Many of you may have heard of amino acids like L-glutamine that are touted for gut repair, which is absolutely true and wonderful! However, we’re focused on mood health in this article, therefore, I want you to see the connection between the gut and the brain. There is a gut-brain axis and communication occurs via the vagus nerve and microbiota. So cool! With this, we can see how the health of the gut, which produces many of our neurotransmitters (like 95% of serotonin) and communicates with the brain, is necessary for a healthy mood. Additionally, amino acids are the building blocks for maintaining and rebuilding mood health.
What are amino acids?
Amino acids are organic compounds that form proteins, they are the building blocks of life, allowing us to break down food, grow, repair body tissue, and make neurotransmitters (brain chemicals that affect mood).
What are neurotransmitters?
Neurotransmitters are chemicals in the body that transmit these signals across a synapse from one neuron or brain cell to another. We often hear the term “brain chemicals” which is synonymous with neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are made from some of these precursor amino acids. We also have co-factors, which are nutrients used to help make the neurotransmitters. Some examples of Co-factors are zinc, B6, folate, magnesium, etc… We need all these co-factors and precursors to make neurotransmitters that make us feel great, stop the cravings, calm us down, and make us feel happy.
The targeted use of individual amino acid supplements FOR SHORT TERM can help balance brain chemistry to alleviate anxiety, fear, worry, panic attacks, and feeling stressed or overwhelmed. They can also be helpful in addressing other problems that contribute to, or exacerbate anxiety, such as sugar cravings or addictions. In addition, they can help with depression and insomnia, which often co-occur with anxiety. When you balance your brain chemistry, not only will you alleviate symptoms of anxiety, you’ll also have a great mood, eliminate cravings, sleep well, and have good energy with mental focus.
Before You Begin Self-Treating with Amino Acid Supplementation
Before even beginning to use amino acids for mood imbalances a few steps are highly recommended to be put in place. Otherwise, amino acid supplementation will just be a natural crutch (unnatural: SSRI), rather than giving the body what it needs to rebuild and move back into function.
10 TIPS TO BUILD MOOD HEALTH
- A real whole foods diet is essential. Shopping the perimeter of the grocery store and purchasing organic foods that are not packaged or processed will benefit your gut and in turn improve your overall health.
- Consuming stock and bone broth daily. The full range amino acid profiles in both of these foods is fantastic for rebuilding the gut and producing neurotransmitters. Aim for 3 cups a day on it’s own or use in cooking meals. Below is my organic bone broth recipe.
- Remove Sugar. Blood sugar imbalance is the #1 reason for poor neurotransmitter production and function. Sugar depletes nutrients in the body and we tend to fill up on sugar first rather than nutrient dense foods. Furthermore, all amino acids help to balance blood sugar, but looking at all forms of sugar you are consuming is essential to reclaiming your mood. It’s not just the obvious candy bars, cane sugar, sodas, and junk food, but it is also maple syrup, honey, too much fruit or grain consumption that can negatively affect blood sugar levels. Aiming for 35grams of sugar or less a day. This includes fruit.
- Removal of wheat/gluten. More and more research is pointing out that everyone receives an inflammation load by consuming wheat. There is a range of sensitivity from low to strong, all the way to severe Celiacs disease. Based on scientific research, whatever the range of sensitivity, wheat creates inflammation in EVERYONE.
- Optimizing digestion by consuming probiotics, enzymes, and fermented foods.
- Exercise 20 minutes a day. Under exercising is just as bad for us as over exercising. Find exercise that is nourishing for you. Research has shown that people who exercise 20 minutes a day have 500 more beneficial bacteria in the gut and have much lower chance for a mood imbalance.
- Light Therapy every morning for 10-20 minutes either outside in the sun or in front of a light therapy device has been found to reduce depression by 75 percent.
- Testing for Pathogenic Infections and the overall health of the gut.
- Testing for Minerals & Heavy Metals to find out how to feed the body what it needs and detox from anything that is damaging brain health and holding it back from rebuilding.
- Testing neurotransmitter levels.
Maybe you have tried a real whole foods diet change, then tried meds but there were side effects, or intuitively you knew that you weren’t getting at the underlying contributors of the issue. This is where targeted amino acid supplementation may help.
To learn more on how to self-treat using targeted amino acids click here for two downloadable documents:
1. Amino Acid Questionnaire
2. Self-Treating Amino Acid Guide
Your mood health is your birth right and within your full control, work with your biochemistry!
Please let me know how your mood improves using this methodology in the comments below.
