Lighten Up

How much stress causes your body to secrete neuropeptide Y is, in part, genetically determined. Stress-induced increases in neuropeptide Y are particularly high in people who are of Northern European descent and makes them especially vulnerable to a greater incidence of atherosclerosis, obesity and diabetic retinopathy (diseased blood vessels in the eyes which can lead to blindness).

In order for tumors to grow rapidly, they secrete factors that promote blood-vessel growth. New classes of drugs known as angiogenesis inhibitors, such as Avastin and Nexavar, are showing great promise in clinical trials treating certain types of cancers. Several studies have shown that a diet low in fat and high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, omegaâ€'3 fatty acids and soy products inhibits angiogenesis.

As you have probably experienced, stress plays a role in what we eat as well in how it affects us. There's a reason why fatty foods are often referred to as "comfort foods." A patient once told me, "When I feel lonely, I eat a lot—of fat-it coats my nerves and numbs the pain. I can fill the void with food." A recent study published in the Journal of Marketing examined the connection between people's moods and the type and quantity of food they eat. Researchers found that people who are feeling unhappy eat larger amounts of foods they consider tasty, but unhealthy, than happy people.

In this study, test subjects who were asked to watch the movie "Love Story," the 1970 maudlin romance in which the heroine dies at the end (I hope I didn't spoil it for you ...), ate on average almost 125 grams of buttered, salty popcorn (the amount found in a medium-size bag at the —ovies)-about 28 percent more than did those watching "Sweet Home Alabama," the 2002 romantic comedy about a fashion designer going home to the rural South.

In another study described in the same paper, college students reading about the deaths of seven children in a fire ate more than four times as many M&M's as raisins from nearby bowls of snacks. In contrast, students reading about four old friends having an evening together after a chance reunion ate more raisins than M&M's.

As you might imagine, the researchers have applied for a patent and begun negotiating with drug companies to make drugs to block neuropeptide Y. It may be years, if ever, before clinical trials in humans are conducted and drugs that affect neuropeptide Y are on the market.