St. Johns Wort

"Depression is characterised by depressed mood and/or loss of interest or pleasure in nearly all activities and a variety of other symptoms for periods longer than two weeks. Extracts of St. John's wort (botanical name Hypericum perforatum L.) are prescribed widely for the treatment of depression, especially in German and English speaking communities."
 

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"Like all medications and supplements, herbal extracts must be taken consistently in the correct dosages to be effective. Clinical research suggests that 900 milligrams of St. John’s Wort taken in a divided dosage two or three times a day is required and it may take up to 4 to 6 weeks for any benefits to be noticed. Additional medical uses for this plant include helping the body fight disease through it’s strong antiviral and antibacterial properties and even treat pain and inflammation. St. John’s Wort oil is also used topically to treat bruises and wounds."

Balance hormones naturally

• Include good quality lean proteins, omega-3 rich foods, whole grains, a variety of fruits and vegetables, legumes in your diet. Go raw and organic and drink plenty of water.
• Limit or avoid red meats, saturated fats, caffeine, alcohol, dairy, processed foods, refined carbohydrates, sugars, soda and alcohol.
• Phytoestrogens, which mimic estrogen positively), can be found in pomegranate, black beans, dates. Also include 1-2 tbsp flaxseed in your diet daily.
• Avoid xenoestrogens (chemicals that can imitate estrogen and act as false messengers), which can be found in heated plastics, insecticides, pesticides and hormones injected into foods.
• Menopause natural remedies to balance hormones include herbs (black cohosh, dong quai, wild yam). Homeopathic remedies include cimicifuga plex. You can also use progesterone cream.
• Supplements for menopause include multi vitamin/mineral (including C,E,B6,zinc), omega-3, calcium-magnesium-D, silica, (adrenal, thyroid, liver support may be necessary).
• Exercise is recommended for bone and heart health. It also flushes toxins and reduces stress. Walking briskly for 30 minutes daily cuts symptoms.
• Stress can accelerate symptoms. Practice relaxation and deep breathing, yoga and exercise. Positive attitude is essential.
• Smoking lowers estrogen and accelerates symptoms.
• Alternative treatments include acupuncture and Bowen therapy.
• Women with breast cancer or a family history of breast cancer, or who are on medications, should always see a doctor before undergoing any program. It’s recommended to see a doctor once menopause starts.

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Xenoestrogens and Your Health

"The endocrine system is a system of glands, each of which secretes hormones (i.e. estrogen) . Hormones are the body’s chemical messengers that regulate the body. They influence almost every cell, organ and function of our bodies.
Xenoestrogens are endocrine disrupters. Their possible impact on the human body has been a topic of discussion in the area of active research in toxicology."

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The following steps will help reduce exposure to xenoestrogens and help support your body:

• Avoid xenoestrogens whenever possible.
• Include phytoestrogens (plant compounds with positive hormone-like activity). Flaxseeds are a good source.
• Imbalance of estrogen to progesterone can set up female issues. Additional progesterone could be beneficial.
• Visit a health practitioner to discuss safe estrogen metabolism.
• Start a liver and full-body detox program and continue every season.
• Detoxify and support your liver. Herbs that help with this are milk thistle, dandelion. Foods are bitter leafy greens, garlic, cruciferous vegetables, lemon, beetroot.
• Water is essential to flush toxins.
• Support your immune system with nutrient-rich, high antioxidant foods and an immune-enhancing supplement formula.
• Choose glass or ceramics over plastic. Never heat foods in plastics.
• Use personal care products, cosmetics, household products, pest controls, fertilizers, paints and oils without chemicals.
• Tips to remove toxins include dry brushing, hot Epsom salt baths and saunas. Exercise stimulates the lymphatic system.
• Avoid high fat and processed foods, reduce alcohol and sugars
• Increase fibre, consume natural/organic whole foods, hormone-free animal products, omega-3 rich foods
• Women with estrogen dominance should avoid phytoestrogens and supplements that increase estrogen.

Reducing exposure to xenoestrogens by educating yourself on these dangerous chemicals and following the necessary steps to support and detoxify your body, will have a beneficial impact on your health.

