Photo by Maddie Kauffman
For the first time, Elizabethtown College is doing a three-session workshop to educate students on mood in regards to food.
“Students will gain an increased understanding of how what they eat affects how they feel, both physically and emotionally,” licensed professional counselor Jennifer Melchior said in an email interview. “I’m also hoping they will learn how they can apply this knowledge in both the dining options available on campus and in their own homes.”
Similarly, Assistant Director of Health Promotion Joni Eisenhauer said she wants the workshops to give students insight on how to listen to what their bodies need. A goal of the sessions would be to have students understand how to read their bodies indications and determine what type of healthy food the body truly desires, so that the body feels better overall.
“[Melchior] brought it to me knowing of my background in nutrition and her expertise in counseling,” Eisenhauer said in an email interview. “It seemed like a perfect fit.”
A lot of people do not realize the extent to which food affects their mood throughout the day. More research studies have been coming out backing it up, showing how diet has a really large role. “Fruits and Veggies Boost Moods: Eating Produce Heightens Mental Well-Being,” an article from Natural Awakenings, emphasizes the importance of healthy foods. If combining exercise with fruits and vegetables, the results are magnified in a positive matter. The article says 16 studies have been done by the University of Manchester, which found similar results. Everyone has their own diet plan or foods they prefer to eat, but these studies found there is no one way that works better.
Furthermore, “Integrative Medicine in Action: Using Diet to Improve Mood,” an earlier article in the magazine, lists simple tips to improve mood by food. One of these is to consume complex carbohydrates over processed ones. When people are feeling down, they usually go for junk food like chocolate, which provides an immediate boost of mood and energy. However, it does not take long to wear off, leading them to then overeat that treat. An alternative would be fruits and vegetables that can create the same effect. The downside is that it takes longer to kick in, but the influence is longer-lasting, making the positive mood reign more. The article also suggests eating three full meals a day to maintain and balance the human dietary system, which can help lower stress levels.
Throughout the fall 2019 and spring 2020 semesters, Counseling Services is organizing mental health events and chose to do this for a change. Melchior and Eisenhauer have the overarching goal to make students more mindful of the food they are eating and how the body reacts to it. Likewise, the workshops aim to have students be able to make a diet plan for themselves instead of following diets on contradictory websites.
The workshops are not just another lecture: they are run by opened-ended questions that make the students think. During the first workshop Tuesday, Oct. 8, Eisenhauer and Melchior passed out a worksheet to help students practice mindfulness while eating. The worksheet allows for students to track their mood before and after eating a certain food throughout various times and days.
All in all, healthy food improves mood and makes symptoms of depression less common, which is why it is important to be mindful of the emotional repercussions of what one eats.
