Food for thought: How your belly controls your brain | Ruairi Robertson | TEDxFulbrightSantaMonica

I spent years watching cooks fuel themselves on energy drinks and gas station burritos, wondering why their knife skills went to shit by hour ten. This breakdown of how omega-3s, complex carbs, and actual nutrients wire your brain differently isn't just science—it's survival intel for anyone who needs their head clear when the tickets start flying.

I've watched enough cooks chase that next hit of sweetness in their off-hours, and this breakdown of sugar's grip on our neural pathways explains why we keep reaching for that pastry case at 2 AM. Avena cuts through the bullshit to show you exactly how sugar hijacks your brain's reward system — knowledge that might save you from becoming another burnout statistic.

Look, I don't give a shit about your biceps, but I do care about the cooks who are breaking down after twelve-hour shifts because they think surviving on Red Bull and cigarettes is somehow noble. This is the science behind why your body actually needs protein to rebuild what the kitchen destroys every night. Jeff breaks down the numbers without the bro-science bullshit — and if you're serious about lasting in this business, you need to understand how to fuel the machine that is your body.

I spent decades watching cooks destroy their guts with energy drinks and cigarettes, never understanding that the trillion microbes in there are basically running the show. Ravella breaks down how what we eat literally rewires our intestinal ecosystem—and suddenly those fermented vegetables your grandmother insisted on make a hell of a lot more sense. This is the science behind why real food beats processed garbage, no mystical bullshit required.

Look, this is kids' content about pizza history, but I'll take real knowledge wherever I can get it — even if it comes with cartoon characters. The Italians didn't invent flatbread with shit on top, but they sure as hell perfected it, and understanding that lineage matters when you're slinging pies for a living.

I love a good dose of American food shame served with historical context. This deep dive into our regulatory blindness — why we're still pumping growth hormones into beef while Europe said "hell no" decades ago — cuts through the patriotic bullshit to show how money talks louder than food safety. Essential viewing if you've ever wondered why your European chef friends look horrified at our ingredient lists.

I've watched enough line cooks destroy themselves with crash diets and supplement bullshit to know this matters. Doctor Mike cuts through the Instagram wellness garbage with actual science, and if you're running a kitchen full of people living on energy drinks and cigarettes, you need to understand what actually works. The industry chews people up partly because we don't know how to take care of ourselves.

I've watched Adam Ragusea explain why oil is the perfect heat transfer medium for about the tenth time, and it still makes me appreciate every properly executed french fry in a way that borders on spiritual. This is the kind of food science that actually makes you a better cook, not just someone who can drop molecular gastronomy terms at dinner parties. Ragusea gets that understanding the "why" behind fundamental techniques like frying isn't academic wankery — it's what separates cooks who follow recipes from cooks who can improvise when the oil temperature drops and the dinner rush hits.

I spent years wondering why I felt like absolute garbage every time I got the flu — turns out it's not the virus making you miserable, it's your own immune system flooding you with cytokines that basically put your body in emergency shutdown mode. Which explains why every cook I know becomes a different person when they're pushing through service with a fever. Your body is literally rewiring itself to survive, and somehow we still show up to sear steaks at 400 degrees.

I watched this TED-Ed breakdown on MSG and finally someone cuts through the racist bullshit that's plagued this umami powerhouse for decades. Tracy lays out the actual science behind monosodium glutamate—how it's made, why it works, and why the fear-mongering is complete nonsense rooted in 1960s xenophobia. Every cook worth their salt needs to understand this flavor enhancer that's been demonized for all the wrong reasons.

Watching peppers get ground into submission at industrial scale should feel soulless, but there's something almost meditative about seeing thousands of gallons of fermented mash become the stuff that makes eggs worth eating. The Science Channel strips away the romance and shows you the machinery — which somehow makes you love hot sauce even more.

You stick cookie dough into an oven and somehow flour, butter, and sugar transform into something that makes grown line cooks sneak bites when the pastry chef isn't looking — Warren breaks down the actual chemical reactions that turn your mise en place into magic. This is the science behind why we fell in love with cooking in the first place, before we learned about food costs and labor percentages.

