What Foods Affect Dopamine?

Transcript:

Melanie: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition brought to you by Nutritional Weight & Wellness. I'm Melanie Beasley, a Registered and Licensed Dietitian. And today we're talking about the topic of how food affects dopamine. So you might have heard terms in the media like dopamine detox, dopamine menu, or dopamine fasting.

And dopamine has really become a wellness buzzword for the moment, but people are building routines around it and trying to reset or detox it. And the reason why this topic is trending is because we're living in a world of constant stipulation, notifications, scrolling, quick hits of entertainment and breaking news.

And all of that stimulates our brain's dopamine system. But over time that can leave you feeling overstimulated, easily distracted or depleted like nothing is satisfying anymore, which is why trends like dopamine fasting are gaining traction as people try to reset their brains. We all just really want to be comfortable.

Britni: Absolutely.

Melanie: That's the goal here. So today we're going to cut through the noise and talk about supporting a healthy dopamine balance through your food choices. No detoxes, no extremes, just physiology that actually makes sense and is doable. And joining me today for this discussion is Britni Vincent, also Registered and Licensed Dietitian. Hi.

Britni: Thank you, Melanie. I mean, I am seeing dopamine everywhere in the media, but I think it's good. We're having this awareness of how our modern environment is impacting our brain.

Melanie: Because just like us doing this particular topic. It's because it's trending. So I love the awareness because eventually that leads to education.

Dopamine basics

Britni: Absolutely yes. Let's before we really dive in, let's take a step back, go over the basics. Dopamine is our brain's neurotransmitter for motivation, drive, reward. And so if you're having lack of motivation, it's hard to get yourself to do anything. That could be low dopamine.

Melanie: Which is why you might find yourself scrolling and clicking and all of a sudden you're like an hour's gone by because you are motivated by that dopamine hit.

Britni: So dopamine, it's what helps you want to do things like starting a task, actually following through and feeling satisfaction after you've accomplished something. So this reward and motivation system, it was developed through evolution to enhance our survival.

Melanie: Interesting.

Britni: However, in our modern times, our dopamine more or less has been hijacked by things that cause unnatural surges or frequency of dopamine. So really we're not designed to get constant hits of dopamine through our smartphones or all the technology.

Melanie: It is okay to have a moment of boredom.

Britni: And you know, the same goes with ultra processed foods. They really are designed to give us a surge of dopamine higher than we would get from real whole foods. And this can lead to the addiction like patterns where we can't stop eating.

Melanie: Yeah, this is by design. This is what sells products.

Britni: Yes, so we get that surge of dopamine from food. Well, our brain is smart and then we want more and more, and it keeps us coming back. Whereas you probably wouldn't feel that compulsion to overeat real whole foods in the same way.

Melanie: No, but you'd feel a more peaceful. So ideally we want to feel steady amounts of dopamine and have to motivate us to do the things that we need to get done every day, feel good about accomplishing those things. But the ultra processed junk foods, and I put that junk food in quotations because they're designed to be extremely rewarding. Think about the perfect mix of sugar, fat, salt and texture. This combination creates a large rapid dopamine release in the brain, much stronger than what you would get from, say, broccoli and a chicken breast, you know, that come from nature.

But actually, that's healthier for you. And I'm sure all of us can relate to a time where you felt junk food calling to you or you couldn't put a certain snack food down. I remember my stepdaughter made me sugar cut out cookies. She made them gluten free. And she made them. She said, here, Mel, these are for you. Well, I plowed through that tin within a day.

Britni: Yeah, I’ve been there, done that too.

Melanie: Yeah, not by accident. It is, I'd like to believe that's chemistry, not my character. But so certain snack food is really hard to put down. It's a lot easier to end up eating way more than you intended to. Maybe for you it's chips, ice cream, a big bowl of popcorn, soda, these all give you that huge burst of dopamine, which really feels good for those first few bites or sips keeping you coming back for more.

But that I can't stop with just one feeling, that really is chemistry there. And when manufacturers make these foods, this is what they're looking to because they can sell more. But then afterwards you feel depleted or let down or mildly depressed. Maybe even into the next day you can feel pretty lousy.

So these foods are designed to give us a big rewarding dopamine boost, but over time, frequent exposure to these intense dopamine spikes can lead to a reduced sensitivity. You know, we talk about insulin sensitivity. This is similar. It's a dopamine sensitivity.

