On Wed, 28 May 1997, Pam Clausen wrote:

> Andrew, I'm still confused! How can you increase your serotonin levels
> on a low-carb diet? What supplements or foods will help?

This is not Andrew.

Drugs such as Prozac work by slowing the reabsorption of
serotonin, leaving it hanging around in the synapse longer to
find receptor sites.  If too-fast reabsorption is the problem,
then simply increasing serotonin levels might not accomplish
much.

On the other hand, there is a book out now, called _The Serotonin
Solution_, or something of the sort, that is supposed to show how
to use diet precisely to increase serotonin levels.  It is a
high-carbohydrate diet.

It is also possible that it is not the absolute level of
serotonin that matters (for depression) but the ratio of
serotonin to some other neurotransmitter, such as dopamine.
Thus, even though absolute levels of serotonin might be a bit
lower on a low-carb diet, the levels of other neurotransmitters
would be higher, perhaps making for a more balanced
neurotransmitter economy.  This is merely speculation on my part,
but it seems reasonable.  Prozac, taken in an excessive dose,
causes agitation and hyperactivity.  It could be that in
susceptible individuals a high-carb diet causes the same result,
for the same reason.

Recently, an "autism gene" was identified, and it is understood
to predispose the people who have it to have higher than normal
serotonin levels.  What is not yet understood is why Prozac seems
to help some of these people.

Todd Moody
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