英语原文

Feeling blue? Mung beans, lobster, turkey, asparagus, sunflower seeds, cottage cheese, pineapple, tofu, spinach and bananas could lift your spirits.

A diet high in tryptophan - an amino acid converted by the body into the feel-good chemical serotonin - can improve mood and wellbeing, pediatrician and natural health expert Caroline Longmore said.

The body cannot produce tryptophan so unless we get enough through our diets, we may suffer a deficiency, leading to low serotonin levels which are associated with mood disorders, anxiety, cravings and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

"Following a diet which contains foods rich in naturally occurring serotonin will improve your mood, leaving you energised and in a state of harmony and wellbeing," Dr Longmore said.

Mental health experts say while the theory behind tryptophans for improving mood is solid, its use by depressed patients has a chequered history in Australia.

Gordon Parker, from the Black Dog Institute, said tryptophan supplements were widely used before the 1990s but after a number of patients suffered serious side effects from a contaminated batch, they were temporarily taken off the market.

Professor Parker said while some patients strongly believed such supplements were beneficial, scientific evidence was lacking.

"I would say it's something that can be useful for some people but the quality control varies enormously," he said.

In her ebook The Serotonin Secret, Dr Longmore claims the best way to get optimum tryptophan levels is through a carefully devised eating plan. She rates dozens of foods for their levels of tryptophan.

Written with Australian-trained medical scientist and naturopath Katrin Hempel, the book has 50 recipes designed to solve serotonin imbalance without drugs. The concept works on the same principle as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as popular antidepressant Prozac.

Britain's Food and Mood Project recommends eating chicken, sardines, turkey, salmon, fresh tuna, nuts and seeds to boost serotonin levels. But Associate Professor Michael Baigent, clinical adviser to Beyondblue, said there was only low-level evidence to suggest tryptophans have a medical effect.

National statistics show that in any 12 months, almost 17percent of adult Australians have a mental disorder with anxiety, depression, bipolar and substance misuse the most common.

中文翻译

感到忧郁吗？绿豆，龙虾肉，火鸡，芦笋，葵花籽，白奶酪，菠萝，豆腐，菠菜还有香蕉，能帮助你振奋精神。

日常饮食中富含色氨酸――一种能改变身体感觉的氨基酸，良好的化学血清素，能改善心情和健康，儿科医生，人体健康专家Caroline Longmore说道。

人体不能合成色氨酸，因此，除非我们从日常饮食中摄入足够的色氨酸，否则很可能患上色氨酸缺乏症，导致低血清，低血清情绪障碍，焦虑和IBS等有关症状。
“养成食用富含能自然产生血清素的食物的饮食习惯，能改善你的情绪，让你充满活力，处于一种平和，健康的状态。”Longmore医生说
心理健康专家指出说，色氨酸改善情绪的理论是纯粹的，但在澳洲，抑郁症患者对于它的使用却有着曲折的历史。

来自黑狗研究所的Gordon Parker指出，在1990年以前色氨酸补充剂被广泛应用，但一些患者服用被污染的补充剂后出现副作用后，色氨酸补充剂就被撤出市场。

Parker教授说，尽管一些患者深深相信这种类型的补充剂是有作用的，但在科学上还是缺乏证据。
“我只能说对于一些人来说，它是有用的，但产品的质量控制差别较大”他说道。
在电子书《血清素的秘密》中，Longmore医生声称，获得最佳色氨酸水平的最好方法是精心设计的饮食计划。她列出许多食物的色氨酸水平。
由澳洲培训机构的医学科学家和主张自然疗法的Katrin Hempel共同编写的书，列出了50种不通过药物而治疗色氨酸失衡的食谱。他们同羟色胺再摄取抑制素一样，如流行的抗抑郁症Proza的原理是一样。

英国食品与情绪项目，推荐食用鸡肉，罐头沙丁鱼，火鸡，鲑鱼，新鲜的金枪鱼，坚果和种子都能提高血清素水平。但副教授Michael Baigent，临床顾问Beyondblue指出现在很少有证据证明色氨酸具有医疗作用。

全国性统计标明，在过去任意的12个月中，接近17％的澳洲成年人有精神障碍，紧张，沮丧，极端和滥用药物，其中，滥用药物是常见现象。