How to boost production of Serotonin in the brain Naturally without Drugs: Diet

How to boost production of Serotonin in the brain Naturally without Drugs: Diet

Serotonin regulates lots life sustaining processes in the human body and its levels are influenced by external factors, such as sunlight, diet and exercise. You can read one of my previous posts "What is serotonin and why it is so important". There are several ways to help produce serotonin naturally without drugs. By eating certain foods, you can manipulate your body's production of serotonin to control your appetite and balance your mood.

How does it work?

Serotonin is more sensitive to diet than any other neurotransmitter in the brain. The effects are not direct, however. As stated on Psych Central, carbohydrates especially can increase the levels of tryptophan (it is used in the brain to produce serotonin) in the body. Tryptophan competes with all of the body's other amino acids to enter the brain, through a strict gatekeeper known as the blood-brain barrier. Carbohydrates reach foods trigger the release of insulin which causes the body to absorb all amino acids in the blood except tryptophan. Consequently, tryptophan remains in the bloodstream until it crosses the blood-brain barrier and can be converted to serotonin.

Foods reach in tryptophan

Poultry products: Turkey should well be the most well-known dietary source of L-tryptophan, but all animal proteins contain some of the amino acid. A 4-ounce portion of either chicken or turkey breast provides 350 to 390 milligrams of L-tryptophan. Chicken eggs are also good source of tryptophan.

Seafood: Shrimp is the most nutrient-dense source of L-tryptophan with 330 milligrams per 4-ounce serving. Fish, such as tuna, halibut, salmon, sardines and cod, and scallops also contain between 250 and 400 milligrams of L-tryptophan per serving.

Dairy Products: Milk and yogurt still provide you with a full essential amino acid set along with bone-healthy calcium. A 1-cup serving of reduced fat cow's milk provides 100 milligrams of the amino acid, while 1 cup of low-fat yogurt gives you 60 milligrams.

Seeds and Nuts: Pumpkin seeds provide highest amount - 110 milligrams per one-fourth cup. Sunflower seeds, cashews, almonds and walnuts all contain over 50 milligrams of L-tryptophan per one-fourth cup

Foods reach in tryptophan should go with some carbohydrates to ensure it gets into the brain. Apart from this include foods reach in omega acids and vitamin V6 as vitamin B-6 can also influences the rate at which serotonin is produced.

Supplements

Nutritional supplement called 5HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) can raise serotonin levels too, but it can't be taken on a regular basis for a long period of time and has some negative side effects on the circulatory system, therefore is not for people with heart problems.

Fortunately there is a safe and natural alternative, Laminine - a whole food derived from fertilized avian eggs that promotes serotonin production in brain naturally without any side effects and can be taken on a regular basis as part of a daily regimen. 

Make sure to include in your meals products rich in healthy carbohydrates and tryptophan to control your mood and appetite.

Laminine and Laminine Omega +++ helps brain produce serotonin naturally.

Stay healthy 

How to boost production of Serotonin in the brain Naturally without Drugs: Exercise

How to boost production of Serotonin in the brain Naturally without Drugs

Exercise

In my previous blog post - Serotonin what is it and why it is so important? I started serotonin series and today is my next post about helping your body to boost serotonin production in a natural way.

Though many neurotransmitters work in harmony to influence mood, serotonin is one of the most important. Its levels are influenced by external factors, such as sunlight, diet and exercise.

How does it work?

A study published in Neuropsychopharmacology revealed that there are two mechanisms by which physical activity increases brain serotonin. First, motor activity increases the rate and frequency at which serotonin is "fired" within the brain, resulting in an increase in both the release and synthesis of it. Secondly, regular exercise increases the level of tryptophan in the brain (an amino acid used to manufacture serotonin). The exact mechanism is not clearly understood; however, it is clear that aerobic exercise improves mood through increasing brain serotonin levels.

