Brain Food Diet

How can you increase the amount of Dopamine your brain produces without using AHDH medication such as Ritalin.
Can you make your body and brain produce more through diet and/or exercises?
If so, what foods and types of exercises will work best?

- Ripe bananas; the ones with brown spots on them are the ones that have the highest levels of dopamine.

- Eat lots of fruit and vegetables which contain antioxidants and this lowers your free radicals which lower dopamine levels. Best choices – red beans, blueberries, cranberries, artichokes, prunes and strawberries.

- Reduce sugary foods and saturated fats, which lower dopamine levels in the bloodstream.

- Cut out caffeine and alcohol, which both cause dopamine levels to sink.

- Almonds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds which have tyrosine in them.

- Eat plenty of dairy products, which they have tyrosine in them as well. Also the protein which is in chicken, fish and eggs.

- Eat plenty of carbohydrates – low-carb diets are notorious for causing depression from low dopamine levels. There’s a book called "Potatoes Not Prozac" which discusses the importance of carbohydrates.

- Take vitamins C and E for their antioxidants.

- Meditate to reduce stress, as stress lowers dopamine levels.

- Get plenty of sleep; lack of sleep lowers dopamine levels.

- Exercise is important, and it needs to be endurance-based eg yoga, swimming, long-distance running and cycling. However, TOO MUCH exercise will lower dopamine levels, so don’t overdo it. Exercise to the point where you feel good and where you get a better night’s sleep afterwards.

Ok well this all started a couple days ago. I was smoking a ciggarette and within like 1-2 minutes, all of a sudden my hands started to loose feeling. so i stop and freak out a little, go get some water, and lay down. I have been smoking for about 2 years, a pack a week. Nothing has ever happened-no signs ever came up. Since then i stopped smoking and changed my diet-no junk food. I am young, 17 years old.

Since then I have feeling in my hands-can feel, think, coordinate and everything. But the wierd thing is i feel weak and different (hard to explain). Like i feel like I am controlling my movements, not my brain. Should i wait like a week until i consult my doctor, or what?

P.S. I have no neck/back pain whatso ever, only problem is in my arms.

it could have been a pinched nerve, and self resolved. if it does comeback, i would go see your doctor, and actually go see him.. don’t flake on it.. your body doesn’t just start going numb for no reason.

How can you increase the amount of Dopamine your brain produces without using AHDH medication such as Ritalin.
Can you make your body and brain produce more through diet and/or exercises?
If so, what foods and types of exercises will work best?

Anti-psychotic (Neuroleptic) medication is one way, examples are Risperidone, Quetiapine, Haloperidol.

Dopamine is strongly linked to reward. Activities like sex, gambling, and drugs/alcohol will increase it. Not that I recommend unhealthy choices.

A lot of people already tell me that I am very smart, but I just want to be smarter. Is there some kind of activity I could be taking part in? Maybe a diet? Or is there some place online that has free and easy ways to learn college level material. Also, is shrimp really a brain food?

Be clever in making use of your body and mind. Make best use of them.

how long does it normally take for the chemicals ,etc to kick in and start making the person feel disoriented etc?

why is this?

what are the chemicals doing to the brain or nerves?

also, how thought patterns change too?

please explain

btw, which area of the world are you?

and WHY some people just seem to eat crap all the time and not seem to be any different? do they just not know any better?..lol

thanks for your answers!

Some one who is used to eating a healthy diet full of vitamins and proper amounts of proteins would undoubtly suffer from switching to a processed food diet.

They’d be denying their body proper nutrition and this could lead to a chemical imbalance and feelings of depression, lack of energy, and irritability. This could happen in a matter of days to weeks.

Eventually they might get used to it, but all of these symptoms are a sign that the body is not getting all that it needs.

For vegetarians, going back to meat can cause them to feel sick, guilty, or not have any effect at all depending on the person. It also depends if they eat lean meats, or processed fast food meats.

And for those who "eat crap all the time" and seem to have no effect? it’s because they’re body has gotten used to such a diet that they don’t notice anymore. It never goes without effect though. They can still be unhealthy even thought they claim to feel fine, and many drawbacks will effect them later on life that they don’t consider at the time. Obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol are some drawbacks that often don’t come into play until years down the road.

Are there any known dietary supplements and foods that have been shown to improve brain function?

Not really. everything is under debate.
Omega 3-fish etc.
Glucose-proven
Chronium-proven to stablise glucose
Gingko bibloka-increases circulation and suposedly memory-takes a good two wks to kick in though. I did notice a slight difference-made me more alert and my concerntration improved.
There are things called smart pills or some name like that. They just seem to make you more alert though.

Fatty foods, preservatives slow down brain function. Better sticking with veggies.

