Dietary Influence on Serotonin in Cognitive and Emotional Functioning in Women

The treatment conditions are either placebo or lumiVida™ (N=30 per group) 0.5 g twice a day (total 1 g/ day). The first testing took place on the screening day (baseline). Subsequently, participants were supplied with supplements for 19 days intervention (sachets which had to be dissolved in 200-ml water). After 19 days, participants were tested again (same tests as on the baseline day). An additional facet was the completion of a 'sleep diary', which asks questions about sleep quality and latency, and bed-time mood, as well as allowing recording of timing of supplement taking.

Inclusion criteria

• Physically and mentally healthy (defined by not concurrently receiving medical/pharmacological treatment (except mild painkillers), free of gastrointestinal complaints, not in pain, not diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder
• Female
• Aged: 45 - 65 years

Exclusion criteria

• Having received treatment in the last 12 months for: depression, anxiety, neurological disease including migraine, dementia, epilepsy, Parkinson's.
• History of any psychiatric or neurological illness in the last 2 years.
• Current medication targeting the brain (except mild painkillers, e.g. pure paracetamol, ibuprofen), including steroids, e.g. for contraception, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), drugs for weight control, stimulants (e.g. phenylephrine, ephedrine), antihistamines, and some herbal or nutritional remedies including St. John's Wort, 5-hydroxy-tryptophan, or melatonin (which can affect the serotonin system).
• Pregnancy
• Current gastrointestinal complaints
• Diabetes (Type 1 or 2)
• Body mass index < 18 or > 35