Foggy Head? Fatigue?

The word dopamine means different things to different people, from drug addiction to Parkinson’s disease. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and neurohormone produced in different areas of our brain (ventral tegmental, substantia nigra, and hypothalamus). It is a fascinating molecule that has been part of over 100,000+ research papers in the last 60 years and is still an enigmatic source of controversy among many neuroscientists.

Who doesn’t want better #motivation, increased drive for #happiness and pleasure, better memory and learning skills, increased concentration and focus, decreased inflammation, better sleep-wake cycle, better bone strength, increased #creativity, and well controlled body movement. Well, these are the key functions of optimal levels of dopamine in our brain.

Low levels of dopamine can lead to: low motivation, fatigue, weight gain, depression, attention problems, anhedonia (lack of pleasure), memory problems, chronic inflammation, brittle bones, brain fog, Parkinson’s disease. However, more is not better either because excess dopamine levels can lead to schizophrenia, increase addictions, aggression, decreased empathy and cooperation, constipation, and vitamin B6 deficiency.

The food and #spices that are known to help with #dopamine are : dairy (organic milk, cheese, yogurt) , Omega-3 rich foods, bananas, almonds, walnuts, and dark chocolate, basil, cayenne, cumin, turmeric, sage, rosemary, garlic, nutmeg, ginger, and caffeine.

There are really good herbs in Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine to help with many of the above symptoms. Also being in sunlight, doing #meditation, #yoga, or getting craniosacral work, #massage, and acupuncture treatments benefits too.