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Eat Your Way to Happiness With Foods That Boost Your Mood and Reduce Symptoms of Depression

It's an almost magical connection.  How can we maintain the balance that is so important to our mental wellness in our stressful lives.  We've known for a long time that serotonin is one of the amazingly powerful substances related to depressive mood disorders.  And so many perscription medications used to control depression have concentrated on inhibiting serotonin loss or adding more through supplementation.  However, recent research has determined that most serotonin coming into the body from prescription drugs ends up in the gut and has difficulty passing to where it is needed, beyond the blood-brain barrier.  Therefore serotonin never makes it to the central nervous system and the brain where it is desperately needed. The key to raising serotonin levels includes understanding nutrition and increasing trytophan and folic acid intake to make the most of our food's value.  Simply eating foods that contain serotonin won't do the trick.

FAD Equals Failure and Defeat

The trends of this modern age, with tons of technical gizmos and gadgets that allow us to do everything instantly with little or even no effort, certainly has its good points.  Unfortunately there is also a negative side.  Millions of people today, as a result of poor choices, are very overweight. This has brought about an increase in the popularity of fad diets, which promise that you will lose a ton of weight instantly.  But do in the world of good diets vs fad diets, what actually works?

Negative Body Image:  It's All In Our Heads

"Oh really? You think so?"

Just recently John McCain's twentysomething daughter responded publically to a critic/pundit who challenged her politics and linked her intellectual credibility to her dress size, suggesting she needed to go on a diet.   "Well, you can kiss my big fat ass!"  was the response heard round the talkshow circuit.  This beautiful, sassy and articulate young woman was quoting Tyra Banks who said it first, awhile back.  Ms. Banks had donned a form fitting swim suit and strutted her healthy womanly stuff on her talk show after a media commentator had brought up her apparent change in girth as a topic open for discussion.   Is it possible that women as a collective are preparing to take on the image mongers?  It is possible that we are weary of constantly seeing and hearing that thin is good and thinner better. That the term "slender" is frequently spoken of as synonymous to sexy, attractive, and goregous!  If it's all in our heads, then we have the power to go out of our minds and redefine womanhood into the image in which she truly was created.  Is it time to ditch the collective negative body image?

Heal "Overeating" with Understanding and Nutritional Choices

Ok, so he's been out of town for three days now and hasn't called for two.  The kids are hollering for snacks and you've put off shopping so you can do it peacefully once your husband returns.  The whole week feels out of whack.  In fact the only thing you see on the baking shelf is a sack of chocolate chips.  And luckily, they are "dark" chocolate chips.  Hmm.  That's healthy, right?   The first handful goes down so quickly you hardly realized it was a quarter of a cup.  Then the second, the third. OH OH.  Did it again.  Where a little would have sufficed, a lot seemed to suffice better.  And now the guilt sets in.  "OK Kids, how about something special for supper since everybody's so hungry."  "Pizza!"  And it's not even Friday!  They yelp with joy.  "Yeah Mama! Can we get the pineapple and pepperoni again, with extra cheese?  Please?"   Then, that sinking feeling in your tummy.  This was the week you were going to really watch the carbs, right?  And your parental, authoritarian voice kicks in:  Why do you feel the need to overeat? Why is it so hard to control the amount you eat?  Are you even aware of yourself when you are eating too much? You will usually realize after you have finished eating that you ate too much. Now you are feeling upset with yourself. How can you break yourself out of this vicious cycle of overeating?