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Getting "Hangry"....

Saturday, 31 May 2014 00:10

By Susan Lacke (triathlon.competitor.com)

For better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; and for every time I have to tell my grumpy triathlete to eat a candy bar.

Scientists have given us yet another reason to refuel properly after long rides: it may save your relationship. A new study suggests that the notion of being “hangry”—so hungry you’re angry—is a real thing.

In a study of more than 100 married couples, low blood glucose levels were correlated with increased feelings of annoyance, anger and...

aggression toward a spouse. For 21 days, husbands and wives were given a voodoo doll and told to stick pins in it depending on how angry their spouse had made them. At the same time, participants used a blood glucose meter to test their blood sugar.

The results, reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that lower blood glucose coincided with more pins being stuck in voodoo dolls.

I believe this. Though Neil and I don’t fight often, our arguments always take place during or after workouts when I’ve failed to fuel properly. One minute, everything is fine; the next, I’m threatening to murder Neil because he put an empty jar of peanut butter back in the pantry. If I had a voodoo doll during those moments, I’d bypass the pins altogether and head straight for the meat cleaver. This is Thunderdome, and I need a sandwich, dammit. READ MORE