Seeking Seratonin

By: Marlene Affeld

Obesity in America is a nationwide epidemic. It’s a global problem. Recently released statistics validate that more than 2.1 billion persons or as much as 30 percent of the planet’s population carry excess weight, with the majority of this percentage considered morbidly obese.

As the winter wears on, most of us are low in serotonin levels. We need a boost of the “feel-good” hormone serotonin due to a lack of exposure to natural sunlight required for balanced serotonin production. In America, medical professionals identify serotonin deficiency as an epidemic of equal proportion to obesity. Now, in response to a diverse array of research studies, serotonin may also be the most potent weapon available in today’s “battle of the bulge.”

What Is Serotonin?

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter manufactured by the pineal gland that has earned a stellar reputation as a “feel-good” hormone that regulates mood, bowel and bladder function, cardiovascular function, and motor skills. Although most people think of serotonin as a brain chemical, the majority of this powerful neurotransmitter production happens in the digestive tract. As little as five percent of the serotonin in the body is found in the brain. Ninety-five or more percent reside in the gastrointestinal tract.

Research studies provide a plethora of evidence validating that serotonin also exerts a mega-sized influence on mood, memory, pain tolerance, digestion, appetite, carb-control, self-esteem, body-temperature regulation, and weight loss. We may experience a dip in serotonin levels as a reaction to physiological causes, a hereditary genetic predisposition, low protein intake, digestive disorders, a poor diet, or chronic stress. Research indisputably shows high levels of the stress hormone cortisol deplete serotonin reserves.

It is no wonder that we search for ways to raise serotonin levels. Low serotonin levels factor in diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, strokes, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, erectile dysfunction, migraine headaches, anger control issues, sleep apnea, pain sensitivity, and weight gain.

Causes Of Serotonin Deficiency

In our search for natural ways on how to raise serotonin levels, it is essential to note that serotonin production links to the availability of the amino acid tryptophan and vitamin B6. If our diet is lacking in essential vitamins, minerals, and protein, we run an increased risk of serotonin deficiency.

Serotonin deficiencies can be attributed to a wide range of distinctively different causes. Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, that extra cup of “Joe,” lack of exercise, a poor carb-heavy diet, stress. and lack of exposure to sunlight are the most significant offenders. It’s a vicious cycle as a combination of inactivity, drab days, snacks, loss of impulse control, and depression leads to low self-esteem. An accumulation of diet failures and accompanying self-loathing make us give up in disgust and reach for a fat-laden muffin or calorie-dense, sweet treat.

Talk To Your Doctor

If you have tried every fad diet, pill, powder, or exercise regime with no avail, the first step on your personal journey to weight loss and wellness is a visit to your healthcare provider to eliminate an undiagnosed medical condition that may be interfering with your weight loss goals.

If your serotonin levels are causing severe depression, suicidal thoughts, or uncontrollable compulsive behavior, your doctor may recommend prescription medications to control symptoms and get your amino acids back in balance.

While many of these medications are quite useful, they often come with a wide array of nasty side effects. For those seeking a natural answer of how to raise serotonin levels, healthy alternative measures include increasing daily physical activity, reducing carbs, adding serotonin-boosting foods to your diet, and making sure you get outdoors daily to boost light exposure.

Physical Activity Boosts Serotonin Levels

If you intend to succeed in your weight management efforts, lifestyle modification is required. Obesity is the result of an unbalanced ratio between the foods we eat and the energy we expend. If we want to lose to a few pounds, a sustained negative energy balance must occur. Changes in energy imbalance translate to changes in body weight.

Specific changes in physical activity and diet help boost serotonin levels and relieve stress. A brisk 20-minute walk in the sunshine can do wonders for your mood. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Play with your kids. Do whatever it takes to be more active. If you sit at a desk all day, staring at a computer, set the alarm to remind you to get up hourly, move about, and stretch. Not only will you feel better, less tense, and more motivated, an exercise break goes a long way in your quest for how to increase serotonin levels.

Seeking Serotonin – Drug-Free Ways To Raise Serotonin Levels

Serotonin-rich foods include walnuts, pineapple, kiwi fruit, tomatoes, plums, and bananas. While these are all foods that are healthy additions to a balanced diet, they only increase serotonin levels in the digestive tract and do not cross the blood-brain barrier, the body’s defense against foreign substances. So go ahead, munch on a handful of nuts, have a banana, or eat a tomato sandwich, but do not expect it to improve your mood.

Serotonin found in food does not reach the brain. Dark chocolate and turmeric are two foods that do cross the brain-blood barrier and will help ward off depression and improve your mood.

• Dark chocolate is good for us in more ways than one: increasing serotonin levels in both the digestive tract and the brain.

• Turmeric, the deep-yellow colored spice, contains the active ingredient curcumin, which can cross the blood-brain barrier, increasing levels of both dopamine and serotonin. In a wide range of medical studies, curcumin supplements proved as useful in treating depression as the prescription drug Prozac.

Tryptophan

The availability of serotonin is dependent on the intake of tryptophan, one of nine essential amino acids. Therefore, dietary sources of tryptophan are essential for a sense of well-being, overall good mental health as well as weight management. Foods high in tryptophan include eggs, lentils, fish, beans, chicken, red meat, tofu, cheese, chickpeas, oats, nuts, bananas, beets, seafood, seeds, chicken, and turkey. As a general rule, foods high in protein are high in tryptophan.

• Protein blocks serotonin synthesis. Medical research studies indicate that eating protein-free, low fat or fat-free carbohydrates at separate times of the day, with no protein, encourages serotonin’s ability to enhance a sense of satiety and fullness.

5-HTP

To support your efforts, your healthcare provider may suggest a dietary supplement 5-HTP, a chemical precursor of serotonin production, and needed for its productions. As a supplement, 5-HTP is an extract derived from a woody perennial shrub native to Central and South America. Purchased from health food stores or online herbal supplement providers, 5-HTP has proven a safe and efficient way to get your diet back on track and help you reach your optimum weight.

With 5-HTP, there are no more excuses. It may be the best and easiest way to raise serotonin levels and improve mood. Before starting on 5-HTP, talk to your doctor about any other prescription or over-the-counter medications you may be taking as well as dietary supplements you regularly ingest to avoid any possible adverse drug interaction.

References:

United States Library of Medicine - Diet Versus Exercise in Weight Loss and Maintenance: Focus on Tryptophan

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4864009/

United States Department of Health and Human Services – Weight Loss Fact Sheet

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/WeightLoss-HealthProfessional/

United States Library of Medicine – How to increase serotonin in the human brain without drugs

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2077351/

United States Library of Medicine - Influence of Tryptophan and Serotonin on Mood and Cognition with a Possible Role of the Gut-Brain Axis

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4728667/