Any good single articles / blog post that summarizes the truth about serotonin?

[Elie]

Looking for suggestions to pass on, a one easy to read well referenced article, to someone who'd like to learn about this.

 

[Hans]

Looking for suggestions to pass on, a one easy to read well referenced article, to someone who'd like to learn about this.

Here is a good thread:

The Dark Side Of Serotonin Exposed By Haidut In 70 Studies

Below is the commentary of @haidut on 70 studies regarding serotonin. The links lead to the thread where haidut often provides some direct quotes from the study (and of course the links to the actual studies). I hope that with providing this as a whole it aids in learning in effective way about...

raypeatforum.com

You can also go on Haidut.me and search for serotonin and you'll find a bunch of stuff.

Also, I wrote an article on it: 60 Best ways to lower Serotonin (2020 update) » MENELITE

 

[Perry Staltic]

Here is a good thread:

The Dark Side Of Serotonin Exposed By Haidut In 70 Studies

Below is the commentary of @haidut on 70 studies regarding serotonin. The links lead to the thread where haidut often provides some direct quotes from the study (and of course the links to the actual studies). I hope that with providing this as a whole it aids in learning in effective way about...

raypeatforum.com

You can also go on Haidut.me and search for serotonin and you'll find a bunch of stuff.

Also, I wrote an article on it: 60 Best ways to lower Serotonin (2020 update) » MENELITE

That kind of gives the impression that serotonin is all bad.

 

[RenaissanceMan]

This video is the best summary in my opinion: It's about 20 minutes long. Worth it though. Contains studies and history of serotonin


View: https://youtu.be/ZF1BuPjny_E

 

[Grapelander]

Serotonin: Effects in disease, aging and inflammation - Ray Peat
Wilhelm Reich used some old ideas about the nervous system that were current near the beginning of the century, and Cloninger (1995) and others (Netter, et al., 1996, Ruegg, et al., 1997, Gerra, 2000), toward the end of the century, were able to incorporate the newer information about the serotonergic-dopaminergic antagonisms. In this newer view, high serotonin production causes behavioral inhibition and harm avoidance, which are traits of the authoritarian personality, while anti-authorians tend to have "novelty seeking" personalities, with high dopamine and low serotonin functions.

There have been suggestions that early life isolation of an animal can affect its serotonergic activity and increase its anxiety, aggression, or susceptibility to stress (Malick and Barnett, 1976, Malick, 1979, dos Santos, et al, 2010), and these effects are associated with increased risk of becoming depressed, and developing organic problems. Animals kept in darkness (or with blurring lenses) become nearsighted, as the eyeball grows longer under the influence of increased serotonin, and the eyes are protected against myopia by serotonin antagonists (George, et al., 2005). The incidence of myopia is increasing, at least in countries with industrialized economies, and is more common in females.

By the end of the 1950s, it was widely accepted that migraine headaches and associated symptoms including nausea and visual disturbances were caused by an excess of serotonin, and antiserotonin drugs of various types were being used for treatment.

The increase of inhibitory serotonin with stress and depression is probably biologically related to the role of serotonin in hibernation, which is an extreme example of "harm avoidance" by withdrawal. A diet high in polyunsaturated fat increases the tendency to go into hibernation, probably by increasing the brain's uptake of tryptophan. When this is combined with an increasingly cold environment, the form of MAO that removes serotonin decreases its activity, while the form that removes norepinephrine increases its activity. The metabolite of serotonin, 5-HIAA, decreases, as the effect of serotonin increases.

One of the factors promoting excess cortisol production is intestinal irritation, causing absorption of endotoxin and serotonin. Fermentable fibers (including pectins and fructooligosaccharides) support the formation of bacterial toxins, and can cause animals to become anxious and aggressive. Fed to horses, some types of fiber increase the amount of serotonin circulating in the blood. Grains, beans, and other seeds contain fermentable fibers that can promote intestinal irritation.

The liver has several ways to detoxify endotoxin and serotonin, but these can fail as a result of poor nutrition and hypothyroidism.

The lung can bind and destroy any excess serotonin that reaches it. A lack of carbon dioxide makes platelets release their stored serotonin, and it probably has the same effect in the lung endothelial cells. Without being able to bind the serotonin, the enzyme (indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase) would be unable to destroy it.

An excess of tryptophan in the diet, especially with deficiencies of other nutrients, can combine with inflammation to increase serotonin. Polyunsaturated fatty acids promote the absorption of tryptophan by the brain, and its conversion to serotonin. (A "deficiency" of polyunsaturated fat decreases the expression of the enzyme that synthesizes serotonin [McNamara, et al., 2009).

Some fruits, including bananas, pineapples, and tomatoes, contain enough serotonin to produce physiological effects in susceptible people.

Besides avoiding foods containing fermentable fibers and starches that resist quick digestion, eating fibrous foods that contain antibacterial chemicals, such as bamboo shoots or raw carrots, helps to reduce endotoxin and serotonin. Activated charcoal can absorb many toxins, including bacterial endotoxin, so it is likely to reduce serotonin absorption from the intestine. Since it can also bind or destroy vitamins, it should be used only intermittently. Frolkis, et al. (1989, 1984) found that it extended median and average lifespan of rats, beginning in old age (28 months) by 43% and 34%, respectively, when given in large quantities (equivalent to about a cup per day for humans) for ten days of each month.

The amino acid theanine, found in tea, has been reported to decrease the amount of serotonin in the brain, probably by decreasing its synthesis and increasing its degradation.

This seems to be the opposite of the processes in hibernation. Progesterone, thyroid, and niacinamide (not nicotinic acid or inositol hexanicotinate) are other safe substances that help to reduce serotonin formation, and/or accelerate its elimination. (Niacinamide seems to increase serotonin uptake.)

To provide usable energy to the over-stressed brain (and heart), R.L. Veech has advocated the use of ketones, but the pure chemicals are expensive to make. An easily available and inexpensive source of ketones (in the form of ketoacids, which can be converted to amino acids if they aren't needed for energy) is the juice extracted (with a centrifugal juicer) from raw potatoes, which also contains proteins and other nutrients. The juice can be scrambled like eggs, and is usually tolerated even by very debilitated people.

Hypothyroidism is a very common cause of increased serotonin (e.g., Henley, et al., 1998), and if the thyroid hormone is supplemented until symptoms are resolved, it's likely that the serotonin will have been normalized.

 

[tankasnowgod]

That kind of gives the impression that serotonin is all bad.

Um, that's pretty much the thinking around here.

 

[Elie]

That's great guys. I am on board with this idea.
I was just looking for one simple resource that a newbie can review.
A long time ago I think i came across a 5 part blogpost series on the forum, but have no record of it currently.
I forwarded Ray's articles and a couple of published reviews instead.

 

[aliml]

Serotonin is a Stress Hormone, Not a Happy Hormone — INNATE nutrition

Serotonin is what mainstream and alternative health knows as “happy hormone.” The most popular kind of antidepressant, SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors), increases the action of this hormone in the brain. Contrary to what we’ve been led to believe, serotonin, which wasn’t recognized as

www.innate-nutrition.com

 

[Perry Staltic]

Um, that's pretty much the thinking around here.

Maybe that's part of the problem. The body can't function correctly without healthy levels of it. If it's needing more than exists because we're always trying to drive it low, that potentially could cause issues, right? I'm not saying excess serotonin is not an issue in many instances and that reducing it helps in those cases, but that viewing it as only a bad thing is potentially problematic. I choose the path of listening to my body and giving it what it's telling me it needs regardless of following some formula I think is right. That seems to work pretty well and I never think about serotonin.