The problem is that these are precisely the foods we reach for at exactly the wrong times, as they exacerbate tension from work and daily life just when we seek relief.

The Food and Mood Project, a nutrition research group in the U.K., identified "food stressors" and "food supporters," foods that exacerbate stress from the inside and those that help people under stress. The lists were drawn on the basis of personal experience among 200 people surveyed.

Nearly 90% of those surveyed reported that their mental health had improved significantly with changes in diet they had made on their own.

Participants reported that cutting down or avoiding "food stressors" like sugar (80%), caffeine (79%), alcohol (55%) and chocolate (53%) had the most impact on mental health. So did having more "food supporters" like water (80%), vegetables (78%), fruit (72%) and oil-rich fish (52%).

The survey also found some dietary strategies particularly helpful in encouraging a healthful diet: eating regular meals, carrying nutritious snacks and planning meals in advance.

"Despite evidence suggesting that dietary and nutritional interventions can provide symptom relief and benefits to health, these approaches remain alternative or complementary," says Amanda Geary, a nutritional therapist with the Food and Mood Project, which advocates dietary changes to boost mood before turning to medication.

Nevertheless, quality research now underway is seriously tackling how the foods we consume affect our internal chemistry. We already know that stress hormones like cortisol actually rob the body of vitamins, hijacking them to support such classic stress responses as the tensing of muscles and the rise of blood pressure, reactions fundamental to the fight-or-flight response.

Thus at times when we're experiencing the nervous-system workout of anxiety, we are in special need of B vitamins, which help maintain our nerves and brain cells. B vitamins also used up in converting food into energy for the body.

It's double whammy for the body if calories consumed during stressful times don't come from nutritious foods, as they'll then be depleted even more quickly. Even a slight vitamin B deficiency--say, from a few days of overloading on chips and soda--upsets the nervous system and compounds stress, according to Elizabeth Somer, R.D., a nutritionist in Salem, Oregon.

A better bet at trying times: bananas, fish, baked potatoes, avocados, chicken and dark green leafy veggies. All are loaded with B vitamins.

Extreme stress can create even more nutritional havoc. The "fight or flight" effect on our bodies is drastic. Some 1400 chemical changes occur as stress hormones sap the body of important nutrients, such as those B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin A and the mineral magnesium.

The hormones released in response to stress can cause carbohydrate cravings by lowering levels of serotonin, the calming hormone. Increasing carbohydrate intake can strengthen tolerance to stress by boosting levels of serotonin, says Somer, but it can also cause weight gain and overeating, particularly of sugary foods.

When the pressure is on, it's difficult not to turn to junk food for solace. But sticking to highly nutritious, low fat, low sugar, and low caffeine diet will be its own reward.

We've all had them: bosses who inspire more fury and frustration than productivity or inspiration. They bark orders, mumble vague instructions, and seem oblivious to their employees's successes, but strangely attuned to every fumble. Who hasn't spent lunch hours dissecting a supervisor's flaws and foibles, fantasizing about an early retirement or personality overhaul for their boss?

But such musings miss the real kink in office operations. According to Renato Tagiuri, Ph.D., professor emeritus of social sciences at Harvard Business School, decades of research into what makes a great manager leads to one conclusion: "It's not about personality. It's about behavior."

While self-help books expound on the power of personality, and management gurus tell us it's all about style, Tagiuri suggests that many different kinds of people make good managers. Besides, who we are is far more difficult to change than what we are.

Whether you're reserved or chatty, decisive or waffling, there are effective ways to get the best out of your workers. With the help of his students--who all had considerable work experience and had endured many bosses--Tagiuri has distilled a lifetime of inquiry into 10 essential actions that make a great boss:

1. Clarify objectives of job assignments
2. Describe assignments clearly
3. Listen to your employees views
4. Make sure the resources necessary to carry out assignments are available
5. Be explicit about evaluation standards
6. Reward effort and offer incentives
7. Give prompt feedback on performance
8. Avoid personal friendships with employees
9. Admit your errors, don't tell lies
10. Make the decisions that are yours to make.

The 10 behaviors constitute a cohesive system "and the removal of any one of them will cause the structure to crumble," Tagiuri believes. Employees need to know how they'll be judged, what priorities their boss will set, and whether their earnest efforts will be noticed.

Alternatively, bosses can manage by threats or acquire enough charisma to charm employees into high gear. But both strategies ultimately backfire.