NEUROLOGICAL NUTRITION - NEUROTRANSMITTERS - Tryptophan

[Guest guest]

You can't get tryptophan, you can get 5-HTP which is 5-hydroxytryptophan.

 

The following is from the Gale Encycophedia of Alternative Medicine - go to

the site if you are interested in reading all of the article.

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/g2603/0001/2603000141/p1/article.jhtml?te

rm=5-htp

 

5-HTP

Author/s: Belinda Rowland

 

 

Description

5-HTP, the acronym for 5-hydroxytryptophan (or 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan), is a

compound found primarily in the brain. 5-HTP is made from tryptophan, a

natural amino acid found in the diet. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid,

which means that it cannot be made by the body so it must be obtained from

food, particularly from proteins. In the liver and brain, 5-HTP is converted

to an important monoamine neurotransmitter called serotonin.

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit signals between

neurons (nerve cells) in the brain.

 

Taking 5-HTP increases the body's supply of 5-HTP, which leads to increased

levels of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin, also called 5-hydroxytryptamine

or 5-HT, plays an important role in controlling behavior and moods. It

influences many normal brain activities and also acts as a traffic cop by

regulating the activity of other neurotransmitters. Having adequate levels

of serotonin instills a feeling of relaxation, calmness, and mild euphoria

(extreme happiness). On the contrary, low levels of serotonin, called

serotonin deficiency syndrome, leads to depression, anxiety, irritability,

insomnia, and many other problems.

 

Conditions associated with low levels of serotonin include:

 

a.. anxiety

b.. attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

c.. bulimia

d.. depression

e.. epilepsy

f.. fibromyalgia

g.. headaches

h.. hyperactivity

i.. insomnia

j.. obesity

k.. obsessive-compulsive disorder

l.. panic attacks

m.. premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

n.. schizophrenia

o.. seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

5-HTP has other effects on the body. It is an antioxidant that protects the

body from damage by substances called free radicals (unstable, toxic

molecules). In this role, 5-HTP may help slow down the aging process and

protect the body from illness. Because serotonin is used to make melatonin,

taking 5-HTP may help achieve some of the same benefits as melatonin, such

as treating jet lag, depression, and insomnia. There is some evidence that

5-HTP can replenish the supply of the pain-relieving molecules called

endorphins. Studies have shown that low levels of endorphins are associated

with chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, stress, and depression. In

addition, 5-HTP affects other neurotransmitters, including norepinephrine

and dopamine.

 

 

 

-

" Elaine " <mem121

<Undisclosed-Recipient:@usermail.com;>

Sunday, June 16, 2002 11:45 PM

NEUROLOGICAL NUTRITION - NEUROTRANSMITTERS

 

 

 

 

for complete story: http://doctoryourself.com/nerves.html

 

NEUROLOGICAL NUTRITION:

GETTING THE BODY TO MANUFACTURER NEUROTRANSMITTERS

" The composition of each meal could have a direct effect

on the production of chemical signals in the brain. "

(The New York Times, January 9, 1979)

 

Rather than give a synthetic drug to block or mimic the body's chemical

nerve messengers (neurotransmitters), it is possible nutritionally to

encourage the body to make its own natural ones.

 

If we are what we eat, then our nerves also depend on what they are fed.

Here is tremendous potential for the alleviation of depression, anxiety,

neuroses, panic attacks and sleep disorders.

 

NOREPINEPHRINE

A depletion of the neurotransmitter called norepinephrine may result in poor

memory, loss of alertness, and clinical depression. The chain of chemical

events in the body resulting in this substance is:

 

L-phenylalanine (from protein foods) -> L-tyrosine (made in the liver) ->

dopa -> dopamine -> norepinephrine -> epinephrine

 

This process looks complex but actually is readily accomplished,

particularly if the body has plenty of Vitamin C. Since one's dietary

supply of the first ingredient, L-phenylalanine, is usually adequate, it is

more likely to be a shortage of Vitamin C that limits production of

norepinephrine. Physicians giving large doses of Vitamin C have had

striking success in reversing depression. It is a remarkably safe and

inexpensive approach to try.