Signs of Estrogen and Progesterone Imbalance

Fibrocystic breasts, loss of libido, depression, low thyroid, facial hair, hot flashes, foggy thinking, insomnia, heart palpitations, bone loss, water retention, blood sugar irregularities, PMS, mood swings, fatigue, irritable, uterine fibroids, weight gain, irregular menses, headaches, cramps, allergies, thinning hair, high blood pressure, menopause symptoms, infertility, increased risk of cancer.
The following are helpful tip to work towards keeping a healthy balance between estrogen and progesterone levels.

• Avoid exposure to xenoestrogens. These foreign estrogens are in our food supply, personal care and household products, pharmaceuticals, plastics, pesticides, insecticides, HRT, birth control pills etc.
• Natural progesterone balances the side effects of unopposed estrogen. A properly formulated natural progesterone cream is the natural safe choice over synthetic progesterone (progestins).
• Avoid hormone-fed animal foods, high sugars and fats, highly refined, processed foods, caffeine, alcohol, food additives, preservatives and colours.
• Increase fibre, choose natural or organic whole foods, hormone-free animal products, foods rich in antioxidants and omega-3, liver supporting foods, plenty of water.
• Phytoestrogens are natural plant based foods/herbs that mimic estrogen. Generally weak estrogens with protective properties, however if experiencing estrogen dominance, phytoestrogens can only contribute and should be limited. Soy, flaxseed, red clover, black cohosh, chaste berry, dong quai.
• Supplements to support liver detoxification, immune support, omega-3, multi vitamin/mineral.
• Weight loss, stress control and quitting smoking are solutions to lower estrogen.
• Exercise reduces estrogen production and stress and also reduces stagnation.
• Get hormone levels checked and discuss proper estrogen metabolism with your healthcare practioner.

Source

Understandign Estrogens

"When we talk about estrogen, we are actually talking about three distinct hormones which work in unison within the female body to maintain health. These three estrogen hormones, estriol, estradiol and estrone, each perform their own specific role in the delicate hormonal interplay within the body. Estrogens, when maintained in healthy levels throughout a woman’s life, work to protect teeth and bones, moderate high-density and low-density lipoproteins (good and bad cholesterol) in the body and maintain vascular health. All of this adds up to better health and a longer life."

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7 Menopausal Dwarfs

  

I Hate Menopause

Menopause

You can't avoid menopause. But there are some things you can do now, before you get there, that can make the whole experience a little easier for you. Menopause doesn't have to be a trying time, and it doesn't have to make you look and feel older. Here's what you can do.

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Cider vinegar and PH level

The reason why apple cider vinegar is so famous among health-conscious individuals is because it promotes the body to become alkaline or during cases where there is too much alkalinity, it will make the body more acidic.

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Lists of Alkalizing and Acidic Food

As a general rule of thumb, your daily meals should be 3/4 alkaline – this means that each time you eat you should see to it that the foods you put in your mouth should contain 3 times as much alkaline as they do acid. The following are some commonly-known alkaline foods. It pays to have them on a list and placed on the refrigerator door, or become staples when you do your grocery shopping.

See the lists

About Ginseng

What makes ginseng so effective in balancing the acid-alkaline imbalance in your body is in its adaptogenic properties. As an adaptogenic herb, it serves the purpose of maintaining your body’s balance once your body is thrown off balance by acid toxins.

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About PH

• Most living matter operates best around neutral parts of Hydrogen (pH) of 6.8,
  except in the cell nucleus and digestive tract. 
• Saliva is 6.2 to 6.8 pH, as is urine representing the lymph and kidneys, with urine is most acidic in the morning from digesting fats and proteins overnight. 
• Blood plasma and extra-cellular fluids have pH of 7.2 to 7.4.
• pH below 6.2 or above 6.8 indicates a mineral deficiency.  
• Below 5.4 is a serious acid condition.  

A 1-point drop on the pH scale means:  10 times more acidity.  That means drinking a beverage with a pH reading of "2" is 100,000 times more acidic than a beverage with a pH reading of "7".

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We should aim to ingest 80% alkaline and 20% acid foods in our diet.

