



Neuroscience by Cthulhu Kitty
April 17th, 2007 7:07 PMI decided to focus on Serotonin for the first week and Endorphins for the second.
I found many articles suggesting that chocolate can produce/increase serotonin levels. Another food which produces Serotonin (and Endorphins) is Chilies Let me tell you, it was quite a sacrifice to science that I made that week. (I love chiles and chocolate! though not necessarily together)
For Serotonin week, I increased my chilies and chocolate intake a great deal. I typically eat small amounts of both a day, anyway, so had to really up the amounts for this task.
For each meal, I added chiles into one or more food items. For breakfast, they went into my eggs, for lunch, into my sandwhiches, and for dinner into my main entrees. I ate on average 10 jalepenos per day. I also added habenero sauce to food and ate habenero flavored beef jerkey. YUM! In addition, I also increased my chocolate intake. Luckily, it was Easter time, and there was much chocolate to be had. I didn't really want to do this so much, because I have been dieting, but I figured that the plan I had for week two to increase Endorphin production would counteract the weight gained from the chocolate bingeing. I am ashamed to confess the amount of chocolate I consumed that week. Suffice it to say, it was a lot.
Supposedly, it is the capsaicin in chilies which causes the brain to produce serotonin. From what I gather, the pain caused by the hotness of the chilies then causes the brain to produce the serotonin to counteract that pain. Because I already have a high tolerance to capsaicin, I really had to up the levels, eating more habenero pepper products than jalepenos. ( a habenero pepper is roughly 50 times as hot as a jalepeno pepper).
Results:
The chilies really seemed to produce an instantaneous feeling of well being. Especially when I ate the habenero peppers. Well, first there was pain, then the serotonin kicked in. The chocolate was nice, but I didn't notice the same effect while eating it. As I continue my regime, I did notice some changes in my mood. I will say that overall, I felt happier and less stressed out and I seemed to sleep better. I work nights and sleep days and typically have trouble falling asleep, but after day three of serotonin week, I fell asleep much more quickly and felt more refreshed when waking. I did experience some negative effects, but they were mostly side effects of the method I was using to produce the serotonin, rather than the serotonin itself. For one thing, I renewed my sweet tooth and addiction to chocolate that I had successfully repressed during my last 12 weeks of dieting. I also immediately felt the weight gain and felt a depression as a result. It's so difficult to lose weight and so darn easy to gain it! The well being won over the momentary depression caused by the weight gain, however, and I was confident that Endorphin week would help me re-lose the extra weight.
Week Two - Endorphin week
As a runner, I had always heard about the "runner's high" and knew that it was supposed to be a result of Endorphin production. In my research, I learned that although this is usually assumed to be true, there is some doubt as to its actual veracity. Nonetheless, I decided that this would be the best way to attempt to produce Endorphins and would also help me lose the weight I had gained in Serotonin week.
I was already in training for a half marathon, and was running around 20 miles per week. For Endorphin week, I doubled that amount. I ran 6 days and averaged 7 miles per day. On the last day, I ran 13 miles all at once.
After about the 4th or 5th mile, I did feel a sort of second wind, or runner's high. It is always so hard for me to start my runs, but once I finish them, I feel great! I don't know for sure if that's due to the sense of accomplishment or to the endorphins that may or may not have been produced, but either way, it is a good feeling. This feeling lasted about a half hour after the run and didn't seem to stay with me all day as had the Serotonin during week one. The biggest result of the endorphin production, however, was how it effected my sleep. It had the exact opposite effect as had the serotonin. Starting day two, I found it extremely difficult to get to sleep, and once asleep to stay asleep. That week, I went to work tired, cranky, and unhappy. But, I did lose the weight gained in week one!
After the end of week two, I cut back on the running, but it took 4 days before I was able to get back to my original sleep habits.
Over all, whether or not I actually increased production of Serotonin and Endorphins, I definitely felt changes in my mood. I felt happier week one, and more stressed during week two (though I felt great immediately after my runs). Would I do this again? Probably not. Endorphin week just about killed me due to lack of sleep and some muscle strain from increased running. Serotonin week was great, but the guilt and depression caused by weight gain made it more of a problem than the feeling of well being was worth to me. However, I will probably continue to eat hot hot chilies - all of the good effects of Serotonin with none of the weight gain of chocolate!
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I had always liked spicy food anyway. No one really noticed that I was increasing the amount of chilies (also, I tend to eat alone, for the most part.)
I would totally vote for this task except I can't justify a vote for eating chocolate. It makes me all jealous. Nevertheless, well done.
Wow, it's pretty interesting that it affected your sleep so profoundly. Good proof! It made me want habanero beef jerky.
Also, good luck on your half-marathon!
My favorite hot sauce is the extra hot Nandos Peri Peri Sauce made with African Bird Eye chiles. The beef jerkey I was enjoying came from Jerky Works. I recommend the Blast Furnace Sampler The triple habenero jerky hurt so good!
by the way, i'm definitely going to eat much more spicy food now. today i'm going to get this incredible green papaya salad that basically puts me in a coma whenever i eat it.
A very thorough report! I'm curious, though; did you consider the possibility of a placebo effect at all? You did the research and learned what to expect from the neurotransmitters. Maybe expecting the results enhanced the effects a bit?
Good observation! Not to mention, that many other chemicals are produced by the brain during pain impulses: not just the ones I mentioned...To be honest, without being able to isolate specific neurotransmitters, its quite difficult to determine what is really causing the effects I "observed." Was it one specific neurotransmitter, a combination of neurotransmitters, or a placebo effect? Bad sciencentist me!
But, at least I got to eat chocolate...
From the way you describe this it reminds me of an idea my uncle introduced me to as a child.
He said that your emotions are like a pendulum and the if you fill yourself with glee that the inertia can suck you back into sadness.
I am not explaining this very well. But it seams almost like an emotional fabric, to get in one place something else has to give. To get increased Serotonin you had to take on the other effects that came along with it.
All of this reminds me of a video I stumbled upon that gives instructions for how to magnetize a baby
Truly fascinating : Nicely Done.
-SS
Increased mole consumption is in my future. Do try it: chiles and chocolate together in one heavenly, wholesome food!
do you have a recipe or can you send some to me? :)
Mole is one of the most difficult things to make from scratch due to lots of ingredients. I usually buy it from little mexican grocery marts in the mission. Is there any place to by mexican food where you're at? Is it legal to send glass with food in it across the world? How would i get it to you?
Mexican food in Guam. very sad. I don't know if sending food is possible, alas, but I am planning to be in CA at the end of the year... :)
The thought of Mexican food in Guam gave me shivers. I present you with Wikipedia's link for mole-creation: The Mole Page.
I liked that you tried two different targets. Did anyone ask you about the increased chile consumption?