Serotonin Support Basics
Neurotransmitters Most people have heard of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Neurons talk to each other something like junior high kids in study hall passing notes. Some of the chemical messages are inhibitory and some are excitatory.
Serotonin is key to modulation pathways. For example, a signal from the motor cortex of the brain to the biceps has to be modulated or it would be an all or nothing response. Without modulation the biceps would contract with full force or be completely relaxed. The same would be true for an emotional pathway. A person would be totally calm or emotionally out of control Obviously a person can't get much done without a properly functioning modulation pathway and that requires serotonin.
At OVitaminPro.com we have noticed an epidemic of low serotonin. The pharmaceutical companies have noticed this too and have formulated quite an array of products that act on the serotonin pathways. We take a different approach, and our aim is to give the brain raw materials it can easily use to construct and regulate the chemical messenger system.
We also look for reasons a person might have low serotonin. Some of the common reasons that have been researched or noticed in a clinical setting are things like emotional or physical trauma, heavy metal contamination, too many carbohydrates in the diet and of course gluten ingestion in a gluten sensitive person. I address these topics in other blogs and videos.
Many people can get off their medication for serotonin problems with proper holistic management. We have seen this quite often. It does take some work but is worth it.
Some of our favorite products for increasing serotonin production are from NeuroScience. Most commonly used are TravaCor and Serene. A new product worth mentioning is Travagen also from NeuroScience. Travagen uses tryptophan instead of 5-HTP as a serotonin precursor. 5-HTP can be converted directly into serotonin, but tryptophan needs one additional chemical step to get to serotonin. For some people the rapid conversion of 5-HTP is just too fast so for them tryptophan makes sense. Like TravaCor, Travagen also contains two additional components including taurine and theanine. Taurine helps increase the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. Theanine helps limit the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. The result is the increase of inhibitory activity and less excitatory activity. You will appreciate this when you are trying to get some quality sleep time.
Travagen or TravaCor, see links below!
