Need more happy? Feed your dopamine receptors
 

In What is the dopamine diet? I found a list of foods which help your brain balance. Look familiar?



Most of these recs will fit right into our low carb plans. And the ones that don't will explain why these are "comfort foods" in some respects :lol:



Wow. This is fascinating stuff. It fits right in with how dopamine receptor drugs often help people with ADHD or autism. Things go downhill in the article, such as their notion of "healthy fats" but the science is sound. I've been reading some cutting edge stuff about anxiety.

For instance, a habit of procrastination is tied into dopamine issues. It takes more to activate the dopamine, which is what lets our brain put our bodies into action. If you have resistant dopamine receptors, it takes ANXIETY to activate them; and being late is what "flips the switch."

To me, this explains a lot about improved moods on low carb, and maybe even my success with therapeutic niacin. Niacin is vital for dopamine production. With it, my anxiety -- which had progressed to panic attacks -- is so much better.

And when you look at the SAD -- it really doesn't support anyone's dopamine.

If we could just redirect them from bananas to the bacon!
I would love to see a controlled study of autistic children put on bacon and eggs with lots of foods cooked in pork and beef fat.
Take them off of the macaroni, pizza and french fries.

lol, as I read I too jumped to the ADD brain.


Wonder why bananas made the list.

And no mention of tryrosine.

Will add niacine to list to buy.

There's a movie with Dr. Tim Noakes, The Magic Pill, where exactly that happens. The little girl is 3-5; it's hard to tell because she acts uncontrolled like a toddler, and will eat only three junky things.

Over the course of the documentary, they transition her to low carb. And she is transformed into a verbal, happy, little girl who seems to have developed a couple of years in her skills.

That sounds like a wonderful improvement in her young life. I'll have to watch it.

Yes, worth watching!!!!!

Autism is a spectrum of different issues and varying degrees. It is a catch-all term. ADD runs in families. Asbergers runs in families. Very different from each other.

Eating a diet that is keto, whole foods and drops the vegetable oils is definitely a PLUS. The brain functions best on such a diet. And targetted supplements are a must.

I have come to think the entire mental health outlook Western Civilization has adopted is skewed in unhelpful ways. Part of it is the expectations imposed on children with disorders which might simply be pointless conformism. It's unreasonable expectations which creates the label of disorder when it might just be differrent.

Doctors mistake cultural expectations as something that's "normal." While people with different kinds of brains suffer from an inability to respond as expected, I also think "normal" people suffer from mindless conformism, it's just not as obvious. But all those depressed and anxious people come from the "normal" pool too.

While some people regard their psychiatric drugs as lifesavers, others find the slog through adaptation, recognizing side effects, and trying to find "the right one" to be added stress with no real help. I don't think that is recognized, either: the latest studies seem to indicate they are reliable for one third of the population. That's a lot of people left out without help.

You have good points.

Dr Amen has been my go to resource for ADD. He is a remarkably kind and thoughtful doctor. One not afraid to buck the system.

After years of treating clients and family, his focus is correct diagnosis as treatment for one area of the brain could hurt other areas. Causing greater dysfunction. He's also interested in food, supplements and exercise first. And use of pharmaceticals second.

Thru his book I saved my son from suicide when the medical -behavioral health system sent him home after an emergency eval.

I had been reading Healing ADD, and realized it was worth taking the risk of following Dr Amen,s advice.

Supplemental L-tyrocine and SAMe pulled my son thru.......

He doesnt make friends easily, didnt have a constant playmate. Kept his head down at school. Then with the start in a new school , H. S., he found his passion, and friends. And gaming. The SAMe was no longer necessary and he now had a precription for Concerta. There are a few other supplements and food choices that help,too.

The gaming goes on even during lockdown. 3-4-5 nites a week he is gaming and practicing social skills with boys he knows from school.


He struggles more than most kids, but he is now happy and jokes and smiles. His interaction is smoother most times.

Im praying he continues to feels like he belongs, and isnt on the outside looking in.

(He gives me permission to share his story. And I do so in hopes of giving others hope.)

I'm so happy your son has found his place :) And that you could help him.

Yes, he just needed a boost in dopamine and seratonin, and manage depression without the pharmacutical drugs which just mask imho.

Also, the neurodiverse can adapt the brain to the drug and it stops working. If it did.

Right. When tyrosine stopped working for my son, I was willing to push for a trial use of Concerta.