Low serotonin is a serious issue, it can start with just feeling down about life, to addictions to suicide.
Most parents don't fear their childrens eating habits, they may eat badly themselves. But when it comes to drugs it's a different story. Every parent fears their child's exposure to drugs, cigarettes and alcohol. What you may not know is keeping your child's serotonin level balanced with nutrition is the best guarantee that they will stay away and/or not develop an addiction. This can be done through proper nutrition that I will explain here. But first I must say that the best way to get children to eat right from the start is for the parents to eat well themselves.
Serotonin is your bodies "feel good" neurotransmitter. It is the neurotransmitter that when low, effects focus, cravings, addictions, mood and depressions. It is the master controller and gets depleted in times of emotional stress and by bad lifestyle habits. It controls all addictions and is the main reason when someone stops one addiction they tend to turn to another addiction to satisfy their serotonin boost. Like someone who stops smoking and turn to eating sugar or drinking more coffee.
Here is a list of things that you should avoid that initially boosts and then depletes serotonin
Alcohol
Tobacco
Sugar
Carbohydrates (too many)
Caffeine
Diet pills
Recreational drugs
In order to halt cravings and start feeling good you need to not only avoid the list above but you need to give your brain everything it needs to produce serotonin on a regular basis. That includes; Tryptophan that you will find in protein that should be taken at every meal. Balancing your insulin with no more than 100g of low glycemic carbohydrates a day. Fats at every meal, b-vitamins, magnesium and calcium rich foods and exposure to sunlight.
Foods for increasing serotonin
- B-vitamins: Brown rice, chicken, dark green vegetables, meat, nuts, salmon, shrimp, sunflower seeds, tuna
- Calcium: Almonds, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, dark green vegetables, oats, parsley, sardines, sea food, sesame seeds
- Magnesium: Almonds, avocados, apples, brown rice, cod, dark green vegetables, halibut, salmon, shrimp
- Tryptophan: Turkey,chicken, almonds, peanuts, shelfish, tuna, cottage cheese
Regaining a normal serotonin level does not happen over night it takes patience but over time if you can follow these recommendation you will definitely be happy that I posted this.
