Conscious Choice: Mood Boost

March 2008 | Locally Yours

Mood Boost

Get in line, cafeteria food just got a whole lot better

By Jennifer Adler M.S., C.N.

Federal prisoners, public school kids and Google employees might have more in common than you think. No, it’s not uniforms and recess time. Instead, these three groups are all benefiting from a growing commitment to nutritious meals served at their respective institutions. The word is out: what we eat affects our productivity and our behavior.

Google has not only been an innovative forerunner in the cyber world, it’s also a pioneer when it comes to employee care. Many Google locations have a full-time chef who provides local nutritious meals to its employees, free of charge! Google has taken more of a European business model approach in the sense that the company factors in less obvious benefits from costs such as free wholesome food for its employees as a means of boosting morale and productivity.

There are also numerous schools and prisons that have seen an improvement in behavior with better nutrition. Many of these institutions have found that switching to healthier food options tastes better and is more cost effective. In fact, research by UC Berkeley’s Center for Weight and Health has shown that when schools kick high-sugar sodas and high-fat chips off their campuses, food service department revenues tend to increase. This is in addition to the savings incurred from a reduction in disciplinary needs, not to mention the educational benefit of having more alert and attentive students.

As this awareness continues to grow, more institutions are taking the leap. Trials will soon be underway in three UK prisons to investigate the link between nutrition and behavior. Funded by the Wellcome Trust, the world’s largest independent charity that funds research for animal and human health, the study will look at which nutrients are most important and at what dosage.
Mental Building Blocks

Our bodies are essentially big chemistry sets. Food composes the building blocks for our brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, which regulate our behavior and are closely linked to mood. Therefore, what you eat or don’t eat for breakfast will affect how clearly you think, how stressors will affect you and what your energy level will be hours later.

The good news is that making even small changes in what and when you eat can have profound effects on how you think, feel and behave. What you chose to eat two hours ago is having an effect on your mood right now. You are much more likely to feel better, think clearly and have the energy you need to live life to its fullest if you are fueling your body with the foods it needs.

What do we need to feel great? Adequate protein consumption and absorption is essential in order to have enough raw materials to synthesize our neurotransmitters. Nutrients such as essential fatty acids, vitamins B3 and B6, iron, folate, copper, calcium, magnesium and lecithin are all beneficial. By balancing our food sources, we can improve our behavior and mood throughout the day.

Here are some ideas for how to get your nutrient needs met. Eat something balanced every three to four hours to maintain stable blood sugar levels. To be balanced, it contains high fiber carbohydrates, protein and healthy fat. Too much refined, low fiber carbohydrate at one sitting can make you feel lethargic and unproductive. It is better to eat smaller amounts more regularly and add some protein and fat. Also your mother knew best: eat breakfast! Eat plenty of colorful vegetables, whole grains, beans and fruit. They contain fiber, which stabilizes blood sugar levels and mood. In addition, fiber really helps keep energy levels on an even keel by slowing down the absorption of the food eaten. It also cannot be stressed enough that we need a sufficient of essential fatty acids in our diet for proper brain functioning. We can obtain these fats from cold-water fish, grass-fed beef, cod liver oil, mackerel, herring and flax seeds.

Why put up with feeling or thinking anything less than great when a natural solution is readily available? The choice to eat healthy and influence your mood is yours every time you eat.

Jennifer Adler, M.S., C.N., provides nutrition counseling at her private practice Realize Health, www.realizehealth.com. She attributes her exemplary behavior primarily to her nutrient-dense whole foods diet.

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