“Why do I have to eat carbohydrates so my brain can make serotonin? Why can’t I just take a pill?” I hear this question repeatedly from weight-loss clients who want to increase their serotonin levels without wasting calories on carbohydrates.

“Look,” one of them said recently, “ you are telling me to eat carbs before a meal so serotonin will cut back my appetite and I will eat less. But wouldn’t I lose more weight if I could take serotonin in a pill. Why do I have to eat something in order to eat less?

It is a reasonable question. Since we depend on serotonin to control our moods and eating, why can’t we find a drug or supplement to make more when we need it? In the early l970’s it was discovered that the brain made serotonin only when carbohydrates were eaten alone, without protein. And since then, no effective and practical way of increasing serotonin without eating carbohydrates has been found. Antidepressants don’t make more serotonin; they simply make the serotonin in the brain more active. And instead of helping serotonin decrease eating, antidepressants are associated with significant weight gain.

Even if serotonin could be put in pill form, as are many other substances like calcium that our bodies may need, taking it would be useless since it cannot enter into the brain from the bloodstream. Many years ago, people could take an amino acid called tryptophan in pill form. Tryptophan participated in the first step toward making serotonin. But tryptophan no longer is available, as it was associated with a contaminant which caused several deaths. There is another pill that one can buy usually in health food stores or on the web called 5HTP. This substance is made from tryptophan and is a serotonin-like substance. Serotonin is made from 5HTP and 5HTP does get into the brain.

Sounds like the perfect answer, doesn’t it? Unfortunately 5HTP has an annoying side effect. It puts people to sleep. When you take an amount large enough to have any impact on mood and appetite, you will feel very sleepy. Of course when you are asleep, you usually don’t have any appetite and no one can tell what mood you are in because you are not awake.  Supposedly 5HTP could work to stop snacking and overeating at meals, especially if you fall asleep before dessert. But unless scientists can figure out how to prevent this side effect, taking 5HTP will not be a practical way to lose weight.

So we are back to carbohydrates and even though they obviously contain calories, they bring some wonderful qualities. There are many types of carbohydrate foods:  pasta, potatoes, rice, cereals, breads, crackers, tortillas, and polenta, just to name a few.  Carbohydrates are inexpensive, easy to prepare, and when eaten in a low or no-fat form, hold a moderate number of calories. Also, they taste good and their main side effect is to make you, the eater satisfied and comforted. Isn’t that much better than swallowing a pill?

Bookmark:

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed