How Foods & Nutrients Control Our Moods

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices