What helps improve executive function?
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Hello again,
I would define executive function as this: The ability to work on a task that's not very interesting but still needs to be done.
Some people have higher executive function then and others have lower. The ADHD diagnosis then is not really about a real medical condition but more about controlling the access to amphetamines and other potentially abusable ADHD medication. ADHD diagnosis naturally increases as the need for high executive function within society also increases.
So what I am wondering now, is there an non-prescription alternative to medication? Has anybody tried increasing executive function through nutrition or supplementation? I thought if anybody has a clue about this it would be here.
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@pittybitty
Broadly speaking, maybe along the lines of reducing stress/cortisol/adrenaline perhaps? Also boosting dopamine (eg by lowering prolactin) and lowering serotonin (which promotes dopamine).Acetylcholine could be another area to consider, dietary choline being a key element here.
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Pittybitty said:
“The ability to work on a task that's not very interesting but still needs to be done.”
“So what I am wondering now, is there an non-prescription alternative to medication?”
=> Hi
I’ve written an article on serotonin, with “scientific links”, in French.
Is Serotonin a booster or a downer?
Here are two excerpts. If you want more, say it. And I‘ll give a link (translator needed except for the sources).
Excerpt 1
Is serotonin a booster or a downer?Serotonin is a neurotransmitter of the central nervous system (CNS) secreted by a group of neurons called serotonergic neurons. Serotonin is one of the monoamines which are particularly involved in the regulation of vigilance and mood states. It is often seen that people of unstable, depressed mood are deficient in terms of hormonal secretion, with an impact on emotions, appetite, sleep, transient aggressiveness, etc.
Serotonin fulfills many other functions of metabolism, such as thermoregulation (extremity of cold limbs), pain control (anti-inflammatory), eating behavior (satiety), sexual desire, memory ... (1)
What effect can serotonin have on humans?
In addition to these biological functions, the effects of serotonin on our mind are not to be taken lightly (regulation of emotions), in more sensitive or more fragile people. Antidepressants are then often prescribed to rebalance the serotonin level. But we will discuss these selective serotonin reuptake in the brain (SSRI). It’s not really timely! It would be better to learn about light therapy and aid to compensate for inadequacies or overflows.
Is serotonin a booster or a downer (depressed)?
Role on depression and dopaminergic response
“By increasing extracellular serotonin, SSRIs disrupt energy homeostasis and often worsen symptoms during acute treatment. The science behind many anti-depressant medications appears to be backwards.” (3)
…
Excerpt 2
Useful nutrients
To rebalance the serotonergic function, it is necessary to associate:- Vitamin B6 which participates in the synthesis of serotonin (very progressively, and rather P5P, with recovery staples) (…);
- Vitamin B3 (niacinamide, not niacin) which promotes the cerebral metabolism of tryptophan to depending on its liver metabolism (manufactured via the liver);
- magnesium to reduce stress, and which also has an anti-retention of water; NB1: A MG and B6 intake will therefore be welcome with the sweet snack of 5 p.m. Parenthesis: We often advise to eat a banana, a square of chocolate or some bursts of coconut, to the snack of 16-17h because these foods are naturally rich in tryptophan, the precursor of serotonin. Ok, but let's try to understand the process.
…
Note:
95 % of serotonin (from the body) is produced in the intestine (5) The biosynthesis of serotonin is carried out in neurons or enterochromaffin cells. It is made from tryptophan, an amino acid that is brought to the brain by blood circulation among others. The tryptophan is absorbed by neurons thanks to a non -selective membrane carrier.
To be continued, if desired.
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Here is an article of RP to understand why too much of a good thing can be bad, especially when substitution drugs are used (SSRI)
Serotonin, depression, and aggression: The problem of brain energy.
Ray PEAT
=> Excess serotonin is deleterious (nerve damage and mitochondrial respiration). Too much of a good thing is bad, especially if we want to play the role of the alchemist in the brain!
Excerpt 1
Anyone who has been reading the mass media and watching television in recent decades is familiar with the use of tryptophan as a tranquilizer.
