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Reply
| | | From: 2many (Original Message) | Sent: 3/26/2003 3:52 PM |
1. What is 5-HTP?
5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is an amino acid that is the intermediate
step between tryptophan and the important brain chemical serotonin.
There is a massive amount of evidence that suggests that low
serotonin levels are a common consequence of modern living. The
lifestyle and dietary practices of many people living in this stress-
filled era results in lowered levels of serotonin within the brain.
As a result, many people are overweight, crave sugar and other
carbohydrates, experience bouts of depression, get frequent
headaches, and have vague muscle aches and pain. All of these
maladies are correctable by raising brain serotonin levels. The
primary therapeutic applications for 5-HTP are low serotonin states
as listed in Table 1.
Table 1. Conditions associated with low serotonin levels helped by 5-
HTP
Depression
Obesity
Carbohydrate craving
Bulimia
Insomnia
Narcolepsy
Sleep apnea
Migraine headaches
Tension headaches
Chronic daily headaches
Premenstrual syndrome
Fibromyalgia
Although 5-HTP may be relatively new to the United States health food
industry, it has been available through pharmacies for several years
and has been intensely researched for the past three decades. It has
been available in several European countries as a medicine since the
1970s.
9. How does 5-HTP benefit headache sufferers?
Because chronic headache sufferers have low levels of serotonin in
their tissues, some researchers refer to migraine and chronic
headaches as a "low serotonin syndrome" (15). There have been several
clinical studies with 5-HTP in headaches, both migraine and tension
headaches, that have showed excellent results (15-20). In particular,
the use of 5-HTP in the prevention of migraine headache offers
considerable advantages over drug therapy. Although a number of drugs
have been shown to be useful in the prevention of migraine headaches,
all of them carry significant side effects. In contrast, 5-HTP is
very safe.
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Reply
| | | From: 2many | Sent: 3/26/2003 3:52 PM |
5-HTP
(5-hydroxytryptophan)
Anti-depressant
5-HTP is the direct precursor to serotonin and is taken among other
things to Improve Mood, as a Treatment for Anxiety, and beneficial in
Weight Loss.
5-HTP is derived from the seeds of the Griffonia simplicifolia, a
West African medicinal plant.
Scientific studies from around the world have shown 5-HTP to, in
addition to the treatment of Depression, be effective in:
Suppressing Appetite
Enhancing Sleep
Relieving Anxiety
Relieving symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder
Cognitive Enhancement
Relief From and Prevention of Migraine Headaches
Reduction of the rate of Heart Disease as a result of Lowering
Anxiety and Depression.
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How 5-HTP works in relation to St. John's Wort and SSRIs
(selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) like PROZAC.
SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are the class of
prescription drugs including PROZAC. SSRIs work by increasing the
availability of serotonin in synapses (junctions between neurons) by
blocking their reuptake.
5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) works by increasing the cell's output of
serotonin.
St. John's Wort works like SSRIs in that it increases the
availability of serotonin in synapses (junctions between neurons) by
blocking their reuptake but also increases the availability of
norepinephrine, which increases energy and alertness and dopamine,
which increases the feeling of well-being.
5-HTP vs. SSRIs
Dr. W. Poldinger of the Psychiatrische Universitatsklinik in Basel,
Switzerland (A functional-dimensional approach to depression:
serotonin deficiency as a target syndrome in a comparison of 5-
hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) and fluvoxamine. Psychopathology.
1991,24:53-81) in a double blind, multi-center controlled study using
patients diagnosed with depression found that after week 6, both the
patients taking 100 mg. 5-HTP 3 times per day and those taking 150
mg. fluvoxamine (an SSRI) 3 times per day, had equal numbers showing
about 50% improvement with 5-HTP proving to be better tolerated than
the SSRI and having about a 11% lower failure rate than the SSRI
group.
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5-HTP is the direct precursor to serotonin
According to University of Mississippi researcher Ronald F. Bore,
Ph.D., in his article: Serotonin: The Neurotransmitter for the 90's.
Drug Topics. 1994, October 10:108., serotonin is "The
Neurotransmitter of the 90'" "Of the chemical neurotransmitter
substances," "serotonin is perhaps the most implicated in the
etiology or treatment of various disorders, particularly those of the
central nervous system, including anxiety, depression, obsessive-
compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, stroke, obesity, pain,
hypertension, vascular disorders, migraine, and nausea."
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Reply
| | | From: 2many | Sent: 3/28/2003 2:42 AM |
5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is an amino acid that occurs naturally in
the body and is the final step in the production of the
neurotransmitter serotonin, an important chemical that's responsible
for many of the brain impulses involving satisfaction and well being.
5-HTP is created through the hydroxylating of Tryptophan. Tryptophan
is an essential amino acid that must be taken in through protein
containing foods since the body can not synthesize it. Of the eight
essential amino acids, tryptophan is the least common, accounting for
only about one percent of protein content, and it is used up rapidly
by the body. About ninety-percent is used in protein synthesis. The
rest is divided between serotonin production and niacin production,
which requires 60mg for every 1mg of niacin produced. However, 5-HTP
is only used in serotonin production. 5-hydroxytryptophan is also
able to pass through the blood-brain barrier easily, unlike
tryptophan, which can only pass through the barrier by using the same
transport molecule that caries leucine, isoleucine, and valine.
Unlike tryptophan supplements, 5-HTP supplements are not produced
commercially by the fermentation of bacteria. Instead, it is
extracted from the seeds of Griffonia simplicifolia, an African tree
that is grown mostly in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. The extraction
process uses alcohol and produces an oily solid. The oily extract is
then purified into a dry solid. 5-HTP can also be made synthetically
in the laboratory. The final product is the same as the one made by
the body. .
On November 17th, 1989 the FDA recalled all L-Tryptophan supplements.
The reason was an increasing worry that the supplements may be
causing eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome. A syndrome that is
characterized by severe muscle and joint pain, swelling of the arms
and legs, skin rash and, sometimes, fever. At the time of this
recall, tryptophan was gaining popularity in the treatment of
insomnia, depression and obesity (among other uses). Today, 5-
hydroxytrptophan is considered a safer and more effective treatment
for these conditions.
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