The Sunday Times - Britain

The Sunday Times
October 16, 2005

Choice of food can reveal your moodRoger Dobson and Ben Dowell
YOU really are what you eat. Psychologists have found that personality and mood can be betrayed by the choice of food on a person’s plate.
While angry people prefer tough food such as meat that they can chomp and chew, those who are depressed opt for the stimulation of sugary food and caffeine.
Those who are of a jealous disposition often pile their plates high with whatever is available, perhaps indicating that they had to compete with siblings at the dinner table when they were children.
The study, which uses data from the case notes of more than 500 people, is thought to be the first to detail what foods are linked with what states of mind. The results suggest restaurateurs — and diners — may subtly be able to alter mood by changing what is eaten.
“Only hard crunchy mastication will suffice when someone needs to take out their anger,” said Cynthia Power, an American psychotherapist, based in Illinois, who has studied addictions for 30 years. “Alternatively, loneliness is artificially assuaged with bulky, fill-up-the-stomach foods.”
Her findings will be included in a study of addiction to be published later this month. Power added: “Food can be used to change feelings the person doesn’t want to have.”
Power compared what her patients ate with their mood and personality. She found that people going through crises, such as divorce, favoured soft, sweet products such as custard and ice cream because they were “seeking comfort levels with foods they once found in childhood”.
Those who were stressed craved salty food such as crisps. “Stressed adrenal glands (which produce the stress hormone adrenaline) often send out salt-craving signals,” her study concluded.
Those who were sexually frustrated enjoyed foods high in carbohydrates, particularly crackers, pretzels and bread, to fill the stomach quickly and provide satisfaction.
The findings resonate with food experts. Raymond Blanc, the French owner of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, said his fiancée Natalia Traxel, a doctor, favoured hard food to chew on when angry. In her case, it took the form of plain baguettes.

“There is something about the way you eat big chunky food which can express your mood,” said Blanc. “The movements are quite muscular and fast, which is physically quite expressive.”
William Leith, 45, author of The Hungry Years: Confessions of a Food Addict, said the report bore out his experiences of binge eating to distract himself from emotional problems.
“If you are unhappy you go for food that is high in sugar and carbohydrates, like doughnuts, toast and so on,” said Leith, who added that such foods gave a quick blood sugar rush which soon faded and had to be replenished.
“Eating high carb food creates a whole drama of going and getting the food, eating it, feeling guilty and then feeling hungry again.”
Among writers who have examined the emotional power of food is Joanne Harris, the Anglo-French novelist whose books include Chocolat, which in 2000 was made into a film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp.

Binoche’s character, Vianne Rocher, is a chocolate-maker who predicts each of her customer’s precise desires. “Contrary to the study’s claims that sweet food is eaten by people who are unhappy, chocolate in my book is a metaphor for love and it reflects Vianne’s healthy and balanced attitude towards life and enjoying your body,” said Harris.
“But what people eat and how they eat is a valuable indicator of what they are like. You see people who attack food with tremendous gusto and you think they are open, extrovert and passionate about life.”

However, Hubert Lacey, professor of psychosomatic medicine at St George’s medical school in London, said the findings presented an “interesting hypothesis” but the subject required closer examination.
“In my experience people who are stressed do tend to opt for quite liquid food because it seems to offer some comfort,” he said. “But it is more complicated than this.”
Lord Hattersley, the Labour peer, who has cut many foods out of his once unhealthy diet, agreed with some of the findings. “Chocolate used to be my comfort food but that’s a throwback to when I was a little boy,” said Hattersley, who now weighs 14st 7lb.
“If I fell down and grazed my knee, my mother gave me some chocolate. But perhaps I don’t need it any longer. I certainly don’t miss it.”

FOOD MOODS
What your food says about how you feel
Angry Meat
Sad Sugary food, caffeine
In need of comfort Custard, ice cream
Lonely Rice, pasta
Stressed or ambitious Crisps, soy sauce, onions
Sexually frustrated Biscuits, bread
Jealous Pile the plate with anything

We zijn weer terug van de Teamkompas-Pilot die we dit weekende gedaan hebben. Nog moe maar zeker zeer voldaan! Ten eerste omdat het werkelijk fantastisch weer was; cadeautje! Vervolgens omdat er een heerlijke groep mensen aan boord waren; cadeautje twee, en ook omdat we toch een geweldig leuk programma op poten gezet hadden, cadeautje drie.
Vooral het werken met de nautische symbolen werd als een groot succes gezien. De bedoeling van het weekend was om met een aantal kritische mensen een stukje van het programma te doen om van hun feedback te krijgen over waar we op dit moment staan, hoe en of het programma 'werkt', hoe wij als team functioneerden en of het product wat we ontwikkeld hebben te 'vermarkten' is. Uit de open en eerlijke feedback die we kregen heb ik het gevoel gekregen dat we op de goede weg zitten en dat er hier en daar nog wel wat fine- tuning nodig is. Maar de grote lijn was zeer positief. Dat geeft ons 'moed'.

Kees

Vanaf morgen, vrijdag 14 oktober gaan we in Teamkompas-verband een pilot houden aan boord van de Panta Rhei vanuit Enkhuizen. We gaan drie dagen zeilen op het IJsselmeer en de genodigden (vrienden en bekenden) een gedeelte uit één van onze programma's voorschotelen. Gewoon om eens te voelen en te ervaren of we op de goede weg zitten, hoe we als team functioneren etc. Wij hebben alvast een heleboel voorpret, het wordt een leuk programma.
Ik zal hiervan volgende week op deze plek verslag doen.