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Alkaline Foods:  potatoes, yams, squash, pumpkin, carrots, beets and tops, celery, greens, cabbage, parsley, fresh apples and cider, stewed apples, pears, peaches, apricots*, nectarines, almonds, fresh coconut juice, most fruits, bananas, berries, cherries, citrons, grapes, melons*, yellow tomatoes, sea veg, kelp, most veg., alfalfa, bean sprouts, cabbage, brussel sprouts, lima beans, cauliflower, burdock, chestnut, cucumbers, endive, ginger, ginseng, lettuce,  soy beans*, ginger, onions, parsley, parsnips, sweet potatoes, fish, ginseng,  mushrooms, .
Alkaline Conditions:  rest, sleep, breathing fresh air, exercise, laughing, conversing, enjoyments, and love.
Alkalinizing Minerals (Antacids):  Calcium, Magnesium, Potasssium, and Sodium.

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Acid-Digesting Foods acidify the blood and make the body retain water in an attempt to neutralize it. Since blood pH is 7.4, acidifying to a pH of 7 or lower could be fatal.  Proteins putrefy, starches ferment, turning to acids, requiring the buffering-cleansing effect of alkaline fruits and vegetables.  Cellular breakdown products are acid toxins that must be neutralized with alkaline minerals.  

Acid Foods:  starches in the grains corn, oat, rice, rye, wheat, bran; dried beans, lentils, peanuts, chocolate, nuts, coconut, walnuts, green olives, artichoke, young asparagus, tapioca, curry, peppers, sugar, alcohol, tobacco, wine, vinegar, meat protein, smoked or tinned fish, dairy, margarine, eggs, clams, crabs, lobsters, oysters, mullets, sardines, scallops, snapper, tuna, white sugars eaten turn to acid, and acids are excreted to break down red meats.

Acid Fruits:  green bananas, berries, cranberries, plums, and prunes (having unmetabolized benzoic acid); Other acid foods are:  white flour, sugary products, soda, saturated fats, cow's milk, cheese, meats, chemical additives and carcinogens, canned, processed, cooked, denatured foods.

Acidifying Conditions:  worry, fear, anger, envy, condemnations, selfishness, feeling unloved.
Acidifying Minerals: Chlorine, Phosphorus, Sulfur.
Body over-acidity dissolves nerve myelin sheaths, for nervous system disintegration.

Source

Balancing Acid/Alkaline food

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Foods That Help Raise pH Levels in the Body

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Eating essentials

Time to make some changes in your diet? Learn all about the food guide pyramid, remarkable vitamins, the best super foods, calorie requirements, and more.

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The importance of PH

"The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause...too much tissue acid waste in the body!"  Theodore A. Baroody, N.D., D.C., Ph.D.

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Vitamin D Deficiency Associated Symptoms

We propose that Vitamin D Deficiency Syndrome is a group of symptoms or signs typical of a disease, disturbance, condition, or lesion, a set of concurrent things and a derangement of function. VDDS is the aggregate of symptoms and signs associated with the morbid process of vitamin D deficiency, and constitute together the picture of the disease.
Osteoporosis, heart disease, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, certain cancers, depression, chronic fatigue, and chronic pain comprises potential manifestations of the syndrome. That is not to say these illnesses are caused by vitamin D deficiency, nor that repletion of the vitamin D system will cure these illnesses. At this point, all that can be said is that these illnesses are associated with vitamin D deficiency.

Source

Everything about Vitamin D

This is the website of  The Vitamin D Council

The Vitamin D Council is a group of concerned citizens and scientists who believe many humans are needlessly suffering and dying from Vitamin D Deficiency.

Vitamine D

How Much Vitamin D Do You Need?

The Institute of Medicine has set an adequate intake for vitamin D. Getting this amount of vitamin D from diet, with or without supplements, should be enough to keep your bones healthy.

• 200 IU (international units) a day for children and adults under 50
• 400 IU/day for ages 51-70
• 600 IU/day for ages 70 or over

Many experts think that these recommendations are too low, especially for people at risk of osteoporosis. Some suggest 800 IU to 1,000 IU of vitamin Da day for all adults over age 50. Ask your doctor how much vitamin D you need.
The recommended upper limit for vitamin D -- the most you can take safely -- is 2,000 IU a day for adults and 1,000 IU/ day for children over age 1. Amounts of vitamin D above this could be toxic.

