Neubecker1

NathanNeubecker
English12
7thhour
March4,2016

MoodFood
Weasacommunityloveeatingfood,normallyweonlythinkofthenutritional
aspectwheneatingsomething.Whatpeopletendtooverlookishowitwillmakeyou
feelemotionally.MoodFoodsaretheproblemsofmanypeople.Somepeopledon't
understandwhytheyhavesomuchenergyorarestressedout,butclosetonoone
lookstoseewhatfoodstheywereeating.MoodFoodscanalteryourmooddepending
onexactlywhatyouwereeating,it'seasytochangeyourmood,youjusthavetofind
therightfood.
Thesetypesoffoodaren'tnecessarilyveryspecific,soastowheretheyare,it's
verygeneral.Theyaregrown/madeanywhereintheworld.Noteverypersonreactsthe
samewaytoeachfood,becausepeopleareverydifferentintermsofpersonality.It
tendstogothesamewaywhenitcomestothefoodweeat.Weasacommunityhave
beenresearchingacuretodifferentdiseasesforaverylongtime,butasforwhat
causesouremotions,wehaventdoveintothatinthepast,butweareslowlybecoming
moreawareofwhatcausestheseemotions.(
Somer)
Moodfoodshavealwaysbeen
aroundwehavejustnevernoticedthatfoodmighthavebeenthecauseofsomeofour

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emotions.Sincetheprogressionoftechnologythepastcoupleofdecadeswecannow
reallystarttounderstandwhythesefoodsaffectusthewaytheydo.
(Berg)
Food
addictionshavebecomearesearchfocus.Currentscienceshowsthatafoodaddiction
presentsitselfinthebrainsimilarlytoadrugaddictionandthatwearehardwiredto
keepreachingforcertainfoods.(Czubko)
Theeffectsthesefoodscanhaveonyoucanbeeitherpositiveornegative
dependingonexactlywhatyoueat,andalsohowyourbodyreactstoit.Let'ssayIeata
bananaandthepotassiumIeatinthebananagivesmeenoughenergytogetthrough
themorning,thisisapositiveeffect.Somefoodsthataresaidtogivenegativeeffects
sugaryfoodslikechocolateandicecreamsometimeshaveanoppositeeffectto
energy,whichmakesyoutired.Youmayenjoyeatingitinthatmomentbuttheafter
effectsaren'tworthit.Itaffectsusthroughthebrain,mostlypsychologically,butalso
cantakeaphysicaltollonyou.Thesefoodshavecertainchemicalsinthem,sowhen
youeatthemyourbrainreadsthechemicalsanddevelopsemotionbasedonwhatit
reads.
(Magee)
Therearemanypeoplewhostudythesefoodsandwhoareatleast
awareofwhatitis.Doctorsalmostalwayshaveanunderstandingofwhatthesefoods
cando,butdietitianshavecompletebackgroundsrevolvingaroundhealthyfoodsand
whatisgoodforyoutoeatandwhatisnot.Dietitiansrecommendfindinganalternate
behaviorthatprovidesthesamecomfortfeelingasthefoodliketalkingtoasupportive
friend,takingabubblebath,exercising(releasesfeelgoodhormonescalled
endorphins),doingacraftorreadingafavoritebooketc.Ithelpsiftheactivitykeeps
theirhandsbusysotheyaren'tabletoeat.Topreventfoodcravingspinthefirstplace,it

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helpstofollowabalanced,nutritiousdietandMyPlateisagoodguideto
follow.
(Czubko)
Psychologistsdon'tnecessarilyhaveknowledgeonthehealthaspect
offoodbuttheydounderstandwhatitdoestoyourbrainafteryoueatit.Whydowe
careabouthowfoodsaffectouremotions?Weusuallyonlycareaboutwhatfoodswill
makeushealthyandloseweightbutyouneedtokeeptrackofwhatfoodsmakeyou
feelacertainway.Emotionsareapowerfulmotivatorordemotivator,andifyoudon't
listentothemyoucouldendupinaplaceyoudon'twanttobe.
(HealthyLifestyle)
Carbohydrates(starchyandsweetfoods)triggerthereleaseofserotonininthebrain.
Serotoninmakesusfeelsleepyanddecreasessensitivitytopain.Peoplemay
unconsciouslybeusingcarbohydratesasasedative.Foodisagreatpleasureinlife
andwhengivenachoicewewillalwayschoosetoeatsomethingthatweenjoyversus
somethingthatwedon't.Insomecaseslikecaffeinecausingirritability.Itcanalsobe
badasfaraspeopleselfmedicatingthemselvesbyeatinghighcarb,highfatfoods
(alsoveryhighincalories)tohelpthemfeelcalmerwhentheyfeelanxiousandthiscan
leadtoanunhealthyweightdependingonhowmanytimestheyusefoodtoaltertheir
mood.WhenweeatthesefoodsitreleasesachemicalcalledbEndorphin,whichis
saidtoimproveourmood.Forexample,Fishgivesoffomega3vitaminswhichhelp
stabilizeournervoussystemwhichinturn,putsusinabettermood.Werenotaffected
directly,becausesomethingalmostalwayshastobetriggeredforustofeel
something.
(Lounsbury)
Everyonehasachoiceofwhatfoodtheywanttoeat,noone
hastoeatacertainfood,butifwespentalittlemoretimeonhowfoodsmakeusfeel
wecouldbemorehealthierandmoremotivatedthanever.

