Mood and Food

Mood and Food

Posted By Annie Claffey |19 Oct 2021
What we eat and how often we eat really affects our mood. For example, we’ve all been ‘hangry’ when our blood sugar levels have dropped, leaving us irritable, dizzy and shaky. The great thing is, you can control the situation, quite easily. Here are three steps for managing your blood sugar:

1. Your body triggers the stress hormone ‘cortisol’ – the stress hormone. It’s the body’s way of making us focus on food. You can get ahead of this by eating before you get hungry. Having regular mealtimes will help this by letting your body know what to expect and by evening out your food intake.

2. Protein keeps blood sugar levels stable. Build your meals around a central protein - meat, chicken, eggs, dairy products, nuts, seeds, lentils, peas etc. Even snacks should have protein, as carbs on their own cause blood sugars to spike.

3. Reduce your caffeine intake. Did you ever wonder how coffee perks you up? You guessed it, it releases ‘Cortisol’! So that coffee-fuelled alertness you’re feeling is actually stress. Try drinking decaf tea and coffee, or herbal teas. For example, chamomile tea is great for relaxing the brain. 





By Aisling Fox 
AOK Nutrition