Picture this: A striking white, spotless kitchen is the setting, where a perfectly demure mom is packing lunches for her two charming children. A catchy jingle plays in the background as the kids kiss their mom good bye and pick up their backpacks to go to school.

“Don’t forget your breakfast!” The mom winks and tosses a carb-filled-frosting-glazed-sugary snack across the counter, through the air, and straight into each child’s waiting hand.

“Oh! Wow, my favorite! Thanks mom!” The kids cheer in unison. Munching on their candied confections, they grab their paper lunches, and skip out the door.

What this surreal and magical video doesn’t show is what happens in class later that morning.

Imagine a different scene: You are in a classroom filled with 15 kids and one teacher. He is standing at the board, chalk in hand and arithmetic tables are sprawled out before him. The kids are squirming around in their desks restlessly. Some are shooting rubber bands at their adversary across the room while others are in a daze, a line of drool slipping out the corner of their cheek. Frustrated with his students’ lack of attention, the teacher does his best to rally his class. Enter scene: Our hero from scene one, the happy, perfectly serine seven year old boy is now slouched so far in his seat that he has landed on the floor beneath his chair and is now army crawling towards a wad of paper that he had used as a weapon just moments before. This causes uproar amongst his peers and a mutiny breaks out.

The common outcome for a child in these circumstances: Who is chronically inattentive, disruptive, or hyperactive in class, is that he or she is referred to their primary care physician who slaps on a diagnosis of ADD/ADHD and prescribes them pharmaceutical methamphetamines.

But what if we rewind this whole scenario and go back to the beginning? You might notice that despite the breakfast company’s brilliantly nostalgic marketing campaign, is it possible that loading a child up with carbs and sugar in the morning might have something to do with their behavior later at school?

Believe it or not, your diet does matter.

There are a myriad of possible causes for a child’s inattention, difficulties with concentration, comprehension and behaviors. Here are the most common culprits:

1. Insufficient sleep: I don’t know about you, but when I don’t get enough sleep it is hard for my brain to work and I end up craving quick feel-good, dopamine boosting solutions, eg: sugar, carbs, and more sugar. Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep, your child likely needs upwards of 12 hours. Talk to your doctor about your child’s specific sleep requirements.
2. Foods: If garbage goes in, garbage comes out. For example, if a child eats a high-carb, high-sugar breakfast not complimented by any fat or protein, that child will have a blood sugar crash later that morning. Blood sugar crashes can cause inattention, brain fog, poor memory, irritability, nausea, hunger, sweats, and more. Try to focus on a breakfasts comprised of a protein, a fat, a vegetable and a piece of fruit.
3. Emotional distress: A peaceful mind is much more able to create, think and concentrate. Work to cultivate a mindful morning ritual with your children. Forming healthy habits when they are young will set the stage for healthy habits as adults.

Let’s go back to our mom in the story above. Sometimes it’s tricky to know what to feed our kids and what not to feed our kids. Below is a list of the top three your kids should NOT be eating for breakfast:

1. Sugar and carbs: Instead, try to focus on fat and protein. Eg: breakfast sausage, lunch meat, hard boiled or scrambled eggs, stir fried veggies, raw veggies and nut butter dip.
2. Things containing food coloring: Food coloring has been associated with ADD/ADHD and other cognitive and behavioral issues. Quick tip: Look at the ingredients label on the back of the food item you are considering, if there is a color and a number listed, throw it away.
3. Artificial ingredients: Research shows that artificial ingredients are linked with attention and behavioral concerns in both children and adults. Good rule of thumb: If you can’t pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t be eating it. Instead, focus on whole food ingredients that are found on the periphery of the grocery store.

To learn more about how our gut affects our brain, download the Gut Psychology Program today and get started on the journey towards the health you’ve been dreaming of!

Dopamine to your mind and body is like a ray of sunshine on a growing tree. The neurotransmitter dopamine is vital for life and the more you know about your dopamine levels, the more empowered you will be. In this blog we will tackle the following questions:

1. What is dopamine good for
2. How does dopamine affect my mind and body
3. What are signs that my dopamine is too low
4. What are signs that my dopamine is too high
5. Laboratory testing and dopamine
6. Solutions for balancing dopamine

Now let’s get started!

