Why Decisions Are Best On A Full Tum

2:13pm UK, Friday June 06, 2008

The best decisions are made on a full stomach, new research says.

Bananas can help de-stress

In contrast,skipping meals can lead to lower levels of the brain chemical that keeps a person on the emotional straight and narrow and holds careless and impulsive behaviour in check.

This is because of a link between the chemical - serotonin - and emotional influence on decision-making, say scientists from Cambridge University.

As the raw material for making serotonin only comes from diet, levels of the chemical fall between meals.

This in turn can lead to erratic behaviour, including aggression and impulsiveness, say the researchers.

The findings, reported in the journal Science, also suggest a connection with obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, one of a family of biochemicals that allow messages to pass between nerve cells, which has a big effect on mood.

Too little serotonin leads to depression, while too much can produce feelings of "loved up" euphoria - as happens when people get high on drug ecstasy.

Common antidepressants such as Prozac work by maintaining higher levels of serotonin in the brain.

In this study, scientists lowered brain serotonin levels in volunteers by manipulating their diet.

"Our results suggest that serotonin plays a critical role in social decision making by normally keeping aggressive social responses in check," researcher Molly Crockett said.

"Changes in diet and stress cause our serotonin levels to fluctuate naturally, so it's important to understand how this might affect our everyday decision making."

The raw material for making serotonin is the amino acid tryptophan, which is found in a variety of foods, such as red meat, dairy products, nuts, seeds, bananas, tuna, shellfish, and soya products.