Wired For Wellness: The Nutrition and Lifestyle Neurotransmitter Link
And The 28 Day Health Reset Challenge
Last month I published a newsletter on the more well known and talked about neurotransmitter - Dopamine.
But this newsletter, I wanted to dive a little deeper into other neurotransmitters and how they all work together in the body and how nutrition and lifestyle play a role in keeping them balanced and working to their full potential.
What is a Neurotransmitter?
A neurotransmitter is a chemical messenger that carries signals from one neuron (nerve cell) to another neuron, a muscle cell or a gland. Neurotransmitters affect our mood, emotions, stress response and cognition.
These neurotransmitters, of which there are many that play a role in the way our body communicates with each other, are made from our food and the nutrients in that food. What we eat matters to brain health and the nutrients in food are the building blocks to cells that make neurotransmitters.
Our brains neurons are in constant communication with each other and the rest of your body to coordinate thoughts, feelings and behaviors, so we need to fuel them correctly.
What Happens When Neurotransmitters Become Imbalanced?
Chemical imbalance happens when a person has too much or too little of certain neurotransmitters. This imbalance can cause swings in mood and emotion, depression, anxiety, low energy, lack of focus, sleep issues, cognitive impairments.
The big question is ‘what causes these neurotransmitters to become imbalanced?’…
Inflammation, oxidative stress and insulin resistance. And it just so happens that eating a diet high in ultra processed foods create these situations in our body. Poor diet that is low in nutrients cause deficiencies that disrupt neurotransmitter production. Chronic stress depletes neurotransmitter levels that don’t get replenished because the poor diet that is consumed does not have the nutrients we require.
I will say this again..What we eat matters to our brain health!!
But there are other causes of chemical imbalance. Sedentary lifestyles can play a part, as well as sleep, hormone imblance and gut health.
There are dozens of neurotransmitters in our bodies but here are some that play a prominent role. You will notice the over lap of functions in many of these neurotransmitters.
Important Neurotransmitters
Serotonin - 90% is found in the gut, synthesized from the amino acid - tryptophan. Function in mood, sleep, sexual desire, anxiety, appetite, temperature regulation, learning, memory. Exposure to sunlight can positively affect serotonin levels. Sunlight influences vitamin D production in the skin; vitamin D receptors are found throughout the brain and play a role in regulating neurotransmitter synthesis.
Dopamine - See previous post above for a more detailed description.
Norepinephrine - This neurotransmitter is important to our ‘fight or flight’ response so if we are in a high stress mode all the time, we use more of this neurotransmitter. It also functions in attention, anxiety, arousal, learning and memory. Synthesized from the amino acid, tyrosine. Exercise is one of the best ways to balance this neurotransmitter.
Acetylcholine - The first neurotransmitter ever discovered. We need choline to make up this neurotransmitter which is important to attention, learning, memory and cognition. Choline is a water soluble nutrient which means our body can not store it. So it is important to get this nutrient in daily for consistent synthesis of acetylcholine. Best source of choline…egg yolks! Eat the whole egg, not just the whites!
GABA - This is the ‘calming’ neurotransmitter. It slows down our brain by blocking certain signals. It also plays a role in cognition, emotion and sleep. There is still lots to learn about this neurotransmitter. GABA is present in certain fermented foods ( miso, kimchi).
Melatonin - Produced primarily in the pineal gland (a gland located in the center of the brain), this neurotransmitter is associated with our awake and sleep cycles (circadian rhythm). Melatonin production is responsive to light. When the sun goes down, and it gets darker, we produce more melatonin that helps us sleep. When the sun comes up, our retinas become more active to the light and we produce less melatonin. This is a prime example of removing yourself from the light of your phone before you head to bed. The light from screens are affecting melatonin production which in turn affects our sleep.
Our Sodium Potassium Pump
The sodium - potassium pump is a protein pump found in the cell membrane of neurons and its role is to transport sodium ions out of the cell and potassium ions into the cell. There is whole process to how this works, positive ions, negative ions, and if you want to dig deep into how it all works, you can read more about it here…Know Your Brain: Sodium-Potassium Pump
This process is very important to how the neurons fire and talk to each other.
This also highlights the importance of the essential minerals, like salt, potassium and calcium, that we get from food and drink. I like to call these minerals our electrolytes! If we are low in electrolytes, the sodium/potassium pump may not work optimally and nerve signals and impulses may be affected. This can cause fatigue, muscle weakness, and even brain fog.
The balance of all these neurotransmitters are like walking a tight rope. One little change can affect the whole balance. Bad and good.
Here are a few things to help you keep your chemical signals in balance:
Remove ultra processed foods from you diet and eat a protein/fat rich, whole food lifestyle
Get outside and get some sunlight on your skin…Sunscreen free for at least 30 minutes before 10am and after 4pm when the sun is not at it hottest.
Exercise. Some sort of movement helps. Walk, weights, yoga, pilates. Choose what works for you.
Manage Sleep. Number one - PUT DOWN YOUR PHONE at least one hour before bed. Create a sleep environment that is dark and a cool temperature.
Manage stress. Start a new hobby that creates more calm in your life. Read more books.
What have you done to help your brain health? Let me know if the comments below.
Danni
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Don’t Forget to Join my 28 Day Health Reset Challenge
Do you need a health reset? Is what you are doing not working for you anymore and need to shake things up! Or are you just wanting to learn new things??
Starting July 1st and for 28 days after that I will be providing some new tips, fun challenges, and a few recipes to give your health a shake up, a reset, an adjustment or a restart. Whatever word you want to use, I will be your guide.
Some may say - ‘Danni, July 1st, this is the start to summer. The time to let go and have fun’…Yes that is true, it is the start to summer and yes, summer is for fun. But our health is important too and I want to show you that you can have fun all year round and still make your health a priority. Create some new habits that work for you and make it your lifestyle.
How it will work..
Starting July 1st, I will email out challenges, tips and information on the things we are resetting. This will, of course be food and lifestyle focused. We may have daily challenges and we may have weekly ones. You will have to watch your inbox.
I may even provide a downloadable ‘bingo’ card for you to keep track of progress and at the end of the 28 days, the one with the most stamps on the card will win a prize..Hmm. That was just a spontaneous thought.
I want this to be interactive with all challenge participants, so a closed chat will be available through the Substack app and we can all learn from each other.
Is there cost to this?
Yes, I am putting a small fee to this challenge because I find that people are more likely to stick to something when they know that they are paying for it, even if it is a small amount.
This is only open to paid subscribers. A small fee for the month, equal to a the cost of a venti white chocolate mocha at Starbucks (plus tip 😉). A small price to pay for your health and the receiving the support of others. And of course you will still receive my weekly newsletters.
At the end of the 28 days, you can choose to cancel your paid subscription or you can continue for as long as you want. (Hopefully, you enjoy the content I provide and want to continue)
If you have any questions, please let me know.
A health reset is simpler than you think and for those who just don’t know where to start, small changes work…July 1st…Let’s get the party started!!