So in other words, your brain starts to adapt by dialing down its response so the same foods feel less satisfying. I call it chasing the dragon. You keep going back, looking for that original satisfaction that you had.

But it just doesn't get the same effect. It's just like a drug or an alcohol abuse behavior. Over time, you need more and more to get that same effect. Suddenly, it's affecting your health, your weight, everything is affected.

Britni: Yeah. Then when you are getting these huge surges, your dopamine is lower than it was before you ate that food. And then our brain senses low dopamine. So like you said earlier, we are seeking out behaviors to increase that dopamine back up, whether that's food, scrolling, shopping.

Melanie: Shopping, clicking.

Britni: Gambling. I mean, whatever it might be.

Melanie: Alcohol. Yeah, you're looking for that.

Britni: And so this behavior of pleasure seeking isn't just about food cravings. It can also affect motivation and satisfaction just more broadly in your everyday life.

Melanie: You know, and I think it starts affecting self-esteem. I have a lot of clients that come in and they say, I just can't stop. It's just who I am. This is how I am. And you can see their shoulders relax and a sigh of relief when I tell them it's really chemistry. It's not your character. And we get the chemistry right, you're going to feel sane. You'll be the boss of the food instead of the food being the boss of you.

Britni: Absolutely, it is not a willpower thing. It is more than that. And you know, when your brain is used to this constant high level of stimulation, everyday activities and healthy behaviors may feel less rewarding by comparison. So you might find yourself needing a high sugar and caffeinated latte to get through your morning, or maybe you need a diet soda in the afternoon to keep motivated to get your work done.

And this is why regularly eating high sugar and ultra processed foods can create a cycle of more and more cravings, less satisfaction, and then ultimately a higher threshold for feeling good. Again, not because of lack of willpower or laziness, but because of how your brain is adapted.

Melanie: And I don't know about you. I do know about you because it's the same experience I'm having in clinic, which is we're seeing more and more people that have problems with anxiety, depression, lack of motivation, no get up and go. And this could very well be the piece, I think.

Britni: I do think so too. It is absolutely a piece of the puzzle why, and you know, we hear about this more with teenagers.

Melanie: It's tragic. The anxiety is through the roof.

Britni: They are struggling with more and more anxiety and depression and again our modern world of dopamine hits I think is just contributing.

Melanie: It may be that processed box of macaroni cheese. So, you know, in dietetics and nutrition science, we are taught to look at food through the lens of macro and micronutrients, calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, but ultra processed foods, that's a different animal. They can also be viewed through the lens of addiction science. So which considers how substances are designed for compulsive consumption.

So when we talk about avoiding ultra-processed foods, it's not just about your waistline or your physical health. It's about what it's doing to your brain. It's so much more than just what you look like and how you step on a scale. An ultra-processed food diet changes your brain's reward system, changes your taste preferences to only prefer those foods. Sneaky.

Britni: So sneaky.

Melanie: So sneaky. So dirty. And I like to emphasize this to my clients that if you are addicted to ultra processed foods, it's not your fault. You can't know what you didn't know. And these foods were literally designed to get you addicted to them.

And the message behind dieting and weight loss has always focused on individual responsibility. Eat better, exercise more, have self control. Boy, what a joke that is. But it might be time to push back on that idea when someone is trying and struggling to cut back on junk food. It may not be a failure of discipline or willpower. It could be the result of decades of food product design in action. So we're here to fight it.

Britni: Yeah, yes, I think and individuals feel so much guilt and shame around this and their food addiction. And I think like you said, it's so helpful to recognize this is your biochemistry. And you know, what we're going to talk about too is you can change it.

You can change your taste preference biochemistry

Melanie: You can change it. And I hear from clients that are maybe in their 50s or 60s, well, you know, I ate this as a kid. I didn't have any problem. But the food manufacturers have gotten wise to what sells. And so things are not what they were. French fries used to be, when I was a kid, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, French fries used to be potatoes and lard. Now there's probably 19 chemicals.

Britni: And I think too, in this scenario, the sad part is real food doesn't taste as good. If you're used to these unnatural, highly palatable foods, for example, fruit’s not going to taste as sweet when you're used to high added sugars or artificial sweeteners, which are just way sweeter than a piece of fruit would be. But the good news is your brain is adaptable and we have the ability to change our taste preferences. I mean, I see it all the time with clients.

Melanie: I do too. Clients go back to a cheat after they've been eating real food and they're like, I couldn't take it. It was just too sweet. It didn't taste like it used to. The Coke doesn't hold appeal for me anymore. And that's because your brain has shifted back to craving real foods.

