Food and mood

CEBU, Philippines - Feeling down?

Watch what you're eating.

According to Lucila Perez, one of the country's pioneers in the field of nutrition and dietetics and a leading advocate of vegetarianism, food has an effect on our body and our behavior.

"Carbohydrates are downers, proteins are uppers, and vegetables are neutral," she said in one of the classes we had during a retreat with students of the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Center in Cebu City.

She said that based on these properties of food, we have been eating wrong, with our usual morning diet rich in carbohydrates, although one would say that the rationale behind carb loading in the morning is because the first source of energy for our body is carbohydrates.

Sister Lucy or Lucybhen, as we call her, reiterated that even the kind of protein that we take in should be considered because this could also affect our behavior.

Meat protein, for example, causes anger and violence.

Lucybhen is a leading expert on behavioral psychology, being the director of the Philippine Institute of Applied Behavioral Sciences since 1975, a raja yogi and teacher-student of the Brahma Kumaris for more than 30 years.

She pointed out that when animals are slaughtered, they would release chemicals that are harmful to the ones who will consume the meat. This is a defense mechanism and comes out when the animals are stressed or threatened.

This statement is backed by a 2012 Arizona State University study suggesting that a vegetarian diet can significantly improve one's mood.

The study by Bonnie L. Beezhold and Carol S. Johnson, which was published in the Nutrition Journal, states that "consuming a diet high in meat, fish, and poultry may negatively impact mental state."

"...those who adopted a lacto-vegetarian diet did improve their mood," it further stated.

The two-week study involved 39 meat eating adults. They were grouped into three: those who were made to consume meat and/or poultry at least once in a day, those who were made to consume seafood at least three to four servings per week with eggs permitted but meat and poultry avoided, and those who were asked to avoid eating all animal food except dairy products.

The meat eaters assigned to the vegetarian group significantly improved in terms of mood and based on laboratory tests their EPA, DHA, and arachidonic acid decreased to negligible levels, and the subjects say that their mood also improved. Those on seafood diet had their EPA and DHA levels increased, while there was no change for the meat eaters. Both also had no change in terms of mood.

In spirituality, a meatless diet is called sattvic or pure diet. It is composed purely of fruits and vegetables, although not all fruits and vegetables are sattvic. These types of food promote enlightenment and are light on the body. They are easy to digest. Meditation encourages us to prefer sattvic food as it would aid us in "flying", meaning easier to connect our thoughts with the Divine, the source of peace, happiness, love, mercy, power, and purity - the basic virtues to achieve fulfillment.

There are also foods that are considered rajasic and composed mainly of hot and spicy foods. They are irritate our digestive system and the body, while stimulating our senses. Aside from hot and spicy food, bottled and preserved fruits and vegetables are sometimes considered rajasic.

Tamasic food is the least desirable for a meditator and it promotes sleep and depression, as well as makes one prone to anger. Red meat, garlic, onions, and alcoholic drinks are considered tamasic. Some people consider white meat and egg as rajasic, although personally, I would classify them as tamasic since violence is involved in sourcing them.

It seems that finally we can say that based on scientific study and on the opinion of people who are authorities on the topic, meat affects our mood. Now, it's not just about our personal experience, although that is the heaviest form of evidence, it's is also scientific.

So, if you have a friend who is quick tempered, temper him with vegetables. Here's a wonderful recipe I learned from one of the free cooking classes at the Brahma Kumaris, with a little revision since I could not exactly remember the original recipe:

Vegetarian Dinuguan

•Pre-boiled black beans, set a few whole beans aside

•Dried azucena flowers

•Grilled eggplant, peeled and cubed

•Sili espada, chopped

•Fresh oregano leaves, chopped

•Dried shitake mushrooms, soaked overnight and sliced

•Light soy sauce

•Vegetable oil

•Vinegar

•Cornstarch dissolved in a little water

•Vegetable broth

•Hing (Asafoetida powder)

•Salt, pepper, brown sugar to taste

1. In a food processor or blender, puree black beans with its broth. Leave a few beans unprocessed.

2. In a saucepan, heat oil and then add a few dash of hing.

3. Add whole black beans, mushroom, eggplant, and sili espada one ingredient at a time

4. Pour the pureed black beans mixture and the vegetable broth.

5. Simmer.

6. Add the cornstarch to thicken the sauce, and then the chopped oregano leaves and the dried azucena flowers.

7. Let simmer for three minutes before removing from the fire.

8. Add the light soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and brown sugar.

9. Garnish with fresh oregano leaves and sili espada.

10. Serve with love.