Vitamin D Food Sources

The best source of natural vitamin D is sunlight. Just 10 to 15 minutes of exposure without sunscreen a couple of times a week usually gives you enough vitamin D.
Vitamin D is also naturally found in butter, eggs, and fish liver oils. Vitamin D is often added to fortified foods, too, such as milk and cereal.

Vitamin D Supplement Information

Vitamin D is available in tablets and capsules. It's also standard in multivitamins. A prescription-strength topical cream with vitamin D is used to treat psoriasis. Like any supplement, keep vitamin D supplements in a cool, dry place, away from humidity and direct sunlight.
Vitamin D is sold in two forms, vitamin D2 and D3. Vitamin D3 is preferable, since it has a stronger effect.

Vitamin D Warnings

• Side effects. At normal doses, vitamin D seems to have few side effects.
• Interactions. Vitamin D can interact with many medicines, such as drugs for high blood pressure and heart problems. If you take daily medicine, ask your doctor if it's safe for you to take vitamin D supplements.
• Risks. Signs of a vitamin D overdose include nausea, vomiting, weakness, constipation, and weight loss. High doses of vitamin D can also lead to disorientation and kidney and heart problems.

Source: WebMed

Vitamine D

The Wonder Vitamin: Vitamin D

Most of us know we need vitamin D for strong bones. Now it appears that this nutrient, or rather a lack of it, may play a role in asthma, cancer, depression, heart disease, diabetes, even weight gain. See why vitamin D may be one of the most important nutrients in your health toolbox, who's at risk for a deficiency, and the safest ways to get enough vitamin D.

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Biochemical Benefits of Yoga

• Glucose decreases
• Sodium decreases
• Total cholesterol decreases
• Triglycerides decrease
• HDL cholesterol increases
• LDL cholesterol decreases
• VLDL cholesterol decreases
• Cholinesterase increases
• Catecholamines decrease
• ATPase increases
• Hematocrit increases
• Hemoglobin increases
• Lymphocyte count increases
• Total white blood cell count decreases
• Thyroxin increases
• Vitamin C increases
• Total serum protein increases

Physcological Benefits of Yoga

• Somatic and kinesthetic awareness increase
• Mood improves and subjective well-being increases
• Self-acceptance and self-actualization increase
• Social adjustment increases
• Anxiety and Depression decrease
• Hostility decreases
• Concentration improves
• Memory improves
• Attention improves
• Learning efficiency improves
• Mood improves
• Self-actualization increase
• Social skills increases
• Well-being increases
• Somatic and kinesthetic awareness increase
• Self-acceptance increase
• Attention improves
• Concentration improves
• Memory improves
• Learning efficiency improves
• Symbol coding improves
• Depth perception improves
• Flicker fusion frequency improves

Physiological Benefits of Yoga

• Stable autonomic nervous system equilibrium
• Pulse rate decreases
• Respiratory rate decreases
• Blood Pressure decreases (of special significance for hyporeactors)
• Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) increases
• EEG - alpha waves increase (theta, delta, and beta waves also increase during various stages of meditation)
• EMG activity decreases
• Cardiovascular efficiency increases
• Respiratory efficiency increases
• Gastrointestinal function normalizes
• Endocrine function normalizes
• Excretory functions improve
• Musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion increase
• Breath-holding time increases
• Joint range of motion increase
• Grip strength increases
• Eye-hand coordination improves
• Dexterity skills improve
• Reaction time improves
• Posture improves
• Strength and resiliency increase
• Endurance increases
• Energy level increases
• Weight normalizes
• Sleep improves
• Immunity increases
• Pain decreases
• Steadiness improves
• Depth perception improves
• Balance improves
• Integrated functioning of body parts improves

Yoga

Sassy water

Lemon water has long been touted as a great way to cleanse your body, and help you lose weight. The addition of few new ingredients apparently boosts that weight loss power.

