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• Housecall
• Alzheimer's caregiving
• Living with cancer

• February 8, 2010 12:17 p.m.

  The way to break this cycle is first get sleep. If you have to cancel everything you are doing in a day to do this it will be worth it. I often find that by allowing myself to sleep in on the weekends is a great way to catch up and restore the energy that I have lost. Then when I wake up I start my day with an Ensure. It has tons of vitamins, good fats and protein. It is a quick way to restore the vitamins that I have lost. Then I go shopping and only visit the fresh fruit and vegetable section. I pick out whatever I'm craving and then head to the meat section where I pick up either chicken, turkey or fish. The rest of my day is spent making food for the week so I have no excuse but to eat right. Cooking for me is a great stress reliever especially when I can enjoy healthy nutritious food. If I have any time left then I clean the apartment to get rid of anything that is no longer needed thus relieving a ton of stress that a messy apartment causes.

  - Dyami

• September 17, 2009 12:45 p.m.

  Nutritional analysis should be the first point of attack when handling "mood" or "emotional" problems rather than dangerous products from "big pharma." Stress and anxiety can be traced to a simple deficiency in magnesium according to Dr. Carolyn Dean. Good articles on this subject can be found at http://organicconnectmag.com.

  - Marty

• August 29, 2009 5:30 p.m.

  My work in weight management has assured the food mood link -I notice the difference in patients who follow a balanced diet plan how their mood is stabilizing slowly their control over food intake improves self esteem and confidence and with the change of lifestyle into a healthier one stabilized blood sugar levels stabilizes mood and help them rid themselves of compulsive eating trends which in turn would result in better overall feelings =so yes i do believe in healthy eating -good proteins especially fish -fruits and vegetables -wholegrains and exercise will lead to a boost in available energy -consistent serotonin supply and stabilized blood sugar together leading to a positive mood and increased tolerance =

  - Suzan-Jordan

• June 18, 2009 9:20 p.m.

  We are all busy people and I think we all agree that life is filled with challenges. Here's what works for me: I write in a journal every day and read the Bible and pray often. This helps me stay centered. I drink a lot of water. I eat a lot of fresh fruit and fresh veggies. I live in Minnesota, so in the winter I eat a lot of those steam in a bag types of veggies since "fresh veggies" really aren't so fresh and are shipped in from Cuba. I like lean pork and chicken too and tuna fish. Almonds are good. For about the last six months I have been working hard at cutting back on sugar and for the past several months I have not had any sugar. I eat fresh fruit and sugar-free Jello pudding when I crave a sweet treat. I also work out every morning for 30 minutes on my Nordic Trak. I love my Nordic Trak because it is easy on my knees and lower back (I used to be a runner) and I can get my heart pumping and work up a really good sweat. I'm 48 years old and starting menopause and the eating healthy and exercising really helps to reduce my night sweats and mood swings. I still have them, but since I switched from walking 30 minutes a day to using my Nordic Trak, these symptoms have been greatly reduced. I've also lost about 10 pounds. Bonus! So yes, eat healthy, exercise every day and treat others as you would like to be treated.

  - ~Susan

• May 28, 2009 6:45 a.m.

  The ancient science of long useful life the Ayurveda recognized the effect of diet and of course life style on mood as well as behavior of the individual. There are three types of foods, Rajasic , Tamasic and Satavic. They mean the food for those who Govern and Rule; the ingradiants being tasty, high energy and long life giving and fatty; the food generating anti-social thoughts,stimulating sexul feelings invigorating but leading ultimately to sickness and disease; the foods which stimulate learning, good social conduct, compromising attitude and promoting saintly thoughts and actions. The vegetarian diet largely belong to Satavic type and non vegetarian specially derived from animal sources are Tamasic in nature. The rajasic diet includes both. The dairy products are also considerd Satavic but poultry and piggery and other products are Tamasic in nature. Those who keep the nature and content of their diet in accordance with the type of reaction one wants to derive, get the desired results. The Indian dietary pattern has evolved round some of the above tenets. KKs

  - KKs

• May 26, 2009 6:17 p.m.

  My 25 year old daughter has been daignosed with Celiac Disease (gluten allergy) and I have joined her in not eating gluten. My moods have changed drastically in a week. No depressed feelings and no obsessive thoughts. I too will get evaluated for celiac, but the difference in feelings/thoughts is profound!

  - Gail

• May 25, 2009 4:02 p.m.

  Is it possible to get too much fiber in one's diet? I typically stick to a very high fiber/low fat diet but am now found to be anemic with ulcers in my distal small bowel which are not Crohn's disease, and not actively bleeding.

  - eljay

• May 24, 2009 4:31 p.m.

  From my experience food and mood are certainly connected. I used to wonder why I always felt lethargic, and often annoyed and frustrated. For the past year I've taken on living a healthy lifestyle, and with that dove into the Zone Diet, then took it a step futher and went Paleo. I have never felt better in my whole life. I always have bounds of energy, and sure I get stressed and have mood swings, however my threshold is far greater. I can take on much more, with much less stress.

  - AJ

• May 24, 2009 11:33 a.m.

  I honestly believe in this food and mood connection very strongly which is one of the reasons that I am very enthused about becoming a registered dietitan. My diet is decent as of now but I have gone through some bad diets in the past for my own reasons and have realized that you kind of are what you eat to say roughly. I used to not be able to control my anger very well at rare occassion and I was an angry fellow, still am but there is alot of positive things going on right now and I owe it to knowledge and following through with ideas that I just know that have to be good. So many people get angry because of the stresses in there lives and something like alcohol can possibly cause them to lose control sometimes whether it may be something minor or serious and when you think about think about the very serious it's almost certain that something in the diet is to blame whether it may be food, beverage, drugs and I mean prescription and street. One is caffeine which is what I believe to cause impure thoughts to some degree. Let me get back to the main subject of the Food and Mood connection. Concluding because I need to eat something. Eat a healthy diet and be in control peacefully and on top of things. Efficiency comes to mind. An elephant never forgets because of vegetation this probably won't get posted or if it does it might get edited. Ok feel alive and useful with meaning with a healthy diet. what ever god bless

  - Dave