break.  It starts when the body tries to regulate blood sugar.  Kicked up to high levels by eating sugar, the pancreas releases insulin.  But that is not the end of the chain reaction.  Insulin regulates blood sugar levels but also raises brain levels of an amino acid called tryptophan.  Tryptophan is the raw material the brain uses to manufacture a neurotransmitter called serotonin.  And serotonin plays a huge role in regulating mood.  Higher brain levels of serotonin create a feeling of well-being.  Eating sugar gives a person a chemical jolt of happiness.  Heavy hits of high-glycemic index starch foods are also rapidly converted to sugar.  So don’t give your kids sweets!  Or huge servings of starch to mellow them out.  It is wise not to start out life a happiness addict with a severe weight problem.

Now that the chemistry of sugar addiction is understood, there currently is a movement afoot to cast the obese as helpless victims of serotonin imbalances and to “treat” them with the same kinds of serotonin-increasing happy drugs (like Prozac) that are becoming so popular with the psychiatric set.  This promises to be a multiple billion dollar business that will capture all the money currently flowing into other dieting systems and bring it right back to the AMA/drug company/FDA nexus.  The pitch is that when serotonin levels are upped, the desire to eat drops and so is weight.  This approach is popular with the obese because it requires no personal responsibility other than taking a pill that really does make them feel happy.  However, the same benefit can be had by strict adherence to a low-fat, low-carbohydrate diet.  Eventually, the brain chemistry rebalances itself and serotonin levels stabilize.

Glycemic Index

(compared to glucose, which is 100)

Grains all bran 51 brown rice 66 buckwheat 54 cornflakes 80 oatmeal 49 shred. wheat 67 muesli 66 white rice 72 white spagetti 50 whole wheat spagetti 42 sweet corn 59

Fruits
apples               39
bananas              62
cherries             23
grapefruit           26
grapes               45
orange juice         46
peach                29
orange               40
pear                 34
plum                 25
raisins              64

Vegetables

baked beans          40
beets                64
black-eyed peas      33
carrots              92
chic peas            36
parsnips             97
potato chips         51
baked potato         98
sweet potato         48
yams                 51
peas                 51

Baked Goods
pastry               59
sponge cake          46
white bread          69
w/w bread            72
whole rye bread      42

Sugars
fructose             20
glucose             100
honey                87
maltose             110
sucrose              59

Nuts
peanuts 13