. So, why not help yourself out? Although an apple or a handful of almonds may not solve all your problems, it definitely would help to motivate you to work through them rather than a bag of chips which would only make one feel more tired and low.
Work Cited:
http://healthmad.com/conditions-and-diseases/healthy-body-equals-healthy-mind/
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/03/30/unhappy-meals-are-fast-food-depression-linked/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/271458-how-healthy-eating-affects-mood/
That is a very good point. Junk food can be very addictive as I am sure we all have experienced. I will be sure to check out the article you posted and learn more about it. Thank you!
I found this article really interesting as I have been working with a nutritionist as part of my training and have had to make a lot of changes to how I eat recently. However, I think that the “depression” you have linked to junk food could better be described as withdrawal because junk food is actually highly addictive and once your body becomes used to consuming it you begin to crave it frequently, and when you do not satisfy those cravings, you can often become irritable until you can hit the “junk food high” again. You could read more about the addictiveness of fast food and how companies engineer their food to be addictive in this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0