When you encounter stressors, such as anxiety, pain, fear or trauma, hormones are released that prepare your body to take action -– to either fight or flee from the stressor. In addition to other roles, norepinephrine is one of the “fight-or-flight” hormones. Your body produces norepinephrine, but it needs specific nutrients to successfully complete the process.
Importance of Norepinephrine
Norepinephrine functions as a neurotransmitter and as a hormone that’s produced and secreted by the adrenal gland. Together with epinephrine, norepinephrine causes physiological changes that enable your body to deal with stress. They improve general alertness, speed up respiration and increase heart rate, blood pressure and blood glucose. Norepinephrine may be used to treat ADHD, depression and low blood pressure.
Production of Norepinephrine
The synthesis of norepinephrine begins with the amino acid tyrosine. Tyrosine goes through two chemical reactions that convert it into dopamine, and then dopamine is converted into norepinephrine. Each step in the process depends on an enzyme and different enzymes rely on specific nutrients. To ensure that your body can produce norepinephrine, you need to obtain tyrosine, vitamin C, vitamin B-6 and copper through the foods you eat.
Tyrosine Sources
Tyrosine is present in foods that have protein, but the best sources are cheese, meats, poultry, fish and eggs. The USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory reports the amount of tyrosine in all protein-containing foods. Swiss cheese has 1.7 grams of tyrosine in a 100-gram serving; cheddar cheese has 1.2 grams, beef chuck, chicken breast and canned tuna have 0.8 gram, and eggs have 0.5 gram. Nuts and legumes have varying amounts of tyrosine: roasted soybeans have 1.3 grams, dry-roasted peanuts have 0.9 gram and lima beans have 0.2 gram per 100-gram serving.
Vitamin C Sources
Two of the enzymes essential in the synthesis of norepinephrine can only perform their job when vitamin C is present to donate an electron, according to the National Academies Press. One of the best sources of vitamin C is red peppers, with 1 cup providing 283 mg. The same serving size of orange juice, cranberry juice, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and grapefruit juice have 94 to 124 mg of vitamin C. Other good choices include peas, tomato soup, cantaloupe, cauliflower and cabbage, which have 40 to 77 mg per 1-cup serving.
Vitamin B-6 and Copper Sources
Vitamin B-6 and copper function as co-enzymes that work together with enzymes vital to the production of norepinephrine, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Ready-to-eat cereals, such as All-Bran, Total, Special K and Wheaties, are at the top of the USDA’s list of foods that are high in vitamin B-6. Tuna, beef, rice, poultry, potatoes, Brussels sprouts and bananas are also good choices for vitamin B-6. Beef liver is a great source of copper, but other good choices are oysters, crabs, mushrooms, nuts, beans and tomato products.
References
- Rice University: Norepinephrine
- National Academies Press: Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium and Carotenoids
- USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory: Nutrient Database
- Linus Pauling Institute; Copper; Jane Higdon, Ph.D.; April 2003
- Linus Pauling Institute; Vitamin B-6; Jane Higdon, Ph.D.; Feb. 2002
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