Acetylcholine
The role of acetylcholine in the central nervous system is to provide a link between motor neurons and the muscles. It is a primary player in the prefrontal cortex, which facilitates memory, navigation, learning, arousal, talking, walking, breathing, and regulation of the sleep/wake cycle. Along with dopamine, acetylcholine also contributes to smooth movement. An overabundance of acetylcholine can cause symptoms of anxiety and depression. A deficiency may lead to poor memory, difficulty with mental calculation, decreased spatial awareness, and trouble recognizing people.3
Dopamine
Dopamine plays a key role in motor movement and emotional response. It is also related to motivation and the desire to complete tasks, thus its reputation as the chemical of achievement. Physical and mental well-being is contingent on maintaining the right balance of dopamine. Dopamine deficiency may be linked to symptoms of depression, especially those like hopelessness, anger, low self-esteem, dread, irritability, and weight gain. High dopamine levels can contribute to paranoia, agitation, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.4
Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)
GABA in the sympathetic nervous system acts as an antidepressant, antihypertensive, and anti-diabetic. Decreased GABA function has been shown to accompany manic or depressed moods in individuals. Furthermore, sleep disorders and substance use disorders are linked to chaotic GABA functions in the brain.5
Norepinephrine
Norepinephrine is essential to executive functioning, regulating cognition, intellect, and motivation. Studies show that depressed people have significantly lower levels of norepinephrine. This effect is particularly marked when levels of serotonin and dopamine neurotransmission are also affected.6
Serotonin
In the central nervous system, serotonin regulates physiological functions such as appetite, eating behavior, digestion, sleep, sexual behaviors, cognition, emotion, perception, and mood. It is a common belief that serotonin imbalance as a result of damaged or lacking receptors, impaired signal communication, and diminished serotonin release contribute to depression.
Also, a lack of tryptophan, the amino acid chemical responsible for making serotonin, can alter mental well-being. Low serotonin contributes to unhappiness, depression, and insomnia. High serotonin can cause rapid heart rate, anxiety, muscle twitches, and loss of coordination.7
What Is Neurotransmitter Therapy?
Neurotransmitter therapy is a treatment that attempts to restore the balance of neurochemicals in the body. Benefits of this treatment approach include improved stress management, better control of food cravings, overeating, and food addiction, greater focus and energy, and relief of emotional disorders, including substance use disorder, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, mood instability, and more.
What’s more, is that neurotransmitter therapy does all these things without the dangerous repercussions of prescription drugs. It works to repair the body to its naturally intended state that it was meant to be in, so it performs at its optimal level, and all systems work together in symbiosis. It promotes better well-being by addressing a key set of relationships among neurotransmitters, the gut, and mental health.8
How Does Neurotransmitter Therapy Work?
There are multiple therapies proven to be successful in restoring neurotransmitter function. What’s more is that when used together, treatment efforts are even more successful. Below are the most prominent neurotransmitter therapy practices.
Eating a Neurotransmitter Conducive Diet
Studies show that an imbalance in the gut microbiome – the diverse assortment of bacteria in the gut – is linked to an imbalance in neurotransmitters and can affect mental health. This results in a triangular relationship among gut microbiota balance, mental health symptoms, and neurotransmitters, as expressed here:
- Gut health regulates neurotransmitters, and an imbalance of neurotransmitters can affect gut microbiota.
- Gut microbiota disturbances can cause mental health symptoms, and mental health disorders can cause disturbances in the gut.
- Mental health symptoms are affected by an imbalance of neurotransmitters, and mental health disorders can cause a neurotransmitter imbalance.
What this means is that adjusting diet to better facilitate the microbiome within the gut and digestive system is instrumental in healthy neurotransmitter production. This, in turn, can restore balance in the body and mind and reduce mental health symptoms.
With the delicate relationship among the gut, neurotransmitters, and mental health, it makes sense to adjust the nutrients taken into the gut—the component we have the most control over. By doing so, you can regulate the other two.9
What Kind of Diet Produces Neurotransmitters?
