FOOD FOR YOUR MOOD

HOW foods can affect state of mind. This week: Coffee

AS WELL as waking you up, coffee can cheer you up, suggests a report by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee from 2010.

Drinking a cup of coffee every four hours led to an increase in mood over the day.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the effect may be linked to caffeine. ‘Caffeine boosts energy uptake in brain cells, activates noradrenaline neurons [nerve cells that boost energy levels] and affects the release of dopamine, which may all improve mood,’ says Carrie Ruxton, a dietitian in Fife.