You and I know that we can’t always control what happens in our lives, but we can control how we respond to them. However, what happens when you have a bad week, are perimenopausal or premenstrual? Well, science might have an answer.
Let me introduce you to the world of brain chemistry and a powerful group of natural chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. Your brain’s communication network is a multimillion-dollar maze of connections capable of performing 20 million trillion calculations per second. Yes, I said 20 billion!
How does this intricate network work? Well, there are three main players:
- Neurons, which power the message,
- Neurotransmitters, which create the message and
- Receivers, who receive the message.
In simple words, a neurotransmitter is a chemical messenger released from one nerve cell that finds its way to another nerve cell where it influences a particular chemical reaction to occur. Neurotransmitters control major bodily functions, including movement, emotional response, and our physical ability to experience pleasure and pain.
Neurotransmitters also trigger specific functions within our body and our nervous system. These transmitters can create and control a variety of feelings, moods, and even thoughts, from depression, anxiety, and addiction, to feelings of self-confidence, high or low self-esteem, competitive spirit, and can even affect our deep sleep.
A neurotransmitter imbalance can cause depression, anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, irritable bowels, hormonal dysfunction, eating disorders, fibromyalgia, obsessions, compulsions, adrenal dysfunction, chronic pain, migraines, and even premature death. Scientific and medical research indicates that our brain uses more than 35 different neurotransmitters, some of which we can control and some of which we cannot.
However, it appears that we can control five of the major neurotransmitters with exercise and nutrition, and with our thoughts and behaviors.
Most neurotransmitters are made from amino acids obtained from the protein in the food you eat. Two of the most important neurotransmitters are serotonin and dopamine, sometimes called the “happy” drugs. They seem to play a major role in determining our moods and thoughts.
Dopamine, fuel for enthusiasm and motivation
The brain uses dopamine to stimulate arousal, alertness, awareness, and our competitive spirit (a form of mild aggression). Dopamine is also essential for coordinated muscle movement.
Dopamine is the neurotransmitter necessary for healthy assertiveness and sexual arousal, proper autonomic and immune nervous system function. Dopamine is important for motivation and a sense of readiness to face life’s challenges.
One of the most vulnerable key neurotransmitters, dopamine levels are reduced by stress or lack of sleep. Alcohol, caffeine, and sugar also appear to decrease dopamine activity in the brain. It oxidizes easily, so we should eat plenty of fruits and vegetables whose antioxidants help protect dopamine-using neurons from free radical damage.
Dopamine is made from the amino acid tyrosine. Once produced, dopamine can, in turn, be converted into the brain chemicals norepinephrine and epinephrine.
Low dopamine levels can cause depression, lack of energy, an excessive need for sleep, and can even cause you to withdraw from everyday events, such as going to work or wanting to be with people.
Dopamine is a building block for the production of adrenaline, which stimulates us to act if we are scared or anxious. These natural drugs are also necessary for us to be competitive, especially in highly competitive sports, business, and corporate life.
Increase your alertness with protein. Without going into detailed brain chemistry, small amounts (100 to 150 grams) of protein-rich foods will raise dopamine levels and have significant effects on mood and brain function. The effects can be felt within 10 to 30 minutes. Protein foods are broken down into their building blocks of amino acids during digestion. An amino acid, called tyrosine, will increase the production of dopamine, neither epinephrine nor epinephrine. These neurotransmitters are known for their ability to increase alertness and energy levels. No one eats pure tyrosine, but eating protein-rich foods will give you a slight mental boost. Protein-rich foods include fish, poultry, meat, and eggs. If you can’t eat them, try protein-rich foods that also contain a significant amount of carbohydrates, such as vegetables, cheese, milk, or tofu.
Many of us eat a high carbohydrate breakfast as cereals have become the common form of morning meal. One of my friends is a highly respected biopharmacist and it is his opinion that breakfast is the time of day to eat a high protein meal.
Serotonin, recovering your calm
Serotonin is the calming neurotransmitter important for maintaining good mood, feelings of contentment, and is responsible for normal sleep. In addition to the central nervous system, serotonin is also found in the lining of the intestine (the enteric nervous system) and in platelet cells that promote blood clotting.
