Neurotransmitters
are chemical nerve messengers. Without them transmission of messages across the
body develops serious problems.
Some
signs of poor or insufficient neurotransmitters are:
1.
Poor
memory
2.
Lack
of alertness
3.
Depression
4.
Poor
digestion
5.
Anaemia
6.
Numbness
and tingling in toes and fingers
7.
Headache
even after waking up from sleep
8.
Sleep
disorders
9.
Fast
rate of heart beat
"The
composition of each meal could have a direct effect on the production of chemical
signals in the brain." (The New York Times, January 9, 1979)
Rather
than give a synthetic drug to block or mimic the body's chemical nerve
messengers (neurotransmitters), it is possible nutritionally to encourage the
body to make its own natural ones.
If
we are what we eat, then our nerves also depend on what they are fed. Here is
tremendous potential for the alleviation of depression, anxiety, neuroses,
panic attacks and sleep disorders.
THREE IMPORTANT NEUROTRANSMITTERS ARE DISCUSSED BELOW
1.
NOREPINEPHRINE
A
depletion of the neurotransmitter called norepinephrine may result in poor
memory, loss of alertness, and clinical depression. The chain of chemical
events in the body resulting in this substance is follows::
L-phenylalanine (from protein foods) -> L-tyrosine (made in the liver) -> dopa -> dopamine -> norepinephrine -> epinephrine
This
process looks complex but actually is readily accomplished, particularly if the
body has plenty of vitamin C.
Since
one's dietary supply of the first ingredient, L-phenylalanine, is usually
adequate, it is more likely to be a shortage of vitamin C that limits
production of norepinephrine.
Physicians
giving large doses of vitamin C have had striking success in reversing
depression. It is a remarkably safe and inexpensive approach to try. TAKE MORE
VITAMIN C
2.
ACETYLCHOLINE
Acetylcholine
is the end neurotransmitter of your parasympathetic nerve system. This means
that, among other things, it facilitates good digestion, deeper breathing, and
slower heart rate. You may perceive its effect as "relaxation."
Your
body will make its own acetylcholine from choline. Choline is available in the
diet as phosphatidyl choline, found in lecithin.
Lecithin
is found in egg yolks and most soy products. Three tablespoons daily of soya
lecithin granules provide about five grams (5,000 milligrams) of phosphatidyl
choline.
Long-term
use of this amount is favorably mentioned in The Lancet, February 9, 1980. Lecithin supplementation has no known harmful
effects whatsoever. In fact, your brain
by dry weight is almost one-third lecithin! How far can we go with this idea of
simply feeding the brain what it is made up of?
In
Geriatrics, July 1979, lecithin is considered as a therapy to combat memory
loss. Studies at MIT show increases in both choline and acetylcholine in the
brains of animals after just one lecithin meal. Supplemental choline has even
shown promise in treating Alzheimer's Disease. (Today's Living, February, 1982)
Your
body can make much of its own lecithin. Ample amounts of B-complex vitamins,
especially B-6 (pyridoxine) must be present for this to occur. B-6 deficiency
is very common in adults, and that "deficiency" is measured against
an already ridiculously low US RDA of only two milligrams.
The
amount of B-6 needed for clinical effectiveness in, say, rabbits is the human
dose equivalent of 75 mg daily. That is over 35 times more than the RDA!
Truly,
enormous doses of B-6 taken alone have produced temporary neurological side
effects. It usually takes between 2,000 and 5,000 mg daily to alleviate the symptoms
of numbness or tingling in the extremities (tips of toes and fingers)
Some
side effects have been reported as low as 500 mg daily, but these are very rare
indeed. Therapeutic doses between 100 and 500 milligrams daily are commonly
prescribed by physicians for PMS relief.
A
few hundred milligrams of individual B-6, especially if taken in addition to
the entire B-complex to ensure balance, is very safe indeed.
3.
SEROTONIN
Plentiful
serotonin can mean a good night's sleep, and freedom from anxiety during the
day. You cannot tell someone to relax unless they have the chemistry to do it.
It is safer to let the body make the molecules than to use pharmaceuticals.
Your
brain produces serotonin from the amino acid L-tryptophan. L-tryptophan is one
of the parts of protein essential to life. You can buy L-tryptophan, but is
expensive.
Dietary
sources include chicken, nuts, beans, and dairy products are everyday sources
of this natural and necessary substance.
(http://www.doctoryourself.com/prozac.html)
The
good news is that your body can relax sooner thanks to inexpensive,
readily-available vitamin B-3, niacin.
L-tryptophan
is broken down into niacin by a 60 to 1 ratio. That means you need a lot of
tryptophan (60 times) to make a little niacin (1), and a lot of tryptophan is
difficult to come up with nowadays.
It
also means, however, that only a little niacin (1/60th as much) can go a long
way. Niacin does not make serotonin, but
may assist in performing its function by way of a parallel biochemical
mechanism.
The
amount of niacin needed to help relax you for sleep (50 to a few hundred mg) is
substantially less than the dose routinely given by cardiologists to lower
serum cholesterol levels (several thousand mg/day).
Body
saturation of niacin is indicated by a warmness of the skin and blushing or
"flushing" sensation. At this point, most persons will also
experience a feeling of relaxation and ease.
Unlike
pharmaceutical tranquilizers, niacin simply feeds the body what it needs to
internally and naturally provide relief. That is vitamin B 3.
Niacin
(or L-tryptophan) has also been effective in treating obsessive-compulsive
neurosis (Let's Live, September 1979) and even schizophrenia.
Drs.
David Hawkins and Linus Pauling have written a 670-page textbook on the subject
entitled Orthomolecular Psychiatry (1973). This is a comprehensive work and
well worth your investigation. Find out yourself.
I
will discuss the healthy use of vitamin B3 / niacin later especially in
treating mental disorders.
Generally,
adequate vitamin C, and the B complex with folic acid is very important for
effective production of neurotransmitters
Cheraskin,
E., Ringsdorf, W. M. and Brecher,
A. Psychodietetics Bantam Books, 1974
Galenberg,
A. "Tyrosine for the Treatment of Depression," American Journal of
Psychiatry, 147:622, May, 1980
Growden,
A. "Neurotransmitter Precursors in the Diet," in Nutrition and the
Brain, Wurtman and Wurtman, Eds., 117-181, Raven Press, 1979
Hawkins,
D. and Pauling, L. Orthomolecular Psychiatry: Treatment of Schizophrenia W. H. Freeman, 1973
Hoffer,
A. and Walker, M. Orthomolecular Nutrition, Keats, 1978
Huemer,
R P. "Brain Food: Neurotransmitters Make You Think," Let's Live,
December, 1981
Lilliston,
L. Megavitamins, Fawcett Publications, 1975
Nutrition
News, Vol 2, No. 9, 1979
Passwater,
R. Supernutrition, Pocket Books, 1975
Pauling,
L. How To Live Longer and Feel Better,
W. H. Freeman, 1986
"Choline
and Lecithin for a Better Memory," Today's Living, February, 1982
AN
IMPORTANT NOTE: This page is not in any
way offered as prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any disease, illness,
infirmity or physical condition. Any
form of self-treatment or alternative health program necessarily must involve
an individual's acceptance of some risk, and no one should assume
otherwise. Persons needing medical care
should obtain it from a physician.
Consult your doctor before making any health decision.
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