My Jack Russel Terrier is 8yrs old . The vet says he is just loosing oxygen to his brain!! HE just started this falling down all the sudden and not moving this year after falling. Now when he falls on his side he is in PAIN and crys and his body jerks!
ISN’T THIS A SEIZUERE TYPE OF THING?
He was put on a kidney dog food diet and did have whip worms which are treated. He had the BAD dog food that went around. THIS DOG WAS A PERFECT HEALTHY DOG!!! I have had him for FOUR years and ALL THE SUDDEN BOOM!!!
The vet says if he is not loosing his bowels or urine then he is not having seizures? I can’t believe that for some reason..MY guts say that can’t be true! IS IT>? I have a lot of experience with animails of all sorts and have never seen one with something of this nature., I am taking him BACK to the vet and I have to challenge his answer about this . My heart and gut tells me there is MUCH more wrong than him getting to excited and loosing oxygen and its no big deal, not to worry?

no

I am now starting this new diet and i just feel hungry all the time. Back then, i would eat a Big Mac mean Large and still feel hungry. Now its even worse because i am not eating as much food. So as i progress with this diet will my stomach/brain get accustomed to feeling full off of small quantites?

stomach can stretch to fit a lot of food. Once you lose weight though your body will adjust to much less food intake but if you wanted or you had a really good meal in front of you you can eat a lot still.

When youre smaller it takes less to satisfy you.

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that is also known under its brand name of Sorbitol.
It appears in many processed foods – diet and otherwise (e.g. in the UK every make of ‘Lemonade’ contains it.)
You can easily spot which products contain aspartame as the manufacturers now include a statement (or should that be warning/disclaimer) at the bottom of the ingredients list that the product contains "a source of Phenylalanine".

If I consume this product I develop a headache which is like a square block of dull aching pain at the top of the head, which lasts for around three days. Also since I’ve avoided taking it I no longer get those occasional sharp shooting pains which feel like a hot knife being plunged into the brain.

Anyone else had similar effects from aspartame?

I agree. i try to avoid the sweentener as much as possible, but unfortunately its in just about everything, including toothpaste! It has been said by the people who introduced it that it is safe, as its in small doses. However, if its in lots and lots of products, then don’t we consume a significantly high amount of it each day? Yes, I for one hardly get headaches, but certainly do get them if I consume products with aspartame in. I only learnt this when I started to avoid all sweeteners some time ago, thats when you do notice the difference.

How did you develop you current nutritional habits?
Every individual has different nutritional habits some choose to eat healthy and some choose to eat unhealthy but the different between them is something individual are unaware. I hardly eat junks food even though they are the best things and really delicious I would love to have junks food but I don’t get time to eat. In the morning I usually have tea with a bread or cookies or probably nothing and for lunch I will have some sort of salad in school and when I go home I eat rice, chicken, vegetable anything my sister or my mom have cooked for me. Then I have to have something in the evening like fruits or juice because I usually work out in the evening so I need to have fruit or something to drink healthy and then I eat twice at night because I am awake for longer time so I need to eat and keep myself full my dinner is usually the same as lunch nothing really different unfortunately. I have developed this habit because I have been doing this for longer time and it was through my parents they cause me eat this many times but now they regret of making my habit that way because I finish everything at home.

What is the relationship of food to health?
Relationship to food to health is really big the way people act, talk or looks like really appears of what you take in to your stomach. Changes in our understanding of diet and health drive changes in the way foods are processed. On the other hand, what is available on the shelf will have an impact on the choices consumers make, thereby affecting their health. Studies have indicated that nutritional factors do contribute to the development of some of these diseases. After eating contaminated food, people can develop anything from a short, mild illness, often mistakenly referred to as "food poisoning," to life-threatening disease. Right food can make you appear healthier physically mentally and emotionally. so choosing the right food is very important.

What are the health problems that might occur from bad diet decisions?
There is many health problems that can occur from bad diet decisions such as Eating junk food during pregnancy could have a bigger impact on childhood obesity, liver disease and diabetes. Almost one-third of children aged six to 19 and 12 per cent of infants in the United States are overweight, according to a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and obesity is now the most prevalent nutritional disease of children and adolescents in the US. " A high-fat diet in the womb may also affect the "appetite centre" of the brain. Also eating a lot of trans fats that contain partially hydrogenated oil probably increases the risk of heart disease. some diet also effects your breathe which many people are unaware of it such as Low-carb diets may be good for your waistline, but you might not be able to say the same for your breath. Bad breath in the low/no-carb sect is often caused by certain chemicals that are released in the breath as the body burns fat. They are called ketones, and entering into a fat-burning state of ketosis is the hallmark of the Atkins diet. It’s a difficult problem to solve because if one uses any sucking candy or lozenge, one has to be careful that it has no sugar in it
Why is permanent weight control best achieved by the combination of diet and exercise?
When you eat healthy food and exercise you remain in shape and controlled and away from obesity that you might get from junks. You are much more healthier then the rest of other who choose to eat unhealthy food for there dinner, lunch and breakfast as you exercise you burn off your calories and fats which leads you to remain much more healthier then others. Your heart is healthier you remain free from being obese and any other physical or mental disease that might occur. You are just doing yourself a favor and minimize a lot of health issues and when you take in healthy food inside you remain healthy you feel better and lighter and just happier believe it or not eating healthy food really effects your brain and pressurize your mind in a healthier way.

It is good to eat nutritiously everyday….. You feel better, have more energy throughout the day, and feel happier all over……