Different types of food stimulate different regions of the brain so significantly they influence how we behave, a U.S. professor has claimed.
Dr. Gary Wenk, from the Ohio State University and Medical Center, is a specialist in how drugs affect the brain. He claimed Sunday that amino acids and other natural compounds in food steer our mood swings, opening a flood of chemicals like dopamine and serotonin that promote well-being.
"The distinction of what is a drug and what is food is blurring completely. Natural things are also drugs," said Wenk, author of the new book "Your Brain on Food."
"Certain diets influence certain behaviors," he added. "If you want to understand how your brain works, we have to look at everything you consume."
Wenk, a specialist in Alzheimer's disease, started investigating the medicinal impact of food while studying how natural plants could impact memory. People from the Indian subcontinent, he found, are much less likely to develop Alzheimer's thanks to eating large amounts of curry, which contains an antioxidant that keeps brain cells from aging.
A lack of certain amino acids are believed to cause depression. Scholars now blame the Aztecs' penchant for sacrifice and cannibalism on a maize-based diet that lacked tryptophan, which is vital for creating feel-good serotonin. Even today, countries that consume less tryptophan have higher suicide rates, according to a 2007 study.
Potatoes calm people down by releasing glucose into the blood, as does milk, especially in babies, Wenk said. He also claimed sugar was vital to feed the brain, helping focus attention and learn new things.
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