ONE WORD ANSWER #33

What bittersweet tonic can help you win office battles?

ANSWER Lemonade

As a health-conscious nation, we’ve grown used to the trope that we are what we eat. Anyone who works in an office, however, knows that one of these words is wrong: you are what you drink.

You have the builder’s tea drinker: solid, dependable. Then there’s the guy with the cafetiere: bit precious but worth keeping on side in case you need some jump leads. As for the camomile crew, the less said the better. The point is, we Brits are creatures of habit. However, new research suggests that, the next time work tensions near boiling point, you’d do well to think outside the set menu.

A study in the Journal of Consumer Research showed that the temperature of the drink we’re holding has emotional power. Participants experiencing ‘heated’ emotions – frustration, guilt, anger – felt notably calmer after grasping a chilled glass. Scientists posit this could help put the brakes on rash decisions by cooling the hot-headed.

For once, avoiding sugar might not be the smartest strategy either. Ohio State University found that people who drank a glass of chilled lemonade showed greater empathy toward others than those on sweeteners. Patience requires mental energy; glucose provides that vim.

So if you suspect your next work meeting might rouse a few tempers, make sure the office fridge is well stocked. But perhaps pop the kettle on, too. You know – in case things really kick off.