Remembering Gifts, Animal Diets, Amazon-Sahara Connection

Feb 25, 2022

Discover why we forget gifts to friends more easily than those to strangers, linked to our closeness. Learn how wild animals, like bears, instinctively select nutritious foods compared to human dietary struggles. Uncover the surprising connection between Sahara dust and the Amazon rainforest, revealing how the Sahara nurtures distant ecosystems. Plus, explore how a healthy diet influences brain rewards and how our dietary choices mirror nature's wisdom.

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Intro

00:00 • 4min

The Nature of Dietary Choices: Humans vs. Animals

04:26 • 2min

Understanding Metabolism and Healthy Eating Choices

06:31 • 2min

The Surprising Connection Between Sahara Dust and Amazon Plant Life

08:45 • 3min

The Intriguing Connections of Memory, Diet, and Ecosystems

11:31 • 4min

Learn why helping others feels like helping ourselves, how wild animals eat healthy, and how the Sahara feeds the Amazon.

We're less likely to remember the things we've given to friends than strangers by Kelsey Donk

We’re Worse At Remembering Exactly What We’ve Given To Friends Than What We’ve Given To Strangers. (2021, April 12). Research Digest. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2021/04/12/were-worse-at-remembering-exactly-what-weve-given-to-friends-than-what-weve-given-to-strangers/
Uğurlar, P., Posten, A.-C., & Zürn, M. (2021). Interpersonal closeness impairs decision memory. Social Psychology, 52(2), 125–129. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000439

How do wild animals eat a healthy diet when humans struggle to? by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Jason in Port Ewen, New York)

Predators hunt for a balanced diet. (2012). ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120110192942.htm
Provenza, F. (2018, November 30). Animals Can Help Us Rediscover Our Nutritional Wisdom. Scientific American Blog Network. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/animals-can-help-us-rediscover-our-nutritional-wisdom/
Strauss, S. (2006). Clara M. Davis and the wisdom of letting children choose their own diets. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 175(10), 1199–1199. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.060990
Schatzker, M. (2015, April 9). How Flavor Drives Nutrition. WSJ; The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-flavor-drives-nutrition-1428596326
Tucker, A. (2009, July 14). Why Modern Foods Hijack Our Brains. Smithsonian Magazine; Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-modern-foods-hijack-our-brains-63123747/
Deckersbach, T., Das, S. K., Urban, L. E., Salinardi, T., Batra, P., Rodman, A. M., Arulpragasam, A. R., Dougherty, D. D., & Roberts, S. B. (2014). Pilot randomized trial demonstrating reversal of obesity-related abnormalities in reward system responsivity to food cues with a behavioral intervention. Nutrition & Diabetes, 4(9), e129–e129. https://doi.org/10.1038/nutd.2014.26

The Amazon Rainforest feeds on millions of tons of dust from the Sahara Desert per year by Grant Currin

Saharan Dust Feeds Amazon’s Plants. (2011). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-satellite-reveals-how-much-saharan-dust-feeds-amazon-s-plants
Yu, H., Chin, M., Yuan, T., Bian, H., Remer, L. A., Prospero, J. M., Omar, A., Winker, D., Yang, Y., Zhang, Y., Zhang, Z., & Zhao, C. (2015). The fertilizing role of African dust in the Amazon rainforest: A first multiyear assessment based on data from Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations. Geophysical Research Letters, 42(6), 1984–1991. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015gl063040

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