Serotonin, sunlite, seasonal affective disorder,weight

Another dark, cold morning...also, getting darker so much earlier at nite. Do you notice that sometimes your mood tends to be less "up" during the winter months? ("Seasonal Affective Disorder") Also, do you find yourself eating more carbs during the winter?

Here is, in part, a chemical explanation of this: Serotonin is made inside the brain from the amino acid tryptophan. When sunlite hits the retina, this makes the brain make more serotonin. During the winter months, when there is less sunlite, the brain is making less serotonin. The person is then compelled to eat more tryptophan to try to help the brain have more substrate to make more serotonin. Unfortunately, the tryptophan is present not just in chicken and turkey, but large amounts are found in sweets and carbs. These sweets and carbs carry with them lots of calories resulting in weight gain.

How do you break the cycle??? Some people use special lighting (very popular in Alaska) in their households. For a number of our patients, the oral serotonin supplementation helps dramatically with Seasonal Affective Disorder. There are also a number of people in my medical practice who require "SSRIs" (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) such as Prozac and Zoloft during the winter months. The problem with the antidepressants though is that they only raise serotonin at the mood (Serotonin-1-A) receptors and not the serotonin receptors involved with appetite and cravings.

Enough biochemistry this morning! Have a great day and.....countdown is 4 more days till our 20th Anniversary Patient Appreciation Nite....December 5th, 5-730 Pm!!! PLease join us!!!