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Impact of diet on attitude
I am looking for information on the impact of diet on attitudes.
I am not looking for the crazy shit I see on Facebook but more reasoned studies that serve to educate as to what the impact on our mental health is from certain foods and food additives.
I see a lot about gluten but I can't tell which articles are BS and which are true.
From personal experience I have learned which foods to avoid for my own mental health reasons but I have not done enough research into those foods to figure out what it is that is in those foods that I need to avoid.
I am not looking for the crazy shit I see on Facebook but more reasoned studies that serve to educate as to what the impact on our mental health is from certain foods and food additives.
I see a lot about gluten but I can't tell which articles are BS and which are true.
From personal experience I have learned which foods to avoid for my own mental health reasons but I have not done enough research into those foods to figure out what it is that is in those foods that I need to avoid.
Comments
I know in my case eating processed sugars makes me very irritable.
- No more carbonated drinks
- Smaller portion sizes
- Moar vegetables
- Less sugar[specifically chocolate
- No processed foods of any kind
I've noticed a SIGNIFICANT change in my mood in two months. Generally, I'm a lot happier, more energetic. I've been a lot more positive lately and less grumpy than I've been. I've just had this feeling of things just can't bring me down that is only getting better.
PS: Just to clarify too, what I really meant by processed foods was mostly everything that comes canned/frozen/in a box (just add water, etc., type of things).I know there's some that include things like pre-cut meat from the grocery store, and I haven't gone that far yet. I know some people define processed foods in a way to include things like meat from the grocery store, some types of rice, etc.
Also, homemade bread is awesome! But sometimes out of laziness, I allow myself the exception and still get bread from the store.
#nitpick
Someone I was talking to the other day didn't understand why I don't consider making a sandwich as cooking but I consider making a grilled cheese as cooking. Some people.
Generally, I assume what you mean is "food which has been rendered safe for consumption by minimal processing."
The most accurate way to represent this is to go in the opposite direction - don't talk about what you don't buy, and instead talk about what you do.
"Cooking from raw state" is generally the shorter way to say everything I just did.
I'm also picking nits, because imprecision in language drives me up the wall. The imprecision in food language makes people freak out about nothing - and that muddies the food safety and security dialogue.
The "Taco Bell doesn't use real beef" kerfuffle is a great example of this. People read the label on the ground beef ingredient and freaked out because of all the "stuff" that was on it. Problem is, they didn't parse the label correctly. If they had, they'd have discovered that the ingredient list was "beef, seasoning [stuff that makes up the seasoning], and water," quite like making tacos at home. Bread and pasta are processed by definition. Hell, so is flour.
The questions consumers need to ask are:
1) What processes are applied to my food before I get it?
2) How might those processes (or lack thereof) impact the quality of my food?
3) How might those processes (or lack thereof) impact my health?
Safest bet: don't eat. Just drink water. It's had contact with food at some point, and subsequent dilution has rendered it more nutritious.
If you are actually intolerant to it, cutting it out will help you. If you find yourself having symptoms and can't readily identify another source, it is worth trying to cut it out and see if you improve.
If you are not intolerant to it, cutting it out will do literally nothing except restrict what/where you can eat, and is a stupid idea. That is like a non-diabetic taking insulin injections because it helps his diabetic friend feel better. If you are not having symptoms that could be explained by gluten intolerance, don't bother.
If you are worried about a certain ingredient, read the label under "Ingredients Listed." That should help.