Mood Foods

Wondering what's sending you searching for something starchy, sugary, salty, or loaded with fat? Chances are, it's your emotions.

Researchers have studied people and their diets to see how personality and foods collide -- that is, how moods may steer us to certain foods, based on the physical characteristics of those foods. The researchers theorize that many moods send specific signals; for example, stressed adrenal glands could be sending salt cravings. Figuring out how your emotions drive your desire to eat is the first step toward resisting your cravings and, ideally, avoiding them altogether.

So what does your favorite turn-to food say about you?

• Tough foods like meat, or hard and crunchy foods = Angry
• Sugars = Depressed
• Soft and sweet foods like ice cream = Anxious
• Salty foods = Stressed
• Bulky, fill-you-up foods like crackers and pasta = Lonely
• Anything and everything = Jealous

There will be times when you can't control your hormone levels or your cravings. Develop a list of emergency foods for these moments - things like a glass of juice, a handful of nuts, a piece of fruit, some cut-up vegetables, or even a little guacamole.

If you're going to eat something that's bad for you, enjoy it, savor it, roll it around in your mouth. I suggest taking a piece of dark chocolate and meditating - as a healthy stress reliever and as a way to reward yourself with something sweet. I am trying to find small ways to make you feel good and increase your serotonin - the feel-good brain chemical - so you don't plummet and scavenge for anything you can find. It's OK to eat bad foods every once in a while. Remember, it's not the first piece that's going to Shamu you; it's scarfing down the whole thing.