Dopamine is best known as a “feel-good” neurotransmitter that helps you maintain a sense of well-being.
But this powerful neurotransmitter also protects your brain from Parkinson’s disease. And that’s more important now than ever…
A large study by the Mayo Clinic revealed the rate of this nervous system disorder is increasing significantly.
The researchers found that – in just the last three decades – the risk of men developing Parkinson’s jumped 17%.1 For men over the age of 70, the risk increases by 35% every 10 years.
For years, I’ve been helping patients boost their dopamine levels to protect their brains.
In a moment, I’ll show you how to boost dopamine levels naturally. But first, let’s look at why this neurotransmitter is so important.
Dopamine is crucial for communication between brain cells. And too little causes brain cell communication to slow down or even to stop altogether — causing memory loss, confusion, an inability to learn new things, insomnia, and depression.
Dopamine Is More Than The “Feel-Good” Hormone
While levels decrease naturally with age, it’s not normal for dopamine levels to drop so low that your brain slowly withers and decays.
You see, dopamine decreases are largely caused by a boost in the activity of monoamine oxidase B, or MAO-B, an enzyme that breaks down dopamine.
Most neurologists will tell you that increased MAO-B activity is a direct result of aging.2
But that’s only partially true.
Studies show that MAO-B production is also spurred by environmental toxins that are found almost everywhere in our modern world.3
A breakthrough study revealed a direct link between pesticides and a dramatic decrease in dopamine levels. Further studies connected increased MOA-B activity to that equation.4
Parkinson’s drugs are designed to inhibit MAO-B activity and increase dopamine levels.
But you can do this naturally – with scientifically backed methods that protect your brain.
In two separate studies, researchers concluded an extract of Phellodendron amurense is one of the most potent inhibitors of MAO-B.
It has the power to inhibit more than 80% of the enzyme’s activity.5,6
To boost dopamine levels, I recommend supplementing with 300 mg to 500 mg twice a day for up to six weeks.
2 More Natural Dopamine Boosters To Try
Here are a couple more dopamine boosters I recommend to my patients:
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- Supplement with SAM-e. A recent animal study found that S-adenosyl-L-methionine, better known as SAM-e, increases dopamine throughout the brain. In Europe, it’s widely used to treat depression. And a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found it was just as effective as antidepressants but without side effects. I recommend taking 200 mg a day to start. If you’re not seeing considerable improvement after two weeks, increase to 400 mg.
- Drink more tea. Protect the dopamine-producing regions of your brain by drinking green tea. One study suggested you can boost dopamine levels and reduce your risk of Parkinson’s by 26% for every two cups of green tea consumed daily. There’s also strong evidence that EGCG in green and white tea blocks the faulty proteins linked to Parkinson’s.7
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
References:
1. Savica R, et al.“Time Trends in the Incidence of Parkinson Disease.” 2016. JAMA Neurol. 2016;73(8):981-989.
2. Nagatsu T and Sawada M.” Molecular mechanism of the relation of monoamine oxidase B and its inhibitors to Parkinson’s disease: possible implications of glial cells.” J Neural Transm Suppl. 2006 (71):53-65.
3. Alborghetti M and Nicoletti F. “Different generations of type-B monoamine oxidase inhibitors in Parkinson’s disease: from bench to bedside.” Curr Neuropharmacol. 2018;16:1–13.
4. Alborghetti M and Nicoletti F. “Different generations of type-B monoamine oxidase inhibitors in Parkinson’s disease: from bench to bedside.” Curr Neuropharmacol. 2018;16:1–13.
5. Zarmouh NO, et al. “Natural Products Screening for the Identification of Selective Monoamine Oxidase-B Inhibitors.” European J Med Plants. 2016 May;15(1).
6.Mazzio E, et al. “High throughput screening to identify natural human monoamine oxidase B inhibitors.” Phytother Res. 2013 Jun;27(6):818-28.
7. Malar DS, et al. “Neuroprotective Properties of Green Tea (Camellia Sinensis) in Parkinson’s Disease: A Review.” Molecules, vol. 25, no. 17, 27 Aug. 2020