Depression Amino Acids

Although many of us are still unwilling to accept a simple fact even at the 21st century that all of our emotional feelings are nothing but a simple reaction at biological level, it is a proven fact that most of our emotions are actually originated from a malfunction at the biological level or inadequate production of particular biological or biochemical contents. So is true with depression, though we find primarily changes in environmental factors are sole responsible for that. There are several biological factors influencing mental state although, we will currently shed light on discussing amino acids responsible for depression.

Relation between Amino Acid and Depression

Different medical studies have confirmed that nutritional deficiency does not only lead to physical disorders, but it is also responsible for developing various types of mental disorders including depression, irritability, lack of concentration, lethargy, and nervous breakdown and so on. As estimated in a survey conducted by The National Institute of Mental Health, US, over 10 million people in the United States are suffering from chronic depression with few apparent symptoms like unhappiness, sluggishness, lack of concentration and low appetite.
With the benefit of extensive researches, scientists have reached to a conclusion that neurotransmitters are responsible for mood swings. The neurotransmitters, serotonin and norepinephrine are particularly responsible for causing depression. Now it is quite evident that there are certain amino acids that are absolutely essential for the development of neurotransmitter. In fact, many scientists argue that the structure and function of our central nervous system is mostly governed by certain amino acids.

Phenylalanine & Isoleucine

Precisely, amino acids play a vital role in regulating our mood, since many of them have significant influence over our nervous system and brain functions. Phenylalanine is one of them that have a direct influence over the nervous system. If your system lacks the production of Phenylalanine at its optimum level, you will experience chronic pain in different areas of your body. In addition, you always feel low and depressed. People with inadequate level of Phenylalanine production have a higher risk for developing Parkinson’s disease.
Apart from Phenylalanine amino acid, Isoleucine is also responsible for controlling mood. Hence it is also attributed as one of the depression amino acids. In addition, Isoleucine is also responsible for producing confusion, vertigo, irritation and so on. In addition, tryptophan, a natural amino acid, is also found to be very effective in treating severe form of depression.