Since we started our blog, one main focus has been to document the connection between mental health and nutrition. Dozens of studies have concluded that there’s a connection between a proper diet and positive mental health.
One possible reason for this link is that the body’s main neurotransmitters that regulate our mental health depend on the right balance of vitamins and minerals to provide the right conditions for their production and effectiveness.
Dopamine is one of those neurotransmitters.
Dopamine plays a significant role in reward-motivated behaviour. In fact, most types of reward increase the level of dopamine in the brain. Low levels of dopamine is common in those with Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
To produce dopamine, the body uses a 3=part process to convert the amino acid L-Phenylalanine into dopamine:
- It uses the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase L-Phenylalanine into L-tyrosine.
- It uses the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) to convert L-tyrosine into L-DOPA.
- It uses the enzyme aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase to convert L-DOPA into dopamine.
As part of the process, TH uses iron. As a result, ensuring your diet is rich in iron is one possible way to aid your body in dopamine production.
Good sources of iron are meats (including poultry and fish), lentils, beans, leaf vegetables, watercress, tofu, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, and blackstrap molasses.
To make sure your body has all the nutrients it needs to produce and maintain proper serotonin levels, always eat a varied diet of whole, nutritious foods.
Did you know that EMPowerplus is also a good source of iron and L-phenylalanine, the foundational amino acid the body needs to produce dopamine?