Far from miraculous solutions, there are foods that, due to their serotonin and dopamine content, known as the hormones of happiness, improve our mood and well-being.
In certain cases, a therapy to treat depression or anxiety requires the accompaniment of medication, but it is so true that in others, at least in the mildest cases, a good diet, accompanied by physical exercise, can be an excellent option to mitigate its effects, or at least help us to be a little happier.
And within that diet there are a number of foods that help us to be a little happier thanks to their serotonin and dopamine content, considered to be the hormones of happiness.
Serotonin, explained in the health insurer Sanitas, is a neurotransmitter closely related to the control of emotions and mood, and, together with other neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and norepinephrine, participates in the mechanisms that govern anxiety, fear, anguish and aggressiveness.
It also regulates the secretion of hormones, such as melatonin, a protein that conditions sleep. Likewise, serotonin regulates appetite, causing the feeling of satiety. When its levels increase in the neural circuits, it generates feelings of well-being, relaxation and satisfaction, while increasing concentration and self-esteem.
For its part, dopamine is considered to be the cause of pleasant perceptions and the feeling of relaxation. Its deficit can cause hyperactivity, lack of concentration and motivation, as well as low self-esteem.
Complete them with exercise
In Sanitas they explain that to produce serotonin the body needs tryptophan, which it cannot produce by itself, but must obtain it from foods such as eggs, pasta, rice, dairy products, cereals, chicken, turkey, bananas or legumes. However, serotonin levels can also be increased through regular exercise or relaxation techniques such as yoga.
More serotonin in men
The fact that the body of men generates 50% more serotonin than women is significant, so you will feel the increase or decrease in the levels of this neurotransmitter with greater intensity.
The insurance company states that there are factors that can alter the production of serotonin, causing a drop in the levels present in the body, such as a diet low in tryptophan, stress, hormonal changes or diabetes.
In addition, the same sources specify, having serotonin levels below normal is associated with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, stress or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
At Fundación Curemos el Párkinson, which helps people who live with this disease by promoting research projects, they explain how food can help regulate dopamine and serotonin levels and what products we cannot exclude from our recipes.
Dopamine can be found in foods in the form of levodopa (its metabolic precursor) such as legumes, broad beans, bananas, tomatoes or green beans. In addition, our body is also capable of making dopamine from tyrosine (one of the amino acids that make up proteins), which is present in meat, fish and eggs.
On the other hand, the foods rich in serotonin, the foundation points out, are all those that are generous in carbohydrates such as bread, pasta and potatoes, although, it is warned, care must be taken not to consume them abusively, because their excess is converted into fat that is stored.
Our body also has the ability to manufacture serotonin from tryptophan (essential amino acid that helps us control anxiety or insomnia), which we can find in oily fish, meat, milk, eggs, legumes, cereals such as rice and oatmeal. , nuts and acid fruits, greens and vegetables, sunflower or sesame seeds; from omega-3 fatty acids, shellfish, tofu, flaxseed oil, oregano, basil or spinach; as well as zinc, present in oysters, algae, brewer’s yeast or chocolate; and magnesium (wheat bran, chocolate, almonds, spinach, avocado, etc.).
The Curemos el Párkinson Foundation warns that both dopamine and serotonin can be interfered with by consuming alcohol and foods rich in refined sugars (pastries, sauces or carbonated drinks).
No food is magic
The online magazine specializing in psychology www.lamenteesmaravillosa.com lists nine foods that increase serotonin and dopamine, combating depressive states or simple discouragement.
After warning of the literature that reports a series of products that by themselves are capable of treating depression, this mental health portal maintains that there are foods that, due to their nutritional components, favor and enhance that brain chemistry capable of alleviating the symptoms associated with depression. depression, also improving our mood. However, something that multiple studies make clear to us is that there is no food capable of completely resolving any depressive disorder.
Healthy diet
In line with the above, this website emphasizes that maintaining a healthy diet, where we include foods that increase serotonin and dopamine, is a strategy that needs to be combined with a psychological approach and pharmacological treatment. On the other hand, in the case of not suffering from any depression, it is advisable to consume these nutritional proposals for their associated benefits.
