Food & Mood

It doesn’t matter what age we are, whether a baby, toddler, child, teen, young or older adult…we all need to eat regularly to keep our blood sugar balanced. 

Some lucky people can go for many hours without eating or suffering from blood sugar imbalances. 3 meals a day work for them, and they dont think about food in between, or suffer from hypoglycemic symptoms. 

However, for most of us, when we go without food for too long, stress hormones kick in (cortisol, adrenalin, glucogen) to release glucose, so that we can keep going. This is a survival mechanism, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live in survival mode with chronic high stress hormones- I want to thrive in a steady, relaxed way. 

Here are some situations you might not relate to having low blood sugar: 

Feeling moody

Fatigue

Lack of motivation

Anxiety, a racing heart

Irritability

Stress, speediness

Brain fog, lack of clarity 

Inability to focus on the task at hand

Sugar or salt cravings

There are more. 

We forget that our hormones influence our day to day energy and mood, and so if we don’t look after them- with fuel! - they give us symptoms meant to remind us to look after ourselves. 

Next time you are upset, irritable, in a funk, anxious, stressed or craving salt or sugar- try having a snack. 

It can make the world of difference!

Planning ahead and including healthy snacks that include carbs and some protein into your day, and definitely into any kid or teen’s day, can make a huge difference to their general sense of emotional stability and mood.