# Cheapest way to increase Dopamine.



## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

Don't eat. At least for extended periods of time. Long periods without food increases secretion of a hormone called Ghrelin. This is what gives you that feeling of hunger. It also increases Dopamine production. So, if you can find a way to circumvent the hunger pangs, you'll be able to enjoy the socializing effects of Dopamine !

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19906954

One way to approach this would be to practice alternate day eating, or intermittent fasting. I've been doing the Leangains approach to fasting 16/8 but the effect wasn't as strong as when I did a full 24 hours of fasting.


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## namespace11 (Jul 3, 2011)

Hmm. I wonder about this. I remember when I was in high school I would go almost the entire day without food because I had so much anxiety that I couldn't even walk into the cafeteria with a room full of people. I would just stay outside and sit somewhere or walk. Maybe it wasn't an entire 24 hours that I went without eating but it was really close. And, I think I did sometimes go an entire day without eating just to see if I could do it. Although, I don't remember feeling better the next day. It was still the same hell everyday (sorry, its the best way I can describe it). The same extreme pressure in my head, foggy mind, couldn't focus, had to put my head down on my desk which made people think I didn't care about school. lol

It would be interesting to hear if it does work for some people though.


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

Namespace11,

That depends on what type of diet you had. I went through something similar in HS myself. I would spend lunch walking around for fear of being in any one place. However, my diet then was a high carb, low fat junk diet. That type of eating pattern is not very fasting friendly. Now that I follow a higher fat, lower carb diet, I find that I can go long periods without eating with little discomfort. I only felt for dizziness and weakness toward the end of the day yesterday. I'd say the experience was a good one. Today is my eat day and tomorrow I'll try fasting once again.


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## Duke of Prunes (Jul 20, 2009)

Beggiatoa said:


> Namespace11,
> 
> That depends on what type of diet you had. I went through something similar in HS myself. I would spend lunch walking around for fear of being in any one place. However, my diet then was a high carb, low fat junk diet. That type of eating pattern is not very fasting friendly. Now that I follow a higher fat, lower carb diet, I find that I can go long periods without eating with little discomfort. I only felt for dizziness and weakness toward the end of the day yesterday. I'd say the experience was a good one. Today is my eat day and tomorrow I'll try fasting once again.


That sounds less healthy than your old diet, especially the fasting which is absolutely horrible for you.

Using fat for energy puts more strain on your liver/kidneys than using carbs. Unless you're trying to gain/lose wait, you should consume as much energy as you're planning on using, and as long as you're obtaining enough nutrition, carbs are the most efficient, least stressful way of doing that.

All of the issues those dumb alternative 'medicine' freaks have with high carb diets can be eliminated by NOT just eating excess amounts of simple, glucose-heavy carbs in foods that contain very little nutrition and instead getting your carbs from proper foods. If you eat nothing but excess starch or sugar at very irregular intervals (something that many people do unfortunately), of course you will feel unwell.


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## namespace11 (Jul 3, 2011)

Beggiatoa said:


> Namespace11,
> 
> That depends on what type of diet you had. I went through something similar in HS myself. I would spend lunch walking around for fear of being in any one place. However, my diet then was a high carb, low fat junk diet. That type of eating pattern is not very fasting friendly. Now that I follow a higher fat, lower carb diet, I find that I can go long periods without eating with little discomfort. I only felt for dizziness and weakness toward the end of the day yesterday. I'd say the experience was a good one. Today is my eat day and tomorrow I'll try fasting once again.


Yeah, despite the stereotype of all teenagers eating horribly, I was never really into junk food. I tried to eat as healthy as I could. The way I described my eating habits made it sound bad but I didn't try to completely kill myself, lol. I would take vitamins, eat whole foods when I was home, stay away from fast food. It was all sort of fear based though. Sorry, I should have been more specific, the foggy mind and inability to focus came from the anxiety I had. I would get that way no matter if I ate something or not.

Duke has a good point, carbs that come from healthy, whole, foods are excellent sources of long lasting energy. It's the carbs that come from processed foods and are higher in the glycemic index that give them such a bad rep.


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

I wont a start a carbs vs fat war here since this topic has been covered in numerous forums and blogs many times. But no. Fats are not the devil they were once made out to be. When I refer to high carb, I'm talking about a predominantly grain based diet which most people eat. Even whole wheat has the same glycemic index of sugar !


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

Duke of Prunes said:


> That sounds less healthy than your old diet, especially the fasting which is absolutely horrible for you.


Fasting is not horrible, Duke. Heck, it's the only known way to extend your life that actually works. How did you ever reach that conclusion ?


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## namespace11 (Jul 3, 2011)

Beggiatoa said:


> ... Even whole wheat has the same glycemic index of sugar !


