The way we eat can be made clear in the way we look. A balanced diet has our skin glowing, our eyes bright, and our bodies looking full and healthy. Alternatively, a diet filled with junk food can limit these elements, and make you feel bad inside and out. Either way, you expect these things when you make your own food choices!
But some effects food can have are a little more subtle than others, or entirely unusual altogether. Did you know that your skin can even turn different colours based on the foods you consume on a regular basis? It sounds like a weird and wild fact, but it can happen to people! So the next time you’re wondering about the effects food can have your body, or how your diet might be affecting your life, here are a few things to ruminate on.
Salad bowl and charcuterie – sometimes the effects food can have on your body are unpredictable.
Some Foods Can Calm You Down
It’s not all bad news! There are some foods out there that can have a calming effect on your mood. These foods tend to be high in antioxidants and low in processed sugars. From berries straight off the bush or vine, as well as salmon and other fatty fish that are high in omega-3.
These kinds of foods are going to treat your hormones gently, fill you up when you eat them as part of a meal, and give you a boost for the day. Beating back that anxious feeling really can start at home with every meal you make!
A Bowl of Nachos Could Bloat You
After having a snack of nachos and all the dips, it’s not just the copious amounts of cheese that could be making you feel sick! For many people with sensitive stomachs and dairy intolerances, this is one of the worst snacks you could consume. But if you don’t have either of those, it could still be bad; the salt content in the tortilla chips themselves could cause bloating.
The same goes for various other salty foods in your life. Too much salt in your diet can cause you to retain much more water than usual, leading to a feeling of bloatedness and a general sense of being uncomfortable.
Spices Could Be Causing Skin Irritations
You wouldn’t think that a little bit of herbs and spices you add to a meal as it bubbles away on the stove, or when it’s been served in a dish and requires a bit of garnish, could be such an allergy inducer. However, spices can cause serious skin irritations if you’re not aware of your own intolerances.
Indeed, when it comes to dry patches on skin: causes and treatments, spices won’t usually be top of the list. But a lot of people can be allergic to common additions like celery salt, garlic, and sesame seeds, which can then cause rashes, red patches, and various drying across your epidermis.
Sweeteners Can Act as Laxatives
Depending on the kind of sweetener you use, in your tea or coffee or as a substitute for the real thing, you could accidentally be lacing your meals with a laxative. These kinds of sweeteners are known as ‘polyols’, and when consumed in big enough amounts, they can loosen your stool and make a dash to the toilet necessary!
Be careful to avoid sweeteners like these, or using too much artificial sweetener at all, if you don’t want to have to factor in this kind of extra bathroom time during the day. A little bit is fine, but always watch your portions.
Some Vegetables Can Turn Your Skin a Different Colour
Have you ever noticed a slight orange tone to your hands and feet, particularly the palms and soles? This could be a result of your diet, and eating a few too many veggies that are capable of changing skin colour.
Carrots tend to be the main offender for this. Carrots contain a large amount of the chemical known as beta-carotene, and this tends to turn skin a little more yellow than it usually tends to be.
But it’s not just carrots that can do this! You’ll want to be careful about eating a little too much kale (and other leafy veggies), as well as asparagus, which also have high concentrations of beta-carotene. It’s not likely to be a dramatic or long lasting effect, but keep an eye on the way the colour changes if you’re worried.
Eating Spicy Foods Could Be Keeping You Up
Spicy foods aren’t just hell on the mouth, or the other end when they come out again. They could very well be keeping you up at night as well, thanks to the way your body processes ‘hot’ content.
Studies show that men tend to be a little more at risk of this than women, but if you don’t handle hot food very well already, there could be a chance that your next curry will cause a bout of insomnia.
Chocolate Really Can Make You Happy
Chocolate is a pretty good tasting food, isn’t it? Your brain agrees! That’s why it can generally make you feel calm, relaxed, and happy when you eat it. From white to milk to dark chocolate, you can find high levels of ‘tryptophan’ in them all. This is a chemical that helps the brain to generate serotonin, which is one of the main neurotransmitters for emotions like happiness.
The healthier your level, the more likely you are to feel positive over a long period of time. So why not pop a couple squares of chocolate when you’ve had a hard day? It’s OK to indulge a little when you need to (and dark chocolate is the best for this), and it would be totally ridiculous to ask someone to give up chocolate entirely for the sake of a healthy diet!
Some foods have more of an effect on your body than others. And some of those effects aren’t all that well known! Be aware of what your diet consists of so you can make more informed choices regarding the foods you enjoy.