You Wanna Be Generous? Eat Eggs –Study

                               Need a bank loan? Perhaps you should make sure your bank manager has eaten eggs for breakfast. Or are you hoping to ask for money from someone? Praying that the person eats eggs before getting down to business might be a good idea. This is all because egg has been found to do more than give proteins and vitamins to the body.
                               Out of all the factors that influence people’s kindness and willingness to help, such as religion, upbringing, empathy, unavoidable return of favours, among others, one thing that may not readily make the list is the kind of food people eat.
                               But it’s rather amazing to note that eating eggs, yes! Eggs, can activate or increase human’s instinct to help others, especially in giving out money.
                             Apart from eating to nourish the body, for pleasure or some other purposes, one thing that may not readily come to mind and seems hard to believe is that some food can increase the willingness to donate money or influence how people help others.
That was the product of a study by some scientists. They found that a compound in an egg called tryptophan, acts on brain chemicals like serotonin hormone, (also known as the happy hormone in human beings) which triggers the charity instinct of the consumer, whether man or woman.
The study further revealed that high levels of tryptophan, an essential amino acid, play a key role in the production of serotonin, a brain chemical which is involved in mood and social behaviour, including co-operation and friendliness, while low levels have been associated with social isolation and aggression.
In other words, when people eat eggs, at least three, as recommended by the study, the tryptophan compound found in eggs activates the serotonin hormone in humans and stimulates them to donate more money. In fact, some researchers had earlier said that an imbalance in serotonin levels may influence mood in a way that leads to depression, which explains how powerful the serotonin hormone is in influencing moods.
The study, carried out by psychologists from Leiden University in the Netherlands, pointed out that the tryptophan compound found in eggs could increase people’s generosity and make them to donate twice as much as they would have.
This benefit is not just limited to eggs, the researchers pointed out that the tryptophan is an amino acid that can also be found in some food like fish, milk, cheese and soya, stimulating the production of feel-good hormones, called serotonin. This can change human behaviour and prompt them to donate more money voluntarily.
The researchers wrote in the Frontiers in Psychology journal that, “When egg is consumed, the tryptophan compound is converted in the body into the feel-good serotonin chemical, hence, making volunteers to donate more money. Consuming a small portion of tryptophan, which is equivalent to eating three eggs, could double the sum of money that such persons would donate.
“For the first time, we investigated whether the administration of a compound contained in food such as fish, eggs, soya, and milk can promote charitable donating. Our study is the first demonstration that charitable donating can be enhanced by serotonin-related food supplements.”
In the study, the researchers carried out the experiment on 32 men and women, out of which half were given a food supplement of tryptophan, which was equivalent to three eggs, and the others were given a harmless placebo powder.
They were instructed not to eat or drink anything other than water on the night preceding the experiment. They were also told to refrain from alcohol or drug use for the duration of the study.
Thereafter, each participant was given €10 (around £7.50) for taking part in the study and they were asked whether they were willing to donate part of their financial reward to charity. Collection boxes for four charitable organisations – UNICEF, Amnesty International, Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund – were placed on two different tables in case the two groups would want to make donations.
When the researchers counted the amount donated in the box on the two separate tables, they found that those given the TRP food supplement powder donated more with an average of $1.15, while those who received the placebo powder donated half of what the first group donated.
In answering the question of how a food supplement could have such an effect, they said serotonin, which helps to maintain mood balance and sense of happiness in humans, is associated with social behaviour, such as acts of generosity and kindness. They added that eating food full of tryptophan can increase our willingness to give to charity by as much as double.
They stressed that the feel-good hormone, serotonin, could be responsible because of the tryptophan compound, adding that oxytocin, another feel-good hormone, could also be responsible, even though it is produced mostly during lovemaking. They pointed to the closeness of the areas of the brain associated with serotonin and oxytocin.
A co-author of the study, Laura Steenbergen, a psychologist, said, it may be likely that the willingness to donate money to charity is altered by the effect that serotonin exerts on oxytocin levels.
“Our results support the materialist approach that ‘you are what you eat’ and the idea is that the food one eats has a bearing on one’s state of mind. The food we eat may thus act as a cognitive enhancer that modifies the way we deal with the ‘social’ world.”
According to the report on Daily Mail, the researchers acknowledged that more research would be necessary to see if the results could be replicated. The study recommended eating one to three serves of eggs a day, where one serve is equivalent to two large eggs.
While commenting on the study, a neurobiologist at King’s College, London, Dr. Adam Perkins, said the study could be useful in encouraging harmony among people.
“These results are interesting because they raise the possibility that dietary supplements containing TRP could be used to assist with boosting charitable attitudes and behaviour in the population,” he said.
Meanwhile, some scientists and researchers have dismissed the idea that eggs are not good for the heart because it is high in cholesterol. They argued that eggs are rich in iodine for making thyroid hormones and in phosphorus, which is essential for healthy bones and teeth, and that they are packed with Vitamins A, B, E, and D.
Reacting to the study, a medical practitioner, Dr. Rotimi Adesanya, said even though he could not ascertain whether the serotonin hormone influences people’s generosity, it helps to control mood and emotions, among other functions it has in the body.
He explained that serotonin is being produced from the pituitary gland, where oxytocin in women is also produced. “So they are inter-related, because the pituitary gland controls the oxytocin, which on its own affects most women’s activities like emotions. When secreted in excess, probably as a result of excessive intake of eggs, the effect in the body, such as emotions, would also increase,” Adesanya said.
Also, a nutritionist, Mr. Okunola Oladimeji, said eating egg is good for the body if the intake is not excessive and possibly regulated. He explained that the white part of the egg gives no fat or cholesterol but that the yellow part increases cholesterol, on which its gradual accumulation in the body could be harmful.
He said, “When you fry egg, you increase the available fat, and even when it is boiled, the white part is the pure protein, while the yellow part increases cholesterol. So, if you eat the white part only, be sure that you have not taken any fat or cholesterol unlike eating the yellow part.
“It is not that all cholesterol are bad because cholesterol also has benefits to the body.”