Drugs, Depression & Antidepressants > How the Mind Works > Neurotransmitters > Serotonin > Check Serotonin Levels

Check Serotonin Levels

Misdiagnosis of serotonin levels: Often times people are immediately assumed to have low levels of serotonin when they are depressed. Frequently this is not the case though. Misdiagnosing a person and elevating their level too high could be even worse than having inadequate serotonin.

Indirectly check serotonin levels: There is a bunch of accurate information on how to easily check your serotonin level. Serotonin does come from tryptophan though. By comparing the amount of tryptophan in your blood to the other large neural amino acids you can have a quick indication of inadequate serotonin.

Checking tryptophan can help us find out deficient serotonin levels: Tryptophan competes with the other LNAA's to enter the brain by crossing the blood brain barrier. The other amino acids are typically more easily absorbed. It is not necessarily true adequate tryptophan means you will have enough serotonin. If however the amount of tryptophan / LNAA is low ratio then it is almost a virtual guarantee that you have inadequate serotonin.

Drugs, Depression & Antidepressants > How the Mind Works > Neurotransmitters > Serotonin > Check Serotonin Levels