A
recent research conducted by Israeli scientists, has interesting findings
concerning the popularity of Hummus. It’s all about mood they say – chickpeas
are the ancestors of Prozac.
It is a
known fact that Chickpeas, as well as other legumes, contain a large dosage
ofTryptophan, an amino acid which is an important building block of serotonin.
The latter, is a neurotransmitter, the lack of which modern biochemistry and
psychiatry agree is strongly connected with “mood disorders” such as anxiety
and minor depression.
Nowdays,
the lack of serotonin is treated with SSRI (Selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors. Medicines such as Prozac, Seroxat, Cipralex etc.) which increases
the amount of serotoninin the brain. A Tryptophan rich diet has a similar
effect.
The
Cicer Arietinum (a.k.a chickpea) is the richest in Tryptophan specie throughout
it’s genus of plants.
What
the researchers (Professor Avi Gopher, Dr. Zohar Kerem, Professor Simcha Lev-Yadun,
Dr. Shachar Abbo.) say, is that the chickpea was probably cultivated due to
its’ rich Tryptophan content. Ancient men were better skilled than us in
recognizing healthy foods and getting their nutritional needs from foods – very
much like we can see in animals.
Thousands
of years better, hummus is a common dish in a growing number of countries
because it tastes good – but also for it’s nutritional value. Ironically, in
both cases, people tend to say eating hummus makes them “feel good
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