- A
- A
- A
Naturally Boost Serotonin Levels to Fight Depression and Anxiety!
Boost Serotonin Levels Without Dangerous Pharmaceuticals
Modern medical science has found that low serotonin levels can lead to a huge variety of symptoms and complaints. In fact, depression is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to low serotonin levels in the brain.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that you don’t necessarily need to take a powerful, and potentially risky drug to correct low serotonin levels. As you will see, there are several very effective—and side-effect free—nutritional approaches to enhance serotonin and overall well-being.
What is serotonin?
Serotonin is the neurotransmitter that’s responsible for feelings of optimism, relaxation, and a general sense of well being. Low levels of this neurotransmitter can cause depression as well as a host of other symptoms.
If you are feeling emotionally down, it may not be your fault. It may simply be a neurotransmitter imbalance.
If you have low levels of serotonin, you could experience a variety of symptoms ranging from the “blues” to serious emotional disorders,
including:
- Anxiety
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Pre-menstrual syndrome
- Low self esteem
- Sleep and appetite disturbances
Nutritional supplementation may work better than pharmaceuticals
Today, powerful and potentially risky drugs such as Zoloft®, Lexapro®, Prozac® and other drugs known as SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors) are prescribed to correct low serotonin levels. However, that may soon change. There is a growing body of solid, scientific evidence that nutritional approaches may actually work as well—or even better than pharmaceuticals. Proper nutritional supplementation may also help with aggressive and violent behavior (including suicide), migraine headaches, and even heart disease related to stress and depression.
But you wouldn’t know this if you only followed mainstream information. Big Pharma invests millions of dollars in promoting their patented SSRI’s to the medical community, and millions more to advertise these drugs to the general public. Depression is big business and they have too much to lose to allow other, safer, non-patentable treatments to see the light of day.
What the pharmaceutical giants don’t want you to know …
Fortunately, there are alternatives to these drugs. Researchers have found that certain supplements work on depression, anxiety, and the broader problem of serotonin deficiency syndrome, which also manifests in sleeplessness, aggressiveness, agitation, obsessive-compulsive traits, migraines, and other common behavioral disorders—in other words, the host of illnesses that SSRIs are used to treat.1 Studies have even found some of these supplements to be superior to SSRIs in treating depression.
Editor's Note:
The natural health solutions described in this article are available through many on-line retailers including those listed below. By clicking these links you help support the important alternative health research we provide.
Visit www.amazon.com – a great way to find competitive deals on supplements offered by many different manufacturers.
Visit www.hfn-usa.com – when commitment to quality and freshness is important, this factory direct solution is preferred by many of our readers.
This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult with a physician before embarking on a dietary supplement program.
References
-
Poldinger W, Calanchini B, Shwarz W. A functional-dimensional approach to depression: serotonin deficiency as a target syndrome in a comparison of 5-hydroxytryptophan and fluvoxamine.Psychopathology. 1991;24:53-81.
-
Sano I. L-5-hydroxytryptophan (L-5-HTP) therapie. Folia Psychiat Neurol Jap. 1972;26:7.
-
Yaryura-Tobias J, Bhagavan H. L-tryptophan in obsessive-compulsive disorders. Am J Psychiatry. 1977;134:1298-1299.
-
Kahn RS, Westenberg HGM. L-5-Hydroxytryptophan in the treatment of anxiety disorders. J Affect Disord. 1985;8:197-200.
-
Titus F, Davalos A, Alom J, Codina A. 5-Hydroxytryptophan versus methysergide in the prophylaxis of migraine. Randomized clinical trial.Eur Neurol. 1986;25:327-329.
-
Soulairac A, Lambinet H. Action du 5-hydroxytryptophane, precurseur de la serotonine, sur les troubles du sommeil. Ann Med-Psychol. 1977;135:792-798.
-
Caruso I, Sarzi Puttini P, Cazzola M, Azzolini V. Double-blind study of 5-hydroxytryptophan versus placebo in the treatment of primary fibromyalgia syndrome. J Int Med Res. 1990;18:201-209.
-
Poldinger W, Calanchini B, Shwarz W. A functional-dimensional approach to depression: serotonin deficiency as a target syndrome in a comparison of 5-hydroxytryptophan and fluvoxamine.Psychopathology. 1991;24:53-81.
-
Asberg M, Thoren P, Traskman L, et al. Serotonin depression: a biochemical subgroup within affective disorders. Science.
-
Lloyd K, Farley L, Deck J, Hornykiewicz O. Serotonin and 5-hydroxy-indolaeacetic acid in discrete areas of the brainstem of suicide victims and control patients. Adv Biochem Psychopharm. 1974;11:387-398.
-
Van Praag H. Biological suicide research: outcome and limitations.Biol Psychiatry. 1986;21:1305-1323.
-
5-HTP: The Natural Alternative To Prozac, by John Morgenthaler & Lane Lenard, PhD.
-
Linde K, Ramirez G, Mulrow C, Pauls A, Weidenhammer W, Melchart D. St John’s wort for depression - an overview and meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials, BMJ No. 7052 Volume 313 Saturday 3 August 1996.
-
Papakostas GI, Alpert JE, Fava M. S-adenosyl-methionine in depression: a comprehensive review of the literature. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2003 Dec;5(6):460-6.
-
Maruyama Y, Kuribara H, Morita M, Yuzurihara M, Weintraub ST. Identification of magnolol and honokiol as anxiolytic agents in extracts of saiboku-to, an oriental herbal medicine. J Nat Prod 1998 Jan;61(1):135-8.
-
Nakazawa T, Yasuda T, Ohsawa K. Metabolites of orally administered Magnolia officinalis extract in rats and man and its antidepressant-like effects in mice. J Pharm Pharmacol. 2003 Nov; 55(11): 1583-91.
