Genius Foods

a vitamin D deficiency in three-fourths of the US
population.
Serotonin is well known for its mood- and sleep-
boosting abilities, and it makes up the basis of what is called
the serotonergic system. You may be familiar with the class
of antidepressant drugs on the market called selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. These drugs
promise to boost serotonin’s availability at the synapse by
preventing its reuptake into the presynaptic cell.
Again, prescription drugs aren’t the only compounds
that tinker with this neurotransmitter. The drug MDMA is
known for its mood-altering influence, attributed to its effect
on the serotonergic system. Initially studied for its potential
to treat post-traumatic stress and other treatment-resistant
mental disorders, MDMA is like dynamite to the dam
governing normal serotonin release. But the act of releasing
huge amounts of serotonin overwhelms the recycling
machinery and causes oxidation of the surrounding neurons,
literally burning them away—perhaps this is why chronic,
long-term MDMA use has been linked with memory
problems and brain damage. (A recurring theme in this book
is that every biologic action has an equal and opposite
reaction—there’s no such thing as a biological free lunch!)
Another compound, psilocybin, the psychoactive
chemical in “magic” mushrooms, prevents serotonin
reuptake and also mimics serotonin, activating its receptors.
This is unlike MDMA, which floods the synapses with your
own serotonin. For this reason, psilocybin may have fewer
negative long-term effects. In groundbreaking research
performed by both New York University and Johns Hopkins