Did you know that just because you may feel down, sad or are going through a phase of mild depression, there may be no need at all to resort to anti depressants? Very often, the answer may simply be a matter of increasing our serotonin levels in the brain by other means.
As serotonin is one of the brain chemicals mainly responsible for keeping us in a good mood, cheerful and confident, it should never be overlooked.
Serotonin and depression are obviously closely connected.
But serotonin also plays an important role in sleep, appetite and sex drive.
That is why the anti depressants, while often solving in part the problem of mood enhancement, start affecting our appetite and libido in strange ways.
Many people find that they have solved part of the problem but have created others which are not so easy to fix.
Of course medical advice should be sought but I just wanted to point out in this article that there are other ways of solving the problem of the blues.
Many people do not realize how the right foods can influence our mood positively because they are actually capable of increasing serotonin levels.
As you can imagine, the benefits are enormous.
We have a much healthier diet and we are in a better mood and the blues no longer dominate our thoughts.
I am sure you have heard of 'comfort foods'.
These are simple carbohydrates and they certainly do give us a quick mood boost.
But this is not very healthy as these foods are fattening and they will NOT lead to steady levels of blood sugar and they may even cause mood swings.
These foods such as white pasta, biscuits and white rice are a two edged sword.
Let us have a look at the complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, wholemeal bread, grains and cereals, nuts, legumes.
These are much healthier and the great thing is that if they are combined with certain proteins containing tryptophan, then these will balance our serotonin levels and boost our mood and confidence.
Why is tryptophan so important in the complex question of serotonin and depression? The answer is that the tryptophan is a sort of precursor of the manufacture of serotonin and it works best by combining it with a few of the complex carbs I have mentioned above.
Apparently if we eat lots of protein rich in tryptophan this is not sufficient.
The tryptophan rich foods are turkey, cottage cheese, nuts, fish, cheese and eggs.
Did you know that if you are feeling down, you can also get a helping hand from some herbal remedies? But which herbs?.
Fortunately I have done all the work for you and you can find out which one is the safest and most effective one in balancing your serotonin levels from my website below.