Eat Your Way to Better Poker IV - Happy Foods to Leave Tilt Behind!

Are you ready to explode into a supernova of fury every time you lose a big pot? Do you see red whenever donkey play and bad beats cost you money? Instead of unleashing the tilt ogre and losing an even bigger pile of chips, read on to find out which foods bring your anger levels down. Then, next time you feel yourself turning into the amazing Hulk go munch on happy foods and come back to the tables with a cool head, and a steady pulse, ready to help yourself to a big serving of nice, cold revenge.

Food has been known to have an effect in your state of mind since ancient times... just think of all the different aphrodisiacs people have consumed through the ages to get "in the mood"! Nudges and winks aside, it is a proven fact that certain foods do trigger certain moods, and make feel you more alert, happier, calmer... or friskier!

In the Middle Ages, experts used elderberries, quince and dates to ease depression, and lettuce, chicory and purslane were offered to reduce anxiety. Nowadays, research has been able to uncover some of the links between food and mood, and we are ready to share them with you.

A little science first: neurotransmitters are chemicals that aid the work of the brain, and the three neurotransmitters most influential in affecting your mood (and also affected by your diet) are serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. Enough serotonin in the brain makes you feel upbeat, relaxed and focused; but too much can make you sleepy and sluggish, and too little will result in your feeling depressed, unable to concentrate and sleep, and give you food cravings.
The other two - norepinephrine and dopamine - make you feel alert, excited and clever if you have them in the right proportions. An excess of these neurotransmitters will create feelings of anxiety and stress, while not enough will cause depression and mental fatigue.

A little more science: the brain assembles neurotransmitters from aminoacids in the food (that's "protein" to you and me), and there are two main ones that play an active role in the "food and mood" connection, tryptophan (which is used to make serotonin) and tyrosine (which is the main ingredient for dopamine and norepinephrine. Now we're ready to get down to business!

If you are down on your luck, drawing blank after blank and feeling low and depressed, you need to get some tyrosine into your system! Eat some high-protein foods (lean meat, dairy, nuts, soy), and your brain will convert them into dopamine and norepinephrine so you feel energized and more assertive, just in the mood to catch that break as soon as it comes! No need to eat a whole steak - 3 or 4 ounces of protein should be enough. A glass of milk, low-fat yogurt or small cheese or chicken sandwich will do the trick, and send you back to the table in top form.

If, on the other hand, you have just taken a bad beat or are being harassed by a loudmouth and feel you are about to lose your sweet temper and go on a wild tilt, grab some carbs quick! Carbohydrates help you to absorb tryptophan, which will be converted into serotonin. Within 30 minutes of eating a carb-rich snack (just a piece of toast in enough, mind you, not the whole loaf!) you will be feeling more relaxed, calmer, and ready to get your chips back while keeping your cool intact. Take some time off to eat a small bowl of cereal with banana slices or a plate of pasta with tomato sauce, and the soothing effects will last for a few hours.

Other foods which affect your mood are:

- Chocolate: well, of course! Every time you give chocolate to your significant other to apologize for your misdeed, you are doing a very clever thing: chocolate contains phenylethylamine, also known as the "love drug", which releases endorphins - those dangerous neurotransmitters that make you feel in love!

- Ice Cream: Bridget Jones had a good reason for downing vats of Ben & Jerry's - the sugar, fat and dairy in ice cream are all good-mood inducers. But beware - sugar will only give you a short mood fix, after which will come a downer. And with the downer will come a craving for more sweets... and you know where this is going, don't you?

- Caffeine: as coffee, tea or soda, we can't imagine life without it! A little bit of caffeine will stimulate and make you more alert, but remember to keep under 3 cups a day and to keep it away from meals.

- Selenium: not a moon-dweller but an important mineral in your diet, a lack of selenium can make a person anxious, hostile and irritable. Unfortunately, giving your mother-in-law a selenium overdose will not turn her into a sweet-tempered darling, but getting enough of it will definitely normalize an abnormally cranky mood.

- Hydrogenated fats: processed factory fats are very bad for you. Eat them, and your brain will be forced to use them as building blocks - like using toy parts to fix your car engine. "Trans" fats will make you quickly feel duller, slower and unmotivated. By all means indulge if you really really want your fatty treats, but avoid them like the plague if you have a big game!

And now, the shopping list!

Serotonin
- Whole grain bread and crackers
- Whole grain pasta
- Rice
- Cereal
- Sweet fruits, especially bananas

Dopamine and norepinephrine
- Lean meat and chicken
- Dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc)
- Walnuts, almonds, peanuts
- Soy products
- Beans and pulses

Selenium
- Swordfish
- Fresh tuna
- Brazil nuts
- Sunflower seeds
- Whole grain cereals