Your mood can affect your outlook in life, which is why it is beneficial to understand how amino acids can lift your spirit the next time you are feeling blue. Mood disorders are types of mental health disorders that affect your emotional state and ability to function. Certain amino acids are precursors to brain neurotransmitters, substances that are associated with risk of mood disorders. Consult your doctor about amino acids and mood disorders.
Mood Disorders
The three categories of mood disorders are bipolar, dysthymic and major depressive disorders. Bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive disorder, is characterized by extreme shifts in mood and energy. Dysthymic disorder is characterized by chronic low-level depression, whereas major depressive disorder is characterized by severely depressed mood that continues two weeks or longer. Almost 10 percent of adults in the United States have a mood disorder each year, with 45 percent of these cases being severe, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. The average age of onset of mood disorders is 30 years old, but it can affect you at any age. Women are 50 percent more likely to have a mood disorder during their lifetime than men.
Tryptophan
Tryptophan is an amino acid that your brain converts into serotonin, a neurotransmitter that communicates messages between nerve cells and affects mood. A deficiency of brain levels of serotonin is associated with depression. Research by scientists at McGill University in Quebec and published in "Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior" in April 2002 reports alterations in brain tryptophan levels cause changes in brain serotonin synthesis and levels in humans. Furthermore, the scientists report reducing dietary levels of tryptophan lowers mood, whereas increasing dietary tryptophan reduces depression.
Tyrosine
Tyrosine is an amino acid your brain converts into dopamine, which in turn converts into norepinephrine. Dopamine and norepinephrine are neurotransmitters that affect mood. Increased brain levels of dopamine are associated with mania, whereas decreased levels are associated with depression. Deficiencies of brain levels of dopamine and norepinephrine exist in patients with depressive illness, according to research by scientists at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden, and published in the "Archives of General Psychiatry" in August 2000. Depletion of dietary tyrosine is associated with depression, according to research by scientists at the University of Cambridge in England and published in "Psychopharmacology" in January 2004.
Phenylalanine
Phenylalanine is an amino acid that produces tyrosine in your body. High blood levels of phenylalanine may increase mood swings, particularly in people with phenylketonuria, a genetic disease characterized by inability to break down phenylalanine. Research by scientists at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and published in "Molecular Genetics and Metabolism" in June 2011 found that increased blood levels of phenylalanine is associated with mood swings.
References
- National Institute of Mental Health; The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America; July 2010
- "Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior"; The Role of Serotonin in Human Mood and Social Interaction. Insight from Altered Tryptophan Levels; Simon Young, et al.; April 2002
- "Archives of General Psychiatry"; Reduced Brain Norepinephrine and Dopamine Release in Treatment-Refractory Depressive Illness: Evidence in Support of the Catecholamine Hypothesis of Mood Disorders; G. Lambert, et al.; August 2000
- "Psychopharmacology"; The Effects of Tyrosine Depletion in Normal Healthy Volunteers: Implications for Unipolar Depression; Andrew McLean, et al.; January 2004
- PubMed Health: Phenylketonuria
- "Molecular Genetics and Metabolism"; PKU: High Plasma Phenylalanine Concentrations Are Associated With Increased Prevalence of Mood Swings; K. Anjema, et al.; June 2011
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