Food for Your Mood

Have you ever found yourself stuff your mouth with a tub of ice-cream after a bad day at work? Or have you ever devoured a large, cheesy pizza after an ugly fight with your friend? Maybe you’ve gorged on whatever chocolates or chips you find at home when you’ve felt extremely stressed for an upcoming work presentation.

Food can be an important source of comfort when you are having a rough day (think of ‘soul food’ or ‘comfort food’). You may find yourself craving certain food items when you feel a certain way. This just goes to show that your mood is closely linked to the food you eat - or at least want to eat.

Chocolates and Chips for an Upcoming Work Presentation:

When you are in a stressful situation, your body activates its fight-or-flight response, preparing you to either tackle or escape from the stressor. To do this, you need enough energy and resources. You may therefore find yourself craving foods rich in sugar and carbs - for instance, chocolates or chips - that can give you instant energy. While gorging on chocolates or chips might bring some instant relief, you might end up feeling miserable a little while later. This is because many stressors that you face today are more cognitive and less physical in nature (in all likelihood, you are more likely to be faced with a stressful work presentation than a life-threatening tsunami). The energy produced in your body via sugar and carbohydrates is not fully or properly utilised, as the task at hand, in many cases, requires mental over physical effort. This excessive energy is then transformed into fat deposits, which in the long run can put you at risk for various health problems, such as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Ice Cream for A Bad Day at Work:

Feeling rejected, unloved, or disappointed can trigger your body to crave foods rich in carbohydrates and/or fat. The smooth texture that is typical of such food items - like creamy ice-cream - can help comfort you, and the rich sugar content can give your mood a quick boost. Additionally, ice-cream or other ‘comfort food’ can bring back pleasant memories from the past - which can further help your low mood. Did you eat a lot of ice cream as a kid? Most people have, which is why having ice cream can give rise to feelings of safety and happiness which you might have experienced as a child.

The flip side, though, is that foods rich in fat and carbohydrates can make you feel lethargic, sluggish and slow. In the long run, it can also increase your chances of several physical and mental health problems, such as obesity and depression. 

Cheesy Pizza After an Ugly Fight:

An ugly fight where you lost your cool can affect your eating habits. While some may eat a lot when angry, others tend to not feel hungry. Studies show that anger can make you reach out for fried and chewy food. A cheesy pizza, or a plate full of french fries, can actually help you calm yourself down when you are angry. However, studies have also found that in the long run, such junk food can actually interfere with your health and make you unhappy. 

The bottom line is that your mood can influence the food you eat, and the food you eat has a long-term impact on your physical and emotional health. In the long run, the food you crave in times of distress (which, in most cases, is junk food) can decrease your feeling of well-being and happiness. Keeping this in mind, it’s important to find healthier alternatives for times you feel stressed, sad, or angry. Take a look at some healthier food items that you can choose: 

• Brown bread sandwich instead of pizza
• Fruits instead of dessert
• Dried fruits or popcorn instead of chips
• Granola bars instead of chocolates
• Flavoured yoghurt instead of ice cream
• Fruit juices instead of carbonated drinks