Are you depressed: anxious or depressed? If so, your serotonin levels may be low. Serotonin is one of the most amazing and important substances in your body, and when it gets low, problems develop. What is? It is a neurotransmitter that helps transmit messages along neurons from one region of the brain to another. Low levels not only lead to depression and anxiety, but can also cause other problems like insomnia, loss of appetite, and memory loss, to name just a few. Therefore, it is in your best interest to ensure that it stays high.

Several foods contain serotonin, but they are not very helpful, since serotonin cannot be directly absorbed by the brain. Eating the right foods, however, is the right approach. What you want to eat are foods that contain tryptophan; it is one of the 20 amino acids in your body (amino acids are the building blocks of protein in your body). But simply eating foods that contain tryptophan is not enough. The problem is that tryptophan has to get from the blood to the brain to be useful, and under normal circumstances, it can’t get through. The reason is that there are 20 different amino acids in your blood at any given time (they come from the protein you eat) and they are all trying to get into your brain. Some are relatively large, and with such a large number trying to get in at once, the tryptophan gets blocked. You can think of the entrance to your brain as a door with a large number of people trying to get in at the same time. If you are in this group, your chances of getting in are relatively small. The same goes for tryptophan, and as a result, very little reaches your brain, even though there may be a good supply in your blood.

So you need to cut down on the competition and you can do that by eating carbs. Carbohydrates produce insulin, and this insulin sends the amino acids from the blood into the body, all except tryptophan. When tryptophan finds that it no longer has competition, it rushes to the brain where it is converted into serotonin.

Your first step, therefore, is to eat foods that contain tryptophan. Some of the best are;

• Turkey: 0.37 g per quarter cup
• Chicken: 0.28 g per quarter cup
• Cottage cheese: 0.4 g per cup
• Wheat germ: 0.4 g per cup
• Eggs: 0.1 g each

Other excellent sources are dairy products, soy, nuts, and bananas.

Once you have a good supply of tryptophan in your blood, you should eat carbohydrates. They will allow your brain to absorb tryptophan. Some of the best carbohydrates for this are:

• whole grains
• Oatmeal
• Wholemeal bread and cookies
• Beans
• Pasta

However, it is important to eat complex carbohydrates and avoid simple carbohydrates like cookies, candy, and chips. Also, you should leave some time between foods with tryptophan and carbohydrates, if possible. Carbohydrate snacks can be used after the main meal. It’s also important to make sure you don’t overload on protein at your main meal.

This should keep your serotonin levels high enough and help you feel good. Food, however, isn’t the only thing that helps keep serotonin levels high. Some of the others are:

• working out
• vitamins
• Get enough sunlight
• meditation and relaxation
• regular hours of sleep

A great way to raise serotonin levels is to exercise regularly every day, but you don’t have to overdo it. Thirty to forty minutes of exercise a day is enough. Do aerobics and weights. Studies have shown that serotonin levels stay high for several days after a good bout of exercise. Walking, jogging, and bicycling are all good.

Various vitamins are also helpful in creating good levels of serotonin. They include B6 (100-300 mg/day), calcium (1000-1200 mg/day), magnesium (300 mg/day), and folic acid (200 mg/day).

Getting enough sunlight is also important. When you wake up in the morning, your body starts to produce serotonin. How much you create depends on how much sunlight you’re exposed to, so try to get outside for a bit every day, especially in the morning.

Serotonin is depleted by stress and tension, so try to relax during the day. Meditation is particularly good, as is listening to relaxing music. Laughter also helps.

Finally, try to get regular sleep hours. However, here’s a catch 22. You need good levels of serotonin to sleep well, but if you don’t sleep, your levels suffer.

Following this will help you feel better and be more cheerful and happy. But be careful: too much serotonin will make you sleepy.