Carb Your Appetite: The Right Food Can Improve Your Mood and Drive Away Those Winter Blues
Boston Herald
Jane Dornbusch
February 21, 2001

Call it the winter blahs, call it seasonal affective disorder, call it February - there's no denying that this cold, gray time of year brings a lot of people down. Wouldn't it be great if there were something you could take, a sort of magic pill, that would make you calmer, happier, more focused, less stressed?
There is - and it isn't made by a drug company. There's a connection, say some experts, between mood and food, and a well-proven class of what you might call happy foods.
``Most assuredly there are (foods that can improve your mood),'' says Judith Wurtman, director of Triad Weight Management at McLean Hospital and author of ``Managing Your Mind and Mood Through Food'' (Perennial, 1986). ``They all fall into the category of carbohydrates. . . . What really lifts mood is a chemical called serotonin. When it's made in sufficient quantities, you change from grumpy to gracious, from irritable to patient, from negative to OK, if not euphoric.''
Good old carbohydrates: that covers everything from pastry to pasta to potatoes. To put it simply, the glucose in these foods triggers the release of insulin, which in turn allows the amino acid tryptophan to reach the brain, stimulating the production of serotonin. (Yeah, yeah, just pass the pasta.)
But before you rush out and wolf down a dozen doughnuts in search of peace of mind, be aware that there is, as always, a catch.
``Traditionally, chocolate or cakes or ice cream are used to elevate people's mood,'' says Wurtman. ``But a dinner of pasta or a bagel could do the same. It's all the same mechanism.''
Wouldn't you know - most nutritionists recommend the bagel over the cake. ``At this time of year, when people are feeling glumpy, they are self-medicating with food,'' says Elizabeth Somer, R.D., author of ``Food & Mood'' (Henry Holt, 1995). ``They go to carbohydrates to feel better; unfortunately, they go to the wrong foods for the right reasons.''
Those ``wrong foods'' include the obvious: high-carb foods that are also high in sugar and fat. ``They get the serotonin high,'' continues Somer, ``but then the blood sugar makes them feel worse. They end up fueling fatigue and winter blues. They could get the same boost and crawl out of the hole with whole grains, with popcorn or a whole-wheat bagel.''
Moreover, says Wurtman, those carbs should be consumed without protein, or with very small amounts of protein at most, because protein blocks the production of serotonin. Lots of carbs, minimal protein - isn't that the opposite of what those popular diets like the Zone recommend? And does that mean people on those diets are the opposite of happy?
``Yes,'' says Wurtman. ``Those diets are going to make people more cranky. . . . People who are on protein diets are guinea pigs, and what they do to their brain is not good. It's not good for someone who has to live with someone or work with someone on a high-protein diet. I wouldn't be surprised if, with so many people on this diet, combined with seasonal affective disorder, you're finding a lot of not terribly happy people walking around the streets.''
Somer says people on low-carbohydrate regimens inevitably feel so serotonin-deprived that they end up binging. Our brains, she says, tell us to restock carbohydrates when we need to: ``(The mechanism that demands carbohydrate) doesn't go away, and it stays on until it wins. . . . You're working against your body; you want to work with your body instead, and listen to your cravings.''
Wurtman and Somer both note that listening to carbohydrates also doesn't mean running out and eating a gigantic plate of pasta, or a bagel as big as your head. Wurtman has studied and quantified the amount of carbohydrate a person needs to consume to feel an effect. In her clinic, she gives patients a carbohydrate drink with no fat or fiber; the carbohydrates are absorbed quickly and efficiently. In the real world, she recommends a snack such as graham crackers, oatmeal, bread with jam, maybe some Cheerios.
``What you need is about two ounces, on an empty stomach, with no protein,'' she said. And you have to give it time to work: your mood should begin to change noticeably in about 45 minutes, she says. ``One of the important things is to eat and wait, not continue to eat.''
How effective is the carb cure? ``I'm not promising that in people with clinical depression or serious seasonal affective disorder it will erase their symptoms,'' says Somer. ``But in all cases it will help; in some cases, I've had clients who went off their (antidepressant) medications.''
Wurtman offers a brief caveat about eating for the wrong reasons: ``You have to distinguish between using food as a reward or an entitlement, or a way of consuming time, or as a distraction. People use food for reasons that are incompatible with keeping their weight normal.''
That said, though, Wurtman maintains ``there are good reasons to use food as an edible tranquilizer. And if you eat it at the correct time, in the correct quantity, it works.''
Here's a carb-rich, vegetarian meal that might improve your mood by its taste alone.
WHOLE WHEAT FUSILLI WITH SWISS CHARD AND BALSAMIC-ROASTED ONIONS
2 red onions, sliced lengthwise into thin wedges
1 T. balsamic vinegar, plus more to taste
Coarse sea salt or kosher salt
4 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped
1 lb. Swiss chard, trimmed
3/4 lb. whole wheat fusilli
2 plump garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1/8 t. hot red pepper flakes
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss the onions in a bowl with vinegar, 1/4 t. salt, 1 T. oil and the thyme. Spread the onions in a baking pan and roast for 30-40 minutes, stirring halfway through the cooking time, until soft and caramelized.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 T. salt. Add the chard and cook for 2 minutes, until wilted and tender. Remove the chard with a tongs or slotted spoon; place in a colander to drain. Cover the pot and return the water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
While the pasta cooks, warm the remaining 3 T. oil in a heavy, wide saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, stir and cook for about 1 minute (do not let the garlic brown). Add the chard, 1/4 c. of the pasta cooking water, and the red pepper flakes, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the onions from the oven and add them to the mixture.
Drain the pasta and transfer to a warm serving platter or bowl. Toss the vegetables with the pasta and season with vinegar to taste. Serve at once. Makes 4 servings.
From ``The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen,'' by Peter Berley (ReganBooks, 2000).

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This news story is not produced by the American Psychological Association and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the association.