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Dopamine Supplements and Boosters

By Ben Mester

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 07Oct2010
Word count: 704
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Dopamine supplements aren't what you think. Normally, if you need vitamin C you take a vitamin C pill, or if you need selenium you take selenium. But if you need dopamine, you don't generally just take a dopamine supplement. Rather, most supplements that are branded as dopamine supplements are just a combination of things that help the body naturally produce and/or release more dopamine. In general, these supplements promote both dopamine and serotonin production and release. What exactly is dopamine? Dopamine is a neurotransmitter(a chemical messenger that allows nerve cells to talk to one another) involved in movement, attention, learning, and the brain's pleasure and reward system. It's a pretty important chemical in the body. Serotonin is a similar neurotransmitter that's involved in things like sleep, depression, and memory. These two hormones must be finely balanced in order for a person to feel normal and happy, but easily they get thrown out of balance. Conditions like Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD) which comes from an underexposure to sunlight can cause serotonin and dopamine levels to be reduced.

Like we discussed in the above paragraph, most of the time, when you're in need of a hormone like dopamine or serotonin, you generally don't simply take them as supplements, but rather, you take a supplement which promotes the healthy natural production and release of dopamine and serotonin. Take the dopamine supplement to the right, an all around mood supporting supplement. This supplement promises to help deal with stress and anxiety with chemicals that have long been known to support brain function, like St Johns Wort and Ginseng Root Extract. It also contains a fatty acid, one which is helpful in the production of serotonin, dopamine, and other helpful chemicals. That's why it's considered a dopamine supplement, because it promotes the healthy and natural production of dopamine. Another popular dopamine supplement is made up mostly of amino acids. We'll talk more about fatty acids and amino acids and their role on brain function in the next section.

Two key ingredients in many dopamine supplements are amino acids and fatty acids. The reason is because if you're deficient in either one of these two things, you'll very likely run the risk of chemical imbalances in the brain. Why is that? Let's take them one at a time. Amino acids have been called the building blocks of life. They're used everywhere in the body, and in nearly all of the chemicals your body produces, things like enzymes, proteins, and hormones. If you're deficient in amino acids, you'll definitely see it manifest itself in chemical deficiencies. Below, I've linked to a product that I love to use to make sure I'm getting enough amino acids. It's a cooking liquid that tastes very similar to soy sauce. It has 16 of the 20 essential amino acids, and is synthesized from soybeans, so it's safe for vegetarians. I put it in marinades, on salads, in dips, and other places.

Next, lets move onto fatty acids, more specifically Omega 3 fatty acids. Your brain is made up on fatty acids, or rather the working surface of your brain is. There are two things which are noteworthy to say about Omega 3 Fatty acids. The first is that the essential fatty acid DHA in Omega 3 fatty acids has been shown to help with the treatment of chronic depression. It assists heavily in positive brain function, and promotes the healthy regulation of chemicals like dopamine and serotonin. You need Omega 3 fatty acids in your diet. Which leads to the next point. Because of recent corporate farming methods where cattle are being grain fed instead of grass fed like in years past, cattle produce meat filled with Omega 6 fatty acids instead of Omega 3s. Nutritionists tell us that our diet should be an even 1:1 ratio between Omega 3s and Omega 6s. Nutritionists also tell us that people eating the Standard American Diet have a ratio between 10-20 times more Omega 6s than Omega 3s. The ratio has become 1:10, and in some cases 1:20. This has led to a widespread deficiency in the essential fatty acids that are needed for healthy brain function. You can guess what happens to your chemical and hormonal balance in the brain when this happens.

Thanks for checking out this article on dopamine supplements. For more on brain hormones and how to facilitate them, check out my article on serotonin boosters.

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