Fight Depression with Serotonin Boosting Foods
Often, if we are depressed, we turn to food for comfort. Food can be a useful tool to fight depression if you are eating the right kinds of foods. Some foods are thought to be effective at fighting depression.
What is Serotonin?
Serotonin is an important brain chemical. It is a neurotransmitter and it regulates our sleep patterns, our moods, our metabolism and our body temperature. Low serotonin levels are often the cause for depression. Many prescription medications for depression treat the disease by raising serotonin levels.
You do not have to take medication to increase the level of serotonin in your brain. Some foods are thought to increase the level of serotonin in the brain so if you eat the right foods, you can feel better without medication.
Serotonin Boosting Foods
The foods themselves do not have serotonin in them but they have properties that cause the body to produce more serotonin. One of these properties is amino acids like tryptophan, which creates increased serotonin levels. Foods with these properties include:
- Chicken
- Chocolate
- Crab
- Dairy products
- Eggs
- Nuts
- Pork products
- Shrimp
- Spinach
- Tofu
You need to combine foods with a lot of carbohydrates with the foods with tryptophan in order for your body to be able to produce serotonin effectively.
Other foods you can eat to improve your mood are those that have Omega-3 fatty acids like DHA. DHA helps the serotonin in your brain move to th right parts of the brain and helps the brain use the serotonin effectively. Foods with DHA will take longer to affect your mood than foods with tryptophan will.
You can get a lot of DHA in salmon, tuna and other seafood items. If you don’t eat seafood, you can find foods with added DHA and eat these instead. The labels of these foods will state that they have high levels of DHA. You should get DHA in your diet a few times a week to be your healthiest.
You should be careful to not eat too much protein when trying to increase serotonin levels because protein interferes with serotonin production. That is why turkey is not a good food for boosting your mood - it has a lot of protein. If you are eating foods that have a lot of tryptophan, watch how much protein you are taking in. You get protein from foods with tryptophan but in small amounts that do not get in the way of your body’s production of serotonin.
Eating everything in sight is not the way to deal with depression but if you eat foods that will increase serotonin production, you can start to feel better. You will get good results if you eat the right foods and you will avoid the possible dangers that are associated with medications to treat depression. If you feel down, make sure you eat a serotonin boosting food.
