You’ve heard the claims: Chocolate evokes that loving feeling. Eating fish makes you smarter. Pure carbs calm you down. If you are what you eat, as they say, then it certainly stands to reason that food can influence mood and brain power.
The theory behind these supposed connections seems plausible. Certain neurotransmitters do affect the brain and, consequently, our dispositions in measurable ways. For instance, high levels of serotonin are associated with being calm, happy and relaxed, while low levels are linked to depression and aggression. Dopamine and norepinephrene are reward chemicals released by the brain in response to pleasure.
Particular foods have been shown to boost the production of these neurotransmitters but usually not by enough to make a perceptible difference in the brain. In fact, science has shot down most of the food-mood links accepted as conventional wisdom and perpetuated by self-proclaimed nutrition experts.
Which is a good thing. If you think about it, it’s heartening to realize that you can’t easily influence your mood by a bagel or banana.
Although much remains to be studied, here’s what scientists currently believe to be true and false with regard to the relationship between the belly and the brain
click here to read the rest of this article from the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
You’ve heard the claims: Chocolate evokes that loving feeling. Eating fish makes you smarter. Pure carbs calm you down. If you are what you eat, as they say, then it certainly stands to reason that food can influence mood and brain power.
The theory behind these supposed connections seems plausible. Certain neurotransmitters do affect the brain and, consequently, our dispositions in measurable ways. For instance, high levels of serotonin are associated with being calm, happy and relaxed, while low levels are linked to depression and aggression. Dopamine and norepinephrene are reward chemicals released by the brain in response to pleasure.
Particular foods have been shown to boost the production of these neurotransmitters but usually not by enough to make a perceptible difference in the brain. In fact, science has shot down most of the food-mood links accepted as conventional wisdom and perpetuated by self-proclaimed nutrition experts.
Which is a good thing. If you think about it, it’s heartening to realize that you can’t easily influence your mood by a bagel or banana.
Although much remains to be studied, here’s what scientists currently believe to be true and false with regard to the relationship between the belly and the brain click here to read the rest of this article from the Los Angeles Times