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Tryptophan

Tryptophan for the worry-in-your-head and ruminating type of anxiety

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Today I’m going to review some tryptophan products for the worry-in-your-head and ruminating type of anxiety, and share some additional resources for you.

The other symptoms we see with low serotonin are: panic attacks and phobias, lack of confidence, depression, negativity, imposter syndrome, PMS, irritability, anger issues, insomnia and afternoon/evening cravings.

This blog covers how to do an amino acid trial and has the low serotonin questionnaire, the precautions and what I mean by targeted individual amino acids.

Lidtke is the only brand of tryptophan that I recommend simply because I see it work so well and because of quality issues with tryptophan in the past. Here are the Lidtke tryptophan products I recommend:

  • Lidtke Tryptophan 500mg (this is ideal for doing a targeted trial, opened; it doesn’t taste very good and if a client needs to continue taking it this way we have them mix it with inositol or even glutamine powder)
  • Lidtke Tryptophan Complete (see below for when this one may work well)
  • Lidtke Chewable Tryptophan (this is also good for doing a trial and if lower doses are better; it’s also wonderful for children)

Here are some additional resources for you:

Anxiety: when to use GABA and tryptophan and how much to use

When you have anxiety it can be confusing trying to figure out the root cause. I like to start by assessing for low GABA and low serotonin because when you address these with targeted individual amino acids you typically see results right away and feel hopeful (and now have time to look for other root causes like gluten issues, high cortisol, gut issues, dietary changes etc).

But there may still be some confusion about when to use GABA and when to use tryptophan and how much of each of these amino acids to use. Read more here.

Tryptophan for PMS: premenstrual dysphoria, mood swings, tension, and irritability

In a study published in 1999, A placebo-controlled clinical trial of L-tryptophan in premenstrual dysphoria, tryptophan was found to reduce symptoms of PMS when used in the luteal phase or second half of the cycle (i.e. after ovulation)

This is very typical when I’m working with someone with PMS and anxiety and other mood symptoms. It typically takes 2 to 3 cycles for an amino acid like tryptophan to have an impact on PMS itself. But it does typically start to work right away on the less severe anxiety and mood symptoms that may also be a factor during the rest of the month. Read more here.

Tryptophan 500mg or Tryptophan Complete (by Lidtke)?

I like to have my clients do a trial of the amino acids so they can find the ideal dose for their needs and right now I still feel this would still be the best approach to take – using 500mg tryptophan. Once you have figured out you do well with tryptophan-only product and have your dose, then consider reducing it slightly after about 2-3 weeks and adding in additional Tryptophan Complete. Read more here.

The blog has many other posts on tryptophan and serotonin and simply use the “search” function to find them.

This blog post is part of the series of amino acid product reviews:

The resources in this blog and my other articles are intended to be used in conjunction with my book: The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings. If you do not have my book I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and taking the amino acid supplements:

There is a complete chapter on the amino acids and one for pyroluria, plus information on real whole food, sugar and blood sugar, gluten, digestion and much more.

You can find the tryptophan products and the others I recommend here on this blog: The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements

If you have questions please post them below or on the supplements blog

Anxiety: when to use GABA and tryptophan and how much to use

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When you have anxiety it can be confusing trying to figure out the root cause. I like to start by assessing for low GABA and low serotonin because when you address these with targeted individual amino acids you typically see results right away and feel hopeful (and now have time to look for other root causes like gluten issues, high cortisol, gut issues, dietary changes etc).

But there may still be some confusion about when to use GABA and when to use tryptophan and how much of each of these amino acids to use.

I’d like to share a question I received on this blog: I am on 5-HTP for anxiety and I am wondering about trying tryptophan instead and my response so you have a clearer understanding of this:

I have started with Source Naturals GABA Calm 125 mg, 2 on awakening and two in mid-afternoon, and 2 GABA Relaxer at bedtime. It has taken some anxiety edge away from me, but I still feel some anxiety on and off, not so severe as before. I used to feel very anxious on awakening. I want to improve more.

Today, I ordered Lidtke L-trytophan 500mg and am expecting to receive it in a week. I plan to take 2 Gaba Calm on awakening and 2 in mid-afternoon, then add one 500mg Trytophan mid-afternoon and one 500 mg trytophan at bed time.

Is this a good plan? Or shall I have 2 GABA Calm on awakening, 2 trytophan mid-afternoon and 2 trytophan at bedtime.

