How Foods & Nutrients Control Our Moods

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Mar 15, 2021

Discover the fascinating link between what we eat and how we feel. The vagus nerve plays a crucial role in regulating dopamine and serotonin levels, impacting our motivation and mood. Learn about the power of omega-3 fatty acids and how gut health can influence emotional well-being. Explore actionable dietary strategies, including fasting and plant-based diets, to enhance your mood. Plus, get insights on the surprising effects of specific supplements and the connection between beliefs and physiological responses.

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insights

INSIGHT

Emotions as Actions

Emotions involve attraction or aversion, like a push-pull.
This push-pull translates into actions: moving towards or away.

insights

INSIGHT

Vagus Nerve: Brain-Body Connection

The vagus nerve connects the brain and body, regulating emotional states.
It's a two-way street: sensory information goes up, motor control goes down.

insights

INSIGHT

Gut's Sugar Sensors

The gut has sugar sensors independent of taste, impacting cravings.
These gut sensors signal the brain to release dopamine, creating desire.

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The Emotional Influence of Nutrients on Mood

01:44 • 10min

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The Vagus Nerve: Food, Mood, and Emotion

11:46 • 39min

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The Impact of Nutrition on Emotional Well-Being

50:58 • 6min

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Omega-3 and Mental Health: The Power of Nutrition

56:51 • 42min

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Exploring the Mind-Body Connection Through Nutrition

01:39:21 • 3min

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The Molecule of More

How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity—and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race

Daniel Z. Lieberman

Michael E. Long

The Molecule of More delves into the role of dopamine in human behavior, revealing how this neurotransmitter drives our desires, fuels creativity, and influences various aspects of life including love, business, addiction, and politics. The authors argue that dopamine is not just a 'pleasure molecule' but a chemical of anticipation and possibility, which explains why we often crave what we don’t have and why we are driven to pursue new and unexpected things. The book uses insights from psychology, neuroscience, and social studies to provide a comprehensive understanding of dopamine’s impact on the human condition.

How Emotions Are Made

The Secret Life of the Brain

Lisa Feldman Barrett

In this book, Lisa Feldman Barrett presents a new neuroscientific explanation of emotions, overturning the widely held belief that emotions are automatic, universal, and hardwired in different brain regions. Instead, she argues that emotions are constructed in the moment through a unique interplay of brain, body, and culture. Barrett's theory, known as the 'Theory of Constructed Emotions,' suggests that emotions are highly individualized and vary by culture. The book explores how this new understanding has significant implications for fields such as psychology, medicine, law, parenting, and national security. Barrett uses clear, readable prose and practical examples to make her complex theories accessible to a broad audience.

This episode explains the brain-body connections that allow the specific foods we eat to control our moods and motivation. I discuss the vagus nerve and its role in dopamine and serotonin release in the brain. I review Omega-3 fatty acids and the key role of the gut microbiome in supporting (or hindering) our mental and emotional states. Many actionable tools are reviewed and discussed related to fasting, ketogenic and plant-based diets, probiotics, fermented foods, fish oils, artificial sweeteners, specific supplements that promote dopamine and serotonin, and some remarkable behavioral (and belief) effects.

Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com.

Thank you to our sponsors

AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman

LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanlab

Waking Up: https://www.wakingup.com/huberman

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:31 Sponsors: AG1, LMNT & Waking Up

00:05:00 Emotions: Aligning Mind & Body

00:06:41 Nutrients, Neurochemicals and Mood

00:08:39 Primitive Expressions and Actions

00:12:30 The Vagus Nerve: Truth, Fiction, Function

00:15:45 “Vagus Stimulation”: A Terrible Concept

00:16:35 Polyvagal Theory

00:18:27 Vagus Senses Many Things, & Moves Our Organs

00:19:35 Sugar Sensing Without Perception of Sweetness

00:23:00 Eating-Induced Anxiety

00:27:30 We Eat Until Our Brain Perceives “Amino Acid Threshold”

00:29:45 Reward Prediction Error: Buildup, Letdown and Wanting More

00:32:01 L-Tyrosine, Dopamine, Motivation, Mood, & Movement

00:34:04 Supplementing L-Tyrosine, Drugs of Abuse, Wellbutrin

00:38:29 Serotonin: Gut, Brain, Satiety and Prozac

00:43:38 Eating to Promote Dopamine (Daytime) & Serotonin (Night Time)

00:44:30 Supplementing Serotonin: Sleep, & Caution About Sleep Disruptions

00:46:40 Examine.com An Amazing Cost-Free Resource with Links to Science Papers

00:48:05 Mucuna Pruriens: The Dopamine Bean with a Serotonin Outer Shell

00:51:00 Emotional Context and Book Recommendation: “How Emotions Are Made”

00:54:55 Exercise: Powerful Mood Enhancer, But Lacks Specificity

00:56:45 Omega-3: Omega-6 Ratios, Fish Oil and Alleviating Depression

01:01:00 Fish Oil as Antidepressant

01:02:40 EPAs May Improve Mood via Heart Rate Variability: Gut-Heart-Brain

01:07:24 Alternatives to Fish Oil to Obtain Sufficient Omega-3/EPAs

01:09:05 L-Carnitine for Mood, Sperm and Ovary Quality, Autism, Fibromyalgia, Migraine

01:16:29 Gut-Microbiome: Myths, Truths & the Tubes Within Us

01:21:55 Probiotics, Brain Fog, Autism, Fermentation

01:25:20 Artificial Sweeteners & the Gut Microbiome: NOT All Bad; It Depends!

01:28:00 Ketogenic, Vegan, & Processed Food Effects, Individual Differences

01:33:20 Fasting-Based Depletion of Our Microbiome

01:35:20 How Mindset Effects Our Responses to Foods: Amazing (Ghrelin) Effects!

01:38:30 How Mindset Controls Our Metabolism

01:41:03 Closing Comments, Thanks, Support & Resources

Disclaimer & Disclosures

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