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Re: I knew spicy foods helped my depression

Posted by undopaminergic on January 17, 2020, at 17:25:05

In reply to Re: I knew spicy foods helped my depression » phidippus, posted by linkadge on January 17, 2020, at 16:03:57

> >No, I'm saying scrutinizing your mood after eating >spicy foods is not an accurate way of gauging >whether you are depressed
>
> I'm not trying to 'gauge' whether or not I'm depressed. I am spending hundreds of dollars a month out of pocket on standard medications (no insurance) to treat a mental health problem. I would have to have a mental health problem to be spending that kind of money (on a presumed mental health problem) if I didn't have a mental health problem (which, of course, is parodioxcal).
>

Do you have any idea of where you stand, mental health-wise, in the absence of specific (ie. beyond normal food and drink consumption) pharmacodynamic treatments?

> Coffee is considered a 'food product'. However, for me its consumption leads to a rapid (albeit moderate and temporary) improvement in my mood.
>

I have noticed this effect myself, but usually only in the absence of chronic caffeine. I connect this with a study I read, which indicated that caffeine acutely elevates both dopamine and acetylcholine extracellular concentrations, but chronically only acetylcholine.

> Similarly, I noticed (anecdotally) that I felt an improvement in my mood (of course not remission) after eating a generous quantity of spicy food.
>

It may be hard to dissociate the gustatory experience from specific neurochemical effects. Ie. it is easy to hypothesise that foods with strong effects on taste receptors, have been strongly selected *for* or *against* in terms of evolution. Eg. sucrose solution is used to assess anhedonia in rodents.

On that note, it is interesting how an intact dopaminergic system does not help the "liking" (enjoying the taste) of sucrose, but profoundly determines the "wanting" (desiring (more)) of the substance; the motivation to acquire it.

> As we know with 'fast acting' antidepressants, an antidepressant response does not (necessarily) need to take weeks or months.
>

It is amusing, but easy to understand, how substances with a rapid onset of desired effects are virtually always drugs of abuse.

> Another example of a food product with antidepressant effects is the spice saffron. Google 'saffron for depression' if you are interested.
>

I've come across that, even read some full-length articles.

> Lots of recent research. It acts as a triple reuptake inhibitor. Turmeric and quercetin are monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Peppermint / menthol is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor.
>

I didn't know.

-undopaminergic


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