食物和心情
Have you ever felt “hangry” (hungry + angry)? 食物和情绪相互影响. 如果你了解它们是如何相互作用的, you can make good diet choices and avoid emotional or impulse eating.
Maybe it’s no coincidence that food and mood have only one different letter. Think about it: On a feel-good day you enjoy a dinner salad, lean protein and vegetable for dinner. 在沮丧的一天, you reach for anything you can grab that’s salty or sweet, 比如一袋薯片或一桶冰淇淋.
It’s a delicate relationship, and it can spin out of control if you’re not careful. Let’s look at the food-mood relationship, and how to set it right again when it goes wrong.
第一个渴望
即使你平时保持健康的饮食, 渴望高热量是正常的, 压力大或沮丧时不健康的食物. Your body wants to fuel up for fight-or-flight mode when times get tough. But it can mistake the stress of fighting traffic on the freeway for fighting predators on the savanna. 难怪一整块披萨, a plate piled with fried chicken or a chocolate milkshake can seem like a cure for a downer of a day. 这就是为什么它被称为“安慰食物”.”
恶性循环
偶尔吃一顿欺骗餐是可以的, 但如果你用食物来对抗忧郁, 你会输掉这场战争. Research shows that foods full of unhealthy fats and added sugar only increase the likelihood of depression and anxiety. And that means you’ll only want more sugary junk to fight the new bad mood. 这个循环是一个反馈循环.
恶性循环
If the consumption of “bad” fats and added sugar goes on too long, 你的身体会适应的, 认为这很正常. Then, when you try to start eating right, you could throw off your system. 这会增加焦虑和抑郁, trapping you in a cycle of bad eating to try to maintain happiness.
打破循环
有一种方法可以避免恶性循环. In the same way that unhealthy comfort food can keep you feeling low, healthy food can boost you up. 在一项研究中, when people ate seven to eight servings of fruits or 蔬菜 in one day, 他们报告说感觉更平静了, happier and more energetic than they usually did. They also stated they felt more positive the next day.
事情一直在好转
When you’re happier, you’re more likely to crave healthy foods. It’s easier to stay healthy when you stay happy. 吃得健康能让你更快乐.
向上，向上，然后离开!
最棒的是? There are long-term mental health effects to eating well. 研究表明，健康的选择, 比如地中海饮食, 满是水果, 蔬菜, 全谷物和瘦肉蛋白, 能帮助你远离抑郁吗. This type of diet helps to stabilize mood and keeps you out of the danger zone where it feels as though only a cupcake will save the day.
好心情食物
There are some specific foods to keep an eye on to boost your mood:
- 水果和蔬菜. An apple a day keeps the doctor away and maybe the psychiatrist, too. Fruits and 蔬菜 have been linked to higher levels of happiness.
- Omega-3脂肪酸. This is the good stuff, found in foods like fish and nut oils. Low omega-3 fatty acids have been correlated to depression and impulsivity. Getting plenty of omega-3s in your diet keeps your levels high, and that’s a good thing.
- 巧克力. As a special treat, chocolate may have properties that improve mood and even reduce tension. But remember, the key is to choose real chocolate (dark is best) and in moderation.
Start Now: Break the Bad Mood/Bad Food Cycle
Stock up on convenient and healthy snacks, such as bananas or snack-size bags of nuts or carrots. Keep them within easy reach at home, work and in the car. So the next time a craving or bad mood hits, you can reach for some mood-boosting goodness.
Eating well will help you be in the mood to be healthy for good!
