We all know that eating makes you feel better when youre down or feeling depressed. Sometimes the more you eat, the better you feel. But why is it that the foods we eat when we are feeling down are not good for you foods? Why is it that eating carrots when I am feeling down just doesnt make me feel as good as chocolate?

The secret lies in the brains neurotransmitters. Serotonin is one of them; if your brain is lacking in this neurotransmitter, you will feel depressed and start craving sweets (like chocolate) and high-sugar-content carbohydrates. Eating these types of foods will bring you up again but its the wrong kind of boost; you will end up crashing and feeling even worse. Not to mention gaining weight from all the extra, empty calories. Your brain needs to be nourished when you are feeling down. Nourish it with the right kinds of foods and control your weight in the process.

Unfortunately, you cant just take a serotonin supplement to deal with this deficiency because it must be manufactured by your body to work properly. What you have to do is increase your intake of the precursor to serotonin called tryptophan. Tryptophan will cause serotonin to be manufactured in your brain.

So what is tryptophan? It is an amino acid found in many protein-containing foods like meat, eggs, poultry. However, these foods contain other amino acids that compete with tryptophan. The end result is that the desired effect of boosting your mood doesnt happen.

You have three options:

1. Eat tryptophan-containing foods that dont have competing amino acids in them, like pumpkin and sunflower seeds, bananas, milk, lentils and peanuts.
2. Eat meat, eggs and poultry with complex carbohydrates that release insulin, which helps the tryptophan become better absorbed by the cells.
3. Take a supplement of 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) because tryptophan is banned as a dietary supplement.

So if youre going to eat when youre depressed, make wise choices that will boost your mood and be good for your health, too.