Are You Under A Lot Of Stress? Do You Have Trouble Sleeping At Night?

By Addy Rochon


Are you suffering from depression? Do you get headaches all the time? Do you have eating disorders? Are you gaining too much weight even if you don't eat too much? If you can relate to these, no need to worry for they can all go away with 5-HTP.

What's the evidence for 5-HTP? Psychiatrists ran a research trial involving 60 people with mild to moderate depression compared 5-HTP against Luvox (fluvoxamine), an antidepressant in the same drug class as Prozac.

5-HTP is essential to overall health. It is used to treat many conditions like depression, obesity, carbohydrate craving, bulimia, insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, migraine, headaches, and fibromyalgia.

Two decades of evidence suggest that 5-HTP is a relatively safe supplement. Nonetheless, there are people who should avoid it. The most frequently reported adverse effects from 5-HTP are heartburn, nausea, and various kinds of stomach upset. 5-HTP can cause bloating, flatulence, and stomach rumbles. This side effect is due to the fact that the digestive tract makes its own serotonin, which may be overabundant until your body adjusts to the supplement. About 2 in 5 people who use the supplement experience these effects during the first 2 weeks of using it.

Specifically relating to anxiety disorders, 5 HTP anxiety supplementation combined with a healthy diet is reported to provide some amount of relief of anxiety symptoms. Whether taken with prescription medication or alone, many who take it report calmer, less depressed moods and less anxiety.

The medical literature does not report serious adverse effects on the central nervous system from taking even high doses of 5-HTP. In theory, however, extremely large doses of 5-HTP taken at the same time as the migraine medications naratriptan (Amerge), rizatriptan (Maxalt), sumatriptan (Imitrex), or zolmitriptan (Zomig), or any prescription medications for depression could cause "serotonin syndrome."

This rare condition of excess serotonin may cause agitation, confusion, heightened physical reflexes, racing pulse, and excessive sweating leading to hypertension, coma, and death.

Serotonin syndrome has never been observed from supplementation with 5-HTP, but as a precaution, avoid using 5-HTP if you take any prescription drugs for depression or migraine. People who have angina, uncontrolled high blood pressure, a rare form of migraine known as Prinzmetal's angina, or who have had a heart attack should also avoid 5-HTP.

5-HTP treats Obesity If your serotonin levels are low, you always crave for food. You may feel like you have to eat all the time. Eating can make you feel better temporarily but when all those calories wear off and eventually your serotonin levels drops.

This does not mean you should stop your prescription antidepressant and put yourself on 5-HTP. Just the opposite: Almost all prescription medications for depression have to be tapered off gradually under your doctor's supervision. In the right circumnstances, however, 5-HTP might give your brain just the boost it needs to overcome depression and return to normal function.




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