FOODS CAN REALLY AFFECT YOUR MOODS - SUGAR AND CAFFEINE
Merry Meet :))
We all know how important food is to our survival, but I'm wondering how much of us really realize the effect foods have on our moods. For sensitives, empaths, and even people who aren't sensitive, what you eat can be the difference between you having a good day and you having a bad day. When you are a highly sensitive person you are sensitive to energy, lights, sounds, and what you eat. I wouldn't be surprised if many of you have food allergies. Ever wonder why you're cranky in the morning after you've had 2 cups of coffee instead of just one? How about why you feel so sad after having that cupcake? Ever have dinner and notice your mood shift after? For a lot of us we may not even notice these things. These are some examples of the types of ways food affects me. See if any of these ring true with you.
I am sensitive to caffeine. I love my morning cup of coffee. I'm not sure if I will ever give that first cup up. But beyond that...if I were to be honest? Caffeine can make me angry and lower my patience. I switched over to herbal teas because of this, because even the caffeine in the teas can affect me. For some reason, while my morning cup tends to wake me up, anything past that goes the opposite way and usually will make me sleepy.
I am also hugely sensitive to sugar. This has been the biggest change I've made. I've pretty much given up most sugar in my diet. When I have sugar I will get sick. Literally. Colds etc. If I go on vacation now and allow myself to go nuts and eat sweets and have soda I will come home with a cold. It helps to keep me on track. It's amazing what a negative effect sugar has on me. My health has improved 10 fold since getting off of it. My aches and pains in my body have also gone away. I had chronic back pain a bit over a year ago. To the point where I spent each day glued to a heating pad. My life was miserable. I was actually diagnosed with fibromyalgia among other things. I was in physical therapy. Then my chairopractor suggested that I may have Candida. Candida basically is when your body produces too much yeast. That yeast can get in everywhere making you sick, causing you aches and pains etc. And the biggest issue with candida? Sugar. For those of you who want to check it out you can learn more here: http://www.thecandidadiet.com/
Now am I saying just because you're an HSP you have Candida? No :) Yes, I still each chocolate from time to time. :))) What I am saying is look at your current health condition. How do you feel? Do you get sick a lot? Are you tired a lot? Aches and pains? Frequent headaches? Then look at your consumption of these two products. Is it possible that these two things could really be affecting you and your emotions? Keep a food journal for a week and check it out. Document how you feel 10 - 20 minutes after you have sugar and caffeine. Notice any trends there? When you look at the results you may want to make some adjustments.
For those of you who want to try it I have a few suggestions that really helped me. The first is stevia root. It's a no calorie herb that you can get that tastes very sweet. I get it in a powdered form from my grocer and use that in my coffee in the morning. Switching my tea was easy. I just switched to herbal tea that has no caffeine. I gave up soda a year ago, right about now! LOL :) Someone suggested seltzer water. So I now drink flavored seltzer waters all the time. No calories, no artificial sweetners and yummmyyyy :))) Let me know how you do!
