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.