The winter blues affects mostly those who live in the Northern Hemisphere. At the far end of the spectrum is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). The difference between the winter blues and SAD is having a reduction in your level of energy versus a major disruption of your life and ability to function. (1)
How the Winter Blues Set In
Both winter blues and SAD are the biological response of your body triggered by a lack of strong sunlight. This is due to the position of the Earth’s axis relative to the Sun during the fall and winter season in northern latitudes. (2) If you’ve ever traveled further south during the fall and winter, you probably noticed on your return back north the difference in the quality of light—almost as if someone had placed a filter over the sky.
Winter Blues Bring Carb Cravings
Many people who experience the low ebb of energy experience an increase in cravings for starch and sugar. It has been found that cravings are the result of the body trying to boost its level of serotonin, a crucial neurotransmitter. Studies show it is affected by the amount of light received. Cravings are a way for your body to tell you what it needs, but it can’t give specifics as to why. Generally, a craving represents the body attempting to bring a deficiency back into balance.
But ingesting large amounts of the familiar “comfort foods” can lead to the packing on of hibernation pounds, adding to your general feeling of lethargy.
How to Eat to Fend Off the Cravings Cycle
What you eat can be used to your advantage during these weaker-light days—and it doesn’t have to result in weight gain. To combat cravings requires maintaining a foundation of nutrition built on whole foods, which can help moderate mood and energy levels. Having a foundation in place before the season of cravings begins can actually head off that cycle of carbs, insulin spike, blood-sugar drop, and the craving for yet more carbs.
It’s not necessary to eliminate all carbs, but lowering your intake of them and making sure to eat more protein and vegetables will help knock out the cravings cycle. When you do choose your carbohydrates, aim for quality ones over those that serve as just “filler.” That would be anything that resembles those Styrofoam peanuts used for packing: white flour, white rice, enriched pasta, white potatoes, and sugar. In the first three, they’ve been processed and stripped of their nutrients and fiber, leaving behind a nutritional shell.
Whenever you can substitute the darker versions of the flour, rice and potatoes, the better nutritional value you’ll receive. Whole-wheat flour, brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole-wheat pasta and a moderate intake of fruit to satisfy the craving for sweets are healthier options. Their fiber content makes them more filling, and they also have greater vitamin and mineral content—all of which your body needs to function optimally.
Reference
(1) Rosenthal, Norman: Winter Blues, The Guilford Press, 2006.
(2) Physical Geography, accessed 11/19/08.