Serotonin plays an important role in regulating memory, learning, and blood pressure, as well as appetite and body temperature. Low serotonin levels cause insomnia and depression, aggressive behavior, increased sensitivity to pain, and is associated with obsessive-compulsive eating disorders.
This neurotransmitter also helps the brain to focus, increasing your concentration levels.
Low serotonin levels can create anxiety, a feeling of insecurity, anger, fear, depression, and can even induce suicidal thoughts. Now, have you ever wondered why you eat more in winter? It has a lot to do with your serotonin level, or lack thereof, and a condition appropriately called SAD, or Seasonal Affected Disorder.
With a lack of sunlight in winter, the body produces higher levels of a hormone called melatonin, which consumes serotonin. Research has shown that when this happens, the body craves carbohydrates, which produce serotonin and make us feel good. This is when we crave those comfort foods like cookies, pizza, or chocolate!
Eating carbohydrates will trigger the release of insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin is responsible for removing all amino acids from the blood, with the exception of tryptophan. Tryptophan is an amino acid that is normally displaced by other amino acids in their attempt to cross the blood-brain barrier, but when its competitors are out of the way, it enters the brain. Once in the brain, tryptophan is converted to serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that has the effect of reducing pain, decreasing appetite, and producing a feeling of calm, and, in excessive amounts, inducing sleep. Research has shown that dieters tend to become depressed around two weeks into the diet, about the time when their serotonin levels have dropped due to decreased carbohydrate intake.
In summer, sunlight reduces the production of melatonin, the serotonin gobbler, and therefore it is easier to diet in summer. Summer makes us feel great, and this theory could explain why people head for the sun in winter.
This gave me a clue as to why I became a carb addict: the more carbs I ate, the more serotonin I produced, and like any drug addict, I craved more and more carbs for an ever-increasing ‘wellness’ kick. The result was that I got fat, even though I went to the gym four or five times a week! My energy levels dropped, I was constantly tired, and it became extremely difficult to live with. I didn’t want to go to the gym. I was overdosing on carbs which leads to another hormonal disorder called insulin resistance.
Serotonin is synthesized from tryptophan in the presence of an adequate amount of vitamins B1, B3, B6, and folic acid. The best food sources of tryptophan include brown rice, cottage cheese, meat, peanuts, and sesame seeds. Choline is another B complex vitamin that is concentrated in cholesterol-rich foods such as eggs and liver. A lack of choline can cause impaired memory and concentration. Choline is a precursor to the brain neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is linked to memory. People taking drugs that block acetylcholine fail memory tests. Low acetylcholine levels have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease and poor memory. What a good excuse to put eggs back in your diet!
How you can control natural ‘happy drugs’.
Being balanced is the answer, not too much and not too little of anything. Excess protein or carbohydrates over time will eventually have side effects that affect how you feel and behave at work and at home.
Eating certain foods and exercising at the right level, at the right time for your lifestyle, is a cornerstone of managing your mood and creating feelings of happiness and relaxation.
If you’re a professional athlete, you need a different approach to managing your neurotransmitters than a teacher, taxi driver, or CEO. Also, everyone’s body chemistry is different and must be taken into account. I recommend that you consult a nutritionist who understands how food and neurotransmitters work to meet your health and lifestyle needs.
There’s much more to brain chemistry, mood control, and peak performance, but that’s a subject for another article.
QUICK TIP
Small amounts (100 to 150 g) of protein-rich foods will raise dopamine levels and have significant effects on mood and brain function. For this reason, many nutritionists recommend a little protein at breakfast. It increases your energy and gives you that high at sixteen a day.
A list of ways to control neurotransmitters
Some proteins that affect dopamine levels are:
Aerobic exercise and dopamine levels
If you need to temporarily lower your dopamine levels to relax, non-competitive (why non-competitive? competition raises dopamine levels) aerobic exercise might help, such as:
- Running and walking for effective health benefits.
- Skipping.
- Rowing in the gym.
- Vigorous cycling at the gym or on an exercise bike at home.
Some carbohydrates that affect serotonin levels
exercise and serotonin
To control Serotonin you need less vigorous exercise such as:
- Take a walk in the park or on your favorite beach.
- Gentle cycling along a river bank or flat bike lanes.
- Stretching exercises.
- gentle yoga.
- Reading.
- Listening to music.
- Meditation and even prayer (The best type of prayer to control serotonin levels is a prayer of thanks).