It’s an excellent question and this is my feedback (with some additional information here for this blog post)

Firstly I’m so pleased to hear the GABA products has taken some of the anxiety edge away.

I would expect this when someone has the low GABA type of anxiety and hear this all the time despite the fact I continue to be asked the blood brain barrier question and does GABA really work as a supplement.

There is also no specific formula to be followed because each person is different and when I’m working with someone we’re figuring out what is working and why and adjusting accordingly. If something is working we continue with that until no additional benefits are seen.

Ask yourself what low GABA anxiety symptoms (this is the physical anxiety) have improved with the GABA and how much (rate each one before – out of 10; and what are they now – out of 10).

From your question it sounds like they could improve more – so if we were working together I’d continue to increase GABA before adding something new. I’d do this until the low GABA symptoms are resolved or until no additional benefits are observed.

Remember when it comes to brain chemical imbalances and anxiety we have 3 anxiety types

  1. Low GABA anxiety type (physical anxiety, more stiff and tense muscles)
  2. Low serotonin anxiety type (mental anxiety, ruminations, negative self-talk, worry)
  3. Low blood sugar anxiety type (physical anxiety, but more shaky)

You need to figure out which type of anxiety you are experiencing and address that. It can be different for each person but it’s not uncommon to experience all of the above.

Once that has been done and we have the ideal amount of GABA and no more low GABA anxiety symptoms I’d then check what low serotonin symptoms my client has (these are the busy mind, ruminations type or worry anxiety).

If she does have some of these symptoms, we pick one or two symptoms and do a trial with 1 x 500mg tryptophan opened on to the tongue (or less if she’s super sensitive). She rates the symptoms out of 10 before the tryptophan trial and then after the trial. Depending on how she responds on the trial, we’ll decide if she needs 1 or 2 x 500mg mid-afternoon and evening. The bedtime dose also depends on how bad the insomnia is. We continue to increase as needed based on symptoms until she has no more low serotonin type symptoms or until no additional benefits are observed.

All the while we are starting to make other changes – like diet, eating for blood sugar balance (this and using glutamine helps with the low blood sugar anxiety type), no caffeine, no sugar, looking for high cortisol, no gluten, looking at gut health and for other nutritional deficiencies.

Here are some links to additional resources related to the above:

I’d love to hear your feedback – do you/did you have the low GABA type of anxiety or the low serotonin type of anxiety or the low blood sugar type of anxiety or all three?

And feel free to share the before rating (from 1 to 10) and the after rating (from 1 to 10) once you’re taking the corresponding amino acid.

GABA takes some of the anxiety edge away and now I want to add tryptophan: how do I do this?

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GABA and tryptophan are both calming amino acids with GABA helping more with physical anxiety, tension-in-the-body type of anxiety and tryptophan with anxiety-in-the-head, worrying and ruminations. Many of my clients do really well with both but I like to have them use one at a time to really make sure they are seeing all the benefits before adding the next one.

I recently received this excellent question on one of the blogs about serotonin support: she’s doing better on the GABA and now wants to add tryptophan:        

I have started with Source Naturals Gaba Calm 125 mg, 2 on awakening and two in mid afternoon, and 2 Gaba Relaxer at bedtime. It has taken some anxiety edge away from me, but I still feel some anxiety on and off, not so severe as before. I used to feel very anxious on awakening. I want to improve more. to-day, I ordered Lidtke L-trytophan 500mg and am expecting to receive it in a week. I plan to take 2 Gaba Calm on awakening and 2 in mid afternoon, then add one 500mg trytophan mid afternoon and one 500 mg trytophan at bed time. Is this a good plan? or shall I have 2 Gaba Calm on awakening, 2 trytophan mid afternoon and 2 trytophan bedtime?

I love getting questions on the blog and make sure each one gets answered. However I can’t ever offer specific advice via the blog – you have to be a client for me to be able to do that. But because this is an excellent question I’d like to share some of what I shared with her in the hope it will help you (or your patients/clients) too.

First off I am so pleased to hear the Source Naturals GABA Calm and Country Life GABA Relaxer (a very nice combination of GABA, glycine, taurine, inositol, niacinamide and vitamin B6) has taken some of the anxiety edge away for her!

Here is my answer for her – about what I’d do next if I was working with her one-on-one:

There is also no specific formula to be followed because each person is different and when I’m working with someone we’re figuring out what is working and why and adjusting accordingly. If something is working we continue with that until no more benefits are seen.