Tryptophan is easily converted to serotonin and melatonin in the body, and those substances are believed to be responsible for its sedative, sleep inducing, or tranquilizing effects (Hebenstreit, et al.; Allikmets & Zharkovskii(; Shelekhov & Val'dman; Winokur, et al.). The most popular kind of “antidepressant,” the “serotonin reuptake inhibitor,” is said to act by increasing the action of serotonin in the brain. Many people have read articles in popular science magazines explaining that a deficiency of serotonin can cause depression, suicide, and aggression. Estrogen is often said to achieve some of its “wonderful” effects by increasing the effects of serotonin. (…)
Excerpt 2
Serotonin research is relatively new, but it rivals estrogen research for the level of incompetence and apparent fraudulent intent that can be found in professional publications.
This is partly because of the involvement of the drug industry, but the U.S. government also played a role in setting a pattern of confused and perverse interpretation of serotonin physiology, by its policy of denigrating and incriminating LSD, a powerful serotonin (approximate) antagonist, by any means possible, for example claiming that it causes genetic damage and provokes homicidal or suicidal violence. The issue of genetic damage was already disproved in the 1960s, but this was never publicly acknowledged by the National Institutes of Mental Health or other government agency. The government's irresponsible actions helped to create the drug culture, in which health warnings about drugs were widely disregarded, because the government had been caught in blatant fraud. In more recent years, government warnings about tryptophan supplements have been widely dismissed, because the government has so often lied. Even when the public health agencies try to do something right, they fail, because they have done so much wrong.
Excerpt 3
SSRI
The “serotonin reuptake inhibitors” are called the “third generation” of antidepressants.
Excerpt 4
To begin to understand serotonin, it's necessary to step back from the culture of neurotransmitters, and to look at the larger biological picture.
Serotonin and estrogen have many systematically interrelated functions, and women are much more likely to suffer from depression than men are.
Serotonin and histamine are increased by estrogen, and their activation mimics the effects of estrogen. Serotonin is closely involved in mood disorders, but also in a great variety of other problems that affect women much more frequently than men. These are probably primarily energy disorders, relating to cellular respiration and thyroid function. Liver disease and brain disease, e.g., Alzheimer's disease, are both much more common in women than in men, and serotonin and estrogen strongly affect the energetic processes in these organs. Liver disease can increase the brain's exposure to serotonin, ammonia, and histamine. It isn't just a coincidence that these three amines occur together and are neurotoxic; they are all stress-related substances, with natural roles in signaling and regulation.
There are good reasons for thinking that serotonin contributes to the nerve damage seen in multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. (…)
Excerpt 5
The “serotonin reuptake inhibitors” “are presumed” to have the same effect on the brain that they have on blood platelets. They inhibit the ability of platelets to retain and concentrate serotonin, allowing it to stay in the plasma. This uptake-inhibited condition is a model of the platelet behavior seen in multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.
Serotonin and its derivative, melatonin, are both involved in the biology of torpor and hibernation. Serotonin inhibits mitochondrial respiration.
Excitoxic death of nerve cells involves both the limitation of energy production, and increased cellular activation. Serotonin has both of these actions.
Serotonin activates glycolysis, forming lactic acid. Excess lactic acid tends to decrease efficient energy production by interfering with mitochondrial respiration.
Excerpt 6Serotonin, like histamine, has its proper physiological functions, but it is a mediator of stress that has to be systematically balanced by the systems that support high energy respiratory metabolism.
The use of supplements of tryptophan, hydroxytryptophan, or of the serotonin promoting antidepressant drugs, seems to be biologically inappropriate.
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@LucH I've known about the effects of Serotonin in regards to depression, but low executive function is different because it generally doesn't mean you are low energy, it just means that you allocate all that energy towards tasks that do not really help with your current situation. Do you think there is a connection? I've generally been fine in regards to energy since supplementing B vitamins, but the low executive function remains.
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@pittybitty Man, LucH is trying to help you holistically, be grateful.
Executive Functions need dopamine to work properly and serotonin counteracts dopamine i.e., lowers it.
Imagine serotonin and dopamine as neurotransmitters sitting on opposite sides of a swing.
BTW Bettering EF/ADHD is also about lowering cortisol, prolactin, and estrogen.
Moreover, as an old ADHDer, I can confess that starting peating* made a hell of a difference for me. Optimizing/bettering my metabolism in systemic ways helped my EF tremendously.
