Neurotransmitters and brain hormones play an important role in how we feel, behave and determine our emotional and intellectual lives.
Much of these hormones, like serotonin and dopamine are found in the digestive tract, making digestive tract health essential for healthy central nervous system function.In addition to maintaining gastro-intestinal health, you can support specific areas of your brain and neurotransmitter health.
This is a helpful exercise in understanding the basics of brain hormones, how they shape our life and how to identify dysfunctions and deficiencies.
Both symptomatic and laboratory testing can help determine if you would benefit from a focused systems based analysis and also focused neurotransmitter specific protocols.
Acetylcholine is the hormone of the mind and cognition and is especially important for the conversion of short term memory to long term memory.
Acetylcholine levels are measurably changed in conditions like Alzheimers disease where visual and verbal memory is impaired. One of the signs of low acetylcholine impairment is that you may not recall exactly what you had for breakfast or lunch the day before yesterday, but you can remember details about your drivers license examination many decades ago.
“Senior moments” = impaired acetylcholine.
Symptoms of low or impaired acetylcholine activity:
Loss of visual memory Loss of memory for things you heard / verbal memoryMemory lapses
Impaired creativity
Decreased understanding of concepts, meanings
Difficulty calculating numbers
Less able to recognize faces and objects
Slower intellectual or mental responsivity
Difficult spacial orientation and with sense of direction
Getting lost and confused with directions
Foods high in building blocks for acetylcholine are eggs, animal flesh foods and healthy fats especially plant fats like lecithin.
Werner Vosloo ND, MHom