Our bodies are so interesting, and it’s so fascinating how different chemicals produced in the brain affect our mood and outlook on life. Our individual brain chemistry is affected by many different factors, and when we don’t have enough of certain neurotransmitters, if our body isn’t making enough, it can really affect us, often being experienced as depression or anxiety.
I’m glad that the stigma against mental health issues has been changing in the past number of years. For the majority of people, depression and mental health problems are the result of imbalances in the naturally produced chemicals in the brain, through no fault of their own. Natural products or pharmaceuticals that help to remedy or boost those mood enhancing neurotransmitters can really help.
Of course I’d recommend trying natural products first, but sometimes a prescription might be needed, and that‘s fine, it’s important to do what’s best for your health. I’d recommend natural products first because they are generally free from side effects and can be stopped at any time without causing a problem (you need to be careful with many pharmaceuticals for depression, it’s not recommended that you just stop taking those drugs abruptly without a doctor’s recommendation).
The two main “feel good” neurotransmitters in the brain are serotonin and dopamine. Both are critical for proper brain function and mood. Serotonin is a little more involved with how we process emotions, whereas dopamine is also involved with mood, but it’s more focused on feelings of wellbeing, pleasure, and motivation.
For boosting serotonin, the amino acid 5-HTP as well as the herb saffron can be helpful and effective. 5-HTP has also been researched for helping with reducing stress and migraines in addition to helping with boosting mood. 5-HTP is not recommended to be used along with certain prescription antidepressants since it works in a similar way.
For dopamine levels, things can be a little trickier. When we are young, the body produces abundant amounts of dopamine in the brain, which is why many of us look back on childhood as a carefree time. As we age, our levels of dopamine are reduced. By age 45 our natural dopamine levels are reduced by roughly 13% for each decade that passes. Low amounts of dopamine in the brain translate to a lower sense of wellbeing. Drugs like cocaine and opioids give the brain a rush of dopamine, which is part of why they are so addictive. Similarly, cigarette smoking also gives a dopamine rush, which is why they are so difficult to quit. Dopamine is involved with our reward system and addictive behaviors, and low dopamine levels in the brain can make it even more likely for those people to seek out risky behaviors to feel that rush or increase in dopamine in the brain.
I am certainly not advocating any of the things above, but rather am just trying to explain how dopamine works. There are supplements that can boost dopamine, but I would not recommend them due to side effects (which is why we don’t carry them at our store). There is a natural supplement I would recommend, however, that is involved with our bodies levels of dopamine, but it does it in a different way than just artificially increasing dopamine (which I don’t think is a good idea).
Recent research has found that a plant known as the Amur cork tree works to inhibit an enzyme in our body that depletes dopamine levels in the brain, called MAO-B (it has a longer name, but let’s just call it that). It’s an herb that’s been used safely for centuries in Asia, but now science is confirming its wide reaching benefits, including its ability to help stabilize dopamine levels in the brain. Unlike things (primarily negative like drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol) that temporarily boost dopamine levels in the brain, extracts of the Amur cork tree, known as Phellodendron amurense, work to naturally increase overall levels of dopamine in the brain to levels comparable to when a person was younger, before the MAO-B enzyme levels increased that lower our brain’s amounts of available dopamine. That plant extract is not well known in America, but we’ve found a product by Life Extension that is a good source of it called Dopamine Advantage.
In addition to helping with higher overall dopamine levels in the brain, inhibiting the MAO-B enzyme in the body can also have brain protective effects.
There are prescription drugs that influence that dopamine enzyme that have been used for many years as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease (patients with Parkinson’s disease can have extremely low dopamine levels, in fact, low dopamine levels are thought to be one of the contributing factors in Parkinson’s disease). The Dopamine Advantage supplement I mentioned above works in a similar way, but naturally. Another nice thing is that the recommended amounts to be found effective in research is available in just one pill a day, and it’s also very reasonably priced (we have it for sale for $13.99 for a month’s supply- I love it when companies don’t price gouge, especially when they have a unique supplement that’s not found many places).
Please stop by Pass Health Foods for more information or if you have any questions. Everyone is different in their individual needs, and especially for issues like depression and anxiety, it’s not always “one size fits all”. Luckily, there are a lot of natural products that can really make a difference, and we are extremely knowledgeable about the various supplements for boosting mood and reducing stress and anxiety.
