Zen

I hate the fact my blood boils every time something that annoys me happens. And almost everything annoys me lately. I seriously need to learn how to keep calm, relax and simply let things go.

Hello

It’s almost time for second year of university exams. Scary!!!! But I’m really starting to enjoy my major now. I love the history class and for the first time I really like literature too. I’m quite happy about that, and very proud of myself for finally studying and researching things on my own seriously. However, I feel quite depressed lately. Don’t know why. I just feel like my life is so empty. But then again, I guess many people do too. I know it sounds cliché, but I just can’t find any meaning to my life. Maybe I have too much free time. Maybe there is really no meaning, and you should just find yourself hobbies and things to keep you busy so you are simply happy and stop thinking “But, what is the meaning of life?”. Or maybe I should just watch “The Meaning of Life” again, and laugh, and be happy.

Not a very good start to the year either

For some really random reason I still don’t understand I managed to get an infection on my front tooth, which means I have to have some really nasty procedure done on it involving a needle with anaesthesia and some tube going inside my tooth and up to the bone. Looking forward to that.
Oh, and, during New Years I had gastroenteritis. Woohoo.

I’m alive!

Though not really. Didn’t have a very nice Christmas Eve this year seeing as though mine, my boyfriend’s and his dad’s suitcases were stolen from our car!!!! T_T It wasn’t just clothes in there, there was money and computers and University books and all sorts of things!!! T___T
What bastards.

Rant

Christmas is shit, family is shit, everything is shit, including life & myself.

2206

It only says “Goal of 2205 posts completed! Congratulations!”…………..Wordpress you mean, mean thing.

2205

WordPress says my new posting goal should be 2205 posts. This should be my number 2205 post. What will happen if I post it? Do I get a present or something? That would be quite cool.

Forever Yours

I really like this song, and both their channels. Funny I randomly bumped into them. I really like the new Youtube layout!

Privacy

Ok so, I may look like a very responsible and serious person, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings and feelings of passion like other people. I do. I just like to reserve them for intimate moments and only for the people I feel like sharing them with. I just don’t feel like showing my sexual intentions out in the open with friends, and neither do I feel like expressing my desire to snog someone at a party or how bulgy tight speedos make a man’s bulge look. I might be thinking it, but I’m just not the sort of person to say it out loud. Personally, I consider it vulgar. I don’t want to know about these extremely intimate aspects of other people’s lives! I don’t want to know what sexually arouses them and what does not! But then again, I’m not saying they shouldn’t do it. Everyone is free of, and certainly should, express themselves in the way they please. All I’m saying is, I do have feelings too, I just don’t express intimate pleasures out in the open, and only with people I am very close to (i.e. my couple). Thank you very much. Random Random Random, Ramble Ramble Ramble.

What.

Today I went to the shopping mall. I went into a women’s clothes shop. I was browsing near the underwear section, and there was a woman trying the knickers (panties) ontop of her jeans in front of everyone. Seriously, what. lol

I just realised that

I dress like a 中学生………………lol

Charlie

lol I love him, he’s so funny!!! :) :)

blah…….

Phenylethylamine

Phenylethylamine

 New Chemical May Explain “Runner’s High”

There is growing evidence that regular exercise boosts people’s moods and may even fight clinical depression.

Researchers found that a session of moderate aerobic activity appears to elevate the body’s levels of phenylethylamine, a natural chemical linked to energy, mood and attention. When they had 20 healthy young men run on a treadmill for 30 minutes, the average concentration of phenylethylamine in the participants’ urine increased 77%.

Because the chemical is similar in some ways to amphetamines, the researchers speculate that phenylethylamine may play a role in the “runner’s high.”

In addition, the report indicates, research in patients with depression and bipolar disorder has shown they have lower-than-normal levels of the chemical in their urine.
British Journal of Sports Medicine 2001;35342-343

From Mike:

I suspect that this chemical is related to endorphins, driven by the parasympathetic nervous system and therefore is directly dependant upon the way we breathe. There is probably also a need for adequate foods containing phenylethylamine (not to be confused with phenylalinine) so that we get it synergized and balanced with other natural live substances.
Over a period of time amines, which includes phenylethylamine, can build up in your system causing reactions that mimic allergies. That is why we take antihistamines when we get many allergic reactions. Hence the suggestion to get them as naturally, in foods, as possible.

