How food affects mood

How many of you have felt sluggish at various times throughout the day.  I bet you ran straight for the coffee or something filled with sugar for a pick me up.  Don’t worry your not suffering from a caffeine deficiency.  What you are suffering from is a vitamin deficiency.  Specifically and most commonly it’s a B-complex deficiency. 

The main system that becomes affected is your stress glands or what we call the adrenal glands.  These are bean shaped glands that sit atop your kidneys.  The adrenals are responsible for helping your body cope with “stress”.  Stress comes in all shapes and sizes, as we all know to well.  Some of it is good for you like exercise.  Other forms are not so good.  For example, a poor diet filled with refined sugars is exactly what depletes these glands of all their nutrients. 

Carbohydrates are the energy sources of the body.  Our body breaks these foods down into glucose for fuel.   It’s vitally important to understand what types your eating.  Carbohydrates are measured according to the glycemic index.  High glycemic foods are those that are more refined and simple.  Examples are table sugar, pastas, and breads.   These foods tend to give you a sudden surge in energy that lasts for a very short time.  This tends to lead to what we call hypoglycemia or low blood sugar.  This is where we get that tired and sluggish feeling.   Low glycemic foods are those that are more complex in nature.  Examples include fruits, various vegetables, and sweet potatoes.  These foods cause our blood sugar to go up slowly and plateau over an extended period of time and slowly make their way back down.  The easiest way to decipher the two groups is one is natural and comes from Mother Nature and the other is man made. 

An over abundance of carbohydrates, especially the refined variety will eventually cause not only your adrenals to become depleted, they will also slowly burn out the pancreas, which is responsible for producing insulin.  This is evidenced by the steady increase in the rates of diabetes.  This can especially be seen in our children who are now acquiring diabetes so early in life.  I encourage all my young patients to bring their lunches to school so they can also learn what their putting into their bodies.  

The percentage of the diet that should come from carbohydrates has been reported anywhere from 40 to 55% of your total calories.  This varies according to what governing body your referencing.  I feel that it’s totally dependant on the person, their lifestyle, activity levels, and current health status.  Everyone is different and requires various things.  The one common denominator is that we all require the same vitamins and minerals.