I would say this – ask yourself what low GABA anxiety symptoms (this is the physical anxiety) have improved with the GABA and how much (rate each one before – out of 10; and what are they now – out of 10). From your question it sounds like they could improve more – so if we were working together I’d continue to increase GABA before adding something new.

Then once that has been done and we have the ideal amount I’d then check what low serotonin symptoms my client has (these are the busy mind, ruminations type or worry anxiety). If she does have some of these symptoms, pick or two and do a trial with 1 x 500mg tryptophan opened on to the tongue (or less if she’s super sensitive). She rates the symptoms out of 10 before the tryptophan trial and then after the trial. Depending on how she responds on the trial, we’ll decide if she needs 1 or 2 each time. The bedtime dose also depends on how bad the insomnia is. We continue to increase as needed based on symptoms.

All the while we are starting to make other changes – like diet, eating for blood sugar balance, no caffeine, no sugar, looking for high cortisol, no gluten, looking at gut health and for other nutritional deficiencies.

I hope this helps you and makes sense. In summary these are the guidelines I use:

  • It’s best to do one amino acid at a time when starting out
  • Make sure you’ve increased an amino acid so you can experience it’s full benefits before adding another one
  • Start all amino acids based on your unique needs – the best way to determine this is to do a trial first
  • Adjust accordingly while keeping a log of symptoms (with before and after ratings) and supplement amounts

Here are some links to additional resources related to the above:

I’d love to hear your feedback on your low GABA and/or low serotonin symptoms and the before rating (from 1 to 10) and the after rating (from 1 to 10) once you’re taking the related amino acid.

And please let me know if it’s helpful to read a real life question and my response.

I am on 5-HTP for anxiety and I am wondering about trying tryptophan instead

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Both 5-HTP and tryptophan help to boost serotonin levels so you can feel happy, calm, sleep well and not crave carbs. I typically have my clients who have low serotonin symptoms start with a trial of tryptophan because it I see such excellent results with this amino acid. That being said, some people simply do better on one versus the other and you may do better with 5-HTP. If you have low serotonin symptoms and are using either of these amino acids and not getting the expected results, it’s worth considering a change.

Here is a question I recently received on the blog. It’s something I’m commonly asked about and something I deal with often when working one-on-one with clients:

I am on 5-HTP (400 mg) [for anxiety]. I am wondering about trying tryptophan instead. What is the best (safest) way to make the switch? What is the starting dose you usually suggest? I am tapering off SSRIs so I know my serotonin reserves are low.

Here are some of the reasons you may want to consider switching and doing a trial of tryptophan

  • the 5-HTP is not working as you would expect for your anxiety or depression, or other low serotonin symptoms like PMS, insomnia, afternoon and evening carb cravings, negative self-talk, perfectionism, worry in the head and ruminations, and even anger issues or irritability (here is the complete questionnaire)
  • the 5-HTP is causing digestive issues
  • you have done an adrenal saliva test and discovered you have high cortisol. If you feel wired-tired I like to use tryptophan because 5-HTP has been shown to raise cortisol levels

Depending on how severe your symptoms are I would have you slowly replace one with the other, keeping in mind that 50mg 5-HTP is roughly equivalent to 500mg tryptophan.

In this particular case she was taking 400 mg 5-HTP and was surprised to hear that she may now need 2000 mg tryptophan, saying “that seems like a lot!”

Here is my feedback:

2000mg tryptophan isn’t too much if you have low serotonin symptoms and need it. If we were working together I would have her start with a trial of 500mg which is the typical starting amount and increase based on her response. If 500mg helps some symptoms but doesn’t give complete resolution of symptoms then I’d have her try 1000mg and monitor symptoms, and then go up to 1500mg and even 2000mg.

She may respond better to tryptophan and may only need 500mg or 1000mg or she may in fact need the full 2000mg.

She is currently taking an SSRI, so I would assume her doctor already knows she has been using 5-HTP and knows her plans to switch, giving approval and monitoring for possible serotonin syndrome. She would also take the tryptophan at least 6 hours from the SSRI.

Here is additional information on SSRI tapering while using amino acids.

Obviously a similar approach could be used to switch from tryptophan to 5-HTP.

I also only ever recommend the Lidtke brand of tryptophan. You can find this and the other amino acids I use with my clients here.

Have you switched from 5-HTP to tryptophan and seen added benefits?

Have you switched from tryptophan to 5-HTP and seen added benefits?

If you’re a practitioner please share if you’ve used this approach successfully.

