New Research Suggests What You Eat Affects How You Feel About Others

Researchers at Leiden University, located in the Netherlands have stumbled upon some interesting insights into how the food we eat affects our feelings.^1,2 Their research suggests the simple act of adding tryptophan to one’s diet can promote increased feelings of interpersonal trust. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid and is found in fish, soy, eggs and meats. When taken into the body, tryptophan causes a release of the neurotransmitter serotonin and promotes feelings of well-being. Pharmacological studies in rats have indicated that serotonin also helps promote cooperation.³ Forming two groups of people into the “trusters” and the “trustees”, the trusters were given a Trust Game, which involved a scenario where participants were asked how many Euro coins they were willing to give the other group (the trustees). The trustees were also given a chance to give Euro coins back to the trusters. The amount of Euros the trusters and trustees were willing to give was used as a measurement of interpersonal trust. When this experiment was performed after giving the trusters group a glass of orange juice spiked with tryptophan, the trusters and trustees given the tryptophan spiked juice were much more generous with their Euros than the trusters who were given orange juice with a neutral placebo (p=.024). This work is among the first to show that the food we consume can potentially affect our relationships and cooperation with others. Do you notice a difference in your mood after eating certain foods? Leave a comment and let us know! Reference

Colzato,L.S., et al. ( 2013) “Tryptophan Promotes Interpersonal Trust.” Psychological Science OnlineFirst, Epub ahead of print, October 21, 2013, doi:10.1177/09567976135007952
Fronteers: Eating to trustEating to trust.”
Crockett, M. J. (2009). The neurochemistry of fairness: Clarifying the link between serotonin and prosocial behavior. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1167, (pp. 76–86)