The "Why" Behind the Fuel I'm Consuming

As a professional athlete, it is extremely important for me to manage anxiety and optimize routine to control as many variables as I can. In my search for tips on controlling anxiety and optimizing routine, I came across Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is known for his research on brain function, behavior, and health. Huberman Lab podcast simplifies complex neurological systems to practicalities for everyday life.

Before listening to Huberman’s podcast about food affecting mood, I knew protein rebuilds muscle, carbs were good for energy, and fruits and vegetables are good for basic nutrients. After listening to the podcast, I now have a better understanding on the “why” behind the fuel I am consuming.‍

This podcast is nearly two hours. If you have a long drive coming up, it may be worth listening to. If not, I will give you a few takeaways. First, let’s make sure we are all on the same page with scientific terms.

• Dopamine – Dopamine is a neurotransmitter made in your brain. It plays a role as a “reward center” and in many body functions, including memory, movement, motivation, mood, attention and more.
• Epinephrine – another term for adrenaline
• Neurotransmitter - your body’s chemical messengers. They carry messages from one nerve cell across a space to the next nerve,
• Serotonin – a chemical that carries messages between nerve cells in the brain and throughout your body. Serotonin plays a key role in such body functions as mood, sleep, digestion, nausea, wound healing, bone health and blood clotting.
• Acetylcholine - a neurotransmitter that plays a role in memory, learning, attention, arousal and involuntary muscle movement.
  

These chemicals play different roles in our bodies. Eating certain foods impacts the levels of each of these chemicals. In Huberman’s podcast, he shares how he structures his eating habits for optimized moods throughout the day. High protein intake elevates dopamine, acetylcholine epinephrine production. In turn, this increases attention levels, motivation, adrenaline and mood. According to Huberman, we should consume more protein earlier in the day for higher productivity. On the other hand, starchy carbohydrates and white meat increase serotonin levels. In theory, this increases relaxation levels and helps with sleep. For pasta lovers like me, that is a great dinner option to wind down in the evening.  

As anxiety and depression go hand in hand, Huberman also shares a study which blew my mind. This study found that 1000 mg EPA a day has been proven to decrease depressive symptoms at the same rate as 20mg of prosaic. If you are interested, I will link the study here.
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If you implement any of these things into your daily life, we’d love to hear about it!