Marisol Ayala
1. How does your food choice affect your mood ?
I think my food choices affect my mood very much and the other way around as well my
mood affects my choices as well. I notice that when I have fast foods immediately I feel
tired, lazy and I just do not want to do anything at all. But then when I eat good healthy
food, not even healthy food just home made food in general and greens I feel great with
myself. Throughout the whole day I feel energetic and very productive. I also do not feel
hungry as often as I do when I eat fast food. Then my mood affects my food choices in
the way that I when I am feeling stressed or just overwhelmed with everything I want to
eat junk foods. For example, just the other day I got home from work and was craving
something sweet. So as I was heading to my afternoon class I stopped at the store and
bought an almonds Snickers bar. I am not the greatest at choosing healthy foods in
general but I never eat any candy or chips unless stuff like this happens.
2. The most important information/key concepts we need to understand from this
chapter?
I think the most important information from this chapter is the dramatic impact that our
food choices give to our daily mood. As stated in the textbook, " Increased serotonin
levels are related to mood elevations " (Schmidt). Some of the functions that are
impacted by these levels are sleep, appetite, and impulse control. Something else that I
have learned in this chapter is that a diet in rich carbohydrates can relieve depression
and elevate the mood in many disorders. Some of the disorders are pre-menstrual
syndrome, craving obesity, seasonal affective disorder. It is very interesting how foods
can affect a humans mood.
3. How can I use the information in this chapter to help me with my mindfulness eating
practice?
After reading this chapter I have learned that choosing certain foods may change my
whole mindful eating practice experience. Before I begin any of my mindful eating
practices I will look more into the type of food that it is and probably go with a choice
that has carbohydrates.
4. In what ways will the material learned in this chapter help me manage stress more
effectively?
The material that I learned in this chapter has helped me understand that the foods that
I choose to eat on a daily basis will help me with my energy and mood. I think that
choosing certain foods will help me manage my stress.
5. What are your thoughts and feedback regarding the information and activities for
each chapter?
I really like the quiz because I think that taking this quiz each week reminds me to do try
and focus on doing better in these areas. The information in this chapter is very helpful
it will help me to make better food choices for my own health. I think that it is very
important to keep all these healthy eating topics in mind for our own good. I also think
that all the information in these chapters should be shared with other college students or
even just humans in general because it may have a positive impact in their life.
Abdulsalam Alghamdi
What people eat affect their moods by altering the structure of their brain physiology and
its chemistry which in turn affect my mood and performance of the brain. Personally, my mood is
lifted upon consuming thiamine, yeast, grains, oranges, and eggs. When I take large quantities of
protein during breakfast, my recall performance is improved while my concentration is impaired.
Therefore some of the foods that I eat have a significant influence on the neurotransmitter systems
of the brain which consequently affects our moods. Also moods influence the choice of food
including the effects that are expected from consuming certain foods.
Some factors necessarily influence the relationship between food and moods in human
being. This includes the time of the day when an individual usually takes the meals, macronutrients
present in that food, the quantity of food, age, and individual dietary history. However, the foods
that we commonly have different effects to women and men as well as young and old people. In
these cases, it has been reported that the way females react upon consuming carbohydrates is
different from the way males behaves. When women eat carbohydrates, tend to be sleepiness
unlike men who seem to maintain calmness (Hart, (2018). On the other side, it has been reported
that older people show impairments on a test of sustained, focused attention after taking
carbohydrate during lunchtime contrary to young people. As such, this is what affects our moods
differently upon taking a meal.
Sugar, caffeine, and junk also affect my mood differently. Sugar acts as carbohydrate in
the body, and when I take, I become energized and motivated. Sugar places me in lousy mood
although most of the time I try to avoid it in my diet because it increases synthesis of serotonin
which alters the function of the brain and thus lowering and worsening my mood. Foods rich in
caffeine affect my mood negatively. Usually, by taking food substance rich in caffeine, the caffeine
itself is absorbed into the bloodstream and transported to the brain where it makes one feel tired.
Mostly this caffeine leads me to anxiety and depression, and thus I gain a depressed mood till
digestion goes into completion. The food substances containing caffeine need to be avoided due
to their senilities in people’s body including the issues of mood swings. Junks are not inherently
good in one diet. The moment I have a test of them I can quickly lose concentration. I consider
them unhealthy foods that affect bucolical and emotional states related to depression.
I can use the information in this chapter to set up strategies on how to establish healthy
eating to positively lift my moods. Most are the times when I keep on thinking on how foods and
moods relate. Some of the meals tend to impact our moods while others affect our moods
negatively positively. Eating healthier foods like fruits, vegetable and taking plenty of water keeps
our attitudes right. The regulation of mood is a biological process that depends on what people eat
(Foerde et al., 2018). Eating leads to ease while hunger results into discomfort and restlessness.
The moment I think about eating I have a perception of what particular mood I am likely to
experience after eating certain foods. There are several ways in which this material will help me
manage my mindful eating and stress level more effectively. These ways include, considering age,
dietary history, taking enough quantity of food and ensuring there are all require macronutrient in
the diets. My thoughts and feedback regarding the information and activities in this chapter is that
I can maintain good moods by perusing foods that positively lifts my moods and avoiding foods
containing, sugar, caffeine, and junk where possible. In conclusion, choosing healthy foods will
help us attain the desired moods and live a life free from stress and depression.
References
Foerde, K., Gianini, L., Wang, Y., Wu, P., Shohamy, D., Walsh, B. T., & Steinglass, J. E. (2018).
Assessment of the test-retest reliability of a food choice task among healthy individuals.
Appetite, 123, 352-356.
Hart, J. (2018). Food and Mood: The Link Between Food, Feelings, and Mood Disorders.
Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 24(2), 88-90.
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