How Does PEA Influence Mood?
PEA (palmitoylethanolamide ) is included in many of our Well Theory products due to its amazing anti-inflammatory benefits.
PEA is what your body naturally produces in response to pain and inflammation to exert its balancing effects. In other words, PEA is natural and normal for human function. We simply do not have enough of it to reach perfect balance in today’s chaos and inflammation filled lives.
But as more research is conducted, we’re learning that PEA is so much more than just a natural anti-inflammatory. A recent study has found that PEA also plays a role in enhancing mood and relieving symptoms of depression.
Today, we’re going to explore how PEA can impact your mental well-being.
PEA AND YOUR BODY’S REGULATORY SYSTEM
First, let’s talk about how your mind “produces” moods. Every process in your body is regulated by something called the endocannabinoid system (ECS.) The human body and brain is filled with endocannabinoid receptors that respond to certain messengers, called endocannabinoids, by allowing them to bind.
By binding, or attaching, the messengers link to the receptors and cause changes in and around the cell.
The ECS plays an important role in the regulation of your moods and your stress response. In our lives, we are out of balance and the ECS does not have enough material to produce the needed balancing products, such as PEA or other anadamides.
For those of us who are ‘out of balance’ with regard to our moods, physicians often prescribe synthetic mass-market pharmaceuticals as a treatment. In most cases, current antidepressants on the market adjust the levels of neurotransmitters in your body and brain – but don’t affect the ECS which signals your body to effectively use and produce these neurotransmitters.
This is not surprising as the ECS is not taught in most medical schools and was only described fully in the 1980s. This is a new field of medicine and is extremely exciting. The benefits of harnessing the ECS are unlimited!
Read More: Balancing Your Endocannabinoid System
PEA is a fatty acid amide (FAA). This is an amide formed from a fatty acid and an amine; many of these FAAs use ethanolamine as the amine component in nature; this is true in the human body. FAAs are diverse neuroactive lipids.
PEA, just one FAA allows for increased levels of anandamide – an endocannabinoid that is responsible for regulating sleep and pain receptors. Anandamide is the reason that CBD is so exciting; CBD merely increases the natural levels of anandamide in humans.
PEA is structurally similar to anandamide and also increases its levels in the human body and brain. It is also a compound that helps stimulate the production of endocannabinoids in the body.
PEA is effective and safe for the reduction of pain and inflammation in the body.
“Preclinical evidence has demonstrated that the endocannabinoid system plays an important role in mood and stress response, even if drugs targeting this system have not yet become available for clinical use. The dietary supplement N-Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is a fatty acid amide belonging to the endocannabinoid system with potential antidepressant properties.”
HOW PEA AFFECTS MOOD
PEA may help improve mood in a couple of ways. First, PEA can help promote restful sleep as it acts on CB1 receptors – those that induce a calming effect and improve sleep. PEA may also help to increase REM sleep, allowing your body to rest and recover.
We all know that not getting enough sleep, or not getting restful sleep, can negatively impact all areas of your health – including your mental health.
PEA also reduces the activity of fatty acid amide hydrolase(FAAH) which breaks down anandamide. This allows your body to increase the levels of calming anandamide in the body, which helps to combat pain and enhance relaxation. In other words, PEA increases levels of this so-called bliss molecule.
Your body naturally increases PEA whenever you are stressed, injured or infected to bring your systems back into alignment. However, due to unhealthy lifestyles, nutritional gaps in our diets, and more, many of us are deficient in this essential fatty acid product.
Thankfully, it is possible to supplement with PEA.
Our PEA Multivitamin is formulated with clinical-grade dosings of essential vitamins and minerals – and PEA to help support your physical and mental well-being.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Meredith Warner is the creator of Well Theory and The Healing Sole. She is a board-certified Orthopedic Surgeon and Air Force Veteran.
She is on a mission to disrupt traditional medicine practices and promote betterment physically, spiritually and mentally to many more people. She advocates for wellness and functional health over big pharma so more people can age vibrantly with more function and less pain.
At Well Theory, Our surgeon-designed products are FDA Registered and formulated to help people:
- Manage the symptoms of musculoskeletal pain
- Recover vibrantly from orthopedic related surgeries
- Fill the gaps in our daily diets
- Manage pain associated with inflammation