Community: Carbs and Your Brain

Carbohydrate foods like bread, cereal, rice, pasta, cookies, crackers, cake, donuts, chips, bagels, pretzels, pancakes, waffles, soda, sports, drinks, fruit juice, candy, syrup, fruit, and potatoes, and similar foods, are turned by our digestive tracts into sugars, and travel via our blood to our brains.

The insulin produced in response to the higher blood sugar levels allows more tryptophan, an amino acid, to enter the brain. Tryptophan is the precursor to serotonin, and, once in the brain, nearly all the tryptophan is converted into serotonin. Serotonin is that “feel good” brain chemical that helps us feel calm and happy and relaxed.