PASTA MAKES YOU HAPPY

Remember when you were a child and something like ice cream or watermelon made you happy?  Maybe they still do.  In any case, a scientific research study conducted by the Behavioral and Brain Lab at the Free University of Communication in Milan, Italy contends that eating a bowl of pasta makes you happier.  Said Professor Vincenzo Russo:  through this study, science has put itself at the service of emotions to certify that pasta and happiness are one.

• Okay, this was not a definitive research effort, as there were only 40 participants.  Further this study occurred in Italy, where 99% of the population eat pasta an average of 5 times per week.  In comparison, Google AI Overview indicates that 73% of Americans consume past pasta at least once per week, and around 33% up to three times/week.
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  Interestingly enough, in a ranking of obesity, the USA was #10 (#1 is the worst, and this location is American Samoa) vs Italy at #117.  So how do Italians stay so relatively svelte?
• 40% of Americans are overweight.  Italy, 10%.
• U.S. longevity = 79 years.  Italy = 83.
• About Body Mass Index, where over 30 is obese, USA 29.5 and Italy 24.3.
• Why?
• Portion sizes in Italy are lower.

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  They use the Mediterranean Diet.
• Antipasto (which has low calories) is their start.
• Eat more protein and vegetables.
• For dessert, fruits.
• Pasta has a lower glycemic load than bread, rice and potatoes.  Note that pasta is eaten Al Dente in Italy, or not so well-cooked, providing higher density, taking the pasta longer to be digested and absorbed.
• More and more, the pasta in Italy has added fiber and protein.
• Italians go for a walk before and/or after dinner.
• They avoid GMO (genetically modified organism) wheat.  I suspect, though, that the writer of this article is anti-GMO.  I checked.

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  Subjects were measured for physical and neurological changes as they ate pasta, comparing those responses to their reaction listening to favorite songs or watching a sporting event.
• The researchers also quantified the participants facial expressions.
• The result was that eating pasta bested both music and sports for generating positive emotions.
• This article  from Food & Wine also sent you to another link on how to make 26 pasta dishes as soon as possible.

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  While the above info might have seemed scientific, this study harbors suspicions.  Plus, they wrote about an emotion, happiness, which is hard to quantify.

As interesting as this study might be, it’s worth taking with a grain of salt … or with one strand of spaghetti. As of this writing, it has not been peer-reviewed or published in an academic journal, and it was also conducted on behalf of Unione Italiana Food, a trade organization that represents — you guessed it — Italy’s pasta producers.

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  In any case, I agree that pasta does make me happy.  Not only Italian, but ramen from Japan, Shanghai Soup Dumplings, and a host of non-Italian pastas.
• To end, I want to add that the author opened this article with:

The next time you’ve had a less-than-great day, or your mood dips, or you listen to two or more Lewis Capaldi songs in a row, apparently, there’s one simple way to make yourself feel better: by eating a bowl of pasta. 

So of course, had to look up Lewis Capabaldi.

• With a name like that, you would have thought, Italian.  But no, Lewis Marc Capaldi is a Scottish songwriter/musician.

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  His 2017 breakthrough ballad is entitled Bruises,  He screams this song about the bruises left by a lover leaving him.  Got to trouble you. 

• 

  In 2019 he released a career-defining single, Someone You Loved, which topped the UK charts for seven weeks, and was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2020 GRAMMYs.  Another sad song about a love breakup.  Yup, you need a picker-upper, like pasta. 

Couldn't stop here, so what are the 10 happiest songs ever from neuroscience?  Click on that link and view the entirety of each song.

1. "Don’t Stop Me Now" // Queen

2. "Dancing Queen" // ABBA

3. "Good Vibrations" // The Beach Boys

4. "Uptown Girl" // Billy Joel

5. "Eye of the Tiger" // Survivor

6. "I'm a Believer" // The Monkees

7. "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" // Cyndi Lauper

8. "Livin' on a Prayer" // Bon Jovi

9. "I Will Survive" // Gloria Gaynor

10. "Walking on Sunshine" // Katrina and the Waves

To confirm, from another source, the Happiest Songs of All Time (According to Science)? 

• Happiest Old Songs of All Time. The same as the 10 above.

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  Happiest Pop Songs of All Time.

1. "Happy" // Pharrell Williams

2. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" // The Beatles

3. "Shake It Off" // Taylor Swift

4. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" // Bobby McFerrin

5. "Here Comes the Sun" // The Beatles

6. "Walking on a Dream" // Empire of the Sun

7. "Can't Stop the Feeling!" // Justin Timberlake

8. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" // Wham!

9. "I Gotta Feeling" // The Black Eyed Peas

10. "September" // Earth, Wind & Fire

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  Happiest Rock and Roll Songs of All Time.

1. "You Make My Dreams" – Hall & Oates
2. "Livin' on a Prayer" – Bon Jovi
3. "Sweet Child O' Mine" – Guns N' Roses
4. "Mr. Blue Sky" – Electric Light Orchestra
5. "Don't Stop Believin'" – Journey
6. "Island in the Sun" – Weezer
7. "Friday I'm in Love" – The Cure
8. "Best Day of My Life" – American Authors
9. "Jump" – Van Halen
10. "Beautiful Day" – U2

• 
  Happiest Dance Songs of All Time.

1. "Y.M.C.A." – The Village People
2. "Night Fever" – Bee Gees
3. "Dancing Queen" – ABBA
4. "I’m So Excited" – The Pointer Sisters
5. "We Are Family" – Sister Sledge
6. "The Hustle" – Van McCoy
7. "I Will Survive" – Gloria Gaynor
8. "Thank You (Falettin Me Be Mice Elf Agin)" – Sly & The Family Stone
9. "Into The Groove" – Madonna
10. "Brick House" – Commodores

Read how YMCA became Donald Trump's unlikely anthem.

Finally, here is something that will surprise you.  Ask around your dinner table, how many songs have been written, recorded and released in the rock and roll era?  You might think, perhaps 100,000, if that many.  Nope, the answer is 97 million, or nearly 100 million.  Spotify says 82 million, while the number is 230 million from Google.

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