HOW FOOD AFFECT OUR MOOD

This is how food affect our mood :
         
     For thousands of years, people have believed that food could influence their health and well being. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, once said: "let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food" The past 80 years have seen immense progress in research, primarily short-term human trials and animals, studies showing how certain food change brain structure, chemistry and physiology thus affecting mood and performance. Its however noted that food affect the body's metabolism, hormones and neurotransmitters (chemicals that are produced in the brain) and thus in return influence our emotions, concentration and energy.

   
   First; the serotonin theory stated that your thoughts, moods and behaviors are the product of your brain - an exquisite spider's web of neuronal connections and witch's brew of neuronal chemicals. Mood is the product of chemicals in the brain called "neurochemicals". This includes "neurotransmitters" which are small molecules nerve cells (neurons) use to communicate with each other. One important neurotransmitter involved in mood is serotonin popularly known as one of the happy hormones. Its produced by neurons in the brainstem which connect virtually every other major area of the brain, so serotonin's effects are widespread as it often influences many behaviors, including mood (such as happiness and depression), social behavior, appetite, sleep, memory, and sexual desire etc.

     Serotonin is made from tryptophan, an essential amino acid. This means the body can't produce tryptophan and we have to get it from the food we eat. Luckily, tryptophan is found in many foods such as meats, diary , fruits and seeds. People who feed a diet low or lacking in tryptophan have increased irritability or aggression and have impaired memory and lowered mood. We need to eat meat, diary, fruit and seeds to ingest tryptophan.... (Alice Henneman, CC BY)
     
     Furthermore; diet low in fibre and high in refined sugars and saturated fats can also affect our mental health. Feeding animals a high fat diet during pregnancy disrupts the mood-regulation systems in offspring. And are more likely to show anxiety or depression like behaviors than the offspring of mothers who ate normally. A large study of over 20,000 mothers and their children led by Pro.Felice Jack's (Australia) and colleagues of that showed that the Children of mothers who ate an unhealthier diet during pregnancy had higher levels of behaviors such as aggression, hyperactivity or conduct problems that are linked to mental disorders. These findings have been replicated in studies in UK and Europe. Jacka's Norwegien study also showed that children's diet were important too. Young children who ate a diet low in nutrient-dense foods and/or higher in "Junk" foods during the first years of life had higher levels of emotional dysregulation, including anxiety, sadness and worry.
  
       More so; the relationship between food and mood in individuals is complex which also depends on the time of the day, the type and macronutrient composition of food, the amount of food consumed , and the age and dietary history of the subjects. In one study by Spring et al (1983), 184 adults either consumed a protein rich or carbohydrate rich meal. After two hours, their mood and performance were assessed. The effects of the meal differed for the female and male subjects and for younger, and older participants. For example, females reported greater sleepiness after a carbohydrate meal whereas males reported greater calmness. 
  
     In addition, participants aged 40yrs or older showed impairments on a test of sustained selectiveness attention after a carbohydrate lunch. According to Michand et al (1991), if you are an evening person and you skip breakfast, your cognitive performance might be impaired. A large breakfast rich in protein, however, could improve your real performance but might impair your concentration. This illustrate the complexity of relationship between food and mood and the need to find a healthy balance of food choices.
  
     In conclusion, their is know deny about the fact that food affect our mood at higher cause. Though the perfect diet to enhance mood and optimized performance and healthy remains unknown. In the same vein, abundant research exists on food-mood relationships, the findings of these studies are often generalized and subjective. For example, the ability of carbohydrates to positively influence mood remains controversial. Therefore it seems best to follow a well- balanced diet rich in protein, moderate in carbohydrates and low in fat since this could improve mood and energy level.