This article will highlight some key issues in relation to increasing serotonin in the brain. We will show you how it can be increased, the dangers of increasing it, and how to actually control or maintain the right levels in the body.
Take some time to go through this article right to the end and you will be glad you did.
The decision to increase serotonin in the body should be based on your absolute certainty that you do in fact need to raise its levels. If you increase excessively you may experience what is known as serotonin syndrome or serotonin toxicity, whereby your brain builds up an overdose that could kill you if not properly treated.
If you have it in excess, you are most likely to experience restlessness, vomiting, incoordination, mental status changes (confusion or hypomania), tremor, agitation, overactive reflexes, hallucinations, shivering, increased body temperature, fast heartbeat, rapid changes in blood pressure, diaphoresis, diarrhea, nausea, and fever. Untreated serotonin syndrome can be deadly.
If it happens that the levels drop, then you are most likely to fall into depression, terrible mood, or even anger. You simply become irritable and some people are known to become suicidal. Generally, low brain serotonin level is associated with increased risk-taking and being too aggressive.
Continual low levels of serotonin can lead to fatigue especially during the graveyard shift i.e. the afternoons. You may experience late afternoon bouts of depression and compulsive starchy or sugary food eating. This is especially true when your lunch is filled with food like ice cream, coffee, chocolates, or sweets.
These various experiences can lead you to actually take the wrong measures to increase the levels. For example, taking addictive substances, such as alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine. Some also start eating a lot of chocolate, sweets, and other sugary foods that merely cause weight gain and consequently obesity. We all know where all that can lead to.
There are ways to raise serotonin levels. For example, there is a vitamin called HTP that is used to build up levels of serotonin almost naturally. This is said to replace the prescription antidepressants like Prozac or Zoloft. They are raw materials that produce amino acids that are necessary for generating serotonin.
So the question is, how to increase serotonin levels naturally? The shortest answer lies in the diet – types of foods you eat. For example, a diet that lacks omega-3 fatty acids is likely to lower the levels of the feel-good hormone. There are various foods that increase the level of serotonin in the body – mostly these are carbohydrate-rich meals. You can eat some potato with its skin every night.
Just avoid eating food that has too much protein. Good complementary foods to your potato meal include butter, salsa, olive oil, mustard, or some spices. Try not to eat too much cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, or cream of chicken soup.