Scientific research

According to the studies of Simon N. Young, PhD - comprehensive review of the relation between exercise and mood concluded that antidepressant and anxiolytic effects have been clearly demonstrated. Several lines of research suggest that exercise increases brain serotonin function in the human brain. Post RM and colleagues measured biogenic amine metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with depression before and after they increased their physical activity. Physical activity increased 5-HIAA, but it is not clear that this was due to increased serotonin turnover or to mixing of CSF from higher regions, which contain higher levels of 5-HIAA, with lumbar CSF (or to a combination of both mechanisms).

Two different mechanisms may be involved in this effect. As reviewed by Jacobs and Fornal, 61 motor activity increases the firing rates of serotonin neurons, and this results in increased release and synthesis of serotonin.2 In addition, there is an increase in the brain of the serotonin precursor tryptophan that persists after exercise.

Action plan

Interestingly that aerobic exercise, including walking, running, biking, swimming (among others) seem to be the most effective at increasing serotonin synthesis in the brain. Have you ever heard of a "runner's high?" Well, it describes the effect of "feel good" neurotransmitter chemicals released during exercise that elevate mood during and after a workout. The optimal amount of exercise needed to enhance serotonin synthesis in the brain is 3 hours weekly, or 30 minutes most days of the week.

So what are we waiting for? Make a good habit to spent minimum 30 min a day on the fresh air jogging or at least walking and get many more benefits from this healthy habitJ.

Laminine and Laminine Omega +++ helps brain produce serotonin naturally.

Stay healthy J

Vitamins and nutrients that can’t be derived from everyday food

Food First, Then Supplements

Vitamins and other dietary supplements are not intended to be a food substitute. They cannot replace all of the nutrients and benefits of whole foods. 

Experts agree that the best way to get the nutrients we need is through food. A balanced diet — one containing plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains — offers a mix of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients (some yet to be identified) that collectively meet the body's needs. Food contains thousands of phytochemicals, fiber, and more that work together to promote good health. Maybe what counts is the synergistic interactions of these nutrients — which might also help explain why trials of single nutrients often don't pan out.

Each Rule has an Exception

Most of the vitamins and nutrients can be found in food, but not all.

There are at least 2 components that have to come in form of supplements – Fibroblast Growth Factors and Vitamin D.   

Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGF)

Important role of FGF in cell functions, healing and regeneration processes.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) that signal through FGF receptors (FGFRs) regulate a broad spectrum of biological functions, including cellular proliferation, survival, migration, and differentiation.

FGF actively regulate various cellular functions, bone and tissue healing and regeneration.

Growth factors provide chemical cues to stem cells, regulating their biological responses and tissue differentiation. FGFs exert multiple functions through the binding into and activation of fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs), and the main signaling. With their potential biological functions, FGFs have been utilized for the regeneration of damaged tissues, including skin, blood vessel, muscle, adipose, tendon/ligament, cartilage, bone, tooth, and nerve.

In other words FGF acts as signaling proteins that activate stem cells so that our body will use activated stem cells as building blocks where it is most necessary.

Decline of the FGF with age

As we grow older levels of FGF are declining and our bodies are “loosing” its natural ability to heal and regenerate.

FGF Supplements

Laminine and Laminine Omega+++ contain FGFs and allow to bridge deficiency gap.

FGFs, contained in these supplements, are derived from fertilized avian eggs (whole food) on the ninth day at the pick of FGF concentration. One capsule contains about 78000 nutrients including 22 amino acids.

Laminine and Laminine Omega +++ are the only food source of FGFs.   

Make it a part of your daily regimen.

Vitamin D

Such important vitamin like Active Vitamin D can’t be found in food. Some minimal amounts can be found, but our body still has to process it to produce active form of vitamin D.

In its active form, Vitamin D is the most powerful steroid hormone in our bodies. According to The Vitamin D Council, there are a known 2,000 genes that are just waiting for vitamin D to turn them on or off. So we have two options – take supplements and get some sun exposure.