1. First, you'll need 3 1/2 to 4 quarts of water in a pitcher. Use filtered water to make sure it is pure.
2. Thoroughly wash one lemon. Slice it very thin, and add it to the water. You don't need to squeeze the juice out, just drop the slices in.
3. Peel and thinly slice one cucumber, and add to the water. Add 12 fresh, clean mint leaves.
4. Next, you will need one teaspoon of finely grated ginger. Make sure it is fresh ginger, not the dried powder from your spice rack. Add the ginger to the water. Give it a quick stir, cover and place in the refrigerator over night. Drink it chilled throughout the following day.
5. Make a fresh batch every day for four days.

Source: eHow

What is a serving of fruits or vegetables?

"The United States Department of Agriculture sets a serving size for fruit or vegetables to be equal to about one-half cup. Greens like spinach and lettuce have a serving size equal to one full cup. One serving of sliced fruit is equal to one-half cup; however a single piece of fruit, such as an apple or an orange counts as one serving."

"Many experts suggest we need from five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. That is a total. Older or inactive women and smaller children need at least three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit."


Here are some typical serving sizes for fruits and vegetables:
Fruits

• one banana
• six strawberries
• two plums
• fifteen grapes
• one apple
• one peach
• one half cup of orange or other fruit juice

Vegetables

• five broccoli florets
• ten baby carrots
• one roma tomato
• 3/4 cup tomato juice
• half of a baked sweet potato
• one ear of corn
• four slices of an onion 

Source: About.com

Six weeks of a healthier diet

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Disorders of Nutrition and Metabolism

Understanding Vitamins

Aknowledging the body

I used to think that everything was our minds: the way we percieve our world, life and ourselves.  Our reality is nothing but our creation, and our lives nothing but what we choose them to be.
And that is right.  But I found out that that choises are not free ones. 
Mind works the information that brain provides, and brain is a machine that works as good or bad as it can, in part determined by genetics, and in part because of the way we mantain it during our lives.
We are as powerfull as our mind is, and our mind depends of how well our brain works.
And the brain is part of a system called human body, which we tend to forget.
Our choises will depend on our perspective, and our perspective will depend on our mood.  And our mood depends on the level of  serotonine our body is producing.
And the level of serotonine produced can be improved with a healthy diet, exercise and quitting adictions.
It took me a lot of years to find out that the only way to reach our potential is start taking care of our bodies, not because of vanity but because it is a wonderful machine, but also very frail.  And because everything we are and will be depends on how well the different parts of it are working.

Vitamine B6

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is required for the synthesis of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine and for myelin formation.

Major sources of vitamin B6 include: cereal grains, legumes, vegetables (carrots, spinach, peas), potatoes, milk, cheese, eggs, fish, liver, meat, and flour.

Studies have shown the benefits of vitamin B6 in relieving edema and reducing water retention, improving magnesium deficiency, peripheral neuropathy, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, rheumatism, cardiovascular occlusions and myocardial infarcts, learning and developmental disorders, and autism.

Technically, vitamin B6 is an umbrella term given to three different vitamins, pyridoxine, pridoxal, and pyridoxamine. The three B6 vitamins work together with other enzymes to speed up chemical reactions in cells. Those processes include making amino acids, creating neurotransmitters like serotonin and metabolizing energy released in creating red blood cells. Vitamin B6 benefits also include helping to balance hormones and strengthen the immune system.

An Energizing Approach to Weight Loss

1. Green Tea is well known for its antioxidant powers, but it also suppresses appetite, increases energy production and enhances lipolysis, the breakdown of lipids stored in fat cells. The catechins, green tea’s antioxidant flavonoids, aid the body in burning energy from fat stores rather than other energy sources like carbohydrates.

2. Chromium Improves the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats from the diet through thermogensis, the raising of the body’s core temperature. Chromium helps increase metabolism.

3. Yerba Mate helps make energy last longer, adding more oomph to your day naturally by prolonging the half-life of ATP, the main energy source for the majority of cellular functions. Yerba Mate also relaxes smooth muscle, while stimulatinges cardiac tissue, making your resting heart rate is higher, while relaxing smooth muscle, thus burning more calories without any feelings of anxiety

4. Guarana Extract
Increases energy levels, helps suppress appetite, and reduces fatigue. It also extends the activity and potency of other key ingredients increasing caloric expenditure and providing you with energy longer.

