A serotonin deficiency is literally no laughing matter. Serotonin is one of the chemicals in your brain that promotes a sense of well-being and keeps you from experiencing symptoms of depression. Thankfully, you can alter your eating habits to get everything you need to restore healthy levels of this important neurotransmitter.
Significance of Serotonin
Serotonin is more than a sleep aid; it's involved in many processes that keep your health in check, including regulating the smooth muscle in your digestive system, controlling breathing and heartbeat, regulating sleep cycles and maintaining feelings of well-being. Often, people with serotonin deficiencies will experience symptoms of depression, mental fogginess, mild to severe anxiety, restlessness and insomnia. For these reasons, maintaining healthy levels of this chemical is crucial to your body's homeostasis.
How Your Body Makes Serotonin
Your body biosynthesizes serotonin out of the amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid; this means your body can't produce it naturally, therefore you must acquire it in your diet. Your body uses the enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase to break tryptophan down in 5-hydroxytryptophan, or 5-htp. From there, your body then uses another enzyme called aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase to remove a functional carboxyl group from the 5-htp, making it into 5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5-ht, or serotonin.
Sources of Tryptophan
Because you can't make tryptophan yourself, it's important to get it through your diet. Classically, turkey is known as a good source of tryptophan because of the drowsiness and good vibes associated with a serotonin surge after Thanksgiving dinner. While tryptophan is not the main component of this famous situation, turkey is a good source of the amino acid. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, other sources include cheese, eggs, milk, nuts, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, soy and tofu. Eating these foods regularly will increase your serotonin production.
Role of Carbohydrates in Serotonin Production
According to MIT researcher Judith Wurtman, without a healthy dose of carbs, you won't be getting to sleep tonight. Clinical studies show your brain stops regulation and production of serotonin when a source of carbohydrates isn't present. Also, these same studies show consumption of carbohydrates temporarily stimulates extra production of the feel-good neurotransmitter. So, if you're trying to bring your levels of serotonin back up to par, it's important to provide your body with the necessary amount of carbohydrates. Since carbs have been shown to add extra poundage to your body, it's healthier to stick with natural sources like fruits and vegetables.
Conclusion
The necessary components for improving your levels of serotonin are readily available and easily accessible. Provide your body with more tryptophan, the essential amino acid that serotonin is made from, and carbohydrates, the culprits behind the classic Thanksgiving food coma. Getting more of these two things is all that's needed to beat a deficiency and the depression, anxiety and insomnia that comes with it. In the case that diet is not enough, you can always ask your doctor about taking a 5-htp supplement. Adding 5-hydroxytryptophan into your routine will bypass the first step of the tryptophan to serotonin process, making serotonin easier for your body to produce.
