Thanks for the recipe for the stuffed jumbo pasta shells. I love them, and would like to make some of my own. I need to see if I can find whole wheat jumbo pasta shells.

Speaking of jumbo pasta shells, bring on the serotonin! As I understand it, serotonin is a neurotransmitter that our brains need in order to feel a sense of well-being, and carbohydrates such as pasta contain the amino acids necessary to produce or supplement these brain chemicals and keep our body chemistry in balance. So that’s one reason some people who cut out all or too many carbohydrates from their diets go on binges eating cookies, pasta, brownies, etc.–their brains and bodies are desperately seeking serotonin (there’s a book title by that name), which they are starved of due to the drastic change in diet. White pastas and rice are digested much more quickly, which also tends to cause greater spikes and dips in blood sugar levels–another addictive feature of simple carbohydrates as opposed to complex carbohydrates.

Some people (like me) are more susceptible to diets that are too low in carbohydrates, and therefore serotonin, bringing on binge behaviors, while others are more susceptible to problems with diets that have a stronger effect on the other neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine.

These same neurotransmitters play into drugs and addiction. Depending on the drug, different neurotransmitters are brought into play, and that is why drug use that may start as “recreational,” or as a temporary means of alleviating pain, stress, etc., can become dangerously addictive–we may literally be re-wiring our brains and bodies to need these things in greater doses in order to feel good or normal.

My mother smoked from the time she was 17 until she died of an aortal aneurysm at 63, partly due to hardening and thinning of the arteries (brought about by smoking). She tried numerous times to quit but wasn’t able to. My dad, on the other hand, quit smoking cold turkey when he was about 40 and that was that. I’m sure part of the reason my mom was not able to quit and my dad was had to do with their natural brain chemistries and susceptibilities to the neurotransmitters. It’s certainly not always about willpower, because if it were, my dad would not have the weight problems he’s always had.