Foods containing amines are

Very low

Fruit Apple, apricot, blueberry, gooseberry, lime, peach, pear, rhubarb, strawberry.
Vegetables Asparagus, cabbage, carrot, celery, corn, cucumber, green beans, green pea, lettuce, lima beans, onion, peppers, potato, radish, soya bean, turnip.
Nuts Chestnut, horse chestnut, sunflower, pine nut, pistachio.
Sweets and sweeteners Carob,  maple syrup.
Beverages Goat milk, lemonade, soya milk, decaffeinated coffee.
Misc Tofu, tofu ice cream.

Low

Fruit Black currant, cherry, grapefruit, honeydew melon, mandarin, red currant.
Nuts Almond, cashew, coconut, macadamia.

Moderate

Fruit Dates, kiwi fruit, orange, passion fruit, pap paw, tangerine.
Vegetables  olives
Nuts Brazil, hazelnut.
Meat, fish, and poultry. Meat, fish and poultry older than two days.
Any frozen meat.
Chicken liver and skin, salmon (tinned), tuna (fresh).
Beverages Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, decaffeinated tea
Condiments Malt vinegar

High

Meat, fish, and poultry. Bacon, hot dogs, frozen fish, gravy, ham, mackerel (tinned), meat juices, meat loaf, offal, pork, sardines (tinned).
Dairy Mild cheeses
Condiments Meat extracts, soy sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce.
Sweets and sweeteners Cocoa, milk chocolate, white chocolate.

Very high

Vegetables Sauerkraut, spinach.
Nuts Butternut
Meat and fish and poultry Any form of dried, pickled, salted, or smoked fish and meat.
Anchovies, beef liver, fish roe, pies and pasties, processed fish products (such as fish fingers, cakes, paste), salami, sausages, tuna (tinned).
Dairy Virtually all cheeses including brie, camembert, cheddar, cheshire, Danish blue, edam, emmental, gloucester, gouda, gruyere, jarlsberg, leicester, mozarella, parmesan, processed cheese, provolone, roquefort, stilton, Swiss, wensleydale.
Sweets Dark chocolate
Condiments Hydrolysed protein, miso, tempeh, yeast extracts.
Beverages Chocolate flavored drinks, cocoa, cola type drinks, orange juice.

 

http://www.breathing.com/articles/phenylethylamine.htm

Eat Well and Feel Good!

Eat Well and Feel Good!

By More2Hug Staff 

The Mood-Food Connection

Have you ever experienced a day when in the morning you felt great, but after lunch, you felt down and tired? What if we told you that eating certain foods could improve your mood, provide uplifting energy and make you feel like Einstein? Well okay, maybe not Einstein, but every little bit helps, right?

The key to understanding the connection between the food we eat and our mood and level of alertness lies in understanding a little about how the brain functions. The brain communicates by chemical substances passed from one nerve cell to the next. These chemicals, called neurotransmitters, are made in the brain from the food we eat. The neurotransmitters that are most sensitive to diet and influential in affecting mood are serotonin,norepinephrine and dopamine.

Dopamine and norepinephrine are alertness chemicals. When they are produced we think and react more quickly, we feel more motivated, we are more attentive and overall, we are more mentally energetic.

Serotonin is a calming and relaxing chemical. When produced, feelings of stress and tension decrease, we feel sleepy and/or sluggish and our reaction time is slower.
Now that you have a better understanding of the role neurotransmitters play in brain function, let’s look at the relationship between these neurotransmitters and the foods we eat.

Foods that make you feel alert

The best way to eat for alertness is to have meals that contain protein, are low in fat, and have carbohydrates that won’t drag you down. Mid-day is when your brain’s supply of dopamine and norepinephrine is beginning to wane. When you supply the tyrosine (from eating protein), your brain will be ready to make it into more of the two alertness neurotransmitters (dopamine and norepinephrine).

Examples of some protein-packed foods are: fish, shellfish, poultry (without skin), very lean beef (trimmed), low-fat cottage cheese, skim or low-fat milk, low-fat yogurt, dried peas and beans.

Foods that make you feel calm

Eating carbohydrates without protein has a calming affect. How calming depends on the type of carbohydrates and the amount and time of day they are eaten. Eating carbohydrates that are low on the Glycemic Index will promote the more focused and calming aspect of serotonin release and less of the sleepy, sluggish feeling,

Low-Glycemic Carbohydrates: Brown rice, buckwheat, whole-grain rye bread, sourdough rye bread, pita bread, sweet potato, most wheat pastas.

