Chickpeas (Hummous) as a key food for early civilization

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Discovering the secret to the civilization-starting chickpea

By Nicky Blackburn January 21, 2007

 

Researchers have long claimed that the nutritional benefits of

chickpeas could be one of the reasons for the rise of civilization in

the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia. And now a team of Israeli

scientists believe they have discovered the reason why.

 

Zohar Kerem and Shahar Abbo from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

have found that cultivated chickpeas contain three times as much amino

acid tryptophan, a precursor of the neurotransmitter serotin, as wild

chickpeas.

 

Tryptophan is responsible for brain serotonin synthesis, which in turn

affects certain brain functions and human behavior. Increased amounts

in the diet are thought to improve performance under stress, promote

ovulation - an important advantage during times of human expansion,

improve infant development, accelerate growth, induce satiety, promote

investigative behavior, lower aggression, encourage self-confidence

and act as an anti-depressant.

 

read more at http://tinyurl.com/3dvt4w

 

Shoshana