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Short Stuff: Happy Foods! · Stuff You Should Know

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the Short Stuff on Josh. There's Chuck,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: there's Jerry in for Dave, and this is short Stuff
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the Happy Foods edition, which I'm good with. I like
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Happy Foods. Did you remember this from your past? My friend?
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: What do you mean you wrote this article? No? I didn't.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: This is uh, this is back when we were at
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: hou Supports dot com and this was a Josh Clark special. No,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: I did not. I have no recollection of it whatsoever. Chuck.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: You know why is because I uh sent you the file.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: I cut out the Remember we always had to do
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: this kind of corny couple of paragraphs at the beginning.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: I cut those out. Okay, all right, I mean listen
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: to this sentence. Gabba is produced during the crib cycle,
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: a physiological process by which new treats are converted to
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: energy for cellular use. I should have seen my own
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: genius in that amazing sentence. Let me ask you, honestly,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: when you were reading this or you're like, oh god,
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: this this stuff a little bit, I was like, Wow,
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: that's a pretty ancient Cornell University study. And I'm sure
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: those two seventy seven participants were probably undergrads getting extra credit.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: So yeah, I did beat up on myself a little bit. Well,
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: this is a Josh Clark special and it's about how
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: certain foods can make you happier and some foods can
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: make you maybe tend toward depression or a little down.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: And it is not just I'm not talking about comfort
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: food We are going to mention that briefly, but it's
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: it's it's science, right, science, yes, thank you, so yeah,
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  Speaker 1: And there's a distinction that we'll get to happy foods
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  Speaker 1: and comfort foods. I call them happy foods. That's another thing.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: I was like, that's a pretty deufest thing to call them,
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: I feel, But it's weird. Is I feel comforted knowing
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: that I was criticizing myself. It all just seems right
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: and normal now. But um, we're gonna call them because
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: I call them that back in the day, back in
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: the odds. Happy foods, which are foods that actually can
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  Speaker 1: affect your mood, whereas UH like directly through physiological action,
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  Speaker 1: whereas comfort foods or things that have uh an effect
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  Speaker 1: on your mood through psychological processes. Right, And if you're
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: talking about the brain and the transmitters, there are a
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  Speaker 1: couple that are largely responsible for our moods. Uh, inhibitory
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: and are we going with excitatory or excitatory excited tory?
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: That thought? So I just wanted to make sure you
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: wrote it, just deferring to the author. This is so bizarre.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: So excitatory transmitters we're talking about, like Nora f and Eprin,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: Nora Epefrin. Did I say it wrong? I think you
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: said Nora to man. She's been making appearances all over
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: the place lately, probably parts of sound like her. Uh
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  Speaker 1: they stimulate she passed away, right? Oh? Did she? Yes?
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure one of the greats. Yes, she really
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: was one of the great like I don't want to say,
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: you know, unsung like she was hugely successful, but I
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: think she was even even more of a genius than
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: she gets credit for. One of the great writers. Uh so,
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  Speaker 1: where was I was with Nora epinephrin. They stimulate our body,
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  Speaker 1: they stimulate our mind, but it can be too much.
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  Speaker 1: And what you need is a balance of those excitatory
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  Speaker 1: neurotransmitters and the inhibitory which provide which gives things like
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  Speaker 1: seratonin to kind of balance things out. And that's kind
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: of where the true good mood lies. Right as I
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: put it, Ultimately, the best moods are found when there's
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  Speaker 1: a balance between these two types. I remember thinking like
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  Speaker 1: best And so the thing is is like when when
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  Speaker 1: we start producing these neurotransmitters like serotonin or nora epephrin,
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  Speaker 1: like we actually make them out of the food that
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  Speaker 1: we eat. We eat the food, our bodies break down
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  Speaker 1: the food, and we use those as building blocks as
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  Speaker 1: constituent nutrients is building box for things like aero transmitters.
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  Speaker 1: So there are actually foods that can aid in our
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  Speaker 1: mood and a big one. Serotonin is a really big neurotransmitter,
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  Speaker 1: one of the biggest, and it's it's frequently considered like
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  Speaker 1: a happy neurotransmitter. It's an inhibitor. It kind of says,
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  Speaker 1: mellow out, nora A penephrin helps you kind of stay
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  Speaker 1: calm uh, stay relaxed, being a good mood. And there's
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  Speaker 1: a lot of foods out there that actually help you
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  Speaker 1: make serotonin. Yeah, it says put on. When Harry met
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  Speaker 1: Sally and have some turkey and bananas and you're like,
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  Speaker 1: that's not a very good combo, and they said, well,
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  Speaker 1: add some spinach and that will really tie it all together.
