Customer Reviews

Food & Mood: The Complete Guide to Eating Well and Feeling Your Best, Second Edition

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are lots of reasons why you might not be in a good mood. If you thought it was because of a bad relationship, you'd probably check out a relationship book. And, if you thought it was because you needed more exercise, you'd check out a book on exercise (BTW rec. Exercise Beats Depression for that). Having said that, this is a great book to check out if you think your nutrition might play a role in your moods AND you want to learn what it is you can do about it. So what does the book cover? Well, the book is about and inch and a quarter thick and among other things, discusses...

-how food can affect your mood
-a self-assessment of your diet
-a section on sweets and cravings
-diet and energy levels
-diet and PMS, SAD
-stress and your diet
-smart foods
-foods and your sleep
-eating disorders
-the "Feeling Good diet"
-supplements

As you can see, the book is quite comprehensive, and there's really not a nutritional stone that's been left unturned. I don't know that anyone needs to read every page of this book cover-to-cover, as not everyone will need to know about all its info (such as PMS). Instead, look at this book as a tremendous resource to refer to, and a big step in covering all your "nutritional bases" when it comes to food and feeling good.

As the mother of two little boys, one and three years old, I found myself getting as tired and cranky as they were at 2PM nap time. I just assumed it was a natural part of being a busy mom. If I didn't sneak a nap while they were down, I'd rewarm the morning coffee and 'reward' myself with a cookie. When I picked up "Food and Mood" I actually had my husband in mind! When I started using the author's eating strategies, I noticed I wasn't craving a nap or coffee at midafternoon and I was really feeling good. For other 'tired' mom's, one key that helped me was when I started eating a protein-based midmorning and midafternoon snack, which helped me avoid the quick high of coffee and sugar that wore off too soon. I've since incorporated the same strategies with the kids and my husband (a habitual midafternoon candy bar eater), and he says he notices a difference and a better energy level too. I've recommended Food and Mood to so many friends that I actually wanted to write a review to help spread the word. This is one less cranky mom wishing you well.

Summary: This book is a fairly complete reference. It begins by explaining some aspects of chemical brain function. It then goes on to explain how diet can radically affect how a person feels, including mood and energy problems. As an aside, it also mentions PMS and SAD (seasonal affection disorder) as causes for food cravings and mood problems. It also mentions how certain low level diet deficiencies can cause various types of bodily harm. (The ones related to B vitamins are downright scary.) Finally this book proposes the Feeling Good Diet as a solution to all these problems.

Pros: The book is highly informative and enlightening. It is more complete on its own subject than many other books are on the subjects they cover.

Cons: This book falls short in that it is not a cookbook by any stretch of the imagination (although it does have a very short list of recipes). Although most of the book is highly informative, the Feeling Good Diet section is limited to lists of good foods and bad foods. The book also has a certain flaw common to most books: it takes too long to say what it has to say. Still, as far as books go, it is a four-star ranker.

After years of depression, lethargy, and out-of-control weight, I thought that I would be that way forever. I had lost interest in anything fun. I couldn't keep up with household tasks. I was irritable, grouchy, intolerant. All I wanted to do was sleep.

Until reading and applying the principles presented in Food and Mood!

I can't recommend this book highly enough. I truly believe that it saved my life!

This book is packed with knowledge and info. There's alot to read. But it's all really interesting and makes you realize so much about why we eat, and overeat... It feels like a text book at times but I take notes to refernce which helps.

Good book especially for those trying to get an idea of which foods to avoid and which ones to partake.

I bought this book 7 years ago, and I still use it for reference.

I am thin, so when I bought this book I wasn't looking for a weightloss book (though there is a good bit of information in there about losing weight) I bought it because I wanted to improve my eating habits. I went through a period of depression, and I couldn't care less about eating, let alone eating nutritiously. I started coming out of that mood, and I decided to make a change. This book was perfect for me. I was able to learn more about incorporating healthy eating habits, while lerning how much food affects my mood. I learned that I am a carb craver, and so while I had good intentions eating eggs and yogurts and things like that for breakfast, what I really needed was more carbs for breakfast to sustain my energy level during the day.

