How does the Neuroscience of Nutrition Impact those Recovering from Addiction?

Amino acids (building blocks of protein) are pre-cursors of neurotransmitters including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Since dopamine is the key neurotransmitter involved with addiction (associated with "reward"), it is critical to restore depleted dopamine levels through a higher protein intake. Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid (which is widespread in food) that becomes tyrosine, which is converted to dopamine, which can then become norepinephrine. While there some professionals who believe in amino acid therapy, I believe that this approach fails to emphasize the importance of changing eating behavior, therefore I believe it is better to make dietary changes and get the amino acids from a consistent stream of high biological value protein throughout the day. I emphasize eating behavior first, supplements second.

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