Research shows certain snacks make potent anti-depressants, if you eat them right
My grandfather was a wonderful man who loved cookies. When I visited his lovely, old house surrounded by trees, flowers, vegetable gardens, and lawns, we shared all sorts of cookies, always paired with a large glass of cold milk. Over the years, they became so closely associated with visiting Granddad that now, whenever I have one, I feel buoyed by a swell of happy memories.

As it turns out, scientists have a solid explanation for that burst of good cheer. Studies by Richard Wurtman, MD, and Judith Wurtman, PhD, at MIT have shown that snacking on readily digested carbohydrates, such as those in a cookie or bagel, can raise the brain's level of the chemical serotonin, the very same target of modern antidepressant medication.

Of course, other foods are reputed mood boosters, too — though their reputations may not always be deserved. Before I give you a specific plan that will help you benefit from the MIT findings, let's look at a few. Tea is known as "the cup that cheers," and the caffeine in it can certainly improve energy. But that's a physiological response; no studies have confirmed a direct effect on your spirits. Mood booster? The jury's out. (The same is true of coffee.)

Alcohol is commonly thought of as a good-times libation, but it has a dark side. Although a recent study found that moderate drinkers (two drinks a day for men, one for women) had fewer depressive symptoms than nondrinkers, scores of other studies have established that alcohol in large quantities can be a devastating depressant. Mood booster? Perhaps, but only in small amounts.

As for chocolate, which many of us reach for as a pick-me-up: Australian scientists concluded recently that eating the sweet to lift your spirits "is more likely to prolong than abort the dysphoric [depressed] mood. It is not, as some would claim, an antidepressant." Mood booster? Apparently not. (Stick to a 1-ounce serving if you want to benefit from chocolate's disease-fighting antioxidants.)

That brings us to Granddad's cookies, which can brighten your spirits when eaten judiciously. (Incidentally, carb snacking may be more effective for women because they produce substantially less serotonin than men do.) Now, you won't want to try this regimen if you have diabetes or are prediabetic. But if you qualify, try raising your mood-lifting serotonin levels a couple of times a day by doing the following:

Include protein in each of your three meals.

This will raise blood levels of tryptophan, a chemical that eventually turns into serotonin. The best sources of tryptophan are poultry, seafood, and lean meat.

Have a small carbohydrate snack about 3 or 4 hours after each meal and about 1 hour before your next one.

Make sure that your stomach is empty and that you eat no protein between meals. The carbohydrates should be easily digestible — such as one or two oatmeal cookies, a third of a bagel, a slice of whole wheat bread. This will cause tryptophan in your blood to enter the brain, where it is metabolized into serotonin. Elevated serotonin will improve your mood within 20 to 30 minutes.

If you follow the rules, you'll also fall asleep more quickly at night, because at the end of the day, your brain metabolizes serotonin into the natural sleep aid melatonin. From happy to sleepy, all by way of a cookie. It doesn't get much cheerier than that!

研究表明有些小點(diǎn)心，如果適當(dāng)?shù)某砸幌碌脑挘�是能夠有效的抗擊抑郁的�?/p>

我祖父是個奇特有趣的人，他相當(dāng)?shù)南矚g吃曲奇餅。每次我去他那間綠樹環(huán)繞，花團(tuán)錦簇還有幾畦菜園的可愛的老房子做客時，我們會共同分享各式各樣的曲奇餅，經(jīng)常還和牛奶一起混搭著吃。多年過去，這些曲奇餅一直都和到爺爺家做客這件事緊密聯(lián)系著。即便是現(xiàn)在，當(dāng)我吃曲奇時，我都會被涌起的幸福回憶的喜悅感充斥著。

科學(xué)家們已經(jīng)為這一令人這振奮的消息取得實(shí)證。來自麻省理工醫(yī)學(xué)博士Richard Wurtman以及哲學(xué)博士Judith Wurtman表示適當(dāng)吃小點(diǎn)心（通常是易消化的碳水化合物形式），例如曲奇或圈餅，可以提高大腦血清素含量，這與現(xiàn)代醫(yī)學(xué)中抗抑郁的方法不謀而合。

當(dāng)然有些食物也會使人神經(jīng)興奮——盡管名不副實(shí)。在我給出明確的計劃讓你從麻省理工的教授們的科學(xué)發(fā)現(xiàn)中受益之前，讓我們先來看一下以下幾種“不良情緒引爆者”吧。茶被視為“興奮劑”，當(dāng)然其所含咖啡因確實(shí)能為我們提供能量。但那僅僅是身體上的反應(yīng)；并沒有研究實(shí)證過能對我們精神上有所影響。神經(jīng)興奮？那一定是審判官不在場。（同理咖啡也如此。）

一般都認(rèn)為酒是在喜慶的時候拿出來獻(xiàn)禮慶祝的，但是它也有其陰暗一面。盡管最近的研究表明適度飲酒者（男性每天兩杯，女性每天一杯）比不飲酒者出現(xiàn)抑郁的癥狀要少。但是不少研究表明大量飲酒可造成精神崩潰。神經(jīng)興奮劑？或許是，但僅僅是少量的。

至于巧克力，隨意可得也隨時可吃：最近澳大利亞的科學(xué)家們研究出如果想靠吃甜食來改善自己的情緒“與其說是在消解抑郁因素不如說在延長自己的抑郁情緒。”“神經(jīng)興奮劑”？很顯然不是。（如果你想利用巧克力抗病方式防止衰老那么就請吃一盎司巧克力吧。）

繼續(xù)回到我祖父的曲奇餅上，適時的吃他的確可以使你精神奕奕。（順便一提，碳水化合物甜點(diǎn)可能對女人更有效因為女人實(shí)際上產(chǎn)生的血清素比男人少。）現(xiàn)在，你可能不愿嘗試這種養(yǎng)生法，因為你是糖尿病或糖尿病前期患者。但是如果你不是以上情況的話，請在一天中多次嘗試以下方法來提高你的血清含量水平：

在三餐中攝取蛋白質(zhì)

這可以提高血液中的色氨酸水平。色氨酸最終會轉(zhuǎn)化成血清素。含色氨酸較多的食物包括：家禽肉，海產(chǎn)品以及精瘦肉。

在餐后3或4個小時以及餐前一小時吃些碳水化合物的點(diǎn)心

在吃之前要確保你是空腹并且在兩餐之間你沒有攝入蛋白質(zhì)。碳水化合物的食物一般很容易消化——例如一到兩片燕麥曲奇，三分之一個圈餅，一片全麥面包。這些都會促進(jìn)色氨酸進(jìn)入你的大腦，然后在大腦合成血清素。在20到30分鐘內(nèi)，上升的血清值會改善你的心情。

如果能按照如上規(guī)則進(jìn)行，你晚上將更容易入眠。這是因為在一天快要結(jié)束的時候，大腦將會把血清素轉(zhuǎn)化為能促進(jìn)睡眠的褪黑激素。從快樂到安然入眠，都只是因為曲奇。沒有比這更讓人愉快的事情啦。