DID FRUIT CONTRIBUTE TO APPLE'S SUCCESS
Steve Jobs swore by a
fruit diet, as he believed it improved his ideas. And he wasn't wrong: food
with high levels of tyrosine, like bananas, peaches and almonds, allow us to
think harder and more creatively. Leiden cognitive psychologist Lorenza Colzato
published an article on the subject on 26 September in Psychological Research
Become
better at solving puzzles
The
researchers found that the test subjects who drank orange juice with added
tyrosine were better at solving puzzles than those who were administered a
placebo. Colzato said: 'Food rich in Tyrosine and food supplements that include
tyrosine are a healthy and cheap way to increase our ability to think deeply.
For instance, students who have to sit for an exam can benefit from added
tyrosine.'
Suspicions
confirmed
The
results of the research support claims made by creative people, who argue that
specific foods help them to overcome mental obstacles. Colzato: 'Take a look
at, for instance, former boss of Apple, Steve Jobs, one of the most creative
minds of our time. He often claimed that his fruit diet formed the basis of his
successes. And as fruit is rich in tyrosine, that might not be such a weird
statement after all.'
The
research method
Colzato
asked the 32 subjects participating in the research to visit the test lab
twice. They were given orange juice to drink on both occasions: the first time
it included added tyrosine, while a placebo was added during the second visit.
They were then required to solve various puzzles surrounding two main aspects
of creative thinking:
Divergent thinking -- to quickly come up with diverse solutions
for basic problems. For example, what kind of things could you possibly do with
a pen?
Convergent thinking -- this, on the other hand, does focus on
long and deep thinking. For example, what is the connection between three words
that, at first sight, have absolutely nothing to with each other?
What
is tyrosine?
Tyrosine
is an amino acid that increases the production of dopamine in the brain, which
positively influences our ability to think creatively. It can be found in
various kinds of fruit, but also in soybeans, spinach, eggs and cottage cheese.
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