After a battle with breast cancer in 2009, a Nutrition and Health student at Edge Hill University was inspired to return to higher education and investigate how food affects mood in a bid to help others going through the same thing.
Lindsay Hodgson, from Ormskirk, has won a coveted Summer Studentship from the Nutrition Society and will be working on an eight week research project with the aim of discovering if there is a link between certain types of food and anxiety levels, supervised by Edge Hill’s Dr Catherine Tsang, Senior Lecturer in Human Nutrition and Health.
The Nutrition Society’s Summer Studentships are aimed at undergraduates interested in a career in nutritional science, and they provide undergraduates, registered on nutrition or related degree programmes, the opportunity to undertake a period of research in a University, research institute or industrial setting.
“My 23 year old daughter suffers from anxiety, and one day she told me that on the days when she eats well, her levels of anxiety are lower,” said Lindsay. “This inspired me to want to look into it further.”
Lindsay is collaborating with Belgian chocolate company, Barry Callebaut, who have developed polyphenol-rich dark chocolate and placebos for the research volunteers to consume.
The 30 volunteers taking part have been split into two groups. One group will consume 25g of the polyphenol-rich dark chocolate (the equivalent of a couple of squares of chocolate) daily over a four week period, and the other will consume the placebo chocolate.
Samples of their saliva will be taken so Lindsay can measure the levels of cortisol before, during and after the four week process and the volunteers will also be asked to fill in a PANAS questionnaire at various points which will measure their mood.
Lindsay is hopeful that the levels of cortisol will reduce and the mood scales will improve for those who have consumed the polyphenol-rich dark chocolate, and there will be no change in the other group.
This research could help uncover whether consuming this polyphenol-rich dark chocolate can help boost peoples’ mood and help them feel better mentally.
“I was so shocked when I found out I had been awarded a Summer Studentship but I’m really excited,” said Lindsay. “I have Catherine working with me so I know I will have all the support I need. I’m pleased to have such a great opportunity and I’m looking forward to working on a research project from start to finish so I can understand the whole process.
Lindsay decided to return to higher education after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009.
“When I was diagnosed, I wondered why it had happened – was it because of something I was eating? Was there anything I could do to make it better? There was so much conflicting information online, and I wanted to learn more about the research process so I could try and help other people going through the same thing.”
Each student will present their findings at the Nutrition Futures conference in September 2018 in Newcastle. One student will be awarded as the overall winner of the Summer Studentships at the Society’s annual reception in December.
Find out more about Edge Hill’s Nutrition and Health course at https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/courses/nutrition-and-health/.