Boosting Your Winter Mood: Beyond Exercise – Turmeric, Amino Acids, and Chiropractic Insights

 In last month’s blog you would have read all about serotonin (our “happy hormone”) and dopamine (our “motivator hormone”), how inflammation can affect these two main feel good hormones and what research is out regarding the effect of chiropractic adjustments on inflammation! If you missed it you can read it here https://www.bespokechiropracticmanning.com/bespokechiropracticblogs/beat-the-winter-blues-exploring-chiropractic-care-and-mood-support

Now I am sure you are already aware that exercise is great for our mood, it literally floods our brain with serotonin and dopamine but what else can we do to help boost the levels of our happy and motivator hormones if we can’t or don’t want to exercise during the cold, wet winter weather?

Turmeric latte anyone? Curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric and you may have already heard about its anti-inflammatory properties but did you know this delicious spice also helps increase levels of dopamine! Now if you don’t really fancy drinking it you can always enjoy it in a curry!!

There is a major amino acid called L-Tyrosine which is required by our body to make dopamine. This amino acid can be found in almonds, avocados, bananas, beef, chicken and eggs. L-Tyrosine enhances mood, improves sleep, increases general emotional well-being and your cognitive functioning. It can be especially useful if you are experiencing a period of increased emotional or physical stress where your dopamine levels may be depleted.

Another amino acid we use is L-Theanine and it is used to make serotonin, dopamine and several other neurotransmitters. This amino acid is super relaxing and puts us in a state of calm alertness. It also improves our memory recall, ability to learn, our motivation and positivity.There is absolutely loads of it in green tea and the good news is that it works with the caffeine also found in green tea to sharpen your memory, focus and concentration without leaving you feeling “jittery” or “wired” like coffee might do.

Of course as a Chiropractor I am biased but with chiropractic adjustments our aim is to improve the function of your spine and nervous system. Chiropractic adjustments can help improve or restore the motion to the joints of your spine which in turn allows more normal motion and function of your spine. This may decrease any pain or tension in your spine and the surrounding muscles which may have the side effect of also helping your mood because we are all a bit irritable if we are in pain and less likely to move our bodies if it hurts.

*Disclaimer - This is not medical advice and is meant for educational purposes only. If you have health related conditions or complaints please seek advice from your health care professional. This is particularly important when it comes to mental health. If you don’t know who to see, reach out and we can point you in the right direction.