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  Speaker 1: But those things are all very high and full late
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  Speaker 1: and that's a B vitamin that serotonin needs to be
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  Speaker 1: made fully and tripped to fan too. And trip to
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  Speaker 1: fan is is remarkable because it can go directly into
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  Speaker 1: your brain. It can cross the blood brain barrier, and interestingly,
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  Speaker 1: serotonin can across the blood brain barrier. So since trip
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  Speaker 1: to fan directly is translated into serotonin in the brain,
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  Speaker 1: you're basically feeding your brain serotonin when you eat turkey
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  Speaker 1: and bananas another trip to fan containing foods. That's right.
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  Speaker 1: I say, we take a break and we're gonna get back,
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  Speaker 1: and I'm gonna let the author speak to the crib
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  Speaker 1: cycle right after this, All right, Dr Crabs. It always
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: reminds me of um, the Adventures of Pete and Pete,
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: because I think there's like creb Co or something was
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: like the generic company that they all I think so,
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  Speaker 1: but it reminded me of the crib cycle. So, um,
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  Speaker 1: gabba is gabba? You know you tyroic acid or gaba.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: Everybody knows what gabba is. It's called nature's valum or
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  Speaker 1: so I said in quotes, and it is indeed made
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  Speaker 1: during the crib cycle. Um, where you convert energy for use,
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  Speaker 1: nutrients converted to energy for later use, and um, gabba
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  Speaker 1: helps you sleep, it helps you mellow out. Um. And
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  Speaker 1: it's based on what we get from foods, uh called glutamates,
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  Speaker 1: and I think those are actually also the basis for
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  Speaker 1: umami too, in that correct glutam Yeah, that sounds really
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: all this stuff sort of was ringing some bells. But
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: the idea is if you eat something like sesame or
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: sunflower seeds, or if you're a meat eater and you
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  Speaker 1: like pork and beef, you're gonna be getting a lot
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  Speaker 1: of that glutamate. And that's that amino acid, which is
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  Speaker 1: a big It's not gava, but it helps make gabba
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  Speaker 1: and that can glutam glutamine. Did I say glutamate? I've
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: been saying glutamates, but it is glutamines, and I'm sure
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  Speaker 1: there's a pretty substantial difference between those two, right, So glutamy,
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  Speaker 1: told emails is what we mean, and that can transcend
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  Speaker 1: the blood brain barrier. And so you're gonna have you know,
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  Speaker 1: a pretty uh significant impact on your happiness which your
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  Speaker 1: foods that you're eating there, which is pretty cool to think,
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  Speaker 1: like you're like the food you eat can actually impact
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  Speaker 1: your mood. You know, it makes you kind of want to,
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  Speaker 1: you know, nourish yourself. Other times though you say, I
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: don't want to nourish myself at all. I wanted the
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  Speaker 1: exact opposite of that, because I need comfort food. And
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  Speaker 1: here again we reach that distinction. Whereas those happy foods,
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  Speaker 1: those foods that can actually influence the production of GABBA
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  Speaker 1: and serotonin in your brain. Um, those are different from
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  Speaker 1: comfort foods, which basically activate neural pathways of happier time
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  Speaker 1: and that we crave to make ourselves feel better when
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  Speaker 1: we're not feeling very good. Yeah, which is you know,
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  Speaker 1: it's the difference of physiology and psychology. And you know,
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  Speaker 1: what you've mentioned is pretty true because I think, I
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  Speaker 1: think if you did a survey of people, you would
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  Speaker 1: find that most people lean toward comfort foods. That is,
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  Speaker 1: something their grandma made or their mom or dad made,
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: or something like that when they're a little that reminds
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  Speaker 1: them of maybe a special time or happier time in
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  Speaker 1: their life, or maybe a time when things were a
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: little more simple. Maybe dare I say, Mr Hodgeman a
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  Speaker 1: bit more nostalgic, But you know, my comfort foods are
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  Speaker 1: those like mashed potatoes and fried chicken and is like
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  Speaker 1: sort of good old southern home cooking is my comfort
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  Speaker 1: food because I remember my mom and my grandmother making
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  Speaker 1: all that stuff and and just chowing down on it
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  Speaker 1: when there was no regard. And that's probably part of
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  Speaker 1: it too, as an adult who gets older and like
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  Speaker 1: has to deal with, you know, weight issues back when
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  Speaker 1: it didn't matter when you were a child and you
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  Speaker 1: could just eat all of that stuff and you had
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  Speaker 1: the metabolism of a of a gnat and it just, uh,
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  Speaker 1: you could consume guilt free. Yeah, so comfort foods like yeah,
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  Speaker 1: that was like he just kind of took me back, man. Man,
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  Speaker 1: So like, what's your comfort food? I I I don't
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  Speaker 1: know what my comfort foods are. Um, I like sweet stuff.
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  Speaker 1: I like cakes, Um, cookies, Uh, donuts are big time
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  Speaker 1: comfort food of mine. Is that childhood stuff for you?