5. Quebracho is an herb found in South America that contains an active compound called Yohimbine that helps increase energy levels, promotes fat oxidation and fights free-radical production.

Full article     

3 herbs to enhance Serotonin and Endorphin production

The first is the relatively unknown Indian herb, Gymnema Sylvestre-called the "anti-sugar" herb for its ability to cut back/stop sugar cravings — which has been used by Indian healers for nearly 2,000 years and has long been associated with alternative medicine. 

Another important herb for the sugar-sensitive person is Ginkgo biloba, perhaps the single most important herbal medicine in the world. This herb is an effective antidepressant, in part because it counteracts one of the major changes in brain chemistry associated with aging — the gradual reduction in the number of serotonin receptor sites. Besides increasing the number of serotonin receptors, Ginkgo biloba may also enhance the effects of 5-HTP by inhibiting the MAO enzyme (White, Scates, and Cooper, 1996). A preliminary study found that in patients who took 160mg of Ginkgo biloba extract, MAO inhibition was 30 percent higher after one hour and 50 percent higher after three hours. Another forty double-blind studies show that Ginkgo biloba extract is effective in the treatment of decreased blood flow to the brain.  

To enhance the effects of 5-HTP for depression, consider St. John's wort. Over twenty-five double-blind controlled trials on St. John's wort for depression show this herb can be of significant benefit compared to conventional antidepressants. In fact, the tenth International Congress on Neuropharmapsychology in Vienna was told this year that extracts of Hypericumi (St. John's wort) are now a first line treatment for depression — the first time that a herbal psychotropic preparation has been presented as such an event. Researchers agreed that standardized Hypericum extracts appear to provide a safe, effective, and virtually side-effect-free alternative to synthetic anti-depressants in the treatment of mild to moderate depression.

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The Sugar Connection

"Why do some people have problems with alcohol, nicotine and other troubling behavior — like overeating, overspending and overworking — while others do not? 

Research into neurochemistry suggests the reason may be that the sugar-sensitive personality appears to have a dysfunction in two separate, but connected, biological systems that affect emotions and behavior. These dysfunctions include a lowered level of serotonin functioning and an augmented response to beta-endorphin within the reward systems of the brain (Gianoulakis, Krishnan, and Thavundayil, 1996). The consequences of these separate disturbances are both physiological and psychological.  

The lower the level of serotonin, the more severe and widespread the potential impact for your body. For example, low levels of serotonin can cause overwhelming sugar cravings. Research has shown that many people with bulimia have insufficient supplies of serotonin. Low serotonin levels are also involved in depression, a common and often serious mental disorder characterized by a very low mood and reduced levels of functioning. Lack of serotonin can disrupt your sleep patterns and lead to insomnia. Studies show that migraine headaches are the result of low serotonin levels, and that boosting serotonin can prevent these headaches from developing. Because serotonin directly regulates the body's response to pain, and affects other neurotransmitters involved in pain control (like endorphins), maintaining adequate serotonin levels can help relieve such painful syndromes as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and premenstrual syndrome.

In many ways, the imbalance of brain chemistry is a tragic, but predictable, by-product of our contemporary, fast-paced, stressed-out way of living. And the longer we are forced to cope with stress, the more out of balance our brain chemistry becomes. 

Cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse, high sugar intake, blood sugar disturbances (hypoglycemia and diabetes), and excessive fat consumption all put tremendous stress on your body. Over time, this stress seriously impairs your ability to manufacture, and make use of, the necessary brain chemicals. By the same token, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, eating a nutritious and balanced diet, exercising, and learning effective stress management techniques can go a long way toward restoring optimal levels of neurotransmitters in the brain.
Making these adjustments in your life takes time and effort, but the results are well worth it. Meanwhile, these are steps you can take to help restore your body and your mind to a higher level of functioning."