 

ACETYLCHOLINE

Acetylcholine is the end neurotransmitter of your parasympathetic nerve

system. This means that, among other things, it facilitates good digestion,

deeper breathing, and slower heart rate. You may perceive its effect as

" relaxation. "

 

Your body will make its own acetylcholine from choline. Choline is

available in the diet as phosphatidyl choline, found in lecithin.

 

Lecithin is found in egg yolks and most soy products. Three tablespoons

daily of soya lecithin granules provide about five grams (5,000 milligrams)

of phosphatidyl choline. Long-term use of this amount is favorably

mentioned in The Lancet, February 9, 1980. Lecithin supplementation has no

known harmful effects whatsoever. In fact, your brain by dry weight is

almost one-third lecithin! How far can we go with this idea of simply

feeding the brain what it is made up of? In Geriatrics, July 1979,

lecithin is considered as a therapy to combat memory loss. Studies at MIT

show increases in both choline and acetylcholine in the brains of animals

after just one lecithin meal! Supplemental choline has even shown promise in

treating Alzheimer's Disease. (Today's Living, February, 1982)

 

Your body can make much of its own lecithin. Ample amounts of B-complex

vitamins, especially B-6 (pyridoxine) must be present for this to occur.

B-6 deficiency is very common in Americans, and that " deficiency " is

measured against an already ridiculously low US RDA of only two milligrams.

The amount of B-6 needed for clinical effectiveness in, say, rabbits is the

human dose equivalent of 75 mg daily. That is over 35 times more than the

RDA!

 

Really enormous doses of B-6 taken alone have produced temporary

neurological side effects. It usually takes between 2,000 and 5,000 mg

daily for symptoms of numbness or tingling in the extremities. Some side

effects have been reported as low as 500 mg daily, but these are very rare

indeed. Therapeutic doses between 100 and 500 milligrams daily are commonly

prescribed by physicians for PMS relief. A few hundred milligrams of

individual B-6, especially if taken in addition to the entire B-complex to

ensure balance, is very safe indeed.

 

SEROTONIN

Plentiful serotonin can mean a good night's sleep, and freedom from anxiety

during the day. You cannot tell someone to relax unless they have the

chemistry to do it. It is safer to let the body make the molecules than to

use pharmaceuticals.

 

Your brain produces serotonin from the amino acid L-tryptophan. L-tryptophan

is one of the parts of protein essential to life. Chicken, nuts, beans, and

dairy products are everyday sources of this natural and necessary substance.

 

You used to be able to buy L-tryptophan as a supplement, but a batch was

contaminated at the point of manufacture and the FDA took all L-tryptophan

off the market. The contamination was traced and corrected, but the FDA

has continued to keep all L-tryptophan supplements off the shelves. There

is little, if any, justification for this continued unavailability of

L-tryptophan supplements, for it is put in liquid feedings for the elderly

and is in all infant formulas!

 

The good news is that your body can derive similar benefits from

inexpensive, readily-available Vitamin B-3, NIACIN.

 

L-tryptophan is broken down into niacin by a 60 to 1 ratio. That means you

need a lot of tryptophan to make a little niacin, and a lot of tryptophan is

difficult to come up with nowadays. It also means, however, that only a

little niacin (1/60th as much) can go a long way. Niacin does not make

serotonin, but rather appears to work by way of a parallel biochemical

mechanism. One plus is that the amount of niacin needed to help relax you

for sleep is less than the dose routinely given by cardiologists to lower

serum cholesterol levels.

 

Body saturation of niacin is indicated by a warmness of the skin and

blushing or " flushing " sensation. At this point, most persons will also

experience a feeling of relaxation and ease. Unlike pharmaceutical

tranquilizers, niacin simply feeds the body what it needs to internally and

naturally provide relief.

 

Niacin (or L-tryptophan) has also been effective in treating

obsessive-compulsive neurosis (Let's Live, September 1979) and even

schizophrenia. Drs. David Hawkins and Linus Pauling have written a 670 page

textbook on the subject entitled Orthomolecular Psychiatry (1973). This

comprehensive work is well worth your investigation.

 

 

 

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