FSB Author Article
Get off the Mood Rollercoaster
By Judith J. Wurtman, PhD, and
Nina
Frusztajer Marquis, MD
Authors of Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant --
to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight
Gain
Everyone, it seems, has said, one time or another, "I avoid eating anything with sugar in it because it makes my mood go up and down, like a rollercoaster. After I eat something like a cookie or ice cream, I feel really great. I am no longer tense or irritable or angry or tired. But then a couple of hours later, I crash. My mood goes downhill and my grumpiness goes sky high. So I try to avoid foods with sugar so I won't be in a bad mood."
Obviously sugar is not one of those foods which we need to eat and it is certainly wise to substitute more nutritious carbohydrates for sugar when we snack. But sugar gets a bad rap when it is accused of causing bad moods. Sugary snacks actually can have a positive effect on mood, taking away feelings of fatigue, or restlessness or worry. Sugar is a carbohydrate and like most other carbohydrates (rice, potatoes, bread, oatmeal, tortillas, crackers) it has the potential of changing the activity of serotonin, a chemical in the brain that turns our bad moods into good ones. But sugar and other carbohydrates cannot change the conditions that caused you to have a bad mood in the first place. If you are grumpy or annoyed or upset or bored or worried because of a stressful circumstance, these moods will return once the effects of eating sugar wears off. Think of it this way: if you have a toothache and take pain medication to decrease the pain, what happens after the medication wears off? The pain returns. Obviously when you feel the toothache again, you don't accuse the medication of causing the pain to return. When people are in a bad mood or feeling very stressed, they often feel compelled to eat a sugary snack. They may not realize it consciously but may know subconsciously that the snack will make them feel better. It does and for a while their mood roller coaster goes up. But eventually the effects of the snack on brain serotonin wears off and when this happens, the mood rollercoaster plummets as the bad mood returns.
We did a study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a group of women whose bad moods lasted for at least 3 or 4 days every month. These were women with severe PMS mood changes. We wanted to see if their mood changed for the better or for worse when they consumed a beverage containing sugar and other carbohydrates. The test group was given a drink that contained sugar and other carbohydrates and the control group was given a high-protein milk drink. The women who drank the high-carb beverage felt better within minutes. (Anyone who has craved high-carb comfort foods when her mood was low can relate.) In contrast, the women who drank the high-protein drink experienced no mood improvement at all.
Then, about 3 hours after consuming the high-carb drink, all the women who had felt better, crashed. Their PMS came roaring back all over again, and they felt weepy, tense and tired once more. What happened? Did the sugar in the drink cause their moods to crash? No, it did not. The effects of the sugary drink wore off and the chronic PMS mood changes the women had been experiencing before they consumed the drink returned. The women who drank the protein containing beverage did not crash but this was because their moods never improved. They were in a bad mood after the drink was consumed and in the same bad mood three hours later.
The scientific explanation of this phenomenon is this: Sweet and starchy carbohydrates such as pasta, potatoes, honey, oatmeal, cereal, rice and sugar have the power to improve your mood. They do this by indirectly getting the brain to make serotonin, the "good mood" chemical. Consuming carbs sets in motion a process in the body that results in tryptophan, an amino acid, getting into the brain. Serotonin, the neurotransmitter or brain chemical that regulates mood and appetite is made from tryptophan. So eating carbs leads to a better mood.
Sugar has the same effects as other carbohydrates in getting the brain to make more serotonin. The problem with sugar is that is tends to be digested faster than other complex carbohydrates. So the good news is that serotonin synthesis starts sooner than it might if rice, a more complex carbohydrate, were eaten. But the bad news is that serotonin synthesis is turned off sooner. And when that happens, the bad moods that existed before sugar was eaten will come back again.
Not all sugars elevate serotonin. Fructose, the sugar in fruit, doesn't and because it is the main sugar in soft drinks, having a soda has little impact on mood. And as we saw with the study on women with PMS, protein such as milk, eggs, turkey, fish, beef, chicken or shellfish while good for you nutritionally, does nothing for mood. Indeed eating protein prevents serotonin from being made. If carbohydrates are eaten along with protein (a dinner of fish and rice for example) no serotonin will be made.
Since the effects of eating sugar and other carbohydrates does wear off allowing feelings of stress and emotional discomfort to return, it is important to follow an eating plan that will keep serotonin levels constant. This is particularly important if work, family, social, or health problems are having a chronic impact on energy levels and mood. However it is easy to eat enough carbs to maintain serotonin levels without overeating. Snack on small amounts of carbohydrate two or at most three times throughout the day. A handful of pretzels, a cup of low fat breakfast cereal, a small baked white or sweet potato, low fat rice crackers or small package of cheery licorice sticks are carbohydrate snacks that will keep serotonin levels boosted. Evenings are often times when worries and tensions seem most severe, probably because there is less going on to distract us. Eating a mostly carbohydrates and vegetables dinner with little or no protein promotes serotonin synthesis that should last throughout the evening. Make pasta, baked or roasted potatoes, rice, or thick soups and bread the main course, add a large salad and steamed veggies and your serotonin will be elevated and your mood will be calm and relaxed.
The mood rollercoaster ride is now over.
Boost Serotonin to switch off your appetite and turn on a good
mood.
©2009 Judith J. Wurtman, PhD and Nina T. Frusztajer, MD, authors of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant -- to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain
Author BiosJudith J. Wurtman, PhD, co-author of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant -- to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain, has discovered the connection between carbohydrate craving, serotonin, and emotional well-being in her MIT clinical studies. She received her PhD from George Washington University, is the founder of a Harvard University hospital weight-loss facility and counsels private weight management clients. She has written five books, including The Serotonin Solution, and more than 40 peer-reviewed articles for professional publications. She lives in Miami Beach, Florida.
Nina T. Frusztajer, MD, co-author of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant -- to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain, counsels private weight management clients and is a practicing physician and certified professional life coach. She received her master's degree in Nutrition from Columbia University and her medical degree from George Washington University. She lives in Boston, MA.
For more information, please visit www.SerotoninPowerDiet.com.