• RECIPES

To maximise the benefit there needs to be a balance. Obviously, if we were to eat carbohydrates on their own the benefits would increase dramatically but this is not always possible in everyday life and the meal would be relatively boring. However, snacking on pretzels or popcorn, for example, would help to relieve tension during the day.

Limiting fat and carbohydrates and increasing protein intake would be ideal for encouraging alertness, mental energy and quicker reactions but, be warned, eating protein approximately 2-3 hours prior to bedtime could cause some difficulty in going to sleep.

Taken as a whole, the connection with food and our emotions has led to serious weight problems and obesity. Many people turn to food when happy, sad or under stress that can result in a pattern that can often prove difficult to escape. There are several ways that can be used to break the mood/food connection:

- Try to separate eating from certain activities. For example, if we eat whilst sitting down to watch television or reading the morning paper this might mentally trigger a hunger response when food is not physically required. - Create a timetable for your meals so that you can limit and control the number of times that you eat each day. This can make a huge difference when a meal is skipped because we tend to overeat on the next meal to compensate.

- Select one place in your home to eat so that you can disassociate eating from anywhere else. For example, many enjoy breakfast in bed or indulging in a snack in their favourite chair.

- Try to avoid a chain reaction. That is, when following an eating regime we might indulge in a bar of chocolate if we feel stressed. This could lead to guilt and depression because the eating plan has been broken thus encouraging further quantities of chocolate. The cycle would then repeat itself so, in order to break the chain, you could instead reward yourself with a non-eating activity such as a relaxing bath or watch a film. Furthermore, if you find yourself doing well reward yourself with something other than food, such as a CD or a new item of clothing.

- When feeling unwell, try to maintain a healthy diet. Always eat breakfast and don’t skip meals. It’s easy to attempt to lift yourself by eating fatty food or sweet treats but this will only offer a temporary lift in emotion. This does not mean that you can never treat yourself to the occasional chocolate bar. Just remember that moderation is the key.

Basically, if you feel healthy you would want to remain in that condition.

- Ensure that you have plenty of iron so as to avoid anaemia. Iron is found in meat, green vegetables, pulses and eggs

- Eat plenty of food containing B vitamins, such as leafy green vegetables, meat, marmite and wholemeal bread. A lack of B vitamins can encourage lethargy and depression.

- Eat oily fresh fish (mackerel, tuna, sardines and salmon) at least twice a week. They contain essential fatty acids that the brain and nerve cells need to work properly.

- Avoid coffee, tea and caffeine-rich soft drinks in the evenings, as this can disrupt your sleep pattern.

- Regulate your alcohol intake. Alcohol is a depressant and can encourage eating the wrong food.

- Drink plenty of water each day because it helps to control your appetite and is a cleansing agent for the body. We need at least 2 litres of water each day but this would increase in hot weather or when exercising.

Carbohydrates give us energy whilst protein encourages the growth of cells, bones, skin and hair. Remember that protein needs to be combined with carbohydrates in order for the feel good effects of serotonin to work. Fats are also needed because the brain itself is 60% fat. However, saturated fats, processed foods, dairy produce, sugar and so forth should be limited whilst small amounts of essential ‘good’ fats (olive/corn/sesame oils, oily fish and unsalted nuts) consumed several times per week can be beneficial.