No foods are taboo
By Oluwatoyin Oluwastoyin
Friday,
May 4, 2007
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Cheese cake: Share a piece with someone if you must take
•Pix: Sun News
Publishing |
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“No foods are taboo, even fried chicken. It is how
much you eat that affects your mood.” This is Susan Kleiner, Phd, RD in
her latest book which she co-authored with Bob Condom tittled: The Good Mood Diet:
Feel Great While You Lose Weight (Springboard Press), United States.
Another
Mothering Day is next Sunday, May 13. The Americans and all who care to salute
motherhood would be doing so on this day. APETIT decides to share the findings
of these authors to educate the womenfolk, their fans and foes alike on how foods
could enhance good moods.
Is someone saying, thank God, no more bad moods
again! Hormones, notwithstanding, the advice in this book should really help liven
up your days. And who says this is only about women? Men too have their days or
haven’t you met a melancholic guy before. Stop rolling your eyes. He was
such a good company! Happy reading
Dr Kleiner says the size of the meal rather
than the type of food is what often triggers bad mood. Thus you should say no
to supersizing.
“The truth is, you do not have to eliminate any food
from your diet. The important step is realizing what foods make you feel awful
and put you in a bad mood. If you pay attention, you can identify how certain
foods, in certain portions, blitz your mood. “The approach I take as a nutritionist
is to figure out how my clients can eat those foods in smaller portions while
still enjoying them for the culinary experience and the sheer fun. It is not about
eliminating foods you love, but about appreciating them more. It is one of the
eating strategies I explain in the book.
“I came to realize that
I was gobbling chocolate chip cookies to stuff down the stress in my life,”
says Paula Burke, a Seattle business consultant with two young children. “Now
I really savour a good piece of chocolate, taking the time to take pleasure in
it. I enjoy it so much more.”
Susan’s list of feel-bad foods
is really more about not overdoing it rather than not eating any particular food.
For instance, she is not totally opposed to the occasional order of French fries,
just make it a small order. If you simply must sample a great cheesecake while
dining out, share it with at least one other person. Plus, some items—notably
alcohol and chocolate—can actually transfer to the feel-great foods list
if you consume them in moderation.
According to the book, these are in
the feel-bad food category:
• Alcohol
• Caffeine (large doses)
•
Fried foods
• Fatty meats
• Fatty snack foods
• Refined
sugars and starches (most often in packaged foods)
And here are Dr Kleiner’s
top 10 Feel-Even-Worse Foods (in no particular order). Note that the oversized
serving dooms the mood-boosting of some items:
Large order of fries: America’s
favourite fast food is a mood-buster when you eat more than two handfuls. If you
insist, get a small order and eat one fry at a time. You will be surprised at
how satisfied you will be.
Super sized soft drinks: This is no bargain
when applied to your emotional balance. Drinking more than 12 ounces will take
a big gulp out of your mood in the ensuing hours. Bye bye to extra-large bottled
soft drinks.
Pork rinds: Forget about any unofficial stamp of approval.
This snack is fried skin, no way around it.
Bacon cheeseburgers: The best burger
for mood is a hamburger without the cheese or bacon or secret sauce on a whole
grain bun. If you insist, go for the occasional slice of cheese or two of bacon
(but why not save the bacon for its solo performance as a breakfast treat?). And
skip the double and triple patties.
White flour pasta with cream sauce: These
are worse if you do not, at least, order it with shrimp or chicken for some protein.
Salami/cold cuts: If it is prepackaged, forget it. Too many nitrates and
other preservatives to yank down your mood. Opt for fresh-roasted turkey or fresh,
lean ham at the food counter.
You might be able to explain why you experience
some form of mood at certain periods, but clueless about the role your diet could
be playing in this. Why not watch your diet and see how your mood swings plus
the additional benefit of gradual healthy weight loss. Have a bad mood-free weekend.
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