What are neurotransmitters and what do they do?

We’ve all heard the term, “chemical imbalances” but what exactly does that mean.  We hear it so often related to depression, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, PMS, hot flashes, fatigue, cravings, even for insomnia.  But what exactly is a chemical imbalance?  Why do we have them?  And more importantly, how do we re-balance those chemicals?

When we talk about chemical imbalances (CI) we are talking about neurotransmitters (NT) the little hormone like brain messengers that send signals to our body.  The name speaks for itself, “neuro” meaning the brain, and “transmitter” because it sends signals. 

NT tell the body what to do…they can tell the heart to pump faster, the pupils to dilate, your arteries to constrict, your lungs to expand, and so much more.  But they can also tell your brain to either get excited and stimulated or to quiet down and relax…it all depends on which NT your body is triggering.

NT can easily be though of as either “excitatory” or “inhibitory.”  The ‘excitatory’ NT tells your brain and body to become excited, to prepare for some stimulation or activation.  The predominate ‘excitatory’ NT that put us in that ‘fight or flight’ mode are epinephrine, more commonly known as “adrenaline.”  As well as norepinephrine, dopamine, glutamate, phenylethylamine (PEA) commonly found in chocolate, histamine and aspartic acid. 

The inhibitory NT are GABA, serotonin, taurine, and glycine.  They tell the brain and body to calm down, relax, to chill-out.  They almost work in opposition to each other.  I’ve heard it best described as the excitatory NT are like the gas pedal and the inhibitory NT are the brakes.  You need them both working properly so you don’t crash your car, but if they are out of balance…problems set in. 

People who suffer from depression, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, insomnia, cravings, weight gain, fatigue, PMS and hot flashes are a result NT or chemical imbalances.  They may be producing too much or not enough of the excitatory or inhibitory NT.  Most antidepressants, anti-anxiety and anti-convulsing medications sold today are trying to manipulate the levels of serotonin and or dopamine in their body.  In fact, many weight loss drugs are designed to manipulate the serotonin and dopamine levels, which are both associated with moods, pleasure and satisfaction. 

Stress and poor diet have the biggest influence on over-or-under production of our NT.  Stress will trigger our adrenal glands to produce more cortisol and adrenaline.  Constant stress keeps us in that “fight or flight’ mode throughout the day, which keeps taxing the adrenal glands to continually produce more adrenaline and noradrenaline. Like cortisol, if stress is prolonged, the adrenals can reach a point where they no longer produce adequate levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline.  This is classic adrenal exhaustion and fatigue…the inability for the adrenals to produce adequate levels of adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol, which results in fatigue, weight gain, cravings, anxiety, depression, weakened immune function, allergies, insomnia etc.    

Poor diet will affect NT in a few different ways.  First inadequate intake of essential nutrients will result in deficiencies and the inability to produce adequate levels of various NT.  This usually occurs because of eating too much refined and processed food and NOT enough intake of fruits and vegetables. 

The second culprit with regards to diet is our inability to maintain our blood sugar throughout the day.  This is usually a result of skipping breakfast or missing meals, eating too much refined food which causes our blood sugar to fluctuate.  Regulating blood sugar with proper diet is critical because when we miss meals or eat the wrong foods that cause our blood sugar to jump up and down throughout the day.  We literally ask (tax) our adrenal glands to produce more cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline.  Yes, they are stress hormones, but they also are produced to raise blood sugar when it drops.  This is how we overtax our adrenal glands; they have to stabilize your blood sugar, which leads to adrenal exhaustion and fatigue.

The third way poor diet affects our adrenals is when we eat foods that contribute to bloating, gas, indigestion, heartburn, and other irritable bowel problems.   (Read Reducing Irritable bowel problems) When we suffer from those symptoms we irritate and inflame our intestinal lining.  This triggers the adrenals to produce more cortisol to reduce the inflammation.  Again, we over tax and continually exhaust and deplete our adrenals glands.  This continual draw or tax on our adrenals will eventually move us to adrenal exhaustion and fatigue if we don’t continually nourish our adrenals with a good Adrenal Support Formula.

Keep in mid, adrenal exhaustion and fatigue is when the adrenals don’t produce adequate levels of cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline.  This occurs only after the adrenals have been over-worked or on over-drive for a prolonged period of time, which causes an elevation of these hormones.  Whether its stress or poor diet…if you’re constantly taxing your adrenals to produce more cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline, you over-stimulate your adrenal glands and that is NOT good!

As you can see chemical imbalances are NT imbalances, which can be corrected to help with so many health challenges if we can identify where the real problem is coming from.  This is why measuring neurotransmitter and adrenal function is always a smart first step in planning a strategy to help you restore your health.