9. For Demanding Emotional Times or Improving Emotional Stability and Eliminating Mood Swings, Constant Fatigue or Depression

If you've been having a hard time emotionally, getting mood swings, anger problems, anxiety or depression, or if you just seem to feel tired all the time, and you're having difficulty figuring out why, do this quick questionnaire to assess a few habits. Give yourself one point for every 'yes'. The maximum score is 20 and the minimum score is 0. Count up your score at the end and read the relevant advice:

Food & Mood Check

• Do you add sugar to food or drink almost every day?

• Do you east foods with added sugar almost every day? [you may have to go check labels to find this out]

• Do you use salt in your food?

• Do you drink more than one cup of coffee most days?

• Do you drink more than three cups of tea most days?

• Do you smoke more than 5 tobacco cigarettes a week?

• Do you take recreational drugs such as cannabis regularly?

• Do you drink more than 1 glass wine/1 pint beer/ one measure spirits alcohol per day?

• Do you eat fried food [e.g. burgers, bacon & egg, fish & chips] more than twice a week?

• Do you eat processed 'fast food' more than twice a week?

• Do you eat beef or beef products more than twice a week?

• Do you often eat foods containing additives or preservatives?

• Do you eat candy, sweets or cookies more than twice a week?

• Do raw fruit and vegetables make up LESS than a third of your diet?

• Do you drink less than half a pint [300ml] of plain water each day?

• Do you normally eat white pasta, rice, bread or flour instead of their wholemeal counterparts?

• Do you drink more than 3 pints [1.7 litres] of milk each week?

• Do you eat more than three slices of bread a day, on average?

• Do you drink soda, cola or fizzy drinks?

• Are there some foods you feel 'addicted to'?

Scores

0-4

Diet is unlikely to be the cause of any emotional problems unless you are under-eating. Try out diet # 1 above, make sure you get some exercise, and practise good habits of thought such as meditation. The fault here lies not with diet, so take a look at your lifestyle because the problem could be as simple as not getting enough sleep or practising a lifestyle that leads to excess anxiety (eg watching TV all the time).

5-9

Any chemical imbalance caused by your diet would not be severe enough to cause serious emotional problems on its own, so you may wish to look at other factors in your lifestyle such as quality and quantity of sleep. Some of your habits may be affecting your ability to digest food properly so you may want to take supplementation. You could also set yourself some easy experiments –for instance, for one month go without just one of the foods or drinks you know are not good for you. See how you feel. Any cravings will be short-term withdrawal symptoms –if you get these, you can legitimately point the finger at your diet for at least some emotional distress.

10-14

Your eating habits are not good and they are probably partly or solely the cause of any fatigue or emotional distress. Even if you eat lots of healthy foods, your habits will prevent you from accessing their nutrients or digesting them properly. As a first step you might consider supplementing your diet with extra vitamins & minerals, but in the long run you need to wean yourself off some of these habits or get them down to safer levels. They should be dealt with one at a time and replaced rather than stopped. Remember that sugar, salt, coffee and cola are all addictive; your cravings for them will go away after days or weeks without them. Take up diet #1 above while you wean yourself off the dodgy stuff, and make sure you eat plenty of fruit.

15-20

There is no way you can maintain these habits and expect good mental health or emotional balance. Your body and brain can't do it; they're not getting the tools they need to repair the damage done by your diet. You're consuming far too great a quantity of fast-release carbohydrates and imposing chemical drains on food digestion.

You have to consider making gradual and permanent changes to your lifestyle. For instance, take two questions which you answered 'yes' to and make changes so that one month later you could answer 'no' [one example would be to stop adding sugar to food and use honey instead, and change your white bread to wholemeal]. Keep doing this until your score in the food-mood assessment is 5 or less. You may feel crummy for the first 2 weeks, but after a month you will notice a permanent improvement in both your emotional stability and your energy.

If you got a low score on the food-mood assessment above but you do have mood swings or depression, do the two checks below:

Energy Check

(Score 1 point for each 'yes' answer in this category)

• [ ] Do you need more than 8 hours sleep a night?
• [ ] Are you rarely wide awake and raring to go within 20 minutes of rising?
• [ ] Do you need something to 'get you going' in the mornings, such as a cup of tea or coffee or a cigarette?
• [ ] Do you have tea, coffee, sugar-containing foods and drinks, or smoke tobacco, at regular intervals during the day?
• [ ] Do you often feel drowsy or sleepy during the day, or after meals?
• [ ] Do you get dizzy or irritable if you have not eaten for more than 6 hours?
• [ ] Do you avoid exercise because you do not have the energy?
• [ ] Do you sweat a lot during the night or day or get excessively thirsty?
• [ ] Do you sometimes lose concentration or does your mind go blank?
• [ ] Is your energy less now than it used to be?

[ ] Total score

The higher your score, the more out of balance your metabolism may be, and this can affect your mood very strongly. You should get tested for diabetes if you have a high energy check score, and try to address the factors you have scored on. Sticking to a low-GI diet should address most of these factors, unless there is a genetic problem.

Anxiety Check

Score 1 point for each 'yes' answer in this category)

• [ ] Do you feel guilty when relaxing?
• [ ] Do you have a persistent need for recognition or achievement?
• [ ] Are you unclear about your goals in life?
• [ ] Are you especially competitive?
• [ ] Do you seem to have to work harder than most people?
• [ ] Do you easily get angry?
• [ ] Do you worry a lot?
• [ ] Do you get impatient if people or things hold you up?
• [ ] Do you have difficulty getting to sleep, sleep restlessly, or wake up with your mind racing?

[ ] Total score

The higher your score, the higher are likely to be your blood-cortisol levels. You will not digest ANY food properly if you have a lot of cortisol in your bloodstream, and your body won't function well either. If you have a high score you will need to consider methods of reducing cortisol in order to get the best out of nutrition. Vitamin C can help with this, so eat more peppers, cabbage, broccoli, strawberries and peas.

You need to pursue methods of cortisol reduction or anxiety control. You'll find information about this in the library files and in our tutorials. If you don't address this problem it can lead to early onset dementia or alzheimers, so don't delay.

Note: To Improve Memory and Imagination

Acetylcholine –the memory molecule

This substance is made by the action of an enzyme, dependent on vitamin B5, on choline. The combination of choline and B5 has proved most effective in enhancing memory and mental performance. For B5, eat more mushrooms, broccoli, peas, eggs and strawberries. The best food sources of choline are eggs, fish, peanuts, wholegrains, nuts, citrus fruit, peas.