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Gain an understanding of how your nerves and genes work, and why proteins are so important here.
Okay, so I'm going to try and make this discussion as sweet, short, and entertaining as possible. However, you gotta read these few pages in order, and that's why there's no navigation bar within this section to let you skip around.
You probably know that proteins are an essential factor in our diets. Unsurprisingly, they're also essential factors in every part of your body, including the CNS (brain and spinal cord)
I also bet you're familiar with the concept of the genetic code. Well, this genetic code, "encoded" by our DNA, is essential to the making of components in our CNS (and the rest of the body)!
When you consume protein in your diet, it's broken down (mainly in the stomach) to its main components, the "amino acids". (There are, depending on whom you ask, approximately 20 common amino acids, around 9 of which are conveniently made in our own bodies.) Your genetic code then instructs your cells on how to arrange these amino acids into something useful. These re-arranged amino acids, also known as proteins (though of different stripes), are perhaps the most important component in your body -- They aid in things that range from metabolism, neuro-transmission, and what have you. Common things found in your nervous system, such as receptors and enzymes, are in fact, proteins.
Above: Schematic of how dietary proteins are turned into proteins the body uses.
Amino acids are also important in neurotransmitter creation.
Neurotransmitters are little molecules that look similar to amino acids (see below for a comparison). Their main job is to help chemically send a signal from one nerve cell to the next.
You probably know of the main neurotransmitter involved in psychiatric drugs (i.e., serotonin). Serotonin is known chemically as "5-hydroxy-tryptamine" (abbreviated "5-HT"), and tryptophan is the amino acid that serotonin is based off of.
Above: Regular tryptophan vs. 5-HT (serotonin)