I spent years watching cooks fuel themselves on energy drinks and gas station burritos, wondering why their knife skills went to shit by hour ten. This breakdown of how omega-3s, complex carbs, and actual nutrients wire your brain differently isn't just science—it's survival intel for anyone who needs their head clear when the tickets start flying.

I've watched enough cooks chase that next hit of sweetness in their off-hours, and this breakdown of sugar's grip on our neural pathways explains why we keep reaching for that pastry case at 2 AM. Avena cuts through the bullshit to show you exactly how sugar hijacks your brain's reward system — knowledge that might save you from becoming another burnout statistic.

Look, I don't give a shit about your biceps, but I do care about the cooks who are breaking down after twelve-hour shifts because they think surviving on Red Bull and cigarettes is somehow noble. This is the science behind why your body actually needs protein to rebuild what the kitchen destroys every night. Jeff breaks down the numbers without the bro-science bullshit — and if you're serious about lasting in this business, you need to understand how to fuel the machine that is your body.

I spent decades watching cooks destroy their guts with energy drinks and cigarettes, never understanding that the trillion microbes in there are basically running the show. Ravella breaks down how what we eat literally rewires our intestinal ecosystem—and suddenly those fermented vegetables your grandmother insisted on make a hell of a lot more sense. This is the science behind why real food beats processed garbage, no mystical bullshit required.

Look, this is kids' content about pizza history, but I'll take real knowledge wherever I can get it — even if it comes with cartoon characters. The Italians didn't invent flatbread with shit on top, but they sure as hell perfected it, and understanding that lineage matters when you're slinging pies for a living.

I love a good dose of American food shame served with historical context. This deep dive into our regulatory blindness — why we're still pumping growth hormones into beef while Europe said "hell no" decades ago — cuts through the patriotic bullshit to show how money talks louder than food safety. Essential viewing if you've ever wondered why your European chef friends look horrified at our ingredient lists.

I've watched enough line cooks destroy themselves with crash diets and supplement bullshit to know this matters. Doctor Mike cuts through the Instagram wellness garbage with actual science, and if you're running a kitchen full of people living on energy drinks and cigarettes, you need to understand what actually works. The industry chews people up partly because we don't know how to take care of ourselves.

I've watched Adam Ragusea explain why oil is the perfect heat transfer medium for about the tenth time, and it still makes me appreciate every properly executed french fry in a way that borders on spiritual. This is the kind of food science that actually makes you a better cook, not just someone who can drop molecular gastronomy terms at dinner parties. Ragusea gets that understanding the "why" behind fundamental techniques like frying isn't academic wankery — it's what separates cooks who follow recipes from cooks who can improvise when the oil temperature drops and the dinner rush hits.

I spent years wondering why I felt like absolute garbage every time I got the flu — turns out it's not the virus making you miserable, it's your own immune system flooding you with cytokines that basically put your body in emergency shutdown mode. Which explains why every cook I know becomes a different person when they're pushing through service with a fever. Your body is literally rewiring itself to survive, and somehow we still show up to sear steaks at 400 degrees.

I watched this TED-Ed breakdown on MSG and finally someone cuts through the racist bullshit that's plagued this umami powerhouse for decades. Tracy lays out the actual science behind monosodium glutamate—how it's made, why it works, and why the fear-mongering is complete nonsense rooted in 1960s xenophobia. Every cook worth their salt needs to understand this flavor enhancer that's been demonized for all the wrong reasons.

Watching peppers get ground into submission at industrial scale should feel soulless, but there's something almost meditative about seeing thousands of gallons of fermented mash become the stuff that makes eggs worth eating. The Science Channel strips away the romance and shows you the machinery — which somehow makes you love hot sauce even more.

You stick cookie dough into an oven and somehow flour, butter, and sugar transform into something that makes grown line cooks sneak bites when the pastry chef isn't looking — Warren breaks down the actual chemical reactions that turn your mise en place into magic. This is the science behind why we fell in love with cooking in the first place, before we learned about food costs and labor percentages.

