53218eda   
   From: olivercranglejr@gmail.com   
      
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   On Monday, September 22, 2008 7:11:49 AM UTC-5, rpautrey2 wrote:   
   > How Happiness Heals Your Brain, Part 1: Important News for Autism,   
   > Alzheimer’s, Depression and Eating Disorders   
   >    
   > by BodyEcology.com   
   >    
   > Could you be low on serotonin, the happiness hormone? Depression,   
   > overeating, memory issues and a whole host of emotional and physical   
   > symptoms are related to disruptions in serotonin. Find out why and   
   > what to do about it.   
   >    
   >    
   > What do health issues like depression, autism, Alzheimer’s, eating   
   > disorders, chronic fatigue and other immune-related disorders have in   
   > common?   
   >    
   > They all have imbalances of Serotonin.   
   >    
   > Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT), also called the “feel good   
   > hormone,” is a neurotransmitter responsible for a variety of mind   
   > (mood) and body functions. They are brain chemicals that communicate   
   > information throughout our brain and body.  They relay signals between   
   > nerve cells, called “neurons.”   
   >    
   > Neurotransmitters are essentially brain chemicals that communicate   
   > information throughout your brain and body. They send signals from one   
   > nerve cell to another. Some of the serotonin in our body is   
   > manufactured in the brain, and thought to affect almost ALL of the   
   > nearly 40 million brain cells.1 An even larger amount of serotonin is   
   > manufactured in your intestines in the enteric nervous system, also   
   > called the “gut brain.,”   
   >    
   > In fact, 90% of your serotonin supply is found in your digestive tract   
   > and blood platelets.2   
   >    
   > Serotonin has a calming effect on your mind (the brain in your head)   
   > AND your body (your gut brain or the enteric nervous system lining   
   > your digestive tract).   
   >    
   > You may feel butterflies, nausea or a sinking feeling in your gut...   
   > those “gut feelings” we hear so much about actually have a   
   > physiological basis! And nerve cells in your gut use serotonin to send   
   > messages (like gas, bloating and digestive pain) to literally train   
   > your brain, so that you can learn which foods to eat or avoid.3   
   >    
   > When looking at the affects of serotonin, you become aware that there   
   > truly is a mind-body connection.   
   >    
   > Serotonin affects your4:   
   >    
   > Mood   
   > Memory   
   > Ability to learn   
   > Appetite   
   > Arousal   
   > Aggression   
   > Impulse control   
   > Sexual desire   
   > Sleep   
   > Some social behaviors   
   > Heart   
   > Muscles   
   > Endocrine system (hormones)   
   > According to Ray Sahelian, M.D., excess amounts of serotonin can cause   
   > relaxation, sedation, and a decrease in sexual drive. While a   
   > deficienecy in serotonin is associated with low mood, lack of will   
   > power, and poor appetite control. Conditions like anxiety disorders,   
   > depression, improper social behavior, sexual aberrations, disturbance   
   > in the sleep-wake cycle, obesity, eating disorders, and chronic pain   
   > are associated with disruptions in serotonin.5   
   >    
   > New research is showing that serotonin helps grow new brain cells   
   > throughout our lives.6   
   >    
   >    
   >    
   > How Your Brain Makes Serotonin   
   > Serotonin is considered a monoamine neurotransmitter, which means it   
   > is made by one amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks of   
   > protein. There are two other monoamine neurotransmitters: dopamine and   
   > norepinepherine.   
   >    
   > In order to produce serotonin, your body needs the amino acid   
   > tryptophan, which is an essential amino acid. Essential amino acids   
   > are not made by your body, so you must get them from your food. To   
   > produce adequate amounts of serotonin it is vital that you have plenty   
   > of tryptophan, however, increasing your tryptophan levels is not as   
   > easy as just eating more foods high in tryptophan. Tryptophan   
   > constantly vies with other amino acids like tyrosine, methionine,   
   > histidine, and leucine to cross the blood brain barrier and tryptophan   
   > loses the daily battle. Eating a high protein diet increases the blood   
   > levels of these other amino acids and results in an actual decrease in   
   > tryptophan... and therefore less serotonin.   
   >    
   > Serotonin concentration in the brain is far more affected by what you   
   > eat than any other monamine neurotransmitter. A study on laboratory   
   > animals showed that serotonin could be increased by 10-fold with   
   > dietary supplementation.7   
   >    
   > One study showed that it is this dietary connection that may explain   
   > why some people get angry, aggressive or combative when hungry.   
   >    
   > Serotonin itself cannot cross the blood-brain-barrier, so while 90% of   
   > serotonin is found in your intestinal walls and blood platelets, the   
   > blood-brain-barrier does not allow it to enter your brain. Instead,   
   > your brain must make and use its own serotonin.6   
   >    
   > What DOES go through your blood-brain-barrier is the tryptophan.   
   > While foods do not directly produce serotonin, there are a wide range   
   > of protein-rich foods that are excellent sources of tryptophan with   
   > turkey being the most well known. Dairy (like milk kefir), cheese,   
   > eggs, chicken, fish and red meat, nuts and seeds and brown rice are   
   > rich in tryptophan and therefore, contribute to the production of   
   > serotonin. Even some fruits and vegetables can contain tryptophan.   
   >    
   > Of course just eating them is not enough. You also must digest these   
   > foods.   
   >    
   >    
   > Want to boost your serotonin naturally? The Body Ecology foods and   
   > principles can help create a stronger, hardier digestive system so   
   > that you digest the foods you need to improve your health AND your   
   > moods! Get your copy of The Body Ecology Diet (with FREE bonus!) for   
   > natural health in body and mind.   
   >    
   >    
   > This may come as a surprise, but eating a high carbohydrate diet of   
   > bread, pasta and a bagel from Starbucks will actually help increase   
   > the level of tryptophan in your bloodstream. That’s because foods high   
   > in carbohydrates cause the release of additional insulin from the body   
   > which in turn wipes out the competing amino acids. This allows the   
   > absorption of more tryptophan into the brain and thus an elevation of   
   > serotonin. Basically when you eat a high carbohydrate meal, the   
   > insulin produced helps tryptophan stay in your blood longer, allowing   
   > it to enter your brain, causing serotonin to rise.6   
   >    
   > This course of action may seem to work in the short term but as every   
   > Body Ecology Dieter knows... a high carbohydrate, low protein diet is   
   > the fastest way to an unhealthy, unhappier life and a rapid increase   
   > in their fungal and viral infections, acidic blood, earlier aging and   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)