Britni: Yeah, it's amazing.

Melanie: It’s freedom.

Britni: And it does not, you know, it can happen fairly quickly too. It really can. So how do we do this? How do we get back to a balanced level of dopamine?

How to get back to a balanced dopamine level (think protein!)

Melanie: Yeah, let's talk about the foundation of how we get a healthy balanced dose of dopamine from our diet. Dopamine is made from an amino acid called tyrosine, which comes from protein in your diet. So if you're under eating protein, you're basically not giving your body enough raw material to make dopamine effectively. And this is especially relevant for people who skip meals, under eat.

Or eat meals mostly consisting of processed carbs, very little protein. And I'm not talking about a processed protein bar, a processed protein shake. I'm talking about real food protein, anything with a face or makes a face. That’s the protein I'm talking about. So we want most of our protein to come from animal sources like chicken, beef, turkey, fish, eggs, yogurt, or other dairy products. Having consistent protein across your meals is a very big deal for healthy brain chemistry. You can just, your mood is going to improve dramatically.

Britni: We see it.

Melanie: All the time.

Biochemical assistants to convert protein into dopamine

Britni: All the time. Yeah, it is amazing. So the protein gives you the raw materials, but your body still needs helpers to convert it into dopamine. So think of these little biochemical assistants. So key little helpers would be iron, B vitamins and magnesium.

Iron is a big one. Low iron can directly impair dopamine production. And you know, this is something we see frequently in menstruating women. So it could manifest as fatigue, brain fog, low motivation.

Melanie: Hair loss. We see a lot of that.

Britni: Headaches. I mean, the list goes on. Again, it's not laziness, it's physiology in your body. Deficiencies of these key micronutrients can impair dopamine production. So if you are a woman who's menstruating, I think it's always a good idea to request a ferritin, your iron storage marker.

Melanie: Love that. And what value would you like to see?

Britni: Really optimal is close to at least 50, even closer to 75.

Melanie: Yeah, and I'm seeing more and more men with low ferritin. The hemoglobin hematocrit values are normal, but the ferritin is low. And sure, shootin', they have anxiety. So I just had a client and he had not been diagnosed for, I suspect, 10 years with celiac disease. So his ferritin was really low. Well, he struggled with anxiety for the past 15 years of his life. Well, course his ferritin was low. He wasn't absorbing. So there's a lot that can go into it there.

And then we talk about B vitamins and those help with the actual conversion steps in the brain. So where do we get those B vitamins? Again, real whole foods. Iron comes from meat, especially red meat, and smaller amounts of plant foods like green leafy vegetables and legumes, but they're not as well absorbed as what you get from a blood source.

B vitamins also come from a variety of animal-based foods as well as whole plant sources. And you could find on any of these from a farmer's field. So I'm not talking about you bought cereal and it says it's fortified. Those are the technical term is the “crappity” crap B vitamins. We're talking about when it comes from real food, it's in the process that your body can utilize it.

So eating a variety of these real whole foods every day lays the groundwork for healthy neurotransmitter function. Not too much, not too little. May be necessary to add in some key supplements like a quality multivitamin, methylated B complex, along with an iron supplement if you're deficient. Don't run out and buy a bunch of iron because you want to test that because it can build up in the system. We will be right back and talk about dopamine after our break.

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Britni: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. Melanie and I have been talking about dopamine and how our modern world lowers our dopamine. And then just before break, we were diving into how we can increase our dopamine levels just by focusing on what we eat.

Blood sugar swings impact dopamine response

So, continuing on that conversation, I want to talk about blood sugar too, because blood sugar swings can absolutely impact dopamine response. Highly processed carbs and sugar give you that quick dopamine spike, but it's short-lived. And what follows is a dip, both in blood sugar and in how stimulated your brain feels.

So think about in the past when you were having a high carb or high sugar breakfast, you likely felt a little boost of energy. Maybe a little mood boost, but later you don't feel so great.

Melanie: Like an hour. Within an hour.

Britni: Yeah, too often. And you might feel really tired, brain fog, some people get headaches.

Melanie: Irritable.

Britni: Irritable. And then your body wants more because it wants a quick pick me up. So you're likely going to grab some more carbs, more sugar, maybe caffeine just to get you through your morning.