Eating foods that require a strong insulin response, foods that are High-Glycemic, gets the most tryptophan into the brain and has the most serotonin produced.

High-Glycemic Carbohydrates: Sugar, white bread, rice cakes, wheat crackers, bagel, instant rice, baked potato, rice, pasta.

More foods that make you feel…

Smart:

Eggs, milk, liver, beef - According to research studies, these foods contain choline. Adults performed better in memory tests after eating foods containing choline. If you have a presentation or exam in the morning, make yourself an omelet for breakfast.

Prunes – Prunes contain twice the antioxidant of most other fruits. Antioxidant-rich diets disable reactive oxygen molecules linked to memory loss and mental deterioration.

Oatmeal - Foods that are low in fat and contain whole-grain carbohydrates give your brain memory-enhancing glucose.

Alert:

Apples, grape juice, avocadoes and broccoli - These foods contain Boron, which is responsible for hand-eye co-ordination, attention and short-term memory. Boron-rich foods also maintain healthy bone and blood-sugar levels.

Lemons - The smell of lemons can induce the feeling of alertness.

Energized:

Oranges, apples, soy milk and yogurt - These foods are slow digesting carbohydrates and can supply a steady source of fuel for your body.

Sunflower seeds - Sunflower seeds contain magnesium which helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, and keeps heart rhythm steady and bones strong. It is also involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. Just a handful of sunflower seeds will give you half of your daily magnesium needs.

Tuna - Tuna makes a great lunch or after-workout meal. Tuna contains the protein needed to repair muscles and it supplies tyrosine which your body can then use to create the two alertness neurotransmitters, dopamine and norepinephrine.

Happy:

Salmon - Salmon or any other cold-water fish contains the mood-elevating vitamin B12 as well as omega-3 fatty acids that may assist in preventing depression. Omega-3 raises serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin regulates mood and reduces irritability. Eating fish to regulate your mood isn’t instantaneous, it is a long-term process and therefore it would be beneficial to regularly incorporate fish into your diet.

Bananas - Bananas contain vitamin B6, which is known to build serotonin levels. If you regularly drink alcohol or if you are taking birth control pills, you could be depleting your body of vitamin B6.

Chicken livers - Chicken livers are high in folic acid, which promotes the brain’s production of feel-good neurotransmitters.

Sexy

Nuts - An amino acid called L-arginine found in nuts and sesame seeds enhances blood flow throughout your body, including the genital area. Eggs and meat also contain small amounts of L-arginine. There are studies that have focused on this amino acid and its role in treating erectile dysfunction.

Chocolate - Yes! Everyone’s favorite! This treat releases pleasure-enhancing endorphins into the brain and also contains phenylethylamine, a stimulant associated with love and sexual attraction.

The other side of the Feel Good Equation

While all of the above will help you feel better throughout the day, there are also foods you should avoid if you find that you’re feeling sluggish more often than you’d like.

1. Avoid large, high-fat meals. Fats stay in the stomach longer, diverting blood away from your brain, muscles, and other tissues, which in turn can make you feel sluggish for up to six hours.
2. Break the bread-first habit. Swig down some milk or bite into that salmon — protein primes the brain to produce dopamine, a chemical that keeps you alert. Carbohydrates, on the other hand, cause the body to release serotonin, a calming brain chemical.
3. Have at least one iron-rich food per day. Iron helps transport oxygen to your tissues. Good sources of iron include red meats, the dark meat of chicken or turkey, oysters, clams, iron-enriched breads and cereals, raisins, dried apricots, and legumes.
4. Don’t eat too little. Many people deserve far more calories than they think. Most active people can consume 2,000 to 2,400 calories per day and still maintain the same body weight.
5. Watch your intake of alcohol and coffee. Alcohol is a sedative that can also cause dehydration. Coffee can pep you up in the short term, but can cause you to drop like a ton of bricks later on. Counter every glass of alcohol or coffee with one glass of water.

Some Final Tips

• Try to drink eight 8 oz. glasses of water per day. Water can help to control your appetite and works as a cleansing agent for your body!
• Eat breakfast and make an effort to eat three meals per day. This helps to keep your blood sugar balanced, and can maintain your energy level.
• Consult with your personal physician about what vitamin supplements may be of particular benefit for you!

 

http://www.more2hug.com/moodfood.html