Norberto Abdala
08/02/2021 8:10
Clarín.com
Live
Updated 08/02/2021 8:10 AM
Question: Five years ago I felt very bad and they always told me that it was stress and that I had to face my things differently. Luckily, a doctor told me that it was indeed stress, but in an analysis that he asked me, it showed that I had a very low substance called serotonin.
Joaquin Cabrera.
Mendoza.
More and more frequently it is detected that a large part of the population has low levels of serotonin, a chemical in the nervous system that
is essential to have a good mood, avoid impulsivity, modulate pain
, control the intake of food, sustaining a satisfying sexuality, enjoying everyday things, among many other functions.
The reasons why it is so common to find people with this decline point to two main factors.
One of them is stress (a concept so mentioned that it can sometimes lose its importance) and that in our environment takes on special validity as a result not only of the pandemic that is going through the world but, also,
of the economic, labor and social uncertainty that arises. live for a few years in this part.
A drop in serotonin levels in the body causes stress.
Photo Shutterstock.
Stress means overload and one of the main reasons that triggers it - sometimes silently - is uncertainty and
a future outlook that is unpredictable or negative
, both essential to aspire to an emotional life that pretends to be healthy.
Stress is a great consumer of serotonin, which is why what is used is faster than what is produced, which is why
the body enters a quick and easy deficit.
In turn, the decrease in serotonin levels in the nervous system, added to other hormonal changes that usually occur in parallel,
reduces the psychological and physical resources to satisfactorily face the appropriate responses to stressful situations.
Thus, a vicious cycle is generated that usually ends in depression, anguish, bad mood, irritability, impulsivity, sexual dysfunction, persistent pain, panic attacks.
The current diet, with the high consumption of refined flour and sugars, greatly influences the decrease in serotonin.
Norberto Abdala, physician
A second factor
influencing the decrease in serotonin is the current diet
, where the intake of foods that have a higher proportion of refined flour and sugars usually prevail.
A diet of this type not only deviates from what a healthy diet should be
but, due to the increase in blood glucose it generates, alters the absorption of tryptophan, an essential amino acid (it is so called because it is not manufactured by the body but rather takes foods that contain it) which is the essential raw material for the body to manufacture serotonin.
To make matters worse,
when a person is stressed, their body asks them to eat foods rich in fats,
carbohydrates and sugars, three of the main enemies of serotonin.}
What foods to eat
It is appropriate then - and if the economy allows it -
eat foods rich in tryptophan
: fish, chicken, eggs, milk, pumpkin, legumes, vegetables, nuts, soybeans and wheat germ.
These foods also contain omega 3, zinc and magnesium, also essential for the manufacture of serotonin (in addition to tryptophan).
Eating foods rich in tryptophan, such as eggs, helps raise serotonin levels.
/ Clarín Archive.
Having serotonin levels below normal has been associated with other diseases, such as autism, schizophrenia, hyperactivity, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, irritable bowel, fibromyalgia, in which many times there is no explanation for its genesis.
Currently,
the level of serotonin can be measured in the blood with a simple blood test.
EM
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