Melanie: Yeah, that caffeine gives you a dopamine hit and a crash too. So if you were struggling with that dopamine situation, having sugary foods with caffeine is just a recipe for an hour or two later, you're going to be exhausted, you want to your head down at your workstation, it just doesn't work. But if you had a protein centric meal, skip the sugars, skip the processed carbs, you're going to be able to power through the day.

Britni: Yeah, you're going to feel so much better. So over time, this pattern constantly chasing those spikes, it can make your brain less sensitive to dopamine. So basically that means you need more stimulation and things are going to feel less rewarding and you're going to feel more blah all over. And so these chronic blood sugar swings like this are going to reduce your baseline dopamine response over time.

Melanie: So it's not just the single hit but chronic use and abuse of processed foods is going to make you less responsive to any dopamine you do have. Is that what you're saying?

Britni: Correct. And I mean, this carries over, like you said, caffeine, alcohol, all of these things are going to end. And like we said earlier, social media, scrolling, all of that, that's going to have that same effect of just lowering our baseline dopamine level.

Melanie: Yeah. Wow. And then you're seeking a medication to help you feel better.

Britni: Yeah.

Melanie: Yeah. So instead of fixing the problem, which is fixable most times, it's fixable. So instead what we want is a steady signaling that comes from meals, which include a nice balance of protein, healthy fats, maybe some fiber rich food like vegetables, a big salad.

You know, I'm thinking of lunch today. So I had like five ounces of turkey and then I did like a Thai salad situation that was full of vegetables. I should give you that recipe. So good. And then it was like a peanut Thai sauce that I made at home. So I'm fine. This is two to three hours after I had lunch and I don't feel like I want to put my head down. But when I had that cookie situation I was telling you about, II fell asleep in the car. Done.

Britni: Night and day difference.

Melanie: Night and day difference. So it's especially important for breakfast because you want to feel good all day long so you set yourself up. And this can make or break how the rest of your day goes. So instead of cereal or toast or juice or a bagel, instead of a sugary latte to jolt you awake in the morning, try brewing a small cup of coffee at home, adding some real whipped cream, not the fake creamers, maybe some stevia or monk fruit if you want it sweet. Anyway, it's important to drink any caffeine with food so it doesn't give you that spike or that anxiety, which it will do.

These small shifts in the morning can make a big difference in how the rest of your day goes. And then of course, you want a good breakfast. So two eggs, probably not enough protein.

Britni: Bump it up.

Melanie: Bump it up. So I usually do two eggs and a cup of egg whites. And that gives me the protein that I need. Skip the toast, have a little sweet potato.

Britni: Perfect.

Melanie: Done.

Britni: Simple. Yes, if you are going to change one thing, I would say focus on that morning because you really are going to feel so much better just making that shift.

Melanie: And you feel a little righteous.

Britni: Yeah. Start your day off…

Melanie: When you ditch that cereal, that B vitamin fortified cereal, and you get some real food, you're just going to feel better. It's magic.

The gut health & brain chemistry connection

Britni: And we can't talk about brain chemistry without mentioning gut health. So the gut and the brain are constantly communicating through what's called the gut/brain axis. And your gut bacteria influence inflammation, nutrient absorption, even neurotransmitter activity. There are more bacteria in our body than human cells.

Melanie: It’s kind of gross but it’s true.

Britni: So we want to make sure that bacteria are primarily the good stuff. So while dopamine itself is primarily made in the brain, your gut definitely plays a supporting role. So eating a real food diet will be the best way to support gut health.

But, you know, adding in fermented foods for a daily boost of probiotics, yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut; fiber-rich foods are what's going to feed that good bacteria, like the fertilizer to the lawn. So veggies, fruits, I like to add flax, chia, those are easy fiber rich foods to add into things; legumes, or even adding in a fiber supplement.

Melanie: Yeah, I love, there's a mix that I always tell my clients to do, which is a little cheaper than just, you know, buying fiber supplements and heaven forbid you should do something that's got artificial sweeteners or colors, you know, you should never eat numbers.

So if it says red dye number, something, something, don't eat it. But the mix that I like is I tell them in a mason jar like sand art, you're going to do acacia fiber, chia seeds, psyllium husk, ground flax, sometimes oat fiber. And then you can shake that up and start with a teaspoon a day and work your way up to two tablespoons a day.

You can even mix it equal portions with unsweetened applesauce. That is going to start feeding a variety of bacteria, which will make a variety of neurotransmitters and you're just going to start feeling better and better. We just don't get enough fiber in our food anymore.

Britni: Yeah, it's hard. It's very hard.