What is dopamine good for?

Dopamine is the quintessential “feel good” neurotransmitter. It drives motivation, formation of memories, goal directed behavior, it curbs impulsive behavior, promotes learning and impacts mental performance. Additionally, dopamine is a key fitness neurotransmitter as it controls your hormones and influences muscle building.

Dopamine affects your hormones via several different mechanisms. Dopamine opposes a hormone called prolactin. Prolactin in turn has an inverse relationship with testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. When prolactin is high, these other hormones may be low, and visa versa. Therefore, if dopamine is elevated, prolactin goes down, and then your testosterone, estrogen and progesterone may rise. If dopamine is low, prolactin may rise and your other hormones may correspondingly drop. Of course, there are other variables that contribute to the rise and fall of hormone levels and a more individualized examination of your unique body may reveal even greater depth of understanding.

In addition to supporting mood and balancing hormones, dopamine is a key neurotransmitter for fitness experts. The right amount of dopamine will improve your body’s responsiveness to weight bearing exercise by promoting muscle growth and it will impact your performance by motivating you and keeping you persevering.

What’s the deal with dopamine, anyway?

As we discussed, dopamine has a complex relationship with your hormones. We also know that your gut plays a key role in dopamine levels. In fact, it is believed that the neurons in your gut makes just as much dopamine as the neurons in your brain (central nervous system). Dopamine production in the gut is regulated by the enteric nervous system (ENS) which is a complex mesh of neurons that communicates between your gut and your central nervous system. If the ENS of your gut is out of balance, either due to candida overgrowth, dysbiosis, the presence of parasites or other pathogens, the way your gut produces and regulates dopamine may change. This will impact the way you feel in your mind and body.

What are signs of low dopamine?

The best way to accurately test dopamine levels is through what is called dopamine markers. My favorite way to examine this is by looking at Homovanillic (HVA) marker specifically. While this is not a perfect test, in conjunction with your symptoms, we can get a pretty good understanding what might be going on with your dopamine levels.

Do I have low dopamine? If you answered yes to two or more of the following, consider talking to your Naturopathic Doctor about whether or not your dopamine may be out of balance.

• Lack of motivation
• Difficulty with concentration
• Lethargy
• Difficulty with focus
• Forgetfulness
• Failure to finish tasks
• Mood swings
• Depression
• Poor tolerance to stress
• Fatigue
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Muscular weakness
• Low libido
• Poor stamina

Do I have high dopamine? If you answered yes to two or more of the following, consider talking to your Naturopathic Doctor about whether or not your dopamine may be out of balance.

• Anxiety
• Agitation
• Addiction
• Hedonism
• Paranoia
• Suspiciousness
• Feeling withdrawn
• Impulsivity
• Delayed puberty/ infertility
• Frequent colds/ flus
• Headaches
• Heart palpitations
• Low prolactin on lab testing

What can I do if my dopamine is out of balance?

If you suspect your might benefit from a deeper look into your dopamine levels, you’re in the right place. Learning more about your health and feeling empowered is the first step towards achieving your goals.

In addition to working with your personal Naturopathic Physician on addressing your individual needs, making changes to your diet and lifestyle can make a huge difference in helping you feel like yourself again. For example, if you have low dopamine, you might consider asking your doctor about the Dopamine Diet. Contrastingly if you suspect high dopamine, be sure to avoid the foods listed on the dopamine diet.

The Dopamine Diet: Foods that increase dopamine

Foods that are high in tyrosine will increase dopamine in the brain. Examples of foods that are high in tyrosine include:

• Bananas
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Duck
• Chicken
• Fava beans
• Ricotta cheese
• Oatmeal
• Mustard greens
• Edamame
• Seaweed
• Wheat germ
• Dark chocolate (72% or greater)

Dopamine Supplements May Improve Depression Symptoms, Mood, and Motivation

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