Have you ever wondered why a cheeseburger makes you happy but your friend nervous? Well, it tastes and costs the same so why doesn’t it feels the same. To answer that let’s explore the relationship between mood and food.
What you eat shows a direct impact on what you think. Similarly what you think shows an effect on what you eat. If the relationship is so strong why don’t we see more people talking about it? Well, around the world it is a much talked about topic. But in Pakistan, the relationship between mood and food is an untouched genre. In Pakistan, nutrition and psychology themselves are not talked about let alone the relationship between the two.
If you have ever been on a diet you must have experienced mood swings and crankiness. This is because you are not satisfying your mind with the food you are eating. You need to realize that your brain eats more than your body. Now, this does not certify you to have a burger every day and gain a hundred pounds.
So how to create a balance? The only way to keep your body healthy and your mind happy is to develop a good relationship between the two.
The relationship between the mind and food is not as harmless as you may think. If this relationship gets affected and stays like that for long it can lead to serious eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia.
Factors Influencing The Relationship Between Mood and Food
Many factors influence your eating behaviors. The recent rise of social media and its impact on people’s eating behaviors is a living example of how external factors influence the relationship between mood and food.
Once your brain perceives a food as something good (healthy or yummy) you are likely to eat it.
Several factors that influence your eating behavior include.
- Social pressures
- Cultural norms
- Economic status.
- Evolutionary traits
- Family mindset
- Individual preferences
Maintaining A Happy Mind And A Healthy Body
Maintaining a healthy relationship between mood and food can eventually lead to a healthy body and a happy mind. If you succeed in dissociating your happiness from a burger and associating it with a healthy sandwich you have achieved the epitome of self-control. And let me tell you that it is possible.
Following simple tips can help you in keeping a healthy body and a sane mind
Stay Hydrated
Plain water with no calories and no apparent nutrients can do wonders for your mood and physical health. If you don’t drink enough water, you will find it difficult to concentrate and focus.
Furthermore, dehydration can also lead to constipation which causes discomfort and most likely results in an irritated mood.
Eat It All
Cutting out any food group from your diet will not only risk your physical health but your mental health too. Going on FAD diets or very restrictive diets are likely to cut you off from your social circle. This undue stress of isolating yourself from others can hinder your weight loss efforts. Hence rendering your struggles useless.
Eating the right amount of all macro and micronutrients will not only keep you sane but is the healthiest way to maintain a good weight, as proven by science.
Don’t Neglect The Gut
I still remember going to a gastroenterologist regarding my recurrent diarrhea. Without even carrying out a single test he declared stress to be the cause of my disturbed gut. This is how dependant the brain and gut are on each other. An ill-functioning brain shows a direct effect on the gut and a diseased gut shows a direct effect on the brain.
Good foods like yogurt help in maintaining a healthy microbiome inside your gut. This sends good signals to the brain, which regulates your mood. Hence, proven the eminent relationship between mood and food.
Break The Links
We often like and dislike foods depending on our past experiences with certain food. Our association with different foods decide what we like and what we don’t.
Breaking all past linkages with the help of a psychologist. with foods and creating a new food diary will make your mind a clean slate. Now with the help of a nutritionist write all healthy foods in your “like” list.
This might sound like a long shot but is very much achievable. All you need to do is to put your heart and a little effort into it.
A Reality Check
Now that I have given you an excuse to break your diet. Let me snap you back into reality. There is no denying, the fact that the relationship between mood and food is of utmost importance. But it should not lure you out of your diet. In fact, it should make you look at your healthy food in a different way. The food that once seemed a punishment should now look like a treasure.
Moreover, there are people who need special diets no matter what they think of it. Such people need to follow their diets to stay healthy. For instance, if you are morbidly obese you will need to follow a strict diet. As a nutritionist, I assure you that losing weight will help you in keeping your mind sane too. Because just like your food affects your mind, your overall health affects it too.
Hence it is important to work on your mental and physical health at the same time. If you always crave for icecream your mind needs to change, not your nutritionist who is stopping you to go for it.
This can be best done when psychologists and nutritionists work in collaboration. At Marham, we do just that. Consult a psychologist to keep your mind in check and a nutritionist to keep your tummy in check. This deadly combo will eventually keep your overall health in check.
Book an appointment now, to answer all your queries. You can book an appointment with top nutritionists and the best psychologists in Pakistan through Marham by calling at Marham helpline: 0311-1222398 or by online booking facility through the website or Marham mobile app.
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