The 2012 book is called “The Happiness Diet: A Nutritional Prescription for a Sharp Brain, Balanced Mood, and Lean, Energized Body.”ĚýWhat is that wondrous prescription?ĚýIt seems simple enough.ĚýIf you want to be happy, stay away from bagels, egg whites, sugary soft drinks, margarine, soy yogurt, fruit smoothies, canned soup, agave nectar and deli meats.ĚýWho says this?ĚýDr. Drew Ramsey, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University in New York.Ěý
The idea that happiness is to be found in eating the right foods is a pretty appealing one.ĚýI’m game to try a happiness diet, but first, I say, show me the science.ĚýThe evidence against bagels, according to Dr. Ramsey, is as follows: “At first bagels boost a person’s energy, but after a few hours you come crashing down looking for another fix in the modern American diet.ĚýThat crash can cause people to feel irritable, lightheaded or sad.”ĚýReally?ĚýHas anyone ever studied such a bagel effect?ĚýNope.ĚýBut there are studies that show a low carbohydrate diet is associated with irritability, tension and depression.ĚýMIT researchers have found that carbohydrate intake is one of the factors that controls the brain’s production of serotonin, a chemical that plays an important role in the control of our mood.ĚýStarchy foods increase serotonin production, so one could argue that bagels can actually elevate mood.ĚýSo where then does the idea that bagels wreak havoc with mood come from?ĚýConfusion about complex carbs such as found in bagels and simple sugars as in let’s say, doughnuts.ĚýA high intake of simple sugars can cause a quick release of insulin that prompts cells to absorb the sugar leaving low levels in the bloodstream.ĚýA drop in blood sugar can cause irritability in some people, although this is certainly not universal.Ěý
What about those egg whites?ĚýWell here, the problem isn’t what is in them but what is not.ĚýThe yolk!ĚýThe claim is that people who don’t eat the yolk because of a fear that the cholesterol it contains is poison for the heart are missing out on omega-3 fats, vitamin D, vitamin B12 and folate which “regulate mood by improving the health of brain cells and contribute to feeling more stable, energetic, and less blue.”ĚýYes, it is true that these nutrients play a role in brain function.ĚýBut you certainly do not have to rely on eggs to supply them.ĚýThe omega-3 content of eggs is negligible, and as far as folate goes, an egg yolk has about 25 micrograms whereas a serving of broccoli has 300.ĚýBut that is hardly the point.Ěý
The point is that diet is a very complicated business and foods are composed of a complex array of chemicals and a suggestion that ten specific foods can interfere with our happiness is enough to make one grumpy.ĚýOr maybe it’s just that I’ve been eating too much non-organic celery.ĚýDr. Ramsey claims that 57 different pesticides have been found on celery and at “least 12 are neurotoxins, and anything that is toxic for the brain is toxic for a stable well-balanced mood.”ĚýWell 57 pesticides may be permissible but that doesn’t mean that they are present on every celery stick we eat.ĚýVery few actually are, and they are found in trace amounts.ĚýMaybe I should suggest to Dr. Ramsey that he investigate what Snow White fed to the seven dwarfs.ĚýDid she sneak some non-organic celery into Grumpy’s supper and keep Happy from eating bagels?ĚýDr. Ramsey seems to enjoy dealing with fables.
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