One of the ways of studying food is to go deeper and deeper into it chemistry that makes up food.
We see in particular how the consumption of meat and refined sugars affect not only the body but also ours temperament.
The chemistry of food
Since food is a matter of chemistry, like all biological processes, foodsupply, which consists of an endless sequence of chemical processes, also goes to influence brain biochemistry, affecting behavior and temperament.
The brain is an extremely complex machine, and one of its essential fuels are sugars, mutati in glucose, an element present only in the plant world.
Plant foods are therefore essential for the proper functioning of the brain, but foods are not only of plant origin and many other elements derive from their digestion.
What influence do these have on the nervous system and therefore on the temperament?
The influence of the flesh on the temperament
When we talk about meat we mainly talk about animal proteins. In themselves, proteins are not toxic or negative elements, but studies conducted at a more advanced level must be analyzed if we want to discover the their effects on the human psyche.
In fact, it is necessary to evaluate the consequences produced by the digestion of animal proteins, such as some amino acids that act as precursors of specific neurotransmitters.
I neurotransmitters they go beyond the biochemistry of the brain as electromagnetic processes are also involved in their mechanisms, but it is enough to note that through the consumption of meat, and therefore animal proteins, they increase adrenaline and dopamine, neurotransmitters responsible for aggression.
Furthermore, the consumption of animal proteins lowers the level of another important neurotransmitter, serotonin, which, on the other hand, the human metabolism manages to synthesize very well from plant foods containing tryptophan. Since serotonin is the neurotransmitter that induces serenity, peace, collaboration and quiet, it goes without saying that the decrease of this in conjunction with the increase of adrenaline (present among other things in animal tissues due to slaughter) and dopamine, induces less controlled, more aggressive behaviors, typical of the carnivore and therefore of the hunter.
The consumption of vegetables, according to the analysis of the electroencephalograms, results mainly to induce alpha waves, those of those who have a vigilant conscience and self-control; they are also the waves underlying the states of meditation and intuition.
The consumption of meat instead, due to its unbalanced ratio between calcium and phosphorus (25 times greater than that typical of human metabolism), it induces a calcium deficiency, and a consequent one irritability, feelings of dissatisfaction, anxiety, need to let off steam.
A brief history of meat consumption
Psychosocial consequences of meat consumption
The calm shown by herbivorous animals is closely linked to their diet, as much as the aggressiveness necessary for carnivorous animals also depends on the substances they find in their foods. Unlike herbivores, which are not required to impose themselves by force, carnivores must be able to do so, without hesitation.
In this sense, in ancient cultures, the meat consumption was a status symbol, a sign of power, of brute strength, which over time has changed into a symbol of social strength, envied by the lower classes.
Thus was born the need of the masses to resort to the consumption of meat as a form of social redemption. Many will tell you, however, that through the flesh they actually feel stronger and more charged, but although this feeling is concrete and undeniable, it comes from a biochemical trick: adrenaline gives the idea of ​​being strong and performing, but only because the neurotransmitter has the power to excite the nervous system and cause it to perform well in the short term.
It is no coincidence that in antiquity, but also today in the tribes meat is eaten before fights, of hunting, of war. Have you ever heard of a vegetarian army? Certainly not, because a soldier must not be calm and ask questions, but excited, quick, ready to experience the sense of alert.
This behavior has very ancient roots: prehistoric man realized that eating meat increased aggression, which allowed him to climb hierarchical positions, conquered more because of fear than respect.
Refined sugars
The brain works via glucose, which is a sugar, but many sugars, especially those refined, induce poor brain function.
Known are the damage due to excessive sugar consumption, and many studies show how aggression is also linked to the frustration resulting from the sudden energy downtime after the sugar has stimulated the brain giving it a sense of power and excitement.
Several studies show how high the consumption of synthetic sugars in people in juvenile prisons and how much their behavior varies considerably as a result of a change in the diet.
How Much Sugar Do You Eat?
Bibliography:
- "Myths and realities of human nutrition" by Armando D'Elia, Edizioni Sì - Studi Iniori
