When you have low GABA levels you will have physical anxiety with stiff and tense muscles as well as feelings of stress, overwhelm and may even have panic attacks.
The amino acid GABA helps to raise GABA levels and ease these symptoms very quickly. I find that all GABA products are most effective when taken sublingually or opened on to the tongue. This is why I recommend the Source Naturals GABA Calm™ product.
It is a pleasant-tasting sublingual product that you can buy at your local health-store and in my online supplement store. It is a lozenge that contains 125mg GABA, 5mg magnesium, 50mg glycine, 25mg tyrosine and 20 mg taurine.
[Note: this product is a lozenge with 125mg GABA and is not to be confused with the Source Naturals, GABA Calm Mind, 750 mg tablets]This is my most popular and most effective form of GABA I use with my clients. Here is the product description from the Source Naturals site:
GABA Calm™ combines two of the main inhibitory neurotransmitters, GABA and glycine, with N-acetyl L-tyrosine, which is a precursor to the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine. In addition, taurine supports the calming effects of GABA. The lozenge form dissolves in the mouth for quick and convenient delivery.
The GABA, glycine and taurine are calming and the N-acetyl L-tyrosine (which boosts the catecholamines and can be more stimulating) counters some of the calming effects so you have a nice balance.
A typical starting dose could look like this:
- 1 x GABA Calm on waking
- 1 x GABA Calm mid-morning
- 1 x GABA Calm mid-afternoon
If this works well but you still have some anxiety, then you could try 2 each time and even 3 each time.
I have all my clients do an amino acid trial to determine what will work best for their own needs.
As with all of the amino acids we review the Amino Acid Precautions before starting GABA Calm. The only precaution for using GABA is low blood pressure. I have yet to see it be an issue but it’s something to watch.
Since GABA Calm does contain tyrosine please be aware of these precautions. I don’t have my clients use it in these instances:
- Overactive thyroid/Grave’s disease
- Melanoma
- Phenylketonuria (PKU)
- Bipolar disorder
The amount of tyrosine in GABA Calm is so low it’s typically not an issue but I have my clients monitor their use of GABA Calm if they have
- High Blood pressure
- Migraine headaches
Some of my clients do fine taking this product at night and it calms them and helps them sleep. Here is feedback I recently received from someone:
I’ve been getting good results with taking 2 x Source Naturals GABA Calm lozenges of late, especially at night if I can’t get to sleep. I have tried several GABA supplements but this one seems to be the only one that works for me
Others find it affects their sleep and can only use it for easing their anxiety in the day time.
When I was experiencing my anxiety and panic attacks I used to take GABA Calm™ during the day (1-3, 3 times day) and it completely stopped the panic attacks and eased my anxiety while I dug deeper looking for the other contributing factors (like gluten issues, low progesterone, heavy metals and more). I took 2 of the Country Life GABA Relaxer at night. This product contains GABA, glycine, taurine, inositol, vitamin B6 and niacinamide.
It’s a great product to use with children. Trish Soderstrom shared how she used this product with her daughter’s Lyme anxiety.
We’ve used Source Naturals GABA Calm sublinguals with good results. I learned about GABA helping anxiety and because I was treating my young daughter I purchased this because it was easy for her to take.
She’ll be sharing more during her interview on the Anxiety Summit: How We Used GABA for Lyme Anxiety.
Dr. Zendi Moldenhauer, PhD, NP, RN will also be talking about how she uses this product in her interview: Anxiety in children, adolescents and young adults: an integrative psychiatric approach.
I recently received this comment on another blog post where I mentioned GABA Calm™:
Checked out gaba calm. Sounded great until I looked at the ingredients: sorbitol and mannitol are listed as first ingredients. These fake sugars can wreak havoc on your system. Also natural orange flavor… Heaven knows what that is. Too bad, sounded great. Any other suggestions?
Here is my response to this: I agree we could do better but it’s still a very effective product since sublingual GABA is best for most people. Sorbitol and mannitol are not fake sugars but sugar alcohols that don’t affect blood sugar. Very large amounts of sugar alcohols can sometimes cause lose stool but none of my clients have reported this effect from GABA Calm since it contains a very small amount.
If you choose not to use this product, I list other GABA products here on my supplements blog. Opening the capsule seems to be the best way to take GABA.
We are all different and many people do well with other types of GABA products as you can read here – GABA, the calming amino acid: products and results.
The blood brain barrier question comes up at least once a week. In fact, I was just asked this question last week:
Does a GABA supplement have to cross the blood brain barrier to be effective? A nutrition seminar I have been to, said it does not and GABA supplements are ineffective.
This is a myth and I am on a mission to change this thinking about GABA. GABA supplements are very effective for many anxious individuals.
I’d love to hear if you’ve used GABA Calm™ for anxiety, panic attacks, sleep and/or stress eating and how it’s worked for you. How often do you take it and how much do you take?
If you use it with clients I’d love to hear from you too.
If you use GABA Calm™ during the day and another GABA product at night please share that info too.
I’m sharing this information in preparation for my Anxiety Summit interview on GABA and dispelling the blood brain barrier myth. I’ll be sharing what we do know about how GABA works, what we don’t yet know and what we hope to learn through further research.