I don't care how beneficial it might be, you can gag me with a spoon.
Marmite may be brain food, study says
AFP Relax News 21 hours ago
In a world bitterly divided into pro- and anti-Marmite factions, lovers of the tangy British spread have found support from an unexpected quarter: brain science.
Experiments found that volunteers who ate a daily spoonful of the dark-brown yeast extract seemed to have higher levels of a vital neuron chemical associated with a healthy brain.
The reason could lie in Marmite's high levels of vitamin B12, the investigators say.
In a study published on Wednesday, psychologists at the University of York in northern England recruited 28 volunteers and divided them into two groups.
One group ate a teaspoon of Marmite each day for a month; the other ate a daily teaspoon of peanut butter.
The volunteers wore non-invasive skullcaps fitted with electrodes to monitor brain activity while they looked at a screen with a visual stimulus -- a large stripey pattern that flickered at a regular rate.
The Marmite group showed a substantial reduction of around 30 percent in response to the stimulus compared with the peanut butter group.
The work, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, sheds a powerful light on how diet can affect brain activity, the researchers say.
How Marmite worked was not clinically investigated.
But the presumption is that it boosts levels of an important neurotransmitter called gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA).
GABA acts as a kind of brake on over-excited brain cells. It binds to neurons and reduces their activity, helping to provide balance in the brain.
Scientists have previously theorised that GABA helps to dampen fear or anxiety, which happens when neurons are over-stimulated.
The anti-anxiety drug benzodiazepine, for instance, works by beefing up GABA's effectiveness, and abnormal levels of GABA have been associated with epilepsy.
"This study suggests that eating Marmite is potentially good for you in that it seems to increase a chemical messenger associated with healthy brain function," lead authors Daniel Baker and Anika Smith told AFP.
"There could potentially be beneficial effects for people with some neurological disorders linked to GABA."
The pair said they were not clinicians or dieticians, so were unwilling to make any recommendations about what would be a healthy limit for eating Marmite.
"However, there is no evidence that normal consumption of Marmite has any negative effects," they said.
Compared with the same quantity of peanut butter, the team found that Marmite had around 116 times more vitamin B12, three times more vitamin B6, and nearly twice as much glutamate as peanut butter.
The new study appears in a specialist peer-reviewed publication, the Journal of Psychopharmacology.
Deemed a quintessential British food, Marmite has been the subject of a "love it or hate it" debate that has rumbled on for years, including a tongue-in-cheek campaign on social media to abolish the condiment.
One joke put around by detractors is thus: "I was in a good mood last week. I entered a competition and won a year's supply of Marmite -- one jar!"
Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.
1. It’s A Superfood
Believe it or not, that sludgy brown substance has recently been labelled a superfood by scientists. It contains only a few ingredients – yeast extract, salt, vegetable extract, spices and vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B9, B12) – but it’s low in calories, it’s gluten free, high in vitamin and contains nearly 50% of the recommended daily allowance for folic acid and 36% of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin B3 per serving.
2. It Can Replace B Vitamin Supplements
Because Marmite is so high in B vitamins you can ditch those expensive supplements, if you’re prepared to eat it on a regular basis. B vitamins are essential for good liver and kidney function, and they help protect the nervous system.
3. It May Be A Natural Insect Repellent
It has been claimed by some that Marmite can act as a mosquito repellent. According to some sources, the vitamin B excreted through your sweat can act as a deterrent to those annoying little bugs. However, if you’re somewhere where you may be in danger of malaria, we’d recommend something a little stronger!
4. It’s A Good Hangover Cure
One of the reasons we feel so bad after drinking too much is because alcohol depletes our systems of essential nutrients, including those magic B vitamins. A lack of B vitamins can cause anxiety and depression, so Marmite will life your mood. Marmite also has a high sodium content which can replace salts lost through drinking alcohol.
5. It Can Protect Your Heart
A study at the University of Bristol found that regular consumption of Marmite could protect you from heart disease. The spread is full of benfotiamine, which has been found to have a beneficial effect on heart function. A dose three times a week should do the trick.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Good point!
