Wednesday, May 06, 2009

From New Scientist:

A study in rats shows that eating a certain type of fat produces a hormone [oleoylethanolamide (OEA)] that helps the brain cement short-term memories into long-term ones.
More experiments with the rats showed that OEA activates the same areas of the brain that mediate the formation of emotionally charged memories in humans, which are more vivid than typical memories.
OEA is only produced after eating a healthy unsaturated fat called oleic acid, so a cheeseburger after a night of cramming may not work - try food with olive oil or soybean oil...

Source: (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0903038106).

Emotions are substitute for fat. Or vice versa :)

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