Last updated January 16, 2023.
Edited and medically reviewed by Patrick Alban, DC. Written by Deane Alban.
Anandamide is a neurotransmitter that binds to cannabinoid receptors in the brain and body, stimulating a sense of happiness and mental wellness.
Anandamide is a little-known brain chemical that’s been called the “bliss molecule” for the role it plays in producing feelings of happiness.
It also affects overall health and mental wellness in numerous other ways.
Anandamide works by binding to the same receptors in the brain as the main psychoactive compound in marijuana.
However, there are many ways to increase the level of anandamide without using marijuana.
What Is Anandamide?
Anandamide is a neurotransmitter derived from arachidonic acid, a long-chain essential fatty acid.
It gets its tongue-twisting name from ananda, the Sanskrit word for “happiness, pleasure, joy, and delight.”
Anandamide is one of the most important endocannabinoids, compounds produced within the body that bind to cannabinoid receptors in the brain and elsewhere throughout the body.
" After the discovery of anandamide, scientists began searching for cannabinoid receptors and found that the human body is brimming with them!
Its discovery traces back to the detection of receptors for THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the main psychoactive component in marijuana (Cannabis sativa).
THC receptors were first found in rat brains and later were found in humans.
Initially, scientists were puzzled as to why THC receptors would exist in the brain.
The reason for their existence remained a mystery until the discovery of anandamide and the realization that it binds to these cannabinoid receptors.
The Health Benefits of Anandamide
After the discovery of anandamide, scientists began searching for cannabinoid receptors and found that the human body is brimming with them!
Besides residing in several regions of the brain, cannabinoid receptors are widespread throughout the body, occurring in the central nervous system, spleen, lungs, liver, kidneys, white blood cells, reproductive organs, and in the gastrointestinal and urinary tracts.
Because these cannabinoid receptors are located in so many places, the effects of anandamide are widespread.
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Anandamide plays a role in memory, appetite, sleep, and pain relief.
The endocannabinoid system — endocannabinoid compounds and their receptors — acts as a regulator to keep the brain and body in a state of balance called homeostasis.
Some scientists believe that a clinical endocannabinoid deficiency may be a root cause of many conditions, including depression, migraines, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, irritable bowel syndrome, and Parkinson’s.
There’s also evidence that anandamide can inhibit the production of cancerous cells.
The Mental Health Benefits of Anandamide
While anandamide bestows a wealth of overall health benefits, it is mainly linked to mental health and well-being.
Suboptimal levels of anandamide can drain you of happiness, increase fear and anxiety, and rob you of the ability to cope with stress.
The endocannabinoid system, which includes anandamide, offers protection against stress-related psychiatric diseases, including major depression, generalized anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Research indicates that inhibiting fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), an enzyme that breaks down anandamide, may be a useful strategy for treating cognitive dysfunction, drug addiction, anxiety disorders, and traumatic stress.
The Happiness Gene That Increases Anandamide Levels
Certain countries are judged to have higher rates of happiness than others.
It now looks as if this may be due in part to genes that affect the level of anandamide.
Researchers have found a direct correlation between the presence of a gene variant (rs324420) that affects anandamide levels and the level of happiness.
Countries where citizens generally rate themselves as “very happy” have a higher instance of this gene.
This gene variant increases anandamide by decreasing FAAH, the enzyme that destroys anandamide.
Keeping levels of anandamide high increases the likelihood of happier people.
Areas of the world with high instances of this gene and high levels of happiness include western Africa, northern Latin America, and northern Europe.
Conversely, populations with reported low levels of happiness and low instances of this gene include areas of the Middle East and eastern Asia.
The Link Between Anandamide, Marijuana, and Memory
Anandamide is an important brain chemical for memory consolidation.
Gary L. Wenk, PhD, is a leading authority on the relationship between brain inflammation and Alzheimer’s disease.
One of his avenues of research has been to study the effects of marijuana on mental decline.
He reports that stimulating the brain’s marijuana receptors with anandamide may protect the brain against stroke and neuroinflammation.
He has found that while marijuana interferes with the formation of memories when we’re younger, later in life it protects against age-related cognitive decline by reducing brain inflammation and encouraging the formation of new brain cells.
However, he observes that the dose makes the medicine and that “one puff is enough.”
This is all it takes to produce noticeable memory improvement in seniors.
How to Boost Anandamide With Food
If you want to experience the physical and mental health benefits of anandamide, you don’t have to partake of marijuana.
Here are a few foods that can increase your level of anandamide naturally.
Chocolate: The Main Food Source of Anandamide
Chocolate is one of our most beloved foods and scientists have tried to figure out what makes it so appealing.
There are over 1,500 known biochemicals in chocolate and several, such as serotonin, tryptophan, caffeine, theobromine, and phenylethylamine, have known mood-boosting effects.
It turns out that chocolate also contains anandamide.
Anandamide, like other neurotransmitters, is broken down quickly, but chocolate contains compounds that slow anandamide’s breakdown.
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It’s also thought that chocolate may cause the brain to produce more anandamide.
All these mechanisms work together to boost the level of anandamide and temporarily improve mood when eating chocolate.
If you are a chocoholic, you might want to blame anandamide which is suspected of contributing to chocolate’s addictive nature.
To get the most anandamide from chocolate, eat the least adulterated chocolate you can find.
Stick with dark chocolate, or add more cocoa powder or cacao nibs to your diet.
Both of these are significantly less processed than even the best chocolate, contain no sugar, and are a more concentrated source of chocolate’s beneficial compounds.
Black Truffles
The only other food with a significant amount of anandamide is the black truffle (Tuber melanosporum).
Black truffles are mushrooms native to Spain, France, and Italy that grow in forests under oaks and other deciduous trees.
