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Bananas Chocolate and Exercise Increase Serotonin to Combat Depression
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Depression affects everyone at one time or another. There is an inordinate amount of medications prescribed to combat it. But a remedy may be found in your kitchen and your exercise outfit.
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Serotonin is in the scientific news, not so much for it's effects on human mental states, but for its effect on grasshoppers. It appears that high levels of the brain chemical serotonin can morph a friendly solitary grasshopper into a brown swarming locust - in as little as 3 hours.
This finding will surely precipitate a lot of research into the biological control of serotonin in insects, animals, and humans. And we need to learn a lot more about this powerful mood affecting brain chemical which effects the functioning of over 40 million of our brain cells. |
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Although not the highest in tryptophan, bananas are a carbohydrate that can feed vital tryptophan to the brain for the synthesis of serotonin which can help with depression and blue moods.
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Low Levels of Serotonin Its Effects on Mood
It is believed that low levels of serotonin, or decrease in serotonin receptors in the brain as we age are responsible for onset of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Most notable, low levels of serotonin can cause depression, sometimes severe depression.
So, if you're feeling blue, take a jog, have a banana and some dark chocolate and the clouds may clear.
So, a healthy lifestyle that fosters an abundant level of serotonin will go far to keep you in a good mood. Here are some activities and adjustments to your everyday activities to combat depression and the blues.
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Regular Exercise
Exercise boosts Serotonin in your body and brain. It can be as effective a treatment for depression as antidepressant medication or psychotherapy. New research conducted at the University of Texas at Austin found that just 40 minutes of regular exercise can have an immediate effect on mood.
Eating the Right Foods The body can utilize an amino acid and convert it to serotonin in the brain. That amino acid is tryptophan. However, there is a trick. Because tryptophan is an amino acid, a building block of protein, it is found in, well, natural proteins and some carbohydrates.
A high protein meal will actually block the absorption of tryptophan in the brain. So the trick is to have carbohydrates that are high in tryptophan for ease of entry to the brain and the subsequent rise in serotonin.
What are these carbohydrates that contain tryptophan? They may be in your kitchen already: bananas, oats, cottage cheese, and, thank God, chocolate.
So, if you're feeling blue, take a jog, have a banana and some dark chocolate and the clouds may clear.
More Like This…
Exercise Increases Serotonin to Combat Depression
Stimulating "Feel Good" Endorphins and Serotonin with Food and Exercise
Natural Ways to Increase Serotonin Levels and Combat Depression Levels in Women
Women's Health: Higher Incidences of Depression Linked to Approaching Menopause
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by
Richard Harris
carbohydrates and tryptophan
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