Gary Brecka argues depression, anxiety, and ADHD stem from the same root: nutrient deficiencies that block serotonin production in the gut. Since 90% of the body's serotonin lives there, he says insufficient tryptophan conversion creates a cascade of mood and behavioral problems. He frames these as correctable through nutrition, not psychiatric labels.
The root potential causes of depression, anxiety, and ADHD that are actually linked to a common nutrient deficiency. For a long time, we've been dealing with the serotonin hypothesis of depression. Low serotonin increases the risk of depressive episodes. Serotonin is the main driver of mood and the main driver of behavior. Anxiety, the sensation of the presence of a fear without the presence of a fear, people have had on and off throughout their entire lifetime and have a difficult time pointing to the trigger. ADHD, which is an overactive mind, too many windows open at the same time. It's not actually a deficit of attention, it's an attention overload disorder. When you deprive the human body of certain vitamins and certain nutrients, this cycle gets messed up and it manifests itself as some of these conditions. The neurotransmitter serotonin, 90% of the serotonin in our gut is right here. So if you don't have it here, you can't have it here. Depression begins in our outside environment, continued by deficiencies in in our gut. Now, if you have low conversion of tryptophan into serotonin, low serotonin in your gut, you don't have the raw material to feel elevated mood and elevated emotion. You don't feel things like passion, elation, joy, arousal. Libido leaves the building. And this is not a mood disorder or mental illness. This is a deficiency.
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