What’s a girlfriend to do?
Solution: Ask the Nutritionist
One goal is to reduce your blood sugar and hormonal swings that encourage your appetite and desire for sweets and other carbohydrates. There are two things you can do: Rid yourself of stressors (you’re already divorced) and eat to avoid fluctuations. Start by combining food groups and stay away from excessive sweets! If you have carbohydrates, you must combine them with healthy fat or protein. For example: chocolate (carbs) and nuts (protein/fat) or chips (carbs) guacamole (fat).
You must also consider that food produces chemicals in the brain that affects our mood. The “brain chemicals” affected by food are serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. Serotonin calms and relaxes us (we like this one!) dopamine and norepinephrine help us to feel mentally energized (oh yes!).
Tips to control mood with food:
➢ Eat protein for the amino acid called, tryptophan to make serotonin. Eat slow digesting carbs with the protein to help the serotonin absorb more quickly into the brain
➢ Take vitamin pyridoxine (B6), folic acid (B9), vitamin C and Zinc to help protein make the “feel-good” mood enhancing brain chemical, serotonin (if you drink alcohol, take birth control pills or are exposed to environmental pollutants then you are depleting your system of much needed B vitamins)
➢ Eat for alertness (dopamine/norephinephrine): protein (fish, poultry, milk, eggs, legumes), low fat and slow digesting carbohydrates like high fiber cereals, sweet potatoes, grains and beans
Eat to feel sexy: nuts and chocolate (not too much now!)
