People often ask us if they can boost the dopamine in their brain in hopes of boosting passionate love and having better sex. Here, we find out from an Integrative Medicine psychiatrist-author and her colleagues about nutrients like vitamins and minerals and particular foods that might do that.
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As Helen Fisher, Ph.D. has written, the brain neurotransmitter dopamine is instrumental to creating the intense and passionate feelings of romantic love. Dopamine also is the neurotransmitter most closely associated with sexual arousal. As a psychiatrist and a sex therapist, I treat many patients whose sexual function is not all it could be.
The problem with antidepressants, like SSRIs
Many are taking selective serotonin reuptake-inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant medications, which are well known for causing sexual side effects. The drugs increase the availability of serotonin in the brain and, in so doing, they decrease the availability of dopamine. Serotonin and dopamine interact reciprocally; when the level of one goes up the level of the other goes down. So taking SSRIs diminishes dopamine and that is not good for either sexual arousal or romantic love.
However, there is much that can be done to address this problem. The patient can switch to a different antidepressant, such as bupropion, which does not reduce and may even enhance dopamine, and they can take nutritional supplements that can increase the production of dopamine.
Vitamin D may help some men, and maybe women, too, with low libido
For instance, vitamin D is involved in the synthesis of the enzyme responsible for making dopamine. Dopamine and testosterone are connected in a linear fashion: increase one and you increase the other. Men with erectile disorder who have low testosterone and are deficient in vitamin D improve after they take a vitamin D supplement. Their testosterone levels rise and their erections become stronger. There is less research on women’s sexuality, and as of now we don’t know what vitamin D will do for women’s sexuality. However, as women naturally have low levels of testosterone and increased testosterone is sex-positive for most women, it follows that women with low libido also may be helped by taking vitamin D.
Eat Protein to get dopamine precursors and maintain muscle mass
Another way to boost dopamine is to eat plenty of protein, particularly protein that contains the amino acid L-tyrosine, the precursor to levodopa (L-Dopa), which is then converted to dopamine. L-tyrosine is found in unprocessed meats such as beef, chicken and turkey, and also in fish; in soy, dairy products and eggs, avocado, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate, and more.
Adequate protein intake also is essential to maintaining muscle mass and therefore the ability to remain physically active, fit, attractive and projecting vitality; all sex-positive attributes and linked to positive mood as well.
Nutrient Supplements
L-tyrosine and its precursor L-phenylalanine may also be taken as nutritional supplements. L-Dopa, which converts to dopamine, may also be taken as a supplement as the African botanical velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens), or as a food widely consumed in Mediterranean countries, fava beans, also called broad beans. Another amino acid, L-theanine, also increases dopamine.
Other botanicals that increase dopamine include ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), curcumin (turmeric; Curcuma longa), Panax ginseng, and Rhodiola rosea.
A B-complex vitamin containing several B vitamins that work in concert with one another may be helpful as well. Vitamin B6 is necessary for dopamine production and for the production of sex hormones. B6 also aids in the absorption of magnesium, which is important to every step of neurotransmitter formation and function, including that of dopamine. B6 also is integral to smooth muscle relaxation in the blood vessels, which is crucial for genital engorgement during sexual arousal in both men and women. Vitamin B12 and folate also are necessary for dopamine synthesis. Vitamin B12 deficiency is very common and often related to malabsorption or to taking common medications.
Calcium is another nutrient needed for sex because it impacts dopamine synthesis and transport at the genetic level.
Low levels of zinc are associated with erectile disorder, low testosterone levels, and infertility in men. Zinc also is necessary for the formation of estrogen and progesterone. Zinc modulates the reuptake of dopamine into the neuron. If the neuron is firing rapidly, as when a person is excited, zinc blocks reuptake, leaving more dopamine in the space between brain cells, thereby increasing communication between neurons. If the neuron is firing slowly and less dopamine is needed, as when a person is at rest, zinc does the opposite and aids reuptake. The end result is that zinc optimizes the effect of dopamine.
