Amino acids play a critical role in craving reduction. They make up the essential building blocks of neurotransmitters and tell our brains whether or not we’re satisfied. Since their adoption in the mid 80’s, thousands of people have benefited from their use. We’re now witnessing a huge resurgence of interest in amino acid therapy.

We’ve recommended a number of blended and specific amino acids as part of the My Way Out program and I’ve recently developed a special interest in 5-HTP, or 5-hydroxytryptophan. It’s a compound created in the body and used to regulate serotonin levels in the brain. It’s believed to be quite effective in regulating mood, treating anxiety and helping facilitate weight loss. Many people coming off alcohol complain of sleep disturbances and irritability, so find it helpful.

We’ve recently made 5-HTP available in our Health Store thanks to our partner at NOW FOODS. We’ve included a link with more info about the supplement courtesty of Wikipedia, the infamous online collaborative encyclopedia.

Less objective but equally interesting are a number of quick blog entries below with general info that I found while googling today. I decided to take this rather unscientific approach after receiving a number of reports within a relatively short time from people (both doctors and patients, interestingly) extolling its benefits for a variety of conditions.

Anecdotal? Yup.  Junk science? I don’t think so:

I have a sex drive, I have energy, I don’t have back pain anymore, I feel good when I wake up…

I have noticed that I do sleep better. I would say even better than when I was on vacation…

Tryptophan (5HTP) is wonderful. I started taking it a week ago. It helps my sleeping (when I let it) and I’m hoping it helps me lose some weight…

As far as the anxiety goes, I take 5-HTP that I get from my holistic Dr. and I haven’t had any anxiety problems since…

I use HTP-5 50mg. twice daily, it a precursor of serotonin, bought over the counter, and 300mg. wellbutrin. I have noticed a significant decrease in my cravings, in fact sweets make me nauseated…

(Please remember it’s important to let your doc know if you’re prescribed any meds before you start taking HTP-5. It is contraindicated when used with with some anti-depressants, herbals or other medications.) 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 18th, 2006 at 3:08 pm and is filed under Diet, nutrition and exercise. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.