In my book, 52 Ways To A Healthy You, I discuss the tremendous impact food has on our moods. What we eat impacts our mood, as well as our levels of alertness. Dr. Eric Braverman, former Chief Clinical Researcher at the Princeton Brain Bio Center, a leading figure in the practice of brain-body health care, believes that proper brain nutrition can have an effect on the quality of our lives. The key to longevity and well being, according to Dr. Braverman, is balancing the brain's four important neurotransmitters, which in turn, can reverse or prevent the debilitating effects of aging, including memory loss, weight gain, sexual dysfunction, and Alzheimer's. Scientists are proving that our foods can effect the chemical composition of our brains. Because our thinking and feeling processes are influenced by the presence or absence of certain types of foods, we are all emotional eaters in one way or another.

There are three brain chemicals that influence our thoughts and feelings: dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin. Foods that are high in protein provide the brain with significant amounts of the amino acid tyrosine. When we consume high protein foods this tyrosine converts to the chemicals that are associated with alertness--dopamine, norepinephrine. High protein foods increase the levels of all these amino acids and decrease the synthesis of serotonin in the brain. Good sources of protein are meat, chicken, fish, nuts, soy products, eggs and dairy products.

When carbohydrates are eaten without a protein, tryptophan is introduced to the brain and serotonin is produced. This calming brain chemical floods the gates, resulting in a general feeling of relaxation. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that has the effect of reducing pain, decreasing appetite and producing a sense of calm. In large amounts, serotonin may also induce sleep. If you partner your carbohydrates with a protein, the amino acids in the protein override the calming chemicals resulting in a state of alertness.