If you find yourself cranky, irritable, and quick to snap at friends, family, and coworkers -- a better eating plan may be just what you need! The following strategies will stabilize your blood sugars and hopefully level out your mood.
Eat every 4 to 5 hours -- Eating consistently throughout the day provides your brain and body with a constant source of fuel. This 4-5 hour eating strategy can dramatically prevent dips in your blood sugar levels. Some people with diagnosed hypoglycemia may need to eat even more frequently (every 2-3 hours).
Limit refined carbohydrates to help lessen volatile blood sugar swings -- Concentrated sources of sugar like soda, candy, fruit juice, jam, and syrup can create radical spikes (and drops!) in your blood sugar -- which leaves you feeling cranky and tired. And although refined, white starch like white bread, crackers, bagels, and rice do not naturally contain sugar compounds, they are metabolized into sugar very quickly and often can create the same affect.

Eating consistently throughout the day provides your brain and body with a constant source of fuel.

Incorporate soluble fiber -- foods rich in soluble fiber have the ability to slow down the absorption of sugar in your blood and therefore, lessen blood sugar and mood swings. Incorporate oats, brown rice, barley, apples, pears, strawberries, oranges, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, and beans into your diet.
Incorporate protein with meals and snacks (whenever possible) -- The addition of protein to a meal will help slow the absorption of carbohydrate in the blood. This can help leave you feel upbeat and productive for hours after eating.
An additional nutrient worth considering:
Omega 3 Fats -- Significant work is being conducted in the area of omega 3 fatty acids on mental performance. Omega 3 fatty acids are present in the brain at higher levels than any other part of the body, and although this area has not been thoroughly researched, several review papers fully support the omega 3 use in psychiatry. Of particular interest is the ability of omega 3 fats to be mood lifting and perhaps help alleviate depression. Certainly a nutrient worth considering -- but always speak with your physician before starting with supplements.
Aim for a daily serving of foods rich in omega 3 fats -- oily fish, ground flaxseeds, canola oil, walnuts, omega 3 fortified eggs, and other fortified food products.

If you think you’re generally good at resisting temptation, you’re probably wrong, scientists now say.
“People are not good at anticipating the power of their urges, and those who are the most confident about their self-control are the most likely to give into temptation,“ said Loran Nordgren, senior lecturer of management and organizations at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, in Illinois.
The result: Many of us unwittingly expose ourselves to tempting chocolate or cigarettes, leading to a greater likelihood of indulging in addictive behaviors.
Nordgren reached the conclusion through a series of small, offbeat experiments done primarily with college students. The results may hold for the broader population, but that has not been studied. In one experiment, more than twice as many smokers who thought they could resist temptation lit up a cigarette in a no-smoking test as those who realized they didn’t have so much control.
Those who puff out their chests in the face of temptation have a deflated view of others. “They also demonize others,“ Nordgren told LiveScience. “They take a very dim view of other people who act impulsively, because they have this belief that they themselves wouldn’t act this way.“
The bottom line, Nordgren says: Avoid situations where such weaknesses thrive, and remember you’re not that invincible.
The new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science, builds on past research showing that when not in the “heat of the moment,“ individuals have a hard time understanding the depths of their cravings.
Real Difficult Time
“If you aren’t feeling a cigarette craving or hunger at this moment, I believe you have a real difficult time appreciating the transformative force of those experiences,“ Nordgren said.
And most of the time, we aren’t gripped by impulse, he added.
To figure out how this so-called cold state (opposite of the “gripped by impulse“ state) influences behavior, Nordgren ran experiments on:
Hunger pangs: Seventy-nine university students and employees rated a list of snacks from least to most favorite and then selected one. Participants were told, “You can eat the snack anytime you like. However, if you return the snack to this location in one week, we will give you four Euros (and you will get to keep the snack you chose).“
Questions also measured participants’ level of hunger. Satiated participants exposed themselves to more temptation, generally choosing their first or second favorite snack, while the hungry individuals selected their second or third favorite item. Those with full bellies were also less likely to bring back an uneaten snack, Nordgren said.
Cigarette cravings: Fifty-three university students who smoked were placed into a high- or low-control group, in which a bogus test suggested each had either a high or low capacity for impulse control. Then, the participants had to watch a film called “Coffee and Cigarettes“ without smoking. Participants chose their level of temptation with corresponding levels of payoff. They could either keep the unlit cigarette in another room (lowest), on their desk, in their hand, or in their mouth (highest).
On average, low-control students chose to watch the film with the cigarette on the table, and those who thought they could easily resist temptation chose to keep the cigarette in their hand. About 33 percent of the high-control students caved and smoked during the film, while just over 11 percent of the low-control participants lit up.
“People have less self-restraint than they think, a false belief that often leads people to expose themselves to more temptation than they can handle.“ Nordgren said.
In addition, he added, the study results suggest people often can’t predict how they will react in a given situation.
“It’s not just about eating and addiction, but the ’cold self’ has a really hard time understanding what you’re capable of in a moment of despair, in a moment of rage,“ Nordgren said.

Iraq has a program in place that offers $ 2,000 to every couple that unites the two major Muslim sects, encouraging marriages between Sunni and Shiia.
The Iraqi government launched the program in an attempt to heal the sectarian divide that threatens the country’s diverse culture.
The government program was initiated following the bombing of a major Shiia shrine in 2006 that elevated the importance of security concerns in the country.
According to AP, more than 1,700 newlywed couples have accepted cash from the government program as a step toward bridging the two points of view.
Mass weddings for these couples are held in a club that once was used by Saddam Hussein’s army, a symbolic measure demonstrating cultural progress in Iraq.
Though the Iraqi government does not keep the track of mixed marriages, they claim the program has cost them over $ 3 million.
Experts believe the rise in mixed marriages is a sign showing the return of peace to Iraqi society.