  

Under the right circumstances, 10 to 15 minutes of sun on the arms and legs a few times a week can generate nearly all the vitamin D we need. Unfortunately, the “right circumstances” are elusive: the season, the time of day, where you live, cloud cover, and even pollution affect the amount of UVB that reaches your skin. What’s more, your skin’s production of vitamin D is influenced by age (people ages 65 and over generate only one-fourth as much as people in their 20s do), skin color (African Americans have, on average, about half as much vitamin D in their blood as white Americans), and sunscreen use (though experts don’t all agree on the extent to which sunscreen interferes with sun-related vitamin D production).

Lack of sun exposure would be less of a problem if diet provided adequate vitamin D. But there aren’t many vitamin D–rich foods (it’s absent from all natural foods except fish and egg yolks, and even when it’s obtained from foods, it must be transformed by the body before it can do any good), and you need to eat a lot of them to get 800 to 1,000 IU per day. People who have trouble absorbing dietary fat — such as those with Crohn’s disease or celiac disease — can’t get enough vitamin D from diet no matter how much they eat (vitamin D requires some dietary fat in the gut for absorption). And people with liver and kidney disease are often deficient in vitamin D, because these organs are required to make the active form of the vitamin, whether it comes from the sun or from food.

Most experts now recommend a daily intake to up to 2,000 international units (IU), an amount that's considered to be safe and very difficult to get through foods or sun exposure (unless you spent lots of time outdoors).  Take a vitamin D supplement in fat-soluble form.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10685372

http://tej.sagepub.com/content/1/1/218142.full

Stem/progenitor cell proliferation factors FGF-2, IGF-1, and VEGF exhibit early decline during the course of aging in the hippocampus: Role of astrocytes

Serotonin what is it and why it is so important?

Serotonin what is it and why it is so important?

When was it discovered?

In 1948, Irvine Page, Arda Green and Maurice Rapport of the Cleveland Clinic discovered a substance in blood serum, a vasoconstrictor. As it was a serum agent that affected vascular tone, they called it serotonin (serum that gives tone).

Role of Serotonin in brain activity

Our brain activities are controlled by millions of brain cells, or neurons, which continuously relate to each other by transmitting molecules, which are called neurotransmitters. Serotonin is one type of neurotransmitter which plays a distinct role in brain function and mental health.

The activity of serotonin arises in the brain stem from clusters of neurons known as the raphe nucleus. From the brain, serotonin neurons extend to virtually all parts of the central nervous system making the branching of the serotonin network the most expansive neuro-chemical system in the brain.

From mood and temperature regulation to sexual desire and appetite, serotonin is integral to daily life. While the average adult harbors only 5 to 10mg of serotonin in the body, that small amount affects almost all of the approximately 40 million cells contained in the brain.

Where and how is serotonin produced?

While serotonin is an important neurotransmitter in the brain, around 98 percent of the serotonin found in the body is located in blood platelets, mast cells and the digestive tract. While both forms of serotonin are produced from the amino acid tryptophan, only those neurotransmitters synthesized in the brain can affect the brain: serotonin formed in the body cannot cross the blood-brain barrier. Therefore serotonin that is used inside the brain must be produced within it.

Serotonin Functions

Serotonin as neurotransmitter used by the brain to relay signals from one area to another, serotonin influences many psychological functions.

This chemical plays a crucial role in maintaining our overall happy feeling. Serotonin deficiency or a decrease in the serotonin level is most likely to blame for depression, aggression, anxiousness, and elevated pain sensitivity.

Serotonin plays important role in regulation of:

· appetite

· sleep

· memory

· learning process

· temperature regulation

· mood - serotonin is also known as a happiness hormone because it contributes to feelings of well-being

· behavior

· muscle contraction

· sexual desire

· cardiovascular function

· endocrine regulation

· regulating aging

· bone metabolism

· wound healing - serotonin is a growth factor for some types of cells

There are several ways to boost serotonin levels safely and naturally without drugs and side effects and I will talk about it in details in my next blog post.

Laminine and Laminine Omega +++ helps brain produce serotonin naturally.

Stay healthy J