Proposals that in www.lamenteesmaravillosa.com specify nine foods. One of them is oatmeal, which is part of what is known as “smart carbohydrates”. This means that it has a calming effect on our brain. Complex carbohydrates (mostly whole grain foods) favor the production of tryptophan, an essential amino acid from which serotonin is synthesized.
Thus, oatmeal is an excellent proposal for our breakfast, as it provides us with protein to start the day. In addition, it has six of the eight essential amino acids, which are perfect for improving your mood as soon as you start the day.
Among the foods that increase serotonin and dopamine, the banana is undoubtedly one of the most prominent. By itself it does not combat depression, but what it does do is give us a natural injection of energy, optimism and health.
It achieves this because the effect of bananas on our brain is simply sensational, since it favors the production of trypophan, it provides us with vitamin A, C, K and B6, basic components to favor the synthesis and metabolism of serotonin and dopamine, and, In addition, it is rich in natural sugars, which combined with its natural fiber offer us an extra supply of strength and energy to overcome states of decay. For their part, eggs, like dairy products, help us produce tryptophan and vitamin B6.
Chocolate, a classic
Perhaps the preferred food when it comes to increasing serotonin and dopamine is chocolate, preferably dark (the purest and without sugar), since, in addition to being delicious, it provides us with exorphine, a natural analgesic that reduces pain, and It also offers us theobromine, a substance similar to caffeine that injects us with energy, they specify in the portal dedicated to psychology.
Pineapple cannot be missing from our diet either, since it relieves anxiety and promotes concentration and motivation. And if we take it at night, it helps produce melatonin, the sleep hormone.
On the other hand, our brain regularly needs a supply of omega-3 to improve attention, memory or mood, which is why salmon or mackerel are two foods that cannot be missing from our diet.
Both fish are rich in B vitamins, nutrients that favor the production of serotonin and dopamine, just like chickpeas. This legume has been known since ancient times for its virtues to improve mood and provide us with additional energy.
Peppers, especially red peppers, also increase serotonin and dopamine levels. Its color warns us of its richness in antioxidants, “and the brain loves it”, while capsaicin, the chemical compound that produces a burning sensation when we ingest it, increases our production of endorphins, which increases our well-being.
To promote our balance and well-being, it is better to consume it natural. Lastly, you cannot ignore sunflower seeds or pips, which apart from being rich in tryptophan, the essential amino acid to produce serotonin, have high levels of antioxidants and magnesium, a mineral necessary for the health of our brain.
Success is in variety
Inés Navarro Blanch, general secretary of the College of Dietitians-Nutritionists of Catalonia (Codinucat), considers that the best way to avoid stress, depression or anxiety is to follow a balanced diet and -very important in her opinion- “that it be varied and different food groups enter, since we have a tendency not to vary in foods that we consider to be main”.
He also warns of the trend towards intermittent fasting, “which is now in fashion”, and of the fact that “stress makes us skip meals and that in the next meal we overdo it, either by quantity or because we go to a food group that are not so healthy… because at that time they fill us up more, or because we are stressed and eat what we want”.
As a consequence, he says, “we enter into a dynamic of starting to eat unhealthily. And nutritionally unbalanced in terms of food also unbalances us mentally.”
In addition to eating in a variety of ways, Navarro Blanch urges us to reduce salt consumption. “We tend to eat foods with a lot of salt, because they give us the feeling that they fill us up more, but this is not the case and they are harmful.”
In contrast, the nutritionist urges us to eat whole foods “that are healthy and tend to fill us up”, as well as to eat a lot of fruit, “because fruit carries a lot of water and fills us up at a delicate moment of peak anxiety.
It is a food with a lot of fiber and a lot of vitamins”. On the contrary, he points out, “you have to avoid snacks, which have a lot of sugar and fat, which make us feel hungry again after a while, or chips, which at that time they fill you up, but what they do is hook you a lot and keep eating more; like you can never stop.”
Navarro Blanch insists on the importance of observing a varied diet in favor of mental health, arguing that, “although we may not realize it, when we enter the balance of variety our body is calmer and we feel better”.
According to the dietitian-nutritionist, at the level of serotonin and dopamine, there are foods that have a higher content, although the balance is in complying with the variety of foods. “Each food has nutritional properties…
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