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Aswehaveprogressedthroughtheyearsourfoodhasbecomecleaner,and
betterprepared.Itshowswiththenolongerneedofmanyvaccinesfordiseases.We
havebeenshownhowtogrowmorenaturalfood,andhowtopreserveitalotbetter
whichinturnhasgivenusabettersenseofthetruenatureofeachproduct.In17th
centuryenglandtheyusedfoodtotreatpeopleformelancholyorsadness,which
happenedtobethefirstoutspokenuseofmoodfoodever.Sincethen,wehavealways
subconsciouslyknownwhattypeoffoodwillmakeushappy.
(Longhurst)
Ifyoueat
properly,thenyouwillhaveagoodmood.Yetmanypeopleareunawarethatsome
foodsmaygiveusalittleadvantageinthisarea.Thereissuchathingascomfortfood,
anditusuallyhitsuswhenwe'reatourlowestpoint.Whenwegetdepressedorsad
sometimesweeatfoodforcomfort,thereforecallingitcomfortfood.Emotionaleating
isawayforpeopletosoothetheiremotionssuchasdepression,anger,fear,boredom,
andloneliness.Thereareeatingdisorderslikecompulsiveovereatingorbingeeating
thatmaybethecause.Triggersmayincluderelationships,workstress,fatigue,health
orfinancialproblems,andjustnormaldailyroutine
.(HealthGuru)
Foodprovidesa
distractionfromthesethings,butpeopletendtooverindulgeandendupmore
depressedbecauseofhowmuchtheyendedupeating.
(MayoClinicGaincontrolof
emotionaleating)
Wewillprobablycontinuetolookatfoodinanutritionalstandpointbutthat
doesn'ttakeawayfromthefactthatfooddoeschangeyourmood.Everysingleperson
hasanopinionaboutsomethingeveniftheysaytheydon't,theydo.Thesamething

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worksforfood,eachpersonhasanopinionaboutfood,whetherit'sifit'sbadorgood.
Thishasalwaysbeenaroundandwillcontinuetobeapartofhumannature.Who
knowswhatthefoodwillbelikeinthefuturebutwearealwaysadvancingourwayto
understandaboutanything.Astechnologyadvancesinthefollowingyearstocome,we
willdevelopmoreofaunderstandingaboutthistopic.Wehaveseenintheyearsprior
whatamazingthingscanhappeninjustafewyearstime.Ihavenodoubtthatthenew
generationwillhaveanabundanceoftechnologyandresourcesattheirdisposal.We
willcontinuetoadvanceinthewaywecreateandeatfood,asitishumannatureand
ourwilltosurvive.

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WorksCited
Berg,Eric."HowFoodAffectsYourMood."
Youtube
.Youtube,27Aug.2013.Web.7
Mar.2016.
Czubko,Leslie."MoodFoods."Personalinterview.23Feb.2016.
"FoodandMood:HowDietAffectsDepression(MentalHealthGuru)."
YouTube
.
YouTube,4Oct.2010.Web.07Mar.2016.
Longhurst,Katrina."YouAreWhatYouAte."
MoodFoodin17thCenturyEngland
.
UniversityofLeeds,2011.Web.07Mar.2016.
Lounsbury,Heather.
FixYourMoodwithFood:The"liveNatural,LiveWell"Approach
to
WholeBodyHealth
.N.p.:Skirt,n.d.Print.
Magee,Elaine."HowFoodAffectsYourMoods."
WebMD
.WebMD,15Dec.2009.Web.
07Mar.2016.
MayoClinicStaff."WeightLoss."
Weightloss:GainControlofEmotionalEating
.
MayoClinic,3Oct.2015.Web.07Mar.2016.
HealthyLifestyle
.2014.N.p.ByAnushkaNanan.
Somer,Elizabeth.
FoodandMood:TheCompleteGuidetoEatingWelland
FeelingYourBest
.NewYork:Holt,1995.Print.

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