Is Serotonin good or bad?

Well that is the question, and I think the answer is not what people think. Serotonin does seem to have a dark side that not many people are aware of. Which I believe is an injustice, especially as so many people are struggling with their health, specifically mental health.

Is Serotonin good or bad? I argue its “bad” at high levels and I hope to put forward some of my argument below for you to consider.

Many of us have been led to believe that “boosting” serotonin or having “high” serotonin is a good thing and especially good for our mental health. But what if the contrary is true? What if what we have been told about serotonin is inaccurate or even a lie? It wasn’t until the 1960s that the present doctrine regarding serotonin came into effect and a big part of this was due to pharmaceutical involvement (what’s new!).

It has been well documented and published in the research over the years that serotonin has a dark side. From increasing mental health issues including psychosis and seizures, to increasing inflammation and slowing thyroid function. Serotonin also effects ACTH or Adrenocorticotropic hormone, which is a hormone your pituitary gland releases that triggers your adrenal glands to release cortisol, the “stress hormone.” (I will link several papers to this blog and not to go too deep down the rabbit hole that is serotonin. But if you have any questions, please reach out to me!)

First, let’s understand what serotonin is. Serotonin is an amine, not a hormone. Serotonin, an endogenous amine, is a neurotransmitter derived from the amino acid tryptophan. The easiest way to think of amines is as near relatives of ammonia, NH3. Many of us know that too much ammonia in the body is problematic, the same can be said for serotonin.

Serotonin’s other names include thrombotonin, thrombocytin, enteramine, and 5-HT, its chemical name (5-hydroxytryptamine). Serotonin is produced mainly in the gut (small intestine) but can be produced in small amounts in the vascular system and brain. Most of the serotonin in our body is made from “gut bacteria”, more so “bad bacteria” – to put it simply.

It was also initially called enteramine following its discovery due to its function of smooth muscle contraction in the gastrointestinal tract after its release from the enterochromaffin cells. Later, researchers identified that serotonin is also released as a neurotransmitter in the human brain.

The Dark Side.

As mentioned already, it has been recognized for decades, actually longer, that increasing serotonin or that high serotonin is problematic. It has even been recognized in court hearings, that high serotonin can contribute to mental health issues and is high in those with psychotic behaviors and schizophrenia. As per this study titled “Jury finds drug 80% responsible for killings”.

There have been several judges who have recognized that murders would not have happened had the defendant not been on SSRIs – serotonin reuptake inhibitors (the most commonly used drug for depression and other mental health disorders), which acts by increasing the action of serotonin in the brain.

Psychologists and doctors have also known that high serotonin and these new generation anti- depressants are dangerous… since the 1950s when we were using MAO inhibitors to treat mental health disorders, which were a better option because it helps to detoxify serotonin.

Its been recorded that high serotonin is a factor in;

☞ Depression
☞ Anxiety
☞ Psychosis
☞ Schizophrenia
☞ Bipolar
☞ Feeling low and demotivated
☞ Feeling unworthy
☞ Feelings of sadness and other mood disorders
☞ High serotonin has also been connected to addiction, gut issues, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, low thyroid function, seizures, chronic fatigue syndrome, and even cancer.

On top of the above issues with the above listed issues, high serotonin has also been connected to adrenal dysfunction or “adrenal fatigue” as it is commonly referred to, chronic fatigue syndrome, migraines, low thyroid function and metabolic rate, accelerated aging , gastrointestinal issues including IBD, IBS, polyps, and colon cancer.

The normal intestine contains about 95% of the serotonin in the body (and the brain normally contains only about 1%), and in the normal person only about 1% of the dietary tryptophan is converted to serotonin. But in an advanced case of carcinoid, 60% of the tryptophan can be turned into serotonin. – Dr Ray Peat.