Sleep improvement: Oral intake of GABA and Apocynum venetum leaf extract

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sleep-improvement

I’ve blogged about the Sleep promoting effects of combined GABA and 5-HTP. There is another combination of nutrients that has been shown to help with sleep: GABA and the herb Apocynum venetum leaf extract.

In this 2015 paper: The Improvement of Sleep by Oral Intake of GABA and Apocynum venetum Leaf Extract

The electroencephalogram (EEG) test revealed that oral administration of GABA (100 mg) and [Apocynum venetum Leaf Extract] AVLE (50 mg) had beneficial effects on sleep.

In this study they found that GABA helps people to fall asleep quickly and Apocynum venetum Leaf Extract induces deep sleep, and that they work well when taken together.

The authors conclude that both GABA and Apocynum venetum leaf extract:

can be regarded as safe and appropriate for daily intake in order to improve the quality of sleep.

Earlier this year I heard Dr. Peter Bongiorno present at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium and one of the herbs he covered was Apocynum venetum leaf extract for depression. Since this was new to me, I invited him to share about this herb on the recent Anxiety Summit: Serotonin and anxiety: tryptophan, 5-HTP, serotonin syndrome and medication tapers

I also briefly mentioned the above GABA/Apocynum venetum leaf extract study in my talk on the recent Anxiety Summit – GABA: Blood brain barrier controversy, concerns, best forms and how to do a trial for eliminating anxiety

I find that many of my clients with anxiety also have sleep problems and GABA is often helpful if their sleep issues are related to low GABA levels, often manifesting as physical tension.

One of the signs of low serotonin, in addition to anxiety and worry, is insomnia and I find tryptophan (and sometimes 5-HTP) to be very helpful for many clients too. I’ll often have someone use both GABA and tryptophan (or GABA and 5-HTP) and the combination seems to be a good one.

I have not yet used Apocynum venetum leaf extract alone with clients or in combination with GABA and look forward to learning more. Have you have tried it alone or in combination with GABA? Have you used it with clients?

Tryptophan for PMS: premenstrual dysphoria, mood swings, tension, and irritability

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tryptophan for pms

In a study published in 1999, A placebo-controlled clinical trial of L-tryptophan in premenstrual dysphoria, tryptophan was found to reduce symptoms of PMS when used in the luteal phase or second half of the cycle (i.e. after ovulation):

37 patients with premenstrual dysphoric disorder were treated with L-tryptophan 6 g per day, and 34 were given placebo. The treatments were administered under double-blind conditions for 17 days, from the time of ovulation to the third day of menstruation, during three consecutive menstrual cycles.

They looked at dysphoria, which is defined as a state of unease or generalized dissatisfaction with life, plus mood swings, tension (and anxiety), and irritability and they found a 34.5% reduction of symptoms with tryptophan compared to 10.4% with placebo.

The paper concludes:

that these results suggest that increasing serotonin synthesis during the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle has a beneficial effect in patients with premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Let me share what I see with the women with PMS that I work with:

  • This is very typical when I’m working with someone with PMS and anxiety and other mood symptoms. It typically takes 2 to 3 cycles for an amino acid like tryptophan to have an impact on PMS itself. But it does typically start to work right away on the less severe anxiety and mood symptoms that may also be a factor during the rest of the month.
  • I don’t start with 6g per day of the tryptophan but rather have each person do the amino acid questionnaire, review the precautions and do a trial of tryptophan, increasing as needed to find the optimal amount for their needs (you can read more about this here on anxiety and the amino acid overview
  • We often find that adding GABA helps too, as this supports progesterone production
  • Many anxious women I work with also have pyroluria or signs of low zinc and low vitamin B6 and adding these nutrients, together with evening primrose oil, provide additional hormonal support (and help with the social anxiety).
  • Other factors to consider with PMS: low total cholesterol (as cholesterol is needed to make hormones), gluten issues, adrenal function and blood sugar control, gut health and the microbiome, and liver support
  • And finally, we can’t forget diet and need to switch to eating a real whole foods diet free from sugar, gluten and caffeine. Coffee and chocolate in the second half of the cycle can be especially problematic for many women

Together with the tryptophan and the above approaches (if needed as we are all so different), it’s not unreasonable to get the reduction of symptoms from 34.5% (as seen with the tryptophan) down to 100%. It breaks my heart when I hear women think they have to live with PMS symptoms when they don’t have to!

Have you used tryptophan for PMS? Do you take it all month or just in the 2nd half of your cycle? What about other changes that have helped: GABA or liver support or quitting caffeine? Or something else?  Please share.