I spent years watching cooks fuel themselves on energy drinks and gas station burritos, wondering why their knife skills went to shit by hour ten. This breakdown of how omega-3s, complex carbs, and actual nutrients wire your brain differently isn't just science—it's survival intel for anyone who needs their head clear when the tickets start flying.

I've watched enough cooks chase that next hit of sweetness in their off-hours, and this breakdown of sugar's grip on our neural pathways explains why we keep reaching for that pastry case at 2 AM. Avena cuts through the bullshit to show you exactly how sugar hijacks your brain's reward system — knowledge that might save you from becoming another burnout statistic.

Look, I don't give a shit about your biceps, but I do care about the cooks who are breaking down after twelve-hour shifts because they think surviving on Red Bull and cigarettes is somehow noble. This is the science behind why your body actually needs protein to rebuild what the kitchen destroys every night. Jeff breaks down the numbers without the bro-science bullshit — and if you're serious about lasting in this business, you need to understand how to fuel the machine that is your body.

I spent decades watching cooks destroy their guts with energy drinks and cigarettes, never understanding that the trillion microbes in there are basically running the show. Ravella breaks down how what we eat literally rewires our intestinal ecosystem—and suddenly those fermented vegetables your grandmother insisted on make a hell of a lot more sense. This is the science behind why real food beats processed garbage, no mystical bullshit required.

Look, this is kids' content about pizza history, but I'll take real knowledge wherever I can get it — even if it comes with cartoon characters. The Italians didn't invent flatbread with shit on top, but they sure as hell perfected it, and understanding that lineage matters when you're slinging pies for a living.

I love a good dose of American food shame served with historical context. This deep dive into our regulatory blindness — why we're still pumping growth hormones into beef while Europe said "hell no" decades ago — cuts through the patriotic bullshit to show how money talks louder than food safety. Essential viewing if you've ever wondered why your European chef friends look horrified at our ingredient lists.

I've watched enough line cooks destroy themselves with crash diets and supplement bullshit to know this matters. Doctor Mike cuts through the Instagram wellness garbage with actual science, and if you're running a kitchen full of people living on energy drinks and cigarettes, you need to understand what actually works. The industry chews people up partly because we don't know how to take care of ourselves.

I've watched Adam Ragusea explain why oil is the perfect heat transfer medium for about the tenth time, and it still makes me appreciate every properly executed french fry in a way that borders on spiritual. This is the kind of food science that actually makes you a better cook, not just someone who can drop molecular gastronomy terms at dinner parties. Ragusea gets that understanding the "why" behind fundamental techniques like frying isn't academic wankery — it's what separates cooks who follow recipes from cooks who can improvise when the oil temperature drops and the dinner rush hits.

I spent years wondering why I felt like absolute garbage every time I got the flu — turns out it's not the virus making you miserable, it's your own immune system flooding you with cytokines that basically put your body in emergency shutdown mode. Which explains why every cook I know becomes a different person when they're pushing through service with a fever. Your body is literally rewiring itself to survive, and somehow we still show up to sear steaks at 400 degrees.

I watched this TED-Ed breakdown on MSG and finally someone cuts through the racist bullshit that's plagued this umami powerhouse for decades. Tracy lays out the actual science behind monosodium glutamate—how it's made, why it works, and why the fear-mongering is complete nonsense rooted in 1960s xenophobia. Every cook worth their salt needs to understand this flavor enhancer that's been demonized for all the wrong reasons.

Watching peppers get ground into submission at industrial scale should feel soulless, but there's something almost meditative about seeing thousands of gallons of fermented mash become the stuff that makes eggs worth eating. The Science Channel strips away the romance and shows you the machinery — which somehow makes you love hot sauce even more.

You stick cookie dough into an oven and somehow flour, butter, and sugar transform into something that makes grown line cooks sneak bites when the pastry chef isn't looking — Warren breaks down the actual chemical reactions that turn your mise en place into magic. This is the science behind why we fell in love with cooking in the first place, before we learned about food costs and labor percentages.