I love to cook, and I love the variety of the foods she suggests. While the book isn't a cookbook, it does have a list of recipes in the back. I've tried about 10 of the recipes and they were surprisingly excellent. The best part for me was using it as a guideline for healthy eating. I really like the week long sample menu plan she suggests, it's not bland and boring or repetitive. While I didn't follow it totally, since I am in my 20's and have good general health, I used it to help me keep on track and focused on eating nutriously to improve my health and mood.

It's so refreshing to read a book that doesn't preach "diet". It's a vicious cycle. What we eat affects our mood and our mood affects what we want to eat!!

The book (at the beginning) goes into some detail about the chemistry of the body and brain and the purpose is to show you HOW your body uses the fuel it gets. It is an easy read and very easy to incorporate the changes into your life.

The book has really been my "Bible" and I have told hundreds of people about it. It's about eating the right foods for your body and your mind, it's NOT a diet, it's a lifestyle change. The reason so many women can't lose weight and keep it off is that they are focused so much on "diet" and losing weight. It's really about being healthy overall. And what we eat directly affects our moods and THAT is a mental thing, which eventually turns physical if our moods are depressed and we continue to eat things that hurt us.

Another great thing about it is that it covers all the different types of moods and changes women go through and how what they eat either makes the mood better or worse. It also has lists of foods in the back that are good for your lifestyle. I never realized there were SO MANY fruits and veggies and other foods out there that are good for you, that I could eat. And knowing which foods to stay away from or eat during certain moods is so helpful.

For instance, late in the day when you are at work and feeling tired, eat a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread. It does NOT put you to sleep, it's in small amounts, it actually does the reverse and perks you up. Try it!!

At least go to the library and check the book out first, I guarantee you will love it and want to buy it so you can use it for reference. I am so glad I found it, this book has changed my life!!!

This is a fantastic book and highly recommended. Somer does an excellent job in breaking down the science on eating and succintly conveys these points to the reader. Not only will your body feel the benefits of Somer's advice, but you will also learn a lot about how the scientific relationship between food and mood.

I felt that the best thing about this book is that Somer does not say that you must eat any specific diet. Rather than advocating for a strict and boring diet, the author recommends eating habits that mean that eating can still be a great experience.

This book is an overview of nutritional and dietary practices, and how they can affect your health, particularly your mental well-being. It is organized into two main sections: The Food-Mood Link, and Nutrition Know-How. In the first section, there are separate chapters about such topics as blood chemistry, carbohydrates, fats and chocolate, and dietary affects on energy levels, PMS and SAD, depression, stress, thinking and memory, as well as chapters on food allergies and intolerances, and eating disorders. The second section presents advice on healthy eating habits for positive mental well-being, with chapters on shopping and supplements. At the end of the book are a glossary, a short section of recipes, a list of organizations devoted to specific diet and health concerns, references organized by chapter, and an index.

Reading this book is a bit like consulting with a nutritionist. Near the beginning of most chapters is a short self-scoring quiz about your current dietary habits or mental condition. After taking the quiz, you add up the points to see if you are eating well in this particular area, or should consider adjusting your habits. The remaining text in the chapter explains some of the problems or symptoms of the topic under discussion and various dietary factors that may play a role, or how dietary changes can help ameliorate symptoms. The suggestions Somer makes are all grounded on published scientific research, as cited in the references found at the back of the book.

While I found the nutritional information worthwhile, I found the quizzes a bit simplistic at times. Quiz 1.1 "What do you eat and how do you feel?" was particularly questionable in format. It asks you to rate your mood on a scale of 0-5 for about 25 characteristics such as "calm" or "lethargic" before lunch and then again after lunch. If any of these values change during this time, you are presumably to blame it on what you had for lunch. Such a format constitutes a classic example of how to create unfounded cause-effect relationships. Mood changes could just as easily come from hormone cycling, food you ate at an earlier meal, or something you heard on the news during lunch. On the other hand, the quizzes provide a limited means of interactivity, to make up for Somer not being able to conduct a personal interview about specific needs before giving dietary advice. Overall, I found the book informative and interesting, though the quizzes need some more polish.