Traditionally, truffle hunters have used pigs to seek out truffles buried underground, but now also use specially trained dogs which are less damaging to truffle beds and less inclined to eat the profits.
Truffle-hunting pigs and dogs have anandamide receptors which may explain why they seek out truffles with great enthusiasm.
Not too many people will rely on black truffles to get their mood-boosting dose of anandamide.
Truffles are among the most expensive culinary delicacies in the world.
Black truffles currently cost about $20 per ounce, but are a bargain compared to white truffles which cost ten times as much at a jaw-dropping $211 per ounce.
Strange but true: It’s no coincidence that chocolate-covered candies are called truffles. The candies were named after the fungus; take a look at them side by side and you can see why.
But it is a coincidence that both mushroom and chocolate-covered truffles are food sources of anandamide.
Other Foods That May Raise Anandamide Levels
Besides chocolate and truffles, there are a handful of other foods that contain compounds that increase the amount or activity of anandamide.
Both common black pepper (Piper nigrum) and its hotter cousin long pepper (Piper longum) contain a compound called guineensine that increases the activity of anandamide.
Kaempferol is a type of flavonoid that inhibits the production of FAAH, the enzyme that breaks down anandamide.
So, by eating more foods that contain kaempferol, you can increase your net level of anandamide.
Foods that contain kaempferol include:
- Fruits — apples, blackberries, grapes, peaches, raspberries
- Spices — chives, dill, ginger, saffron
- Vegetables — broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cucumbers, green beans, onions, potatoes, squash, tomatoes, and most green leafy vegetables
Kaempferol is also found in green tea.
Foods That Contain Anandamide Precursors
Anandamide is created from arachidonic acid, an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid.
The main dietary sources of arachidonic acid are meat, fish, seafood, and eggs.
Arachidonic acid can also be synthesized from linoleic acid, which occurs in substantial amounts in many popular vegetable oils, including safflower, sunflower, and canola oils.
But since these oils are pro-inflammatory, we don’t recommend them.
However, linoleic acid is found in one healthy oil that we do recommend — olive oil.
Anandamide Supplements
Now, let’s take a look at the handful of supplements that support the production or use of anandamide in the body.
Palmitoylethanolamide
Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is a naturally occurring compound that enhances anandamide activity.
It is produced by the body to combat inflammation.
PEA has been called the “love drug” because it mimics the brain chemistry of being in love.
It can be isolated from soy lecithin, egg yolk, and peanut meal to create supplements.
In some countries, PEA is available as a medical food.
More than 800,000 patients have been treated with PEA around the world, mainly to treat pain.
PEA is considered very safe and has no known serious side effects or drug interactions.
CBD Oil
The marijuana plant (Cannabis sativa) contains over 110 known bioactive compounds.
One present in particular abundance is cannabidiol or CBD.
CBD is not psychoactive and so can be purchased as a nutritional supplement.
It does not bind to cannabinoid receptors and will not get you high.
It works, in part, by inhibiting the action of the FAAH enzyme, resulting in a net increase in anandamide.
While both marijuana and hemp are the same species, Cannabis sativa, they are different varieties that have different characteristics.
CBD supplements are derived from hemp and must contain less than 0.3% THC (by dry weight) to be legally sold in the United States.
Increasing Anandamide With Marijuana
Lastly, no discussion on increasing anandamide would be complete without mentioning marijuana.
THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, binds to the same receptors as anandamide.
If marijuana is legal where you live and you decide to give it a try, keep in mind that it is not right for everyone.
While marijuana is used to relieve anxiety, improve mood, and reduce memory loss in many people, it can have the opposite effect on others.
About 20% of the population has a genetic tendency to have less FAAH, the anti-anandamide enzyme.
These people tend to be less anxious in general and, interestingly, less inclined to enjoy, or get addicted to, marijuana.
They are also more likely to experience a decline in mood when they use it.
Richard A. Friedman, MD, an expert in the neurobiology and treatment of mood and anxiety disorders, finds that marijuana “swamps and overpowers” the brain’s cannabinoid system, making it counterproductive for treating anxiety disorders.
He also finds that regular marijuana use interferes with learning and memory.
Other Ways to Boost Anandamide
Not all ways to intentionally increase anandamide levels involve substances that you ingest.
Some are things that you do instead.
Get in “The Zone”
Have you ever been so engrossed in an activity that time fades away?
This state of heightened focus and peak performance is called being in “the zone.”
Whenever you’re in “the zone,” your brain is flooded with anandamide and other feel-good brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and endorphins.
For a regular anandamide surge, find a healthy activity, such as an outdoor activity or hobby, that puts you in the zone and do it frequently.
Get Physical Exercise
Exercising to the point of obtaining “runner’s high” is usually attributed to an increase in your body’s natural pain-killing endorphins.
But there’s evidence that endocannabinoids, including anandamide, are more likely the brain chemicals behind runner’s high.
One reason for this change in theory is the discovery that endorphins are too large to cross into the brain, but anandamide is not.
Exercise works on the endocannabinoid system in two ways.
It increases blood levels of anandamide and improves the sensitivity of anandamide receptors.
Increase Oxytocin
Oxytocin is a naturally occurring compound that acts as both a hormone and neurotransmitter.
It stimulates the production of anandamide and so, by increasing oxytocin, you may also increase anandamide.
The most reliable way to increase oxytocin is by physical touch — hugs, cuddles, massage, stroking a pet, or making love.
Other ways to increase oxytocin include yoga, meditation, listening to relaxing music, and giving others your undivided attention.
One study found that levels of anandamide increased by an impressive 168% after an osteopathic manipulation.
It seems that other treatments such as physical therapy, chiropractic, and massage therapy may offer similar effects.
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