Our digestive tract is the first step in absorbing nutrition from our food. Our stomach produces gastric acid, which contains both enzymes and hydrochloric acid. These enzymes help break down our proteins into amino acids – the building blocks for our neurotransmitters. Therefore, low levels of amino acids in the blood directly impact our neurotransmitter levels.
So why are our amino acids so low?
There can be a variety of reasons for low amino acid levels such as, low protein intake, poor gastric acid production, antacid use, or stress. Stress plays a major role in how effectively we break down our food. When we live in a state of stress, we are living in a sympathetic state. This means our body is preparing to “fight or flight” from some threat. Subsequently, this state keeps us out of the parasympathetic state, which focuses on “resting and digesting” – the time when we pump out our gastric acid. So if we eat when we are stressed, we are literally impacting our ability to produce neurotransmitters and feel happy.
High levels of stress can feed into a negative cycle of feeling poor emotionally and physically, but there is hope! Improving digestion – perhaps with dietary changes, gentle supplementation, or acupuncture – can work wonders for your mood.
So next time you’re feeling low, consider how your digestive tract feels, the two are keenly linked!
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