Tryptophan And Serotonin: Why Your Well-being Depends On Them
Feeling well-being, better night’s sleep, fighting pain, slowing down aging, motivation… These are the processes that are dominated by two amazing and interesting biological substances: tryptophan and serotonin. They are closely related, because without proper tryptophan levels, our bodies cannot produce serotonin.
This amino acid (tryptophan) and a neurotransmitter (serotonin) significantly affect our mood, health, and cognition. Studies such as this published by the University of Melbourne show that there is a third factor besides these two chemicals: our gut.
Serotonin, also called happiness hormone, is mainly produced by enterochromaffin cells. These cells live in our gut.
But to make all of this possible, we need good levels of tryptophan in our bodies. This is the only way our body can perform this biological magic and play this neurochemical symphony. Our lifestyles have a lot to do with this triptype of tryptophan, serotonin, and gut working the right way.
Metabolism of tryptophan, key to serotonin production
The levels of tryptophan and serotonin in our brain depend on certain different factors. For example, we know that there are other amino acids that compete with tryptophan in moving across the blood-brain barrier.
Foods containing saturated fats, starch and sugar can consume tryptophan. They cause its level of activity to drop and its presence is important in different areas such as spinal fluid.
As we have already said, when our bodies have low tryptophan levels, our bodies begin to metabolize less serotonin. In addition, something that researchers have found in patients with fibromyalgia is that they have even lower levels of tryptophan in their blood plasma. This leads to exhaustion, pain, depression, sleep problems and other problems.
L-tryptophan is definitely a major factor in this process. It is an essential amino acid, which means that our body cannot produce it. It’s an amino acid we need to get from our diet, but we can’t eat just about anything either.
We need to take careful care of what we eat and make sure our diet is not deficient in the right types of proteins and essential nutrients such as vitamin B6 or magnesium.
How do I know if our tryptophan and serotonin levels are low?
Sometimes a depressed mood is associated almost directly with low tryptophan levels. In fact, there are several studies that show that low tryptophan and serotonin levels are associated with certain types of depression, anxiety disorders, etc. This is really important to consider. It should remind us of the important role of a healthy lifestyle.
Next, we will look at some of the side effects of low tryptophan and serotonin levels.
- Insomnia.
- Weakness, physical fatigue, prolonged fatigue.
- Stress and anxiety.
- Depression, low mood.
- More painful symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.
- Appetites (especially for sugar and carbohydrates). Difficulty feeling full.
- Cognitive problems: problems with memory, concentration problems.
- Digestive problems.
Tryptophan and Serotonin: How Can We Get More of Them?
We can increase the levels of tryptophan and serotonin in our body naturally. There is no need to go to the pharmacy to look for any special dietary supplements. Do not take supplements unless your doctor has recommended them for you. Do not take them unless you have a medical condition that requires supplements to deal with extremely low levels.
For most people, it is only necessary to eat the following foods:
Nuts, seeds and legumes
- Peanuts
- Cashew nuts
- Pumpkin, sunflower or sesame seeds
- Chickpeas
- Kidney beans
- Soybeans
Fruit
- Cooked bananas
- Bananas
- Cherries
- Avocados
Foods rich in vitamin B.
- Eggs
- Lean meat
- Dairy products
Omega-3 fatty acid foods
- Flaxseed oil
- Chia seeds
- Mackerel
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Walnuts
Magnesium-containing foods
- Dark chocolate
- Bran
- Almonds
- Pistachios
- Dried figs
Other
- Beer yeast
- Spirulina
As we can see, we can always increase tryptophan levels and help ourselves produce more serotonin in our body. This is so much easier than we imagine. But we also need to start eating some of the foods we love less. For example, we need to eat less fast food, processed food and pastries.
So why not start watching our eating a little better? After all, our well-being depends on this.
