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What does Exercise, Marijuana and Chocolates have in
common?
1. Increase in Farmones
2. Decreases in blood glucose
3. Anandamides
4. Increase in Serintonin
Vigorous exercise yields the same lift as chocolate: Feel-good
vibes.
If you're feeling energetic, euphoric or happy after exercise, there
might be a perfectly logical physiological answer. The buzz from exercise
may be coming from chemical compounds called anandamides, said Daniele
Piomelli, professor of pharmacology at the University of California,
Irvine. Piomelli and his colleagues found that people who exercise vigorously
for about an hour had high levels of these anandamides.
Back in 1996, Piomelli found these anandamides in chocolate, which may
explain why some of us feel good after munching on a bar of Godiva dark
chocolate, calories notwithstanding.
"During exercise, the body makes its own marijuana-like compounds,"
Piomelli said. Chemically, these compounds do not look like marijuana,
but they cause a similar effect as marijuana on the brain, he said.
Researchers draw similarities between anandamides and tetrahydrocannabinol,
or THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, because both attach to specific
areas in the brain.
Piomelli partnered with colleagues at Georgia Institute of Technology
for a study published last year in the journal Neuroreport. They recruited
24 male college students who regularly exercised and were divided into
three groups: Eight ran on a treadmill, eight rode a stationary bicycle,
and eight sat. Those in the exercise groups worked out at 70 percent
of their maximum capacity.
After one hour of exercise, including warm-up and cool-down, researchers
took blood samples. Students who exercised had levels of anandamide
80 percent higher than those who sat.
Anandamides have been found to reduce pain in animals, so it probably
has the same effect on people, Piomelli said. It's possible that the
body produces more anandamide in response to the stress of exercise.
Anandamide also may play a part in regulating mood, which may explain
the post-exercise buzz.
This effect is temporary.
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