Can anyone list foods that cause the body to release endorphins?

Question

For example, chocolate stimulates a portion of the brain that makes us feel good. Spicy food also causes the brain to release endorphins. Can someone list other foods that have a similar effect?

Answer 1

The release of endorphins is different based on each individual. Certain foods such as chocolate and chili peppers can lead to enhanced production of endorphins. Laughter is thought to release endorphins into the brain. Strenuous exercise, exposure to ultraviolet light, massage therapy, and acupuncture can also activate endorphin production.

Sweet Foods

"First of all, the sheer pleasure of tasting a chocolate treat or powdery donut stimulates your brain's pleasure pathways and the release of dopamine and endorphins, the chemicals that makes you feel exhilarated."

Note: It may be wise to avoid the sweetener 'Aspartame'.

"Aspartame is broken down into substances that are unhealthy for the brain, but the body may be able to protect the brain from limited amounts. "Maybe the normal safeguards break down with time, with stress, and with heavy exposure," Barth says. People with brain injury may be especially vulnerable to the effects of aspartame, as are the elderly and young children. And future studies might need to look at long-term memory problems after years of heavy aspartame use."

According to the book Food & Mood, chocolate sweetened by aspartame may produce more endorphins than chocolate sweetened with sugar.

You also get a quick surge of energy as the sugar hits your bloodstream.

Unfortunately, that energized feeling lasts only as long as the sugar rush. Once your blood-sugar levels drop (about an hour or two later), you're left feeling drained and out of sorts.You become an addict looking for another hit."

Some feel that chocolate is calming because it triggers the release of endorphins . Other happy foods, such as milk, chicken, bananas, and leafy green vegetables may produce pleasant feelings because they stimulate the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Tryptophan-containing foods (See Foods for Sleep) also have a relaxing effect, so they could be called "happy foods."

Answer 2

Oily foods, foods rich in fats and sugar. Also there are more healthy options such as chicken, leafy greens,milk and bananas. Besides food here's a list of another things that trigger your endorphins to release:
Caffeine
Laughing
Nicotine
Long Distance Sports
Alcohol
Emotional Physical Contact
Acupressure that release endorphins
Physical injury

Answer 3

It doesn't release endorphins, it activates the memory/sensory part of your brain that you relate that smell to. ex: you smell oranges and you remember grandma making orange rolls when you were little...

Answer 4

i've heard that poultry, milk, and shellfish release pleasureable and relaxing endorphins.

Answer 5

Cakes, cookies, and donuts

Answer 6

oysters (RAW)