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  Speaker 1: So I've learned not to look too deeply into the
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  Speaker 1: psychology behind my comfort foods. Were also started leaping, So
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  Speaker 1: I just take him on face value. I'm like, this
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  Speaker 1: makes me feel good. This is the food I go to,
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  Speaker 1: you know, you go home or Simpson, which is fine.
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  Speaker 1: So um with comfort foods. The fact it's like donuts
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  Speaker 1: for me and fried chicken for you, Like it under
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  Speaker 1: underlines the fact that, like it's a really personal choice.
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  Speaker 1: But apparently, um, there are kind of commonalities between say,
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  Speaker 1: like men and women. Um, who over who wants what
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  Speaker 1: when they're craving comfort food. Yeah. There was a study
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  Speaker 1: in two thousand five out of Cornell that surveyed close
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  Speaker 1: to three hundred sister undered men and women and found
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  Speaker 1: that women tend to seek sugary things more than men do.
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  Speaker 1: Men tend to seek out things like I do, like soup.
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  Speaker 1: I gotta say it's a comfort food. Soup and steak
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  Speaker 1: and things like that. Steak is a comfort food. Well,
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  Speaker 1: I mean according to Cornell, but I'm saying for you,
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  Speaker 1: is it a comfort food? Oh? I mean I love steak.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know that I would say it's a comfort
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  Speaker 1: food for me. It's like my body's like get steak, eat. Now.
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  Speaker 1: That's how I end up eating a steak. It's not
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  Speaker 1: like I'm feeling down, Josh, I could really use a steak.
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  Speaker 1: That's never like it's it's rainy day and you're not
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  Speaker 1: feeling a little blue. Yeah, exactly, Like a nice bowl
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  Speaker 1: of soup sounds really good, but not Yeah, you're right,
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  Speaker 1: not a not a toilet bowl, toilet seat size steak.
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  Speaker 1: It's not what I'm going for when I'm looking for
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  Speaker 1: comfort food. Uh. They also found that these cis gendered
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  Speaker 1: men tend to use comfort food as the reward, while
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: women might feel guilty about it, uh, and that there
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  Speaker 1: may be an evolutionary advantage for women when it comes
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: to that this sounds awfully made up. Oh you wrote it,
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: I know. I'm trying to suss out if I did
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: make it up. I don't think I did. So it
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  Speaker 1: does sound editorial though, that that this idea that, um,
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  Speaker 1: if if you are craving comfort food all the time
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  Speaker 1: and you just eat it willy nilly, that's not typically
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  Speaker 1: good for you. Because the foods that we crave for
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  Speaker 1: comfort or not particularly nourishing or nutrient rich or nutrient dents,
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  Speaker 1: they may or may not be bad for your junk food,
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  Speaker 1: depending on your perspective about food. So I don't know
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  Speaker 1: if that's like an evolutionary thing. That sounds like a
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: segue that I forced, but who knows. Well. There's also
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  Speaker 1: the idea that if you are not eating something the
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  Speaker 1: lack of that can physiologically affect your mood. Because there's
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  Speaker 1: a fatty said called d h A h DACKO say
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: saw hexonic dacos to hexonic. I think, I think that's it. Yeah, okay, Uh.
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  Speaker 1: This is a fat the most abundant fat found in
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  Speaker 1: the human brain, and it's very important for brain structure.
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  Speaker 1: And there's a lot of it in fish and shellfish.
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  Speaker 1: And they've done studies and even though they're not um
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: their core correlative and not necessarily UH causal, they did
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: find lengths and other studies have confirmed links that in
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: places where people eat like Taiwan, where people eat a
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  Speaker 1: lot more fish and it's a big part of the
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: diet than uh, people are happier. Yeah, ten times the
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  Speaker 1: prevalence of depression in areas where they don't eat a
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  Speaker 1: lot of fish. And I do say, although this doesn't
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  Speaker 1: prove causation, it's a pretty good reason to eat more
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: fish and other chores containing d H A. And that's true,
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: I mean, like, what's the problem eat more fish? Like
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: if even if it doesn't say yes we linked d
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: H A and lack of it to depression, just eat
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: some more fish. If you see a study like that,
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: there's nothing wrong with that. Yeah, I feel really defensive
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: about about this episode. I feel bad that I didn't
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: tell you beforehand. I kind of wanted to see what
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: would happen. Well, I I hope you're ashamed of yourself
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: for how it turned out. I'm gonna keep doing this
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: and just pop them in there. I mean now and
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: then CEF record. Now, I'm going to be on the lookout.
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna be super paranoid. You got anything else, I
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: got nothing else? All right, Well, since Chuck's got nothing else,
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: so I got nothing else. The humiliation ends here. Stuff
• 13:41
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• 13:43
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• 13:49
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