Full article   

The Difference Between Natural Enhancers-Serotonin and Endorphins

"The difference between serotonin and endorphins is that serotonin is the neurotransmitter and a catalyst that promotes well being. Endorphins are the chemicals released during physical or mental stimulation that are natural enhancers that promote feelings of well being.
The more one knows about the difference between serotonin and endorphins and how these mood enhancers contribute to a person's mood and well being, the easier it is to find ways to incorporate strategies to live a happier more fulfilled life. This can be accomplished by incorporating natural methods to increase the low serotonin level in the brain and effective ways to release endorphins within the brain."

Full article

Endorphins

"What are they and why do I need to know about them?  Well, they are a chemical in your brain that can affect your depression.  If you are taking anti-depressants (which work to elevate seratonin levels in your brain), and they are not enough--you are still not feeling happy, content, or at peace-- you may have low endorphins.  Endorphins are an opiate, and effect your brain the way that morphine does (morphine is also an opiate).  It is the chemical responsible for "runners high"

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Effects of low serotonin

" the low availability of serotonin in the system may stimulate food cravings. The sight, smell or expectation of food stimulates serotonin release in the hypothalamus, a part of the brain known to regulate feeding and sleep. When eating serotonin continues to rise, until it registers in the hyptothalamus as the experience of satisfaction. So id you didn't know now you know that the full feeling in your stomach actually comes from your brain. So If you increase serotonin availability or activity you will tend to reduce food consumption. If you decrease serotonin system activity you will tend to increase food consumption.

The lack of serotonin can even stimulate cravings for things such as alcohol and cigarettes. Drinking alcohol raises serotonin levels but only temporary and then lowers it. This is why people feel so joyful when first drunk and then crash into anger or depression almost immediately. For cigarettes, the nicotine element will increase serotonin activity in some parts of the brain temporarily, and then when the serotonin activity falls, the craving for another cigarette occurs."

Read full article

How Low Serotonin Levels Affect Your Body

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Serotonine and diet

"Unfortunately, there are no foods that directly increase serotonin. Eating foods high in tryptophan does not work, either, as not enough of the amino acid enters the brain for conversion into serotonin. So what does work? Carbohydrates. Carbohydrates trigger a release of insulin, which keeps tryptophan levels high enough to enter the brain and be converted into serotonin. Adding foods that are high in B6 to your diet is also beneficial, as the vitamin accelerates the rate at which tryptophan is converted to serotonin. Foods high in B6 include spinach, bell peppers, bananas, garlic, and tuna."

Source: Amanda C. Strosahl, Full article

Understanding serotonin

"Serotonin, also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT, is a hormone used as both a neurotransmitter by the central nervous system and a vasoconstrictor by the vascular system.

The primary function of serotonin is that of neurotransmitter, allowing chemical messages to be sent from one area of the brain to another. The brain releases serotonin from the raphe nucleus, a cluster of neurons in the brain stem, into a neurochemical network that reaches almost every part of the central nervous system.

Due to its extended reach, serotonin has a direct or indirect effect on a large number of psychological and physiological functions, including mood, appetite, sleep, memory, learning, temperature control, sexual behavior, social behavior, and the workings of the digestive system, cardiovascular system, endocrine system, and muscles.

The link between serotonin and depression

The link between serotonin and depression is not fully understood at this time. Many researchers believe low levels of serotonin cause depression. Some researchers believe other chemical imbalances or brain abnormalities cause depression and that leads to low serotonin levels. Yet another group of researchers believe the link is somewhere in between those two theories.

Despite the debate on the exact cause, researchers do agree that low serotonin is somehow connected to such psychological problems as depression, anxiety, seasonal affective disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. They further agree that increasing serotonin levels in the body can help relieve the symptoms of these conditions. "

Source: Amanda C. Strosahl, full article

How to increase serotonin in the human brain without drugs

Since the level of serotonin that the brain produces is the cause of a good mood or depression, it's important to know there are options to improve the production of this neurotransmiter without the need of pills.

