Effects essay örneği The Effects of diet on behavior

     "You are what you eat!" is a well-known idea among health-conscious individuals. It also sums up many types of diet advice passed on from generation to generation, such as drinking warm mikl to help induce sleep. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology carried out a study on the effects of diet on behavior in 1982, and the results of the study indicate that such examples of folk wisdom about diet do make sense.

     One way foods affect behavior is through raising or lowering the levels of the chemical called serotonin in the brain. It has been empirically shown that serotonin levels are associated with feeling relaxed, calm, sleepy, less depressed and less sensitive to pain. Foods that contain tryptophan, the parent of serotonin, increase serotonin levels, contributing to higher levels of relaxation and lower levels of depression. What raises serotonin levels is a diet rich in carbonhydrates. In short, eating carbonhydrates makes a person feel happier, calmer, and less depressed. Carbonhydrate-deficient diets, on the other hand, cause cravings for sugar as the brain tries to increase serotonin levels back to normal.

     Caffeine also has a very strong impact on mood and behavior. Children who are high consumers of caffeine are more nervous, more hyperactive and more easily frustrated and angered than those who do not ingest as much caffeine. Shoft drinks and iced tea, therefore, are not innocent beverages that children can consume freely. Caffeine blocks the brain chemical adenosine, which ordinarily acts like a tranquilizer. For adults who consume large amounts of coffee in morning, the caffeine may help to counter the sleepiness induced by sweet breakfast foods such as jams or honey. Too much coffee during the day, on the other hand, may cause nervousness and irritability, as well as insomnia.

     Not only individuals foods, but also mealtime habits affect moods and behavior. The Massachusetts study has also shown that breakfast is an essential meal. Children who skip breakfast are less able to solve problems and make more errors than breakfast eaters. What kind of breakfast one eats and what kind of lunch follows are also important. A high-protein may make people feel angrier, tenser and less calm, so in the morning a high-carbonhydrate breakfast may work better. A high-carbonhydrate lunch, on the other hand, makes people feel sleepy, and lowers the ability to focus and pay attention. In addition, having lunch too early in the day causes the meal to be less effective, as the body is still digesting breakfast.

     Referring back to the comment about being what we eat, the idea sounds even more plausible after reading research findings. Filling up your stomach with just any food to satisfy hunger obviously does not contribute to maintaining psychological healts. It seems we all have to make educated decisions about the foods that we eat.

quote:bogazici university, remedial booklet; fall term 2013-2014