NATURAL WAYS TO BOOST SEROTONIN LEVELS
Serotonin plays many crucial functions in the human body

We most often associate it with regulating our mood, did you know that most of our serotonin is used to regulate critical movements in the intestines. It plays a function in regulating our sleep cycles and appetite too.
These interconnected systems that rely on serotonin may explain why people suffering from depression may also experience digestive and sleep disorders. Low levels of this important chemical can throw all these systems off balance.
To produce serotonin, the body needs to covert it from tryptophan, an essential amino acid that must be obtained through our diet.
While it’s important to always consult with your doctor or medical practitioner if you’re suffering from long bouts of depression and insomnia or digestive issues, adding in some serotonin-boosting foods may be effective in reducing or reversing some conditions.
Various ways to boost serotonin:
Meditation - clears the mind of worries, stresses and fears to help gain clarity and peace in everyday life.
Exercise – boosts tryptophan -(the main building block of serotonin) – tryptophan is an amino acid found in protein rich foods.
Light Therapy Lamp or Sunlight – stimulates release of serotonin
Avoid sugar – balancing insulin otherwise it spikes and removes the tryptophan reaching the brain
Increase Omega 3’s in the diet
Herbal Remedies
– Lemon Balm or Passionflower
Take a probiotic – a unhealthy gut can cause brain fog and lead to low mood and anxiety. Probiotics are anti-inflammatory microbes that seem to affect the gut in a positive way, decreasing stress signalling in the body and possibly even increasing the transformation of the amino acid tryptophan to serotonin in the brain. In both their anti-inflammatory capacity and their serotonin capacity, probiotics have *some* overall effects similar to antidepressants
5HTP - not safe to mix with anti-depressants – must refer to GP or doctor re this product re dosages etc
Vitamin C – a natural antidepressant – helps you to feel happier and aids the neurotransmitters boost physical and mental energy
Vitamin D supplement or from regular sunshine – gives happy mood
Magnesium – direct effect on serotonin balance – magnesium can increase focus, energy and resilence to stress
Zinc – children can be most risk of deficiency
Folic Acid - deficiency can cause low serotonin levels
B3 – Niacin (found in turkey/chicken breast/peanuts/mushrooms/liver/green beans/sunflower seeds/avocado)
B6 – Pyridoxine (found in spinach, turnips/greens/garlic/celery/tuna/salmon/cod)
Theanine – amino acid found in green tea leaves which elevates the brain levels dopamine and serotonin
FOOD SOURCES to help serotonin:
Spirulina
Spirulina is a powerful tonic for the immune system
Spirulina contains an astounding array of nutrients, including chlorophyll, protein, vitamins, major minerals, trace minerals, essential fatty acids, nucleic acids (RNA and DNA), polysaccharides, and a vast spectrum of antioxidants.
Spirulina is extremely high in tryptophan, an essential amino acid. The absence of the amino acid tryptophan in the diet will lead to a deficiency in serotonin (which the body creates from tryptophan). Serotonin is essential for generating feelings of well-being. Serotonin is also a “stress-defense shield” that helps us cope with hardships. A serotonin deficiency has been associated with depression and neurological disorders. (source: thesupermandiet.com)
Grains: brown rice/wheatgerm/wholegrain/granola/buckwheat/millet/quinoa/lentils
Protein in Meats and Fish: turkey/fresh tuna/salmon/sardines/chicken
Nuts & Seeds: walnuts/flaxseeds/sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds/almonds/cashews
Fruit: bananas/pineapple/kiwi/plums/grapefruit/honeydew and cantaloupe melon
Omega 3: walnuts/flaxseed/flaxseed oil/chia seeds/fish oils supplement/mackerel/salmon
Eggs/tomatoes/avocado/spinach/green leafy veg/kidney beans/chickpeas
Other helpful tips :
Bach Rescue Remedy for fear, worries and anxieties
Lavender essential oil – aid sleep
Himilyan pink salt bath for detox
Crystals to help mood/energy and to avoid emotional upset and depression/anxiety:
Blue Lace Agate – helps anxiety/stress and brings peace
Jet – releases negative emotions including grief, stress, fear and depression
Carnelian – raises self-esteem, security and self-love
Lapis – great stabiliser crystal for children
Rose Quartz
one of the ultimate go-to crystals for emotional healing and universal love. If you’ve been feeling out of tune with the world around you taking up rose quartz in your crystal study will realign your energy to prompt inward and outward love in equal measures. Rose Quartz teaches us how to forgive and accept ourselves and the people around us genuinely.
Amethyst
The principal stone of divinity, Amethyst will help you uncover latent spirituality — an essential component of remaining happy and connecting to the universe at large.
Amethyst helps to ground a disquieted mind, and lends itself to acquiring much-needed clarity. Amethyst lifts spirits because it allays mental unrest almost immediately.
When you are stressed or otherwise overwhelmed with turmoil, the soothing nature of amethyst will help you return to peace and remain in tranquil contemplation until a solution for your problem is found.
Citrine
Unending joy and joviality, Citrine helps us remember to never lose the verve of life and encourages us to test our boundaries and limits in the pursuit of happiness.
With an innate ability to cleanse other negatively charged, or overworked, crystals, Citrine super-charges our indwelling spirits in preparation of launching ourselves head first into adventure. If you need a pick-me-up Citrine is your go-to source of inspiration and energy. (Source: finerminds.com)
There is such a vast array of different ways naturally to help your mind and body in order to help with the “happy feeling” boosting serotonin so that we hopefully can avoid medication, and if we cannot, then some of these complimentary alternatives can run nicely alongside.
Please research more about how to help yourself in numerous ways especially around supplements and food sources in order to bring balance, zest for life, happy and positive flow in all aspects of your life and if you need a helping hand, please contact me and we can arrange a 1:1 session xxx








