"How emotions are influenced by what we eat" was the theme of the first lecture in the "Feeding a Cause" Conversation Series, an initiative by the Serralves Foundation, in partnership with the University Católica Portuguesa in Porto. On January 29th, a Sunday morning, the library room of the Foundation filled up to hear Patrícia Oliveira-Silva, director of the Human Neurobehavioral Laboratory (HNL) and vice-director of the Faculty of Education and Psychology at the University Católica in Porto. The morning began with welcoming words from Ana Pinho, president of the Serralves Foundation.

Although representing only a small fraction of our total body mass, according to Patrícia Oliveira-Silva, "the brain is the hungriest organ in our body because it consumes approximately 20% of the energy consumed every day." This energy comes from the food we eat. But the quality of these foods makes all the difference in how the brain will function. The researcher explained that "what we eat affects the structure and function of the brain, which means it impacts mood, emotions, mental capacity, and how the brain will withstand the ravages of time. Although there may not seem to be a single food that protects us from all evils, science has brought us good news," she said, adding "today we know that there are specific dietary patterns, which have been fine-tuned over millions of years during our evolution, and that enhance our psychological well-being."

During the session, Patrícia Oliveira-Silva also spoke about the relationship between nutrition and emotions, but also about "what leads us, against our better judgment, to eat much more than we need." In the end, the session was open to the public and many questions were raised by more than 90 people present. The next Conversation is scheduled for February 26, at 11 am, and the topic is "Wine is a simple thing, or maybe not" with Tim Hogg, lecturer at the School of Biotechnology and researcher at the Center for Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry.