Can we raise our levels of dopamine ourselves?

Dopamine, a neurotransmitter that stimulates the heart, controls movement, generates energy for metabolism, helps regulate the flow of information throughout the brain and allows us to experience feelings of pleasure can be raised by regular exercise and meditation. Certain foods have been found to regulate the production of dopamine enabling access to additional energy supplies and giving us the ability to respond more effectively emotionally and physically. Below is the description of them. In addition at the end I added an article about the inside look of Dopamine.

Proteins
Protein consumption is paramount for the regulation of the neurotransmitters in the brain due to their high amino acid content. Choose fish, eggs, chicken, turkey and red meat, suggests the Blessed Maine Herbs website. Fish has easily digestible protein, is low in calories and provides Omega 3 fatty acids, which may also help to stimulate the production of dopamine, according to MedHelp.com. Additionally, legumes, especially lima beans and fermented soy products like tempeh and miso are excellent sources of proteins. Dairy products like cheese and milk are also high in amino acids and help raise dopamine levels.

Beverages
Dopamine production and regulation is dependent on a variety of triggers, vitamin B6 being one, according to MedHelp.com. Drink watermelon juice, which is high in B6. It's a great fat-free addition to your diet and makes an excellent cleanser to remove toxins and wastes.

Wheat Germ
Wheat germ is high in phenylalanine, according to MedHelp.com, an essential amino acid that is converted to tyrosine, which helps to regulate the neurotransmitters and dopamine in particular. Sprinkle wheat germ over salads or on cereals for a nutty flavor addition to foods.

Nuts and Seeds
Raw almonds or pumpkin seeds make a great snack and help to regulate dopamine levels. Add sesame seeds to the list and sprinkle some on salads. Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds, similar to peanut butter, and remember almond butter. Edgar Cayce, in his book, "Nourishing the Body Temple: Edgar Cayce's Approach to Nutrition, " states that a handful of raw almonds every day can prevent almost every disease known to man and increase health tenfold.

Herbs
A variety of herbs are known to help regulate dopamine levels, according to The Blessed Maine Herbs website, including nettles fenugreek, milk thistle, ginseng, peppermint and red clover. Herbs have side effects so caution should be taken if using them regularly.

Vegetables
Beets supply an amino acid called betaine, according to MedHelp.com, which produces an antidepressant effect in the brain and aids in the regulation and production of neurotransmitters like dopamine. Artichokes and avocados are also great to include in a diet for helping to raise dopamine levels.

If you are further interested in taking another look into Dopamine. The mammalian brain, or limbic system, is largely the same in all mammals. It has been around for well over 100,000,000 years, lurking right beneath your large, rational neo-cortex. Rats, apes and humans use the same neurochemicals to operate the same functions in this part of the brain. Scientists aren't studying rodent brains to help them with their addictions and erections!
Thanks to your limbic system, you cannot will your feelings, emotions, falling in love, or staying in love, anymore than you can will your heart to beat, or yourself to digest a meal or sleep.
Recently, scientists have begun to unravel the neurochemistry of lust, attachment and falling in love. Falling in love involves simultaneous activation and deactivation of discrete parts of the limbic system. For every biological event in your body, there is a biological cause. In this case, the cause is neurochemicals—and the pathways they turn on and off. The central neurochemical player behind falling in—and out—of love is dopamine. Dopamine is the principal neurochemical that activates your reward circuitry. Your reward circuitry drives nearly all of your behaviors. In other words, most all roads lead to Rome, or to the reward circuitry so you can assess things as "good, bad, or indifferent."
At its most basic, this circuit is activated when you engage in activities that further your survival, or the continuation of your genes. Whether it’s sex, eating, taking risks, achieving goals, or drinking water, all increase dopamine, and dopamine turns on your reward circuitry. You can think of dopamine as the "I’ve got to have it" neurochemical, whatever "it" is. It’s the "craving" signal.
The more dopamine you release and the more your reward circuit is activated, the more "reward" you experience. A good example is food. We get a much bigger blast of dopamine eating high-calorie foods than we do low-calorie foods. It’s why we choose chocolate cake over Brussels sprouts. Our reward circuit is programmed so that "calories equal survival." You’re not actually craving ice cream, or a winning lotto ticket, or even a romp in the sack. You’re craving the dopamine that is released with these activities. Dopamine is your major motivation, not the item or activity.
Addiction mechanisms are complex. Yet the one aspect they share is dopamine. All addictive substances and activities increase dopamine. Porn, accumulating money, gaining power over others, gambling, compulsive shopping, video games…if something really boosts your dopamine, then it’s potentially addictive for you. Why did Martha Stewart risk everything for more money? She got a thrill from a stock market gamble. She didn’t need the money; she needed the dopamine.
Addictiive highs mimic the good feelings of the basic activities for which we're actually wired...by hijacking our wiring. Out of thousands of chemicals, these few substances (alcohol, cocaine, etc.) jack up dopamine. We can also hijack it with extremely stimulating versions of natural behaviors: casinos with hot hostesses, novel porn at every click, tasty junk food filled with fat and sugar, and so forth.
Do not get the idea that dopamine is bad. There's no such thing as a bad neurochemical or hormone, although both can be problems when out of balance. Dopamine is absolutely necessary for your decision-making, happiness, and survival. Researchers placed electrodes in rats’ reward centers to stimulate them, much as dopamine does. The rats could then press a lever to stimulate the reward center. That’s all those rats did. They ignored food, receptive females and their own pups, if female. They just sat there pressing the lever over and over, wasting away…not unlike crack addicts. In other experiments, scientists blocked dopamine so the reward center could not be stimulated. What happened? The rats just sat there, again—ignoring food, receptive mates, and the opportunity to explore their environment.