It’s a dreary weekday. You got a parking ticket. Your boss called you in for a closed-door meeting. There are dishes in the sink and a significant other on the couch. For whatever reason (or combination of the above) you’re in a terrible mood. Whatever you do, don’t take solace in the following foods! (From Shine)
FAST FOOD FRIES
French fries tempt you with their crisp saltiness, tender insides, and heavenly golden sheen, but they’re bad for me, and even worse for your mood. Not only are fast food fries loaded with refined carbohydrates, sugars, and a whopping salt content, health expert and “Recipe Doctor” columnist Elaine Magee, MPH, RD reveals that many contain “bad fats” (saturated and trans fats), which take hours to digest, putting you into a sluggish food coma.
CUPCAKE
The cupcake craze shows no sign of stopping—any birthday, engagement party or office celebration will inevitably trot out these frosted sugar-bombs. According to Susan Biali, M.D. in Psychology Today, carbohydrate-rich foods enable tryptophan to enter the brain, which produces serotonin, a neurotransmitter that, simply put, makes us feel great. But the surge of energy caused by the combo of white flours and white sugars is followed by a major crash, as well as mood swings and agitation.
READ MORE BELOW THE GALLERY:
http://cdn1.hellobeautiful.com/external/js/gallery/188121
COCKTAIL HOUR
While a drink or a glass of wine at the end of the day releases the brain chemical beta-endorphin for a momentary rush of contentment, remember that this feeling is fleeting. Leading toxicology expert and author Sherry Rogers, MD warns that alcohol is a depressant. The more alcohol you drink, the more it depresses your mood, interferes with cognition, and causes reckless or aggressive behavior.
HOT DOGS
Mass-produced packaged meats, such as salami, bologna, and hot dogs (basically anything you could procure at a gas station) are loaded down with nitrates, a common food preservative. According to Christine Simmons of HeathAssist.net, nitrate-containing foods can cause migrane headaches, as well as tension headaches—that lovely head-in-a-vise feeling. If you’ve gotta get your cured meat on, look for organic or locally sourced options.
