Serotonin, foods, and mood

Question
What is serotonin and what are foods best influencing its functions?

Answer
Many forms of normal behaviors depend on serotonin levels in the brain. It's due to serotonin's ability to mediate transmoission of signals from neuron to neuron, this is why it belongs to the class of neuro-chemicals claled neutransmitters. Once released, a neurotransmitter contacts and calls into action another neuron in the brain network controlling many bodily functions including mood, appetite, hunger, and many more functions.  Not surprisingly, serotonin participates in such a broad range of body conditions.

There are two aspects in the serotonin-food connection.

First is how serotonin is being produced in the body and the second is the essence of your question -- how its level is being regulated.

1. Serotonin cant be PRODUCED from carbohydrates. The raw material that the brain uses to build serotonin is tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin. Since tryptophan is an amino-acid it can be only found in protein-containing foods like lean meats and diary.

2. Carbohydrate-rich foods influence serotonin level in the brain by boosting blood insulin. Insulin assists tryptophan transport across the blood brain barrier causing serotonin levels to rise.

Adam Drewnowski, Ph.D., director of the Human Nutrition Program at the University of Michigan, doubts the serotonin carbohydrate link. "Most people don't crave just carbohydrates; very few want potatoes, bread or pasta. Most want some sweet, high-fat food," he said.

How about fats?

Low-fat diets are known to alter serotonin function. They might decrease the fats in nerve-cell membranes, impairing serotonin receptors.

If your diet is too low in fat, you have poorly structured brain-cell membranes, reduced numbers of receptors, and therefore brain cells which have a lower capacity to react well with serotonin.  

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