1. THE EFFECT OF THE DIET ON BRAIN
NEUROTRANSMITTERS AND NURSING
IMPLICATION
Elaborated by: JABER HIHIDEN
BSN of Nursing Sciences FCHS Morocco Campus
Supervised by: Mr. Nelson Lebogo Molatela

2. Content:
• Introduction
• Brain physiology: Review
• Nutrition and neurotransmitters
• Nursing implication
• Conclusion

3. Introduction
The Brain is the General!
• Any illness will age the brain!
• Disorders of the brain, affect the body,
mind, and spirit.!
• Why not treat the command centre as a
priority?!
• Why not learn to feed your brain!!

4. Brain Physiology: Review
A highly complex organ
• 100 billion neurons.
• More connections than stars in
the universe .
• Uses 25 % of body’s energy.
• 1.4 kg.
• 60% fat.

5. The brain function

6. Neurotransmitters
• NEUROTRANSMITTERS are
the brain chemicals that
communicate information
throughout our brain and body.
• The brain uses neurotransmitters
to tell your heart to beat, your
lungs to breathe, and your
stomach to digest. They can also
affect mood, sleep, concentration,
weight, and can cause adverse
symptoms when they are out of
balance.
• Many are made from essential
amino acids from nutrients
(primarily proteins) in our diet.

7. The EDGE Effect
The brain
body -
Connection
GABA
Calm
Level
Rythm
Dopamine
Energy
Power
Focus
Serotonin
Sleep
Rest
Symmetry

8. Nutrition and Neurotransmitters
1. DOPAMINE
The low dopamine effect:
• Decreased libido.
• Weight gain.
• Fatigue-age-accelerator.
• Hypertension
• Carbohydrate, sugar and cafeine cravings.

9. 1. DOPAMINE (cont) :
• Building block is phenylalanine (or tyrosine).
• Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid that
occurs as a constituent of many proteins and
is normally converted to tyrosine in the
human body.

10. 1. DOPAMINE (cont)
•Natural sources of phenylalanine:
 Vegetable nutriments:
Soybeans: 100mg = 236% RDI.
Almonds: 100mg = 36%RDI.
Rice: 100mg = 30% RDI.
 Animal nutriments:
Beef: 167%.
Fish: Tuna 128%; Salmon 101%.
Chicken breast: 148%.
Eggs: 57%.
Dairy: Milk 48%; Natural yogurt 45%; cheese (edam cheese 46%).

11. 2. SEROTONIN
The low serotonin effects:
• Depression.
• Anxiety in typically low stress situations.
• Impatience without explanation.
• Fatigue when you should feel rested and energized.
• Cognitive impairment (inability to focus, poor memory, lack
of mental clarity).
• Negative thoughts with no apparent cause.
• Agitation.
• Strong sugar cravings.

12. 2. SEROTONIN (cont)
•Building block is tryptophan.
• Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, meaning
it must be found in the diet. Tryptophan is
a precursor of the neurotransmitter serotonin.

13. 2. SEROTONIN (cont)
• Naturel sources of tryptophan:
 Vegetable nutriments:
Pumpkin seeds: 100mg = 206% RDI.
Soybeans: 100mg = 205% RDI.
White beans: 41%.
Oat Bran: 120%.
 Animal nutriments:
Dairy: Reduced fat mozzarella: 204%.
Chicken: Chicken breast: 148%.
Beef: 121%.
Fish: Tuna: 120%; Salmon: 98%; Shrimp: 79%.
Eggs: 60%.

14. 3. GABA :
Low GABA effects:
• Carbohydrate craving.
• Muscle tension (especially in neck and back).
• Night sweats and tachycardia.
• Emotional immaturity, phobias, anxiety (panic too), and
obsessive thinking.
• Poor verbal memory.
• Attention Issues - Impulsivity, and disorganization.

15. 3.GABA (cont)
• Building block is glutamine.
• Glutamine in an amino acid that is a major
precursor for the neurotransmitter, GABA,
and is especially important when the body is
subjected to stressful situations. Glutamine
is an amino acid that is naturally produced
by the body. However, it is important to
introduce glutamine in the daily diet in order
to increase the synthesis of protein and the
well functioning of immune and nervous
system.

16. 3. GABA (cont)
• There is no current recommended daily intake (RDI) for glutamine.
• The best (but not the only) food sources of glutamine are the following:
Vegetable nutriments:
Cabbage.
Beans and legumes.
Beet, Spinach and parsley.
 Animal nutriments:
Meat and poultry.
Sea food.
Organ meat (in particular liver).
Eggs.
Dairy.

17. Nursing implication
• Nutrition work hand on hand with conventional
treatment of mental illness to improve
neurotransmitter function.
• In nursing care nutritional interventions may
decrease the incidence or severity of the different
mental illness. When used as treatment methods,
nutritional interventions may reduce the
utilization of the dose of psychotropic drugs.
• For new mothers who are nursing and do not
want to take medication for depression, nutrition
and dietary changes may represent viable
alternatives. In addition to therapy and other
alternative therapies, nursing nutritional
intervention can be helpful in relieving depressive
symptoms and improving overall well-being.

18. Conclusion
• Overall maintaining a healthy brain is essential to ensure
a good quality of life.
• Research has proved that adding the right food to the
daily eating regimen will improve the functioning of
neurotransmitters, which increases the chances of
maintaining a healthy brain.
• Nursing nutritional interventions play an important role
In the treatment of some mental disorders, as they will
enhance the efficiency of the conventional treatment.

19. References
• Leyse-Wallace, R. (2013). Nutrition and
mental health. CRC Press.
• Bodnar, L. M., & Wisner, K. L. (2005).
Nutrition and depression: implications
for improving mental health among
childbearing-aged women. Biological
psychiatry, 58(9), 679-685.
• Davis, J. M. (2008). Nutrition,
neurotransmitters and central nervous
system fatigue. Nutrition in sport, 171.