Now, how exactly does insulin affect the mood response created by our neurotransmitters? First of all, neurotransmitters synthesis begins with a protein. So in the case of serotonin and melatonin, it is an amino acid, which is a building block of protein called tryptophan. dopa, me norepinephrine and epinephrine need an amino acid called tyrosine and Gabba needs glutamine. Now the first rate limiting step in the production of neurotransmitters is the efficacy of our digestion. poor digestion or neutralized stomach acid by years of proton pump inhibitors such as Nexium, for example.

Or anti acids prevents efficient protein digestion and the result is logically less available tryptophan or Tyrese. So to actually make the serotonin the tryptophan needs to cross the blood brain barrier to get to From our bloodstream after being digested into the brain, and to do this, it needs a transport system. The transport system is called a large neutral amino acid transporter. And this is the mode of transport to get the amino acids from the blood into the brain so that it can be made into the required neurotransmitter. But this large neutral amino acid transporter is also the transport system for other amino acids. And for sufficient tryptophan or tyrosine.

To get into the brain, the LMA cannot be busy and overcrowded with other amino acids, and this is where insulin plays a part. Insulin redirects the other amino acids away from the L in a and it frees the transporter app for tryptophan tryptophan. But as with everything, a balance is necessary if these two Insulin, then too many of the other immediate amino acids are redirected and too much tryptophan will be moved across the blood brain barrier. And this will result in too much serotonin flooding the brain. Now this sounds like a good thing. But in actual fact too much serotonin leaves us feeling a bit sluggish and sleepy, just as we find after a large, heavy meal.

So in the case of insulin resistance, with the cells have become resistant to the constant flooding of incident with a diet that's too high in carbohydrates. The flight of insulin remaining in the blood will redirect to many of the other amino acids away from the blood brain barrier, allowing a surfeit of tryptophan to cross into the brain. Too much serotonin will then be manufactured, resulting in brain fog and low energy. And this process does explain why eating starchy food helps when To become calm, and right eating chocolate makes us feel soothed and relaxed, because of course there's going to be more serotonin. However, the withdrawal from the serotonin certified leads to a mood plummet, that has us rushing Of course, for the candy or the chocolate again, to add to this chemical cascade to match incident also promotes fat storage. If you want to see exactly how that works, just go to the other course my incident course.

And you can just have explained in more detail exactly how this works. And this is a process that demands a lot of energy. And this demand for energy is going to SAP our energy supply and in itself, it leaves us feeling sluggish. So insulin resistance means that despite there being enough carbohydrate supply, the cells are refusing entry of the insulin. And of course, the insulin carries the carbohydrate. And so our cells are in fact, starving and with the cells starving is insufficient ATP.

And ATP stands for adenosine triphosphate, which is our energy currency within the cell. And low ATP means low energy for other metabolic processes, and so we get this vicious cycle developing. And just to add insult to injury, people who are insulin resistant, usually have belly fat. So very often they avoid fat in their diet, which further cuts down on the potentially available fuel