Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Seratonin Levels and Diet
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
Seratonin Levels and Diet
by Jody__0__0, May 25, 1999 12:00AM
Posted by Jody on May 25, 1999 at 19:47:52
Hello. I was just wondering if anyone has any information about whether or not seratonin levels can be affected/somewhat controlled by diet.
I am a 26-year-old woman with OCD, just getting over a fairly serious bout with it. The worst lasted only a couple of days. I was given a prescription for Zoloft but was feeling better even before I started taking it, so I stopped after three pills (since I was feeling better I didn't think it was worth putting up with the side effects.) I've been doing well keeping it at a minimum with only therapy alone, and I'd like to avoid medication as much as possible. So I was wondering if there is any way changing my diet can affect seratonin levels (I'm not on any particular type of diet now.)
Although it was caused by the excrutiating stress of my recent divorce, I also noticed that my bout seemed to coincide with my period (I came off the pill a couple of months ago and have felt kind of "out of whack" since.) I can't find any information on the possible parallels, but heard somewhere that seratonin levels drop around the time of your period. Is this at all true? If that's the case, maybe going back on the pill would help because my moods always stayed very even and my thoughts somewhat relaxed while I was on it.
Thank you for your help.
Posted by HFHS.TB-MD on May 31, 1999 at 15:23:48
Dear Jody, There are several foods that contain serotonin, such as bananas , tomatoes, plums, avocados, pineapples, eggplant and walnuts. I can not say whether or not eating these would affect your OCD in a positive way. I can say that diet alone is not a recommended treatment for OCD. Medications, including zoloft which you mentioned, and/or behavioral psychotherapy are the treatments of choice.
Regarding serotonin levels around the time of your period, it is known that serotonin is influenced by fluctuations in estrogen levels. Around the time of your period, there is fluctuation of the female hormones. Although I do not have any data regarding worsening of OCD in the premenstrual time, this could be possible. There is a disorder called premenstrual dysphoric disorder which includes symptoms such as depressed mood and marked anxiety in which prozac(an SSRI antidepressant like zoloft) has been helpful. I would discuss with your physician regarding the use of zoloft to see what the most beneficial plan for you would be.
I hope that this information has been helpful for you. It is intended for educational purposes only and should not replace consultation with a physician. If you would like to see a mental health professional at Henry Ford Hospital please call 248-689-7476.