I know this is way off topic but doesn't the sugars in whole wheat get broken down more gradually when consumed as part of a complete meal compared to plain sugar which spikes insulin levels?

... Point taken, the GI can't always be relied upon.


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## Duke of Prunes (Jul 20, 2009)

Beggiatoa said:


> Fasting is not horrible, Duke. Heck, it's the only known way to extend your life that actually works. How did you ever reach that conclusion ?


If you say so... :no


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

namespace11 said:


> I know this is way off topic but doesn't the sugars in whole wheat get broken down more gradually when consumed as part of a complete meal compared to plain sugar which spikes insulin levels?
> 
> ... Point taken, the GI can't always be relied upon.


Aside from grains being sugar bombs, they also contain a lot of compounds that are unhealthy like gluten, lectin and phytates.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-grains-are-unhealthy/


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## podizzle (Nov 11, 2003)

Beggiatoa said:


> Fasting is not horrible, Duke. Heck, it's the only known way to extend your life that actually works. How did you ever reach that conclusion ?


calorie restriction extends your life without fasting.


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## PetePain (Sep 8, 2011)

Fasting is pure stress for the body and mind, not very useful if you're anxious.


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## softshock11 (Jan 9, 2011)

I did fasting meanwhile experimenting with binaureal wave beat music and meditation

emotionally i feel improved but my life is still in the ruts


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## sas111 (Oct 20, 2010)

Beggiatoa said:


> I wont a start a carbs vs fat war here since this topic has been covered in numerous forums and blogs many times. But no. Fats are not the devil they were once made out to be. When I refer to high carb, I'm talking about a predominantly grain based diet which most people eat. *Even whole wheat has the same glycemic index of sugar* !


Wheat raises blood sugar even more than a chocolate bar as well. :eek I cut out wheat recently, even sprouted grain now because it's awful what they've done to the crops. I bake my own bread, without wheat.


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## Paper Samurai (Oct 1, 2009)

Vanilllabb said:


> Wheat raises blood sugar even more than a chocolate bar as well. :eek I cut out wheat recently, even sprouted grain now because it's awful what they've done to the crops. I bake my own bread, without wheat.


You bake bread without wheat ? What do you make it out of if you don't mind me asking.

I rarely eat wheat nowadays, and would be interested to hear about any alternatives out there.


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## sas111 (Oct 20, 2010)

Paper Samurai said:


> You bake bread without wheat ? What do you make it out of if you don't mind me asking.
> 
> I rarely eat wheat nowadays, and would be interested to hear about any alternatives out there.


Hmm, to name a few ingredients - Brown rice flour, guar gum, yeast, all purpose gluten free flour, sorghum, flax, ect. 

You can easily find gluten free cooking books. Or just go the easy way & buy the packets, though it's rather pricey for what little comes in it.


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## Duke of Prunes (Jul 20, 2009)

Gluten-free diets are just as pointless as low-carb diets unless you actually have a valid medical reason for avoiding gluten like coeliac diease.


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## JimmyDeansRetartedCousin (Nov 28, 2009)

Beggiatoa said:


> *Don't eat.* At least for extended periods of time. Long periods without food increases secretion of a hormone called Ghrelin. This is what gives you that feeling of hunger. It also increases Dopamine production. So, if you can find a way to circumvent the hunger pangs, you'll be able to enjoy the socializing effects of Dopamine !
> 
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19906954
> 
> One way to approach this would be to practice alternate day eating, or intermittent fasting. I've been doing the Leangains approach to fasting 16/8 but the effect wasn't as strong as when I did a full 24 hours of fasting.


Great advice Doctor Colossus!

Seriously don't stop eating for a week, it's a horrible idea. You're not a camel, you're a human. Eat regular meals, live well. You can eat anything you like in moderation. Just make sure you enjoy it.


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## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

drive a sports car...:um


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

JimmyDeansRetartedCousin said:


> Great advice Doctor Colossus!
> 
> Seriously don't stop eating for a week, it's a horrible idea. You're not a camel, you're a human. Eat regular meals, live well. You can eat anything you like in moderation. Just make sure you enjoy it.


In what part of my post did I say not to eat for a week ? I challenge all the members of the peanut gallery of this forum to contribute not by criticizing the ideas and suggestions of others, specially before trying them, but rather, by coming up with novel ideas of your own.

Duke,

if you take a moment to read about celiac disease you'll find that it is the extreme manifestation of a gluten allergy. Over 90% of the population has some degree of intolerance to gluten and the grains that contain them. Some people even develop antibodies to it and have tissue damage without having any symptoms. Grains in general, are best avoided altogether.


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## candiedsky (Aug 7, 2011)

haha. Everyone's freaking out at your opening sentence, though I doubt you meant it like THAT. I know what you mean. People can get highs on different things and experiences.


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