[*] Disclaimer: proper peating is a lot more than just milk, OJ, and B vitamins...
References:
"Dopamine, the main neurotransmitter of the ES, plays an essential role in the frontal cortex in mediating EF. Dopamine neurons participate in the modulation of expectation, reward, memory, activity, attention, drives, and mood."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3413474/Dopamine is involved in many processes in addition to executive functions such as encoding rewards and drug addiction https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3933483/
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@pittybitty said in What helps improve executive function?:
I've generally been fine in regards to energy since supplementing B vitamins, but the low executive function remains.
Give details, please, because it's not with a B-50 multi you're going to have a game changer.
You need to read these two links to understand why you lack B6 if you're inflamed or under-immune. Sure with dysbiosis.
And to understand why you need more B1 thiamine (not HCl) if you eat carbs like most people.Potential roles of Vit B6 in inflammation and immunity.
Preventive role of B6 against chronic diseases & downregulation of the inflammatory mediators
https://mirzoune-ciboulette.forumactif.org/t2034-english-corner-potential-roles-of-vit-b6-in-inflammation-and-immunity#29633
Main ideas
• Preventive role of B6 against chronic diseases. Several diseases are mediated, at least in part, by lower inflammation, possibly through modulation of several kinases. (1)
• Vit B6 deficiency is associated with lower immune function and higher susceptibility to viral infection. (2) Megadoses do not produce additional benefits after repletion. (3-4) But elderly should benefit from cyclic supplement (with pauses and moderate amounts, aka 50 mg pyridoxamine).
• Plasma PLP levels were inversely correlated with systemic inflammation markers such as CRP. (5) Vitamin B6 supplementation suppressed IL-6 and increased total lymphocytes in patients with chronic conditions. (6)
• Vitamin B6 supplementation improved immune function in both human and animal studies. (7-8) It improves the immune response, causing increased antibody production, and enhances communicative interactions between cytokines and chemokines. (9-11)
• The authors of this study (0) assume that vitamin B6 is possible to suppress hyperinflammation, at least in part, through NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition, limiting virus spread and cytokine storm. Together with the notion that NLRP3 inflammasome plays a central role in chronic diseases, including CVD, diabetes, and acute viral pneumonia (12–14), the anti-inflammasome effect of vitamin B6 suggest its therapeutic role in reducing the severity of COVID-19 and its complications.
• Studies indicate that B6-vitamers can reduce superoxide radical and lipid peroxide levels induced by H2O2 in vascular endothelial cells (15). Too much sulfites (H2O2) exhaust B6 PLP.
• Pyridoxamine has anti-glycation activity and inhibits the formation of AGEs. (16)
• It was identified that high-dose vitamin B6 has a global anti-inflammatory effect on lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in monocyte/macrophage cells by downregulating the key broad-spectrum inflammatory mediators. (17-18)
Sources and References (in English, on the link, my forum).See too:
English Corner – Vit B6: How much is too much?
Main ideas-
Too much of a good thing is bad.
Especially bad for neuro-sensitive people.
- Vitamin B6 is well documented for its role as a modulator of steroid hormones.
- No problem with food intake if not supplemented.
- Maximum RDA target is 25 mg B6. But update RDA is given at 6-12 mg.
- There are 6 vitamers and a way-out form through the urine.
- If we want a pharmacological effect, we have to take into account the form of the vitamers.
- The active form is B6 PLP.
And for B1 thiamin
*) ## Thiamine Deficiency - A Potential Cause of SIBO and other Gut Dysfunction?
https://mirzoune-ciboulette.forumactif.org/t1896-vit-b1-deficience-desordre-intestinal
Version complète plus complète sur ce site (Vaut le détour) : Elliot Overton – Nutrition and Functional Medicine
https://www.eonutrition.co.uk/post/thiamine-deficiency-a-major-cause-of-sibo – 01/2019
*) ## Thiamine and the Microbiome – Dr. Lonsdale
https://www.hormonesmatter.com/thiamine-microbiome/ 03/23
Excerpt:
The acquisition / bioavailability of thiamine is not only essential to the physiology of our organism and our good physical and mental condition, but thiamine is a cofactor for certain intestinal bacteria that change behavior depending on the variable availability of B1 . -
