Food and Mood
People used to consider food that it only affects the body. However, the link between food and mood is drawing public attention lately. In fact, many articles about how food affects our moods have been published. According to one article, ". . . the right foods, or the natural neurochemicals they contain, can enhance mental capabilities - help you concentrate, tune sensorimotor skills, keep you motivated, magnify memory, speed reaction times, defuse stress, perhaps even prevent brain aging" (Blaun 35). Actually, people have been using certain foods to control moods without scientific proof; for example, we often take a cup of hot-milk when we have a trouble getting to sleep. However, recent researches have scientifically proved to the deep relationship between our diets and moods as follows.Food affects not only our physical frame, but also our moods. In the words of a consulting nutritionist, Somer, "What we eat affects our memory, mood and vitality long before it affects our heart and bones. . . . what you ate this morning can affect how you perform and how you feel this afternoon" (58). The reason why the food we eat affects our moods is that [certain foods] "affects the brain's synthesis of neurotransmitters, substances nece
ssary for conducting nerve impulses" (Trankina, par. 3). In the brain, neurotransmitters are manufactured from the amino acids and other substances supplied by diet (Blaun 41). By passing messages from one brain cell to another, neurotransmitters regulate emotions, hunger, moods and behaviors (Lippert 126; Somer 58). Neurotransmitters are the key to for affections to our moods through our diet. Therefore, we can improve our thoughts, emotions, attitudes and performances if we take right foods and wisely control neurotransmitters. In addition, n-3s cannot be manufactured in the human body, so they must be supplied by daily diet (Blaun 38). Some foods include both positive and negative affections for our health and mood. So, again, it is important to improve our knowledge of food to take its advantages and not to get its negative affects. Somer, Elizabeth. "Food & Mood." American Health. April 1995: 58 In easier way, Somer offers instructions that may help us to figure out how to control our mood better. According to Somer, there are six ways to make our mental abilities better with foods (58). First of all, she emphasizes that breakfast is very important for us because "it boosts our energy for the rest of the day, prevents fatigue and helps moods improve" (58). Secondly, by dividing our daily food intake into five to six times a day, we may become less prone to fatigue, insomnia and depression (Somer 58). Thirdly, we can maintain a desirable weight; limit sweet or creamy foods to one serving a day, and limit fat to approximately 25% of the calories (Somer 58). Somer also suggests us to increase our intake of carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals (58). We should limit caffeine containing beverages such as coffee to no more than two servings of a day because caffeine may contribute fatigue and sleep or mood pr
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Approximate Word count = 1234
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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