Dieting Can Put You in a Bad Mood

You should be enjoying your new confidence. Instead, you are a walking thundercloud.

Blame your low carbohydrate diet. Research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that dramatically reducing your carb intake can seriously lower levels of serotonin, your body's good-mood-boosting super-chemical.

"When serotonin is made and becomes active in your brain, its effect on your appetite is to make you feel full before your stomach is stuffed and stretched," says study author Dr. Judith Wurtman.

"But serotonin is crucial not only to control your appetite and stop you from overeating; it's essential to keep your moods regulated."

Antidepressant medications are designed to make serotonin more active in the brain and extend that activity for longer periods of time to assist in regulating moods.

Because carbohydrates raise serotonin levels naturally they effectively act like a natural tranquilizer.

The brain makes serotonin only after a person consumes sweet or starchy carbohydrates.

Grab some fiber-rich whole grains from foods like brown rice and wholewheat pasta, says Dr. Wurtman. These calm you by keeping blood-sugar levels even.