Dopamine: A Natural Antidepressant Substance

Dopamine is essentially a natural antidepressant. When our brains work normally, this neurotransmitter sends out signals to our body. This practice helps regulate all sorts of functions, including emotions.

Additional Functions

Besides helping you remain positive, this substance also is responsible for motor functioning/control of movement, motivation, and feeling of pleasure. It stabilizes your brain and helps manage the information that travels to a variety of places in the brain.

This substance acts as chemical messenger and often plays a role in addictions. Administering this substance in a drug format, however, does not seem to be effective. It does not do very well in treating the central nervous system.

Home Care

Although a drug cannot be made with this substance, there are foods that help increase the natural production of dopamine in the body. You can also eat a variety of foods that help product this substance:

Dopamine-producing foods

• Almonds, avocados, lima beans, and sesame seeds
• Pumpkins and bananas,
• Dairy products
• Salmon (Omega-3)

You can also follow a variety of other health tips that will increase dopamine production:

• Cut down on sugary and starchy foods, as well as those loaded with saturated fats.
• Reduce intake of alcohol or caffeine (recommended to be avoided completely by depressed people).
• Exercise on a regular basis.
• Quit smoking.
• Increase intake of fruits and vegetables.
• Take precursors that help increase production of this neurotransmitter.
• Talk to your doctor about ways you can increase production of this natural substance that is produced by your brain.
• Make an effort to reduce stress in your life that could lead decline of production of this substance in your brain.

Signs of Dopamine Deficiency

You can very easily tell if your body does not product enough of this substance. Some ways you can tell include the following:

• You have absolutely no motivation (maybe tired or depressed all the time).
• Sometimes you fall pray to compulsive gambling, drinking, sexual activity or other additions.
• Maybe you have too many cravings for the wrong foods.
• You might not be able to move around normally.
• Perhaps you think life is very dull, and you feel bored.
• Sometimes affected people have trouble concentrating.
• Other people are easily cold all the time
• Weight gain happens too often than you would like.
• You depend upon too many stimulants such as soda, coffee, nicotine or sugar

Treatment methods used to resolve this problem may vary. It may take several trips to the doctor as well as extended research to come up with an ideal treatment plan.

Once you are treated, however, your life is likely to change dramatically for the better. While seeking treatment you might be required to take a variety of tests, particularly one that evaluates the activity of your nervous system. This process is one of which you may need to be patient. It also might require a second opinion in some cases.