What is 5-HTP? 5-HTP (5-hydroxy-tryptophan) is derived from an amino acid, L-tryptophan, which is found in small amounts in foods such as turkey, chicken, meat and dairy products such as cheese. Preformed 5-HTP is only found in two places in nature in the human body and in the seeds of a West African medicinal plant, Griffonia simplicifolia. The 5-HTP found in supplements is extracted from the latter source.
Once absorbed into the circulation, some 5-HTP travels to the brain, where it is converted into the happy’ chemical messenger, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT), which helps to regulate mood, behaviour, appetite, sleep and impulse control. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression, insomnia, anxiety, premenstrual syndrome, binge-eating disorders, fibromyalgia and migraine. Supplements supplying 5-HTP may help to overcome these conditions by increasing serotonin synthesis.
Low mood
The most commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs, SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) work by raising levels of serotonin in the brain, but rather than increasing its synthesis, they block its re-uptake so that levels within the communication gaps between brain cells increase. If you are making very little serotonin, however, SSRIs may not produce a significant response, or may do so only slowly.
As 5-HTP helps to boost production of serotonin in the brain, it tends to have a faster onset of action than prescription-only SSRI anti-depressant drugs. Because of its mode of action, it often produces good results in people who have not previously responded to standard SSRI antidepressant drugs. Several placebo-controlled analyses have shown that 5-HTP supplements have a positive effect on low mood and are better than placebo at alleviating depression and helping you feel more calm and content. N.B. 5-HTP should not be taken at the same time as prescription anti-depressant drugs.
Headache
5-HTP has been used to help prevent chronic daily headache. Boosting serotonin production promotes vaso-constriction in the brain to relieve migraine headaches linked with vasodilation. 5-HTP is thought to increase pain thresholds by raising levels of endorphins the brain’s morphine-like painkillers.
Sleep
5-HTP is used to help treat insomnia. It improves the architecture of sleep, so you
wake up feeling more refreshed. It extends the period of time spent in REM (rapid eye movement, or dreaming) sleep and is involved in the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. It is especially helpful for people with a condition known as fibromyalgia, in which widespread pains, fatigue and sleep disturbance have been linked with low levels of serotonin. 5-HTP has also been used successfully to treat sleep terrors’ in young children.
Appetite
Raised levels of serotonin help to trigger feelings of satiety, so you feel more full, less hungry and have a decreased interest in food. This may make it helpful for people with a binge-eating disorder.
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