Melanie: Omega-3s are another key nutrient I would include if someone was trying to balance their neurotransmitters naturally. They don't increase dopamine directly, but they help your brain cells respond better to it. Think of it like improving signal reception, so getting in more fatty fish throughout the week, adding that fiber mix, chia, or flax to your yogurt bowl or protein shake, having a handful of walnuts as part of your midday snack.

And then you can supplement, which it's very hard to get enough omega-3 in your diet unless you're somebody who eats wild-caught salmon four or five times a week or a fatty fish. So I would recommend supplementing with a good quality omega-3 that is mercury distilled, wild-caught to focus on your brain health. We don't want to be getting an omega-3 that's high in mercury because… that's a whole other podcast.

Britni: Yeah, and those more plant sources of omega-3s, the walnuts, the chia, the flax, they do contain omega-3s, but they convert to very little of the therapeutic form. So we do really want that fatty fish.

Melanie: Yeah, mackerel, sardines, they're not the sardines of our childhood. When you open the can, you're not going to see heads.

Britni: Yep, you can get them headless, skinless.

Melanie: Yeah, in olive oil, they pretty much taste like tuna. You know, for every client that's listening or every person that's listening, I double dog dare you. Go get a can of it from Trader Joe's or Costco and try it and see what you think.

Britni: You might like it.

Melanie: Email us. Let us know what you think.

Summary

Britni: Let's summarize all of this. What does balanced dopamine actually look like? Balanced dopamine doesn't mean constant excitement or always feeling on and chasing highs. It means you can start and complete tasks easily. You feel satisfaction after your efforts and you don't need that constant stimulation. You're not seeking out that next little boost. A balanced real food diet that by creating stability for your brain and not those constant spikes.

Melanie: Yeah, that's a really, really good point. Think about that when you're, if you spend an hour or two on your phone looking and clicking and looking, think about this concept is that we, no one's ever died from boredom. You know, just think of other avenues of creativity and you know, just to, to double click on what you said, eating enough protein constantly, don't skip meals, build balanced plates. We're talking about protein, fat and fruits and vegetables.

Include iron and B vitamin rich foods and possibly a supplement if needed. I would say 60% of us probably need a methylated B supplement. Eat foods that are rich in omega-3s at least a few times a week. You can always supplement if you're just not a fish person. And then support gut health with fiber and fermented foods. I'm a big fan of feeding the good bacteria, not just only a supplement like a probiotic. Fermented foods is a good source.

And maybe most importantly, just stop chasing those quick dopamine hits, like I said. So I had a client who had such terrible anxiety. She was housebound and she was a cancer survivor. And she did not even want to go back to an oncologist to know what her prognosis was. She didn't know how bad the cancer was. She didn't know what stage it was.

It gave her such anxiety. Her anxiety was so overwhelming and consuming. So she somehow mustered the courage to come see me. And we started getting her off of processed food because she was eating a lot of candy. And we got her off processed food and now she, it's been a year, but she has, she knows she's gotten her colonoscopy, she's gotten her liver test, she's met with her oncologist, she's found a counselor.

All of these are outside of her home. She has lost 60 pounds and she's doing great. And she just recently had a knee replacement because she had the courage to address the pain that she's had. It was chemistry. It was not who she was. And she is, I'm so proud of her.

Britni: What a transformation.

Melanie: Yeah, was so satisfying.

Britni: You literally changed her life.

Melanie: Well, she did it. I just gave her the tools. So it's very, very exciting when you see a client. And I know you have them. When you see them, it can transform their lives.

Britni: It really is amazing. That's why we keep doing what we're doing.

Melanie: Why we do what we do.

Britni: Yep. So if what we talked about today resonated with you, remember your brain isn't broken or weak. It's responsive to all of the internal and external factors it's constantly facing. And our modern world, it's complex. Our brain has a lot to deal with nowadays and you get back what you put in and when you support it consistently in a balanced approach, things like motivation, focus, satisfaction tend to improve naturally. And we do, we see that all the time. So if you enjoyed this episode, share it with someone who's been stuck in that dopamine hack loop.

Melanie: Tell them you care about them, you've been thinking about them, and you think this would be something that they would enjoy. Because every time someone does that, doesn't that give you a dopamine hit? Someone thought about me, someone cared about me. It's a big deal. And to find out more, you can visit our website at weightandwellness.com or give us a call and let us talk to you. Let us talk through your options. Set up an appointment with us. We'd be happy to help. It’s 651-699-3438.

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