1. "self-induced changes in mood can influence serotonin synthesis. This raises the possibility that the interaction between serotonin synthesis and mood may be 2-way, with serotonin influencing mood and mood influencing serotonin"

2. "Exposure to bright light is a second possible approach to increasing serotonin without drug"

3. "A third strategy that may raise brain serotonin is exercise. A comprehensive review of the relation between exercise and mood concluded that antidepressant and anxiolytic effects have been clearly demonstrated"

4. "The fourth factor that could play a role in raising brain serotonin is diet. According to some evidence, tryptophan, which increases brain serotonin in humans as in experimental animals, is an effective antidepressant in mild-to-moderate depression. Further, in healthy people with high trait irritability, it increases agreeableness, decreases quarrelsomeness and improves mood."

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C-Reactive Protein

"“Drugs are a supplement, not a substitute, for a healthy lifestyle.  Losing weight helps reduce CRP.  Exercise can lower CRP.  Smoking increases CRP."

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Statins: Are these cholesterol-lowering drugs right for you?

Should you be on a statin? These cholesterol-lowering drugs have benefits and risks. Find out whether your risk factors for heart disease make you a good candidate for statin therapy.

The role of the edible knowledge

Foods are chemicals too, hence they will affect us at a physicall level.  As they say "we are what we eat"

"Foods are themselves akin in many ways to subtle drugs.  The distinction between these two categories is by no means clear-cut.  The blurring of bundaries is borne out by the recent baptism and rapid grow of so-called functional foods or nutraceuticals, "designer foods" that combine nutritional value with alleged disease-preventive and medicinal benefits.  In fact, all the constituents of food are psychoactive.  We just can't practically distinguish their differential contribution to the psyche.  In choosing to eat this food or that, one literally determines who and what one is going to become, a choice arguably a matter of some importance.
In the human mind/brain, the half-life of a typical protein is perhaps ten days.  Thus a large part of one's deepest thoughts, feelings and memories is made up of the dietary ingredients of one's previous dozen meals"

Stephen Davies and Alan Stewart - "Nutritional Medicine"

Benefits of quit smoking

• 20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drops.
• 12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
• Two weeks to three months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
• One to nine months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.
• One year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's.
• Five years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5 to 15 years after quitting.
• 10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker's. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decreases.
• 15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker's

From Stop Smoking Foundation

Herbs that help quit smoking

Lobelia Plant

Quite possibly the most effective stop smoking herb around, the Lobelia herb is hugely successful because of its ability to mimic the effect of nicotine on the brain without being addictive. This is largely due to its primary active ingredient, lobeline. With this in mind, today's leading herbal stop smoking products include Lobelia as a chief ingredient in their formulas. Those using herbs to stop smoking can virtually guarantee their success with the incorporation of the Lobelia plant.

• Coltsfoot, horehound, and mullein eliminate tar and other foreign substances from the lungs.
• Mimosa relieves the headaches and anxiety most smokers experience when quitting.
• Passion Flower - promotes calmness and relaxation, which will help with the irritability you may experience
• Peppermint leaf - has relaxation and detoxification powers
• Ginger root - aids in digestion and relieves the nausea that nicotine withdraw sometimes produces
• Skullcap - used in the treatment of anxiety and nervous tension
• Eleuthero Root - combats stress and fatigue and helps boost the immune system
• Elderberry Flower - protects against inflammation of the upper respiratory tract
• Echinacea Purpurea - helps stimulate the body's resistance to infection, disease, fever and blood poisoning
• Safflower - contains anti-tumor properties 

From Stop Smoking Foundation

Stop Smoking Plan

• First, you have to decide to quit. This sounds simple enough, but you really need to be serious in your decision if you want to stick with it.
• Then, you should set a date to quit smoking by. While you don’t want to set an unrealistic goal, you also don’t want to make it so far away that you talk yourself out of it by the time the day rolls around.
• Plan for your first tobacco-free day. It’s going to be a rough one, but if you’re ready for the challenge, you’ll have an easier time getting through it.
• Tell your friends and family about the goal. A little support can go a long way toward your quitting,
• You also need to get rid of any smoking related materials. Ashtrays, old cigarette packs, lighters, and other paraphernalia can cause you to slip up. Get rid of the temptations!
• Lastly, simply remember this is a long-term battle. Stay confident, and be ready to face those hard days head-on.

 From Stop Smoking Foundation