Our mind and body are very connected one to each other and it seems that emotions are not an exception from this rule. Because of this, in 2012 a dude called Hugo Lövheim proposed a theory based on three brain chemicals: serotonin (the happiness hormone), dopamine (the reward hormone) and noradrenaline (also called norepinephrine which is the staying-focused hormone).
According to this dude, emotions like shame, distress, fear, anger, contempt, surprise, joy and excitement are created by a combination of those brain chemicals, as can be seen below.
| Basic emotion | Serotonin | Dopamine | Noradrenaline |
| Shame/humiliation | Low | Low | Low |
| Distress/anguish | Low | Low | High |
| Fear/terror | Low | High | Low |
| Anger/rage | Low | High | High |
| Contempt/disgust | High | Low | Low |
| Surprise/startle | High | Low | High |
| Enjoyment/joy | High | High | Low |
| Interest/excitement | High | High | High |
This goes from our mind to our body when we encounter thoughts and situations, but can it be the other way around? Can we get the emotion if we mess with the chemicals? I guess so because that’s what drugs are based on. This can be done with food too. Apparently, eggs, cheese, pineapples, tofu, salmon, nuts (and seeds) and turkey are some foods that help increasing the serotonin level (source healthline). We can increase our dopamine levels by eating “protein stuff” and sweets, even though sugar can be very addictive.
Have you ever noticed that when eating your favorite food, your mood slightly increases? Only the anticipation of that dish does the job because our brain already starts releasing the chemicals since we’re conditioned like Pavlov’s dogs.
Ok, we now know that food can make us happy, but let’s not abuse this of we want a healthy body. What food increases your mood?