Certain foods are neurotransmitter-friendly and helpful in the production of neurotransmitters. By contrast, certain foods are not conducive to a symbiosis of neurotransmitters and can thwart neurotransmitter production and even deplete existing supplies. This can cause an imbalanced and chaotic environment in which mental disorders like depression and substance use disorder may run rampant.
Attributes of a diet that supports a healthy balance of neurotransmitters include:
- Gluten-free
- Soy-free
- Sugar-free
- Caffeine-free
- Probiotic-rich
Neurotransmitter-Specific Foods
A diet that sustains neurotransmitter balance is rich in foods that promote neurotransmitter production. Studies have found these specific foods to be the most beneficial in sustaining a balance of neurotransmitters:10
- Acetylcholine: eggplant, orange, beans, peas, spinach, squash, and strawberries
- GABA: beans, peas, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, oats, barley, rice, sweet potatoes, and chestnuts
- Dopamine: banana, plantain, avocado, oranges, apples, eggplant, spinach, peas, beans, and tomatoes
- Serotonin: mango, banana, plantains, passion fruit, pineapple, plums, pomegranates, strawberries, beans, spinach, tomato, wild rice, cabbage, hazelnut, kiwi, green onion, lettuce, paprika, and potatoes
Amino Acid Therapy
In addition to incorporating a diet like the one outlined above, it is crucial to recognize the importance of amino acids in restoring and maintaining proper neurotransmitter function. Amino acids form chains called polypeptides within proteins and deliver them to the body via the digestive system. Amino acids are fundamental in the production of neurotransmitters in the body. For example, the amino acid tryptophan is a necessary component in the production of serotonin. Some other essential amino acids that are required for the central nervous system to function properly and are used in the brain for neurotransmitter synthesis include tyrosine, arginine, and histidine.11
The body can synthesize some amino acids, but to get essential amino acids, the diet must include foods that naturally include them. The best source of amino acids is a diet that includes a healthy level of proteins.
Detoxification Therapy in Neurotransmitter Rehabilitation
While diet is essential to neurotransmitter therapy, diet changes can be largely ineffective if an overload of toxins is present within the body. In fact, diet is only part of a comprehensive neurotransmitter treatment plan because the key component in neurotransmitter therapy is detoxification.
It’s important to note that this type of detoxification process is a bit different than the supervised medical detox often utilized at the beginning of substance use disorder treatment. However, the two can be used together to address toxic load and the resulting mental health symptoms and drug cravings it can cause. Detoxification in neurotransmitter rehabilitation is primarily concerned with the removal of heavy metals and other environmental toxins, which bind to neuroreceptors and inhibit the proper function of neurotransmitters. If toxins are present, neurotransmitters are impaired significantly.
Heavy Metals Testing
Patients undergoing neurotransmitter therapy are initially tested for toxic metals because a buildup of these toxins can accumulate over time and disrupt chemical interactions within the body. This directly interferes with mental health and addictive behaviors.12 Some of the most common toxic heavy metals include the following:
- Aluminum
- Arsenic
- Cadmium
- Lead
- Mercury
- Pesticides
- Organic toxins
Once the heavy metal toxins in an individual are discovered via testing, a unique and personalized treatment plan can be formulated. The most effective approach is often what’s called an orthomolecular approach. This type of plan aims at eliminating toxins and restoring nutritional deficiencies through targeted supplementation and diet.
Heavy Metals Detoxification Process
To properly detox from heavy metals, many patients undergo sauna detox. Because these toxins are fat-soluble, they bind to fat in the body, where they essentially remain. The detoxification process involves first taking chelators, supplements that bind to toxins to facilitate their breakdown and remove them from the receptors. Chelators are claw-like proteins that have a stronger attraction to heavy metals than the heavy metals do to the fat. Then, in the conjugation phase, the liver attaches an additional molecule to the toxin to make it water-soluble. The toxins are then more readily flushed out of the body.11
