Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of reward and pleasure. The brain uses an essential amino acid called phenylanine that it converts to tyrosine to produce dopamine. High-protein foods such as wheat germ, meat and cottage cheese are sources of phenylanine. Other foods, such as almonds, increase tyrosine. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, allowing people to smell their favorite foods causes a significant rise in their dopamine levels.
High Protein Foods
The neurotransmitter dopamine is produced in the brain from components of certain foods, especially those rich in protein. Protein provides the amino acids crucial to producing dopamine.
Foods rich in protein that are healthful boosters of dopamine include meat and dairy products. The protein in chicken increases excitatory levels of dopamine, as does the protein in eggs. Cheese is a healthy, high-protein food, especially in the form of cottage cheese because it does not contain the fat of certain hard cheeses.
Beans and legumes such as lentils and peas also contain large amounts of protein used by the brain to produce dopamine, together with peanuts, almonds, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds. Wheat germ is an excellent source of phenylalanine, the essential amino acid found both in blood plasma and in the brain that converts to tyrosine, which in turn is used to produce dopamine.
Fruits and Vegetables
Because dopamine is easily oxidized, foods rich in antioxidants such as fresh fruits and vegetables help protect neurons that use dopamine in the brain and prevent damage by free radicals to these neurons.
Bananas are a good source of tyrosine, the amino acid that neurons turn into dopamine, heightening alertness, concentration, motivation and memory. The juice of watermelon contains large quantities of vitamin B6 used by the body to manufacture the neurotransmitter dopamine.
Betaine is an amino acid naturally present in fresh vegetables, especially beets. Betaine stimulates the production of SAM-e, or S-adenoslmethionine. This is a substance the body needs to produce a variety of hormones, especially dopamine. Beets, as well as avocados, are good food choices for increasing feelings of well-being.
Seafood
Seafood contains easily digestible protein and omega-3 fatty acids that, among their many jobs in the body, possibly have a role in producing neurotransmitters, including dopamine. Fish high in omega-3 fatty acids are salmon, striped bass, sardines, tuna, halibut, rainbow trout and mackerel.
Favorite Foods
In 2002, research scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory found that merely displaying the favorite foods of food-deprived subjects without permitting them to eat caused a significant increase in dopamine in their brains.
According to Brookhaven's scientists, this is the first time it was shown the dopamine system can be triggered by food with no pleasure associated with it since the food was not eaten. Ralph Norgren, behavioral scientist at Pennsylvania State University, also in 2002 found evidence that actually eating preferred foods did affect the brain's pleasure centers and increase dopamine levels.
Member Comments