What concerns me most about serotonin is its effects on mental health, which is not good, as we are seeing. With mental health issues in society being higher then ever, understanding serotonin is paramount in my opinion. I will remind you that mental health issues includes feeling anxious, overwhelmed, frustrated, irritable, low in your moods, and your propensity to turn to vices/addictions to self medicate (this includes workaholism and scrolling mindlessly on your phone).

Aggression is also very concerning and its quiet clear that serotonin plays a part here. From domestic violence to bullying, everyone deserves to feel safe. And maybe if we (society/people) understand serotonin better or had not been lied to about serotonin, we could help to reduce instances of aggression and violence in our homes and communities, by making sure our serotonin levels are low and well managed.

And lastly (for now), high rates of serotonin have been show to increase rates of suicide; The Boston Globe in 2000 stated “Three years before Prozac received approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in late 1987, the German BGA, that country’s FDA equivalent, had such serious reservations about Prozac’s safety that it refused to approve the antidepressant based on Lilly’s studies showing that previously non suicidal patients who took the drug had a fivefold higher rate of suicides and suicide attempts than those on older antidepressants, and a threefold higher rate than those taking placebos.”

“Using figures on Prozac both from Lilly and independent research, however, Dr. David Healy, an expert on the brain’s serotonin system and director of the North Wales Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Wales, estimated that “probably 50,000 people have committed suicide on Prozac since its launch, over and above the number who would have done so if left untreated.”

Reducing Serotonin.

So clearly, reducing serotonin is something that needs to be talked about! And it is my intention to do a follow up blog post on how serotonin affects metabolism, estrogen dominance, histamine and migraines, but for now… if you can start reducing serotonin by using some of the information in this blog, I have no doubt you will experience benefits/improvements in your health life.

Serotonin is mainly produced in the gut as mentioned above, and is formed from tryptophan and melatonin (this is one of the reasons why I don’t like using melatonin with my clients). So right here we see with need to improve gut health and watch out intake of tryptophan. There are many antagonists of serotonin but I am only going to list what I feel is doable or reasonable for most people. The following tools help to reduce serotonin;

• GABA.
• Progesterone.
• Thyroid hormone.
• Aspirin.
• Methylene Blue.
• CoQ10.
• Vitamin D3 and K2.
• Quercetin.
• B vitamins.
• Chlorophyll.
• Amino acids (BCAAs and EAAs) may be beneficial for some people.
• Serrapeptase and other enzymes.
• Akkermansia Muciniphila (bacteria strain) can be very very helpful!
• Fasting (but this needs to be done with the support of an educated practitioner).
• High quality protein.
• Eat your fruit and vegetables! Check out my raw carrot salad recipes on my Instagram page. According to Dr Ray Peat, raw carrot salad, cooked button mushrooms and cooked bamboo shoots are great for improving gut health and reducing serotonin.
• Ripe fruit and simple carbs are full of nutrients and easier to digest. These are less inflammatory on the gut.
• Reduce PUFAs or poly unsaturated fatty acids as much as possible in your diet. PUFAs drive gut inflammation, increase serotonin, and destroy mental health.
• Reduce tryptophan containing foods like tofu, soybeans(edamame), tilapia, quinoa, nuts and seeds.
• Optimize your sleep.
• Make sure your are having bowel movements DAILY! If you need to use some sort of laxative, then so be it. But if constipation is a real problem for you, I advise you ask your doctor to test you thyroid and run some other tests if needed.
• Reduce inflammation as much as possible.
• And if you believe you have estrogen dominance or excess body fat to lose, then it would be wise to get working on that, as estrogen is a contributing factor in serotonin. And body fat cells make their own estrogen.
• PS; you don’t need to purchase all the recommended supplements. Maybe pick 2 or 3 you would like to try. The rest of the advices can be mostly implemented easily.

Above all, get your gut health in line! Reducing GI inflammation and endotoxins is key to reducing serotonin.

I hope, as always, that this information is helpful to you. Please share if you know anyone that make benefit from this information, and reach out if you have any questions at all!

Best regards,