Your food choices can modulate their emotions and brain power, say experts. Perhaps the old saying you are right: the heart of man is attained through the belly.
The breads and other foods high in carbohydrates can make you smile, while fish and meat are high in protein may help get the maximum grade on a test, according to research suggesting that what we eat changes how we think and feel.
“You can manipulate your mood and mental acuity just by what you eat and when it does, and such effects can happen very quickly,” said Dr. Judith Wurtman, research scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of Managing Your Mind and Mood Through Food (Managing your mind and mood with food).
She and her husband, Dr. Richard Wurtman (also of MIT) have studied the relationship between food and mood during the past 30 years.
According to Wurtman, the news that carbohydrates can raise the spirits first emerged a dozen years ago, in studies conducted with women suffering from premenstrual syndrome.
“Eating carbohydrates have a profound and dramatic effect in improving mood,” said Wurtman. “I mean the anger, irritability, depression, difficulty concentrating and mental confusion. We find that such changes in mood could be reversed with carbohydrate-rich foods in about 30 minutes.”
Food items that are grouped according to their characteristics, must be consumed in a specified amount over a week to get a balanced diet.