What Most Of Us Get Wrong About Dopamine

One of the most popular of the brain's neurotransmitters is misunderstood when it comes to nutrition.

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In today’s post, I’ll be breaking down more on how dopamine works, the key nutrients required for adequate dopamine levels, and sharing some helpful graphics to help you better understand the science.

Plus, I am sharing some of the top nutrients I focus on when working with mood imbalances and alcohol-reduction or elimination.

Let’s hop in.

Dopamine— we’ve all heard of it. Especially as it relates to alcohol, or pleasure and happiness, or maybe even its ties to addiction or addictive behaviors.

But dopamine is more than simply a “feel good” brain chemical, it’s also involved in:

• Focus

• Executive function

• Learning & memory

• Movement

• Coordination

• Mood and emotions

Its often thought of as the “reward” neurotransmitter because it plays a key role in activating the sense of reward we receive when we do something pleasurable.

For example, we eat a meal we love, we partake in alcohol consumption, or we spend time with loved ones. These experiences release dopamine, allow us to feel pleasure and reward, and are marked in the brain through memory as things that feel good.

This is the loop that creates and drives habits, drives motivation, and keeps us seeking pleasurable experiences. But this is also what goes awry when we practice addictive or unhealthy behaviors, like over-consuming alcohol.

We all think we want more of these “feel good” brain chemicals. And we wrongly assume that when we don’t feel good that dopamine (or other neurotransmitters like serotonin) is low.

Dopamine: How It’s Produced

Dopamine is produced in the brain through a series of biochemical events, requiring many nutrients from the food we eat and what we consume.

Here’s a graphic that breaks down, in a simple way, the process of making dopamine.