Beating the Moody Blues

by Richard Burton - Aug 2002

Serotonin, dopamine, acetyl-choline - if these are just alphabet soup to you, they'll soon be household words. Researchers are making rapid progress in clarifying just how neurotransmitters - the brain's messaging molecules - play a pivotal role in our moods and mental powers. Predictably, this has led to a rush of exotic supplements to banish the blues and switch on the genius within.

Like all other elements of our blood and tissues, neurotransmitters are formed from the nutritional components we absorb from our food: amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, minerals, vitamins and similar substances. If, due to poor dietary habits, certain of these vital factors are lacking for too long, the levels and balance of the neurotransmitters will suffer - with a knock-on effect on mood and mental functions. The tryptophan-serotonin connection is a good example. Serotonin is the 'happy', mood-boosting neurotransmitter, and is made from dietary tryptophan, an amino acid found in fish, chicken, cottage cheese and bananas, for example. Those who rarely consume such foods, or lack sufficient zinc and vitamin B6 for the conversion to serotonin, may find themselves struggling to keep their spirits up. One study found that when recovered depressed patients were given a tryptophan-free diet, their depression returned. Most of the other key neurotransmitters affecting mood and mental performance are also derived from dietary amino acids, and here, too, vitamins and minerals are essential for the conversion process.

Sugar can also play havoc with mood and mental performance. Healthy blood sugar levels fluctuate gently and smoothly through the day and night. Frequent intake of sugar-laden foods and drinks, on the other hand, creates huge surges and troughs in blood sugar levels, giving the brain's metabolism a roller-coaster ride that can disturb the delicate dance of neurotransmitters enough for us to feel and suffer the effects.

It is not only what we eat that can cause problems, but also how and when. Poor quality meals wolfed down in minutes, specially while walking, working or playing, creates turmoil in the digestive system, with consequences ranging from mild indigestion and nausea to severe stomach cramps - hardly a feelgood formula. Eating at irregular times also strains our internal resources, and encourages both hypo- and hyperglycaemia and the accompanying stress on brain activities. People who get anxious and irritable when they miss a meal have this tendency.

Happily, there is usually a cheap and permanent solution at hand: simple dietary modification often rapidly eliminates problems such as sudden mood swings, energy slumps, irritability, tendencies to tears and panic, weak and shaky limbs, poor concentration, sluggish thinking and unwarranted gloomy spells. Several weeks after switching from typical junk food-based diets to wholefoods, e.g. brown rice, porridge, wholemeal bread, crispbread and pasta, plus a wide range of vegetables, beans and soy products, fish, fruits, seeds, nuts, with (optional) modest amounts of meat and dairy foods, most former sufferers have regained their mental powers and equilibrium. Typically, people say they had forgotten what it was to feel well, while one woman said she felt her head had emerged above the clouds for the first time.