Often times our mood is dictated by the food we eat. We all know that chocolate lifts the spirits and puts a smile on our face, and not just because of its favorite taste. We also know how we get irritable and cranky when we're hungry. Our thoughts are only about what delicious food to eat to dull the hunger and bad mood.
Dieting can seriously affect mood. The thought that you can't reward yourself with something you love and taste makes you miserable and drastically lowers your happiness hormone levels.
Here's exactly how dieting affects mood.
Sugar Levels
Blood sugar fluctuations have an incredible effect on mood. Low blood sugar causes irritability. On the other hand, a sugar spike can increase feelings of euphoria and elevate mood.
This is because the brain feeds mostly on carbohydrates and fluctuations in their levels always have a bearing on mood.
Neurotransmitters
There's a reason chocolate is known around the world for promoting happiness and mood. In addition to providing pleasure with its incredible taste, it provokes the secretion of serotonin - the so-called hormone of happiness, in addition to containing it in its composition.
Many foods contain neurotransmitters. In addition to serotonin, such are tryptophan and dopamine. They are found in spinach, seeds, avocados. These so-called biogenic amines are formed in the body, but they can also enter it from the external environment, as they are widely distributed in living nature.
When these substances are restricted due to dieting, mood seriously suffers.
Allergens and sensitivities
Unknown or neglected food sensitivities can lead not only to mood swings, but also to other side effects and conditions.
Symptoms of food intolerance are bloating, acne, lethargy, lack of energy and bad mood.
If you feel this way, consider the presence of some highly allergenic foods in your diet - nuts, dairy, gluten, eggs.
Deficits
If your diet restricts the intake of certain vitamins and minerals into the body, this can negatively affect mood. Sometimes we tend to follow an overly drastic diet that deprives the body of important nutrients.
Therefore, it is important to know that in any diet, emphasis should be placed on omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, folic acid, magnesium, which are some of the most important components for a balanced intake of beneficial compounds through food.
Psychobiotics and gut flora
More and more new research is talking about the presence of so-called psychobiotics – living organisms in the intestinal flora, having a connection not only with the processing of nutrients, but also with the brain.
It has long been known that without certain intestinal bacteria living organisms cannot live. Laboratory studies on mice raised in sterile conditions without the negative influence of disease-causing microorganisms show that in the absence or reduced amount of beneficial bacteria in the intestines, serious deviations in the behavior and mood of the experimental animals are observed.
This leads scientists to think that the absence of these psychobiotics seriously affects the functions of brain structures.
This is how we arrive at our idea of probiotics and the knowledge of their particularly beneficial effect on the body.
If your diet is poor in useful substances that provoke the multiplication of beneficial bacteria, then your mood will suffer, and with it many other functions in the body.