Kees

Exactly What is Success?
by Arleen M. Kaptur

Success - we all read about it, hear it on the news, and label some individuals as "successful". The world's concept is believed to be related to the amount of money a person earns, the size and location of his/her house and the vehicles they drive. If you vacation in a far-off land, you are successful. If you wear designer clothes and dine or entertain at renowned restaurants you are successful.

There are many definitions of success, almost as many as there are individuals. Your idea of success may not be mine and vice versa. I may not be concerned with what I drive and do not base this on success. You, however, might take great care in who shops at what store in order to attain the label of success. Whatever your criteria is for placing someone, including yourself, on a preferred list of successful individuals, is based in part on what is of value to you. If you value home location, then successful people live in certain areas. There are those that feel that opulent spending signifies status in the honor rolls of life. Who is correct and what assumption is accurate?

None of them are and yet they all are. No matter what you base the concept of successful living on, only the individual involved can attest to the fact that they feel successful. There is an old saying that "only true success will lull you to sleep at night." True success is basically living up to your potential and fulfilling life goals and expectations that you have set for yourself. You work hard to make your dreams come true, your family is well taken care of so you can rest at night. Yet, there are those who do not have financial comfort, yet make do with what they have and share their love and attributes with their family and friends. Both individuals are successful. They have done what is expected of them and beyond.

There are no set steps you must take to reach success. There are just basic issues to overcome and control. These are few and simple. You must believe in what you do, be willing to share your knowledge and expertise with others, and acknowledge that others have the same rights to success as you do.

Simple, yes, easy-no! If you can laugh at your own mistakes, but not at those of others, and if you fail at anything, but can find the strength to get back up, then you are on the road to success. If an elderly person holds your respect, and a child makes you believe in life itself, then you are successful. If you shake the hand of an individual down on his luck as warmly as you do that of a statesman, then you are successful.

Its all in where your heart is and if you have the courage to follow it. You don't have to be exceptionally intelligent, nor endowed with great beauty or strength, you just have to be comfortable in being you. If someone made a movie of your life, featuring your motives, methods, and yes, even madness, would you cry, laugh, or applaud? Would you want to stand next in line to you, and more importantly, are you at ease when you are alone with you?
Success is in essence immeasurable. Yet, others lay a yardstick to it day after day. Your life will decide your success, and your own peace of mind will insure it. So, let each day be a step toward hearing "A Job Well Done" when all the cards are on the table, and there is no more playing time. Success - my toast to you!

"Ik heb geen tijd om mijn bijl te slijpen, ik moet nog zoveel bomen kappen"

"Eindelijk is het dan zover... Max Herold lanceert met gepaste trots zijn boek "Denkfundamenten ontsluierd, een introductie in Spiral Dynamics". Het boek is uniek in zijn soort. Sowieso is het een van de weinige Nederlandstalige boeken op het gebied van Spiral Dynamics, een praktisch toepasbare theorie over menselijke denkpatronen. Maar belangrijker is dat het boek zeer goed leesbaar is. "











Max heeft mij tijdens mijn opleiding TCC bij Arcurus kennis laten maklen met Spiral Dynamics, een zeer fascinerende manier van kijken naar culturen. Nu zijn boek, ik heb het in huis en ben zeer enthousiast over de eerste pagina's.

Kees

5 Steps To Passionate Partnerships
by Julie Jordan Scott

One of the tragedies of our times is the lack of deeply rooted connections between people. This phenomenon stretches across contexts and environments. Lapses in connection occur in families, in work places, in communities. Partnering passionately with the people who surround you is one way to re-create solid foundations. These foundations are more than simply between you and the other party, they invite further collaboration.

1. Rise to each occasion. Be ready, willing and able to create possibilities for people. Place your heart filled energy bringing forth that which makes your heart sing instead of what someone else was obligated to and therefore left behind as a negative, anti-legacy for you. Choose to be inspired through love rather than being motivated through fear.

2. Take a Stand. In the closing scene of "Dead Poet's Society", several students of John Keating literally take their stand by climbing on their desks in a passionate salute to him. Imagine what it would be like for you to publicly stand on your desk in the face of authority and say "YES! These are my beliefs and YES! I identify with them and YES! I am ready to take on all that means RIGHT NOW and forever more." Wow. Can you feel that?

3. Make clear, concrete requests. Instead of "kinda-sorta" suggesting people might perhaps feel like wanting to do "x-y-z" make your request dynamic, engaging and possibility filled. "I have an opening for x-y-z in my life. Are you ready to commit to this right now?" Make these requests from a foundation of love and allowing people to use their natural talents, gifts and abilities. Invite their participation as a reflection of their personal being.

4. Practice Authentic Gratitude. Express an active form of thanksgiving and gratitude for those who choose to partner with you. This goes beyond the surface niceties and goes much deeper. It goes into your soul level. Gratitude is not a here today, gone tomorrow experience. It is a grounding experience. It will make a surefire, long held connection between parties rather than a quick fix-here's one today, gone tomorrow.

5. Be alert for Continuing Passionate Possibilities. Once you create one Passionate Partnership, others will be naturally attracted to you. Be awake to the ones that truly resonate with you. This may be the ideal time to network further through connecting other passionate people. In doing so, you will be creating positive change which grows beyond the individuals involved. You will be positively impacting the larger community. Your passionate partnerships may eventually include the entire world.