Nancy Okerlund
Volume 2, Issue 13, 07/24/08
The Care and Feeding of Introverts
A couple weeks ago I was having a solitary supper, eating a
subway sandwich about twice as long as I needed, and starting a
book I've been curious about for awhile: French Women Don't
Get Fat.
At the back of my mind I was wondering what I'd write for The
Introvert Energizer, plus hoping that reading the first chapter
about French women would cancel out half my subway.
The activity at the back of my mind - worry about overeating,
wondering about my writing - was fruitful. I suddenly
remembered that Marti Olsen Laney, in The Introvert Advantage,
says a lot about the care and feeding of introverts. Time for
a re-look, to see what I notice.
In the meantime I turned into an introvert grandmother, so I
wrote about that instead. But now, halfway into the secrets of
French women, I'm still thinking about introverts and food.
When I learned about the physiology of temperament - that it's
literally a physical experience to be an introvert or an
extrovert - at first my mind was boggled. It hadn't occurred
to me that my vague identity as an introvert (I thought about
it essentially never) would have anything to do with how my
body works.
When I first read The Introvert Advantage I was trying to
understand the information about the brain and nervous system.
I was having a paradigm shift - introvert and extrovert
brains?! By the time I got to the chapter about food, I was on
information overload. I read it but it didn't stay with me.
Some time later I heard Laney speak. One of the things she
said, with conviction, is that it's very important for introverts
to take the supplement lecithin - to build the neurotransmitter
acetylcholine.
(Acetylcholine is the key neurotransmitter - brain chemical -
introverts use on our dominant blood pathway in the brain. It
triggers our ability to focus and concentrate deeply for long
periods. It helps us feel calm and alert. The temperament
researchers say that keeping the acetylcholine level strong is
essential for introverts.)
Laney's matter-of-fact conviction about lecithin got my
attention. I did a little lecithin research, decided it was
reasonable and doable, and have been taking it daily ever since.
But will there be an introvert cookbook?!
Reading French Women Don't Get Fat is the latest example of
my participation in the American sport of Figure Out Food (And
Keep Eating:-) I think it's a game I'll be able to play as
long as I want.
In that spirit, here's a nutshell of things I find useful as I
re-visit what Laney offers from her research:
Our brains and our neurotransmitters - and our bodies - are
affected by things like food, exercise, stress levels, rest.
It's a good idea for introverts (and extroverts, too, of course)
to get support from food.
Foods that are known to help increase our main neurotransmitter,
acetylcholine, are fish (like salmon, mackerel, sardines and
others), egg yolks, wheat germ, liver, meat, milk, cheese,
broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower.
Introverts tend toward low blood sugar. Eating slow-releasing
carbohydrates (the ones that don't make your blood sugar spike)
helps maintain optimal blood sugar levels. It also helps
produce another neurotransmitter, serotonin, which promotes calm.
Dopamine (the main neurotransmitter for extroverts) increases
alertness and makes us feel less hungry. It's created by eating
protein. Eating smaller amounts of lean protein throughout the
day helps maintain alertness.
And one small secret from the French women: evidently they
don't read while eating. A lovely idea I'll keep in mind :-).
End of food for thought - on to some practical ideas:
A Practical Idea for Introverts
Think about taking the supplement lecithin.
A Practical Idea for Extroverts
Ask an introvert in your life how they're doing with their
acetylcholine production. (Just kidding.)
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