It's a surefire recipe for the season. Simply blend hectic hosting duties, simmering family resentment, and overstressed spouses. Add a heavy multicourse meal, a dash of whining kids, and voila! You've got a brain-dulling feast that's bound to give you the holiday blues.
The food-mood connection is rarely more apparent than it is between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Depending on what and when you eat, holiday meals can leave you merry or miserable. Some tips to keep in mind:
o You can give your brain a biochemical boost by laying off protein and fat. According to Massachusetts Institute of Technology nutritionist Judith Wurtman, Ph.D., you'll feel most relaxed if you eat five parts of carbohydrate for every one part of protein. So balance that turkey leg with plenty of stuffing and potatoes.
o For some folks, holiday binges are a way of blunting their brain to family squabbles. "Often it's not what's on the table that causes you to overeat, it's who's around it," Wurtman says. Take a stress-busting walk before Christmas dinner and you'll be less likely to pig out.
