Phosphatidylserine or PS (as it is commonly known), is an organic fatty acid chemical that is also known as a phospholipid. It is one of the essential components that is required by your brain for providing structure and protection to its cells. Therefore, phosphatidylserine is essential to maintain proper cellular functions. Apart from the brain this chemical compound also affects other functions of the body as well, like heartbeat coordination, bone formation, cell repair, hormone secretion, and various other functions.
Your body can create PS naturally on its own, but it generally does not meet the amount required by the brain. The primary source of this chemical compound in humans is the food that they eat. Additive soy lecithin, fish, animal organs, and white beans are some of the best source of the chemical compound for your brain.
How does the chemical compound work?
Basically, phosphatidylserine is a fatty acid that enters your central nervous system by crossing the blood-brain barrier very easily. Once it crosses the blood-brain barrier, it helps the brain metabolize glucose which is the primary source of its energy. Also, it promotes communication of the brain with several other neurotransmitters, like acetylcholine – a neurotransmitter responsible for improving your overall cognitive abilities, like memory, focus, thinking, and reasoning. Deficiency of acetylcholine in the body can lead to many problems, like reduced memory, and it can also lead to amnesia.
It is studied that PS helps in increasing the number of brain synapses. These are the bridges or links between the neurons that ensure smooth communication between them. The higher the number of synapses in the brain, the more the quality and efficiency of communication between the neurons.
Phosphatidylserine is shown to provide structure to the brain cell membrane, which also leads to increased fluidity. This means that it becomes easier for your body to transfer the nutrients around and get rid of the waste easily. Also, this leads to the improvement of each and every cellular function in the brain, including neural processing.
Benefits of phosphatidylserine
Since phosphatidylserine is a component that’s present as a core component of each cell in your body; it comes with benefits linked to almost all the functions that the body performs. If taken as a nootropic supplement, the chemical is very beneficial to your overall mental health. It can efficiently improve memory, concentration, learning, and cognitive abilities as well. In other words, phosphatidylserine improves your overall memory and cognitive functionalities.
This is the reason why PS supplement for memory is one of the most recommended supplements by the doctors to people suffering from various cognitive disorders and age-related memory issues. In fact, people suffering from symptoms of Alzheimer’s and dementia are hugely benefited from PS supplements.
Phosphatidylserine supplements are also known to help people suffering from depression and improving the mood. Most people suffering from depression or anxiety are likely to have lower PS levels in their body than required. Supplementing the PS levels in the body helps in replenishing the amounts of required PS in the cell, which then helps in stimulating mood-controlling neurotransmitters – neurotransmitters that help in improving your mood.
Studies have also found that phosphatidylserine effectively reduces the amount of cortisol in the body that helps in reducing stress both mentally and physically. This is why athletes going through vigorous training sessions find PS supplements very useful to reduce muscle stress. Also, PS supplements are thought to benefit patients suffering from ADHD. However, there is no conclusive evidence on how it works to benefit ADHD patients.
Phosphatidylserine is one of the most important compounds that your body and brain require to perform various functions. This is why it’s not a bad idea to start taking PS supplements and ensure overall physical and mental wellbeing.
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