Serotonin boosting foods

[shell]

Tryptophan is an amino acid that your body cannot make; you must obtain it from the foods that you eat. Once tryptophan crosses your blood-brain barrier to gain access to your brain, it is used to make a hormone called serotonin.

Serotonin acts within your body to promote feelings of sleepiness, calm, and relaxation.

The key to getting enough tryptophan to your brain to sleep well at night is to combine a tryptophan-rich food with a carbohydrate-rich food. This is because ingesting a carbohydrate-rich food causes your body to release insulin, which diverts many of your other amino acids away from your brain, leaving tryptophan with little competition to cross your blood-brain barrier to gain access to your brain.

Here is a list of some healthy foods that are naturally rich in tryptophan:

Turkey
Chicken
Fish
Cottage cheese
Bananas
Avocado
CheeseBeans
Whole grains, including rice
Lentils
Chickpeas
Hazelnuts
Peanuts
Eggs
Sunflower seeds
Sesame seeds
Miso (fermented soy beans)
Unsweetened soy milk
Raw dairy products (if you can tolerate dairy)

If you combine any of the food listed above with a healthy carbohydrate-rich food as an evening snack, you will provide your body with a good opportunity to produce enough serotonin to facilitate a good night's rest.

If brain serotonin levels are low then it can be tempting to reach for foods, and substances, which will temporarily give us a boost. These include sugary foods, refined carbohydrates (such as crisps, white bread, white rice and other processed foods), and alcohol.
The problem with these foods is that they perpetuate the cycle of cravings.
Normalising serotonin levels is probably one of the most important, and most ignored, means of reducing the need to binge-eating and drink.


Just found this, obviously another good reason to limit carbs to your evening meal.
Hope you find it helpful
Shell

[cherry59]

So this is why Mum's gave us a warm milk drink at night!! To get a good night's sleep herself!!

Cherry

[fornight]

Great Thread!!!

[TransformationSoup]

Shell, this is awesome, thanks so much for posting this ~ can you tell me where you found it?

[shell]

Googled it on the net somewhere!