Dates Boost Oxytocin

No, I'm not talking about kanoodling, I mean the food: those super-sweet fruits that some of us adore and others find a bit strange. In the Middle East, of course, they're adored, and the Yemeni Times says they're better for you -- and for your love life -- than oysters or chocolate. Dr. Qazi Shaikh Abbas Borhany writes,

According to Medical studies, the ripe date contains a substance that urges uterine spasms and increases contractions especially in the time of delivery. This substance resembles ‘oxytocin’ that is secreted by the interior lobe of pituitary gland, which encourages contractions of the uterus.

Besides strengthening manhood in those of the male persuasion, he writes,

Dates contain elements that assist in alleviating depression and enrich the breast milk with the nutrients needed to make the child healthy and resistant to disease.

Comments

[George]

Interesting stuff, oxytocin. I'm wondering whether it might have an important role in mediating some of the responses to "new parent" stress.
For example, crying, especially colic, tends to be very stressful, especially if a new parent feels they ought to be able to do something about it. "Inconsolable crying" is frequently cited as a principal reason for shaking an infant. I wonder if lower oxytocin levels might reduce the barrier to shaking. Which could be ominous, if it means the kids who used ectasy as their mood altering substance of choice have lower oxytocin levels as they enter the parenting phase of life.
Hmm, perhaps they should be required to eat more dates?...

[Susan Kuchinskas]

That is an interesting question. Oxytocin does play a major role in combatting and reducing stress of all kinds, not just in parenting or social situations. I would guess that other neurochemicals might also come into play.

I think there may be an ominous general reduction in the oxytocin response among people in the U.S. A large percentage of our kids aren't getting the cuddling and nurturing they need as infants, because their parents are working too hard, have too many other kids, didn't learn how to parent from their own parents ....

Then, there's hospital birthing practices, where a large jolt of pitocin, the artificial form of oxytocin, may inhibit the natural response. And what about all the preemies and underweight multiple birth babies who have to stay in critical care?

I think we're headed for a very cold and angry generation to come of age around 2018.