Zinc and copper are in a delicate reciprocal balance, where if one is low, the other is high and vice versa. If zinc intake is low, as often occurs due to inadequate levels in food, and copper is high due to copper in drinking water from copper pipes or other sources -– this can affect dopamine levels. Elevated unbound copper speeds up the reaction that converts dopamine to norepinephrine, resulting in a dopamine deficiency. Not only can this hurt sexual function, it can impair attention and the ability to focus, as occurs in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Elevated unbound copper can also result in excess norepinephrine, which can disrupt the autonomic nervous system and cause anxiety, hypertension, and other unpleasant symptoms.
Behavioral changes can optimize dopamine in the brain
Other natural ways to optimize dopamine include exercising, listening to music, meditating, obtaining adequate amounts of good quality sleep, and receiving a massage. See a video on this website, too, for increasing relationship quality.
Keep some foods at a minimum
In addition, it is important to reduce consumption of alcohol, chocolate, and sugar, and to reduce consumption of coffee to under 400 milligrams of caffeine per day. These feel good because they momentarily boost dopamine, but their overconsumption is followed by a crash and ultimately - depletion. We all tend to drink a lot of coffee, so it is good to know that a 16 oz. Starbucks Grande Caffe Latte contains 150 mg of caffeine. The average cup of brewed coffee contains 95 mg but can range from 70-140 mg. A small cup of espresso contains about 60 mg. Instant coffee usually contains less caffeine than brewed, about 60 mg per cup. Decaffeinated coffee is not totally caffeine-free and contains about 3 mg per cup. A general guideline may be no more than 3 cups of coffee a day, and only 2 Starbucks Grande Caffe Lattes!
Just a few cups of coffee a day!
Staying healthy, loving and sexually active needs attention to nutrients, possible toxins, and medications we take
Being able to have a fulfilling sexual experience is important to most adults. There is nothing so exhilarating as the passion of romantic love that Helen Fisher describes so well in her writings. Having adequate dopamine and a healthy balance of hormones and neurotransmitters is essential to good sexual function.
However, today, too many people do not have a good, nutrient-dense, healthful diet, such as one based on the Mediterranean Diet model, which would support a healthy balance of hormones and neurotransmitters. The foods Americans eat today are often processed, not whole, and short on high-quality nutrients due to depleted soils or other consequences of industrial agriculture. Also, our bodies may use up essential nutrients in processing the ever increasing burden of environmental toxins we are constantly exposed to in the air, food, water, cleaning products, and personal care products. These toxins themselves are harmful, may be obesogenic and carcinogenic, and can act like estrogens in women and men, causing early puberty and hormonal issues in females and feminization and reproductive issues in males. Finally, many medications, not just psychiatric medications, can deplete essential micronutrients.
The bottom line: many people are deficient in nutrients that are essential to romantic feelings, a happy sex life, and to robust good health and mental health, which are all intertwined. It may not be enough to eat healthfully in these times; nutritional supplements may be needed to meet the body’s demands. If we want our bodies and minds to cooperate with our feelings and passions, we must learn to take better care of our health and our bodies, and learn to solve a range of sexual difficulties with the help of an integrative and functional medicine perspective.
References
Bartlik, B, Mindes, J (2022). Clinician Wellness – Self-Care for Staying Healthy: Attention to Sexual Life. Integrative and Complementary Therapies, 28(2):72-74.
Bartlik, Espinosa, Mindes (2018) Integrative Sexual Health, Weil Integrative Medicine Library, Oxford University Press. https://integrativemedicine.arizona.edu/oxford_press.html
Bartlik B (2010). Ask the Expert: Sexual dysfunction, medication, hormones, and nutrition. FOCUS. Fall, Vol. VIII, No. 4. focus.psychiatryonline.org
The authors of this blog:
Barbara Bartlik, M.D. is a psychiatrist, integrative medicine specialist and sex therapist in private practice in New York, NY.
Janet Mindes, PhD. is a research psychologist, educator, writer/editor, since 1998 in integrative medicine; currently co-investigator, NIH-funded acupressure study.
Yeira Baez, B.A. is a candidate at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and an assistant in Dr. Bartlik’s office.
Katelyn Baez, is a student at Hunter College and an assistant in Dr. Bartlik’s office.
For more on love, dopamine and the brain, see also: the brain study results and helenfisher.com
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