Carbs and Your Mood

Can the amount of carbs you eat influence your behaviour?

Paleo. Low-carb. Keto. Clean Eating. No sugar. Carb free. These words are everywhere in today's culture. You've probably dreamt at least one of them this month. They are so common, they play into our subconscious. What are they and why do they exist? In essence they are another term for a diet- a way of eating that lasts for a little while until you can't take it anymore and your body rebels and before you know it, you've taken over the buffet table at Aunt Barbara's birthday party. Although you curse yourself for having such poor will power, you actually just behaved in a way that's perfectly normal. You listened to your body screaming for you to give it the nutrients and energy it needed. These diets exist because businesses advocate for them. Our diet culture embraces them. People make money- industries thrive off of them. How? We let them. Our diet culture feeds on our vulnerability to be better, to look better, as if we aren't good enough the way we are.

Let's take a step back to the part where you were on one of these idolised diets. Did you happen to notice your energy level? What about your patience? How many times did you lash out at a friend, family member or stranger during this time? Perhaps you felt sadder than normal. Did you notice any changes in you sleep pattern or increases in restlessness? What about the number of times you thought about food, cooking or your weight? If these questions triggered something within you, you aren't alone.

Much research has gone into solving this dilemma. Old and new research still demonstrates that carbohydrates are pivotal molecules of energy for our wellbeing. Pederson and colleagues highlighted that adequate carbohydrates are needed for immunity, particularly if exercising frequently. Mood disturbance was also seen in dieters, resulting in a dysphoric mood, increasing the risk of eating disorders (Leon and Chamberlain, 1973).

I get the whole concept of "strive to be the best version of yourself" philosophy, but his shouldn't have to mean that we need to change our looks or our weight to achieve that. To be the best version of yourself involves ALL the food groups. Time after time again, dieters end up bouncing right back (about 95% of the time, in fact) to including all five nutritious and functional food groups plus what I like to call your 'pleasure food group'. This food group exists because we are human beings who have thoughts, feelings and emotions. Science is fundamental, and it's led us to what we currently know, however science doesn't encompass everything involved with being an individual human with drastically varying personalities, stressors, and genetics. There are times where you just NEED to have that food that makes you happy. If you stress over eating that chocolate bar at your best friend's graduation, wedding or birthday, chances are that stress has a larger negative impact on your health than just eating it would. After all, chocolate is food. It is made up of carbs, protein, and fat and even some other vitamins, like magnesium. I could go into what each of those macronutrients are used for, but my sense is you already have a pretty good idea of what I'm getting at.

Just to make my point even clearer, more and more research has come out identifying a lot of cofounding factors have been ignored. For example, numerous studies (13 if you want to get specific) from a very highly acclaimed researcher and professor at Cornell University, have been revoked from the literature due to inconsistent methods, and cherry picking of results (Resnick & Belluz, 2018). This means some of the reporting and data collected have been tampered with in a way that favours the wanted outcome. NO GOOD. Other studies have been identified that disordered eating and eating disorders have not been accounted for when conducting studies dependent on assessing energy consumption and blood testing. This would significantly impact results if some of the participants were engaging in regular bingeing, purging and restricting behaviours. Does this make you question if health really is all about obsessing about each and every macro and micro nutrient you put in your mouth? Because it should.

Resnick, B., & Belluz, J. (2018, September 21). A top Cornell food researcher has had 13 studies retracted. That's a lot. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/9/19/17879102/brian-wansink-cornell-food-brand-lab-retractions-jama