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  • AADD Moderators: swilow | Vagabond696

5-htp effectiveness...

pinkanga

pinkanga

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Joined
Sep 17, 2002
Messages
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Just something Ive noticed lately with the current bottle of 5-htp Ive got. It was purchased online from the states and its the caps that contain only 100mg of 5-htp. My last purchase before this one was from the Aussie suppliers.....the caps from these guys also contain a bunch of other supplements to go with the 5-htp.
Although the bottle purchased from the US represents heaps better value, I found the caps that contain all the other stuff aswell (from the local suppliers) to work a shit load better. Has anyone else found this too? Apparently all the other stuf in the cap helps your body absorb the 5-htp........which I never really believed but thinking now it could be true.
 
I've recently been thinking of trying this out.. how do you find it affects your stomach?
I tend to get quite upset in the tummy easily..
Do you find it helps motivate you and elevate your mood?
I'm hoping it will help me get my mind and body in order to achieve my goals; which are to live healthy and active which I certainly am not at the moment. :(
 
Well, if the 5-htp you got that was better contained vitamin B6, that's a possible reason.
Vitamin B6 helps the body process 5-HTP much easier. I forget if its with absorbtion or it prevents the 5-HTP being broken down into inactive components.
So, to boost the effectiveness of 5-HTP, try B6.
I've noticed that 5-HTP does effect my mood and wellbeing, but also l-Tyrosine can also help in that effect due to it helping in the production of dopamine, another very important chemical when it comes to getting my shit together. I usually take both 5-HTP and l-Tyrosine when I need a mood lift.
[ 03 January 2003: Message edited by: Fetish Jester ]
 
The 5-HTP with, without, or delayed post-loaded with VitB6 is something of a long-standing debate, which I haven't followed for some time. Some people say you need VitB6 with 5-HTP at the same time, some say after the 5-HTP by 6 hours.
Personally I always order 5-HTP only capsules, each with equivalent of 100mg 5-HTP... I find this is the most effective, and I can always add Vitamin B complex or multivitamins to that from local suppliers.
BigTrancer :)
 
...Interesting. I wasn't aware that this was even an issue. I would say that taking vit. B with the 5-htp is definitely what helps my body absorb it then. Gonna stick with the 100mg caps and take vit. B or berocca with em from now on.
Thanx..
 
do any regular 5htp users notice when they *don't* post load?
I never thought I was a big comedown sufferer but lord have mercy, I lost my bottle of 5-htp and was the biggest pain in the arse wet blanket after NYD that ever blackened the face of the earth.
note to self: buy more 5htp before BDO.
 
milkybar.....completely agree.
Remember what it was like to be depressed all week and start to come around at about thursday!? I dont want to!
 
dru: pretty scary shit! Im a little concerned atm about my 5-htp consumption.
*In search of more info*
 
Alas, one company I know packages their 5-HTP in 50 mg
capsules with 10 mg of B6. They do this ostensibly so that 5-HTP
can be converted to serotonin in the brain. Duh. This insures
that any 5-HTP will get converted to serotonin in the liver
instead, and thus never make it to the brain. Vitamin B6 is the
*LAST* thing you want in an 5-HTP product.
At the very best, people who take B-vitamins with 5-HTP, or
who take 5-HTP products with B6, waste their money. All this
would be merely humorous (caveat emptor) were it not for some
other facts. At worst, ignorant people fooling with 5-HTP
actually risk their health, since serotonin in the peripheral
blood is not benign. Serotonin causes not only harmless flushing
and diarrhea, but people with serotonin secreting tumors (hindgut
carcinoids) also have problems with fibrosis of the endocardium
and valves in their right hearts, which can cause heart failure.
This fibrosis is caused by the serotonin. This effect can also
be seen with dietary intake of only modest amounts of serotonin,
and there has actually been described in the medical literature a
tribe of South Sea islanders with right heart fibrosis as a
result of eating green banana mash (matuki), which poisons them
with its serotonin content. No, I'm not making this up. The
hydroxylation of tryptophan is a rate-limiting step in the
peripheral production of serotonin, and one bypasses it at one's
peril.
Thanks for that dru. A worthwhile read everyone...
:)
Click to expand...
 
My pharmacol freind on long drunken conversations is still sceptical about the entire concept of 5-HTP crossing the blood-brain barrier in the first place, although it must be conceeded there is much anecdotal evidence. He then went on to ramble about vitB6 in assisting with protien pumps and the like, at which point I realised I was somewhat out of my depth. He did, however leave me with the impression that vitb6 could play a role in more effectively allowing the serotonin precursor to cross the blood-brain barrier.
All of this however, has never been clearly demonstrated in clinical trials, and probably never will be. We make these decisions based upon logical reasoning, circumstantial evidence, and personal experience. The more you stray into specifics, the more this advice strays into the esoteric.
 
Total guesswork...
Does the above imply that if you just take 5-HTP then your body can convert it safely to 5-HT using whatever B6 there is in your diet? If so, by postloading the 5-HTP with B6 by say 6-8 hours, perhaps that would replace any B6 that was depleted, but not before the 5-HTP was used up?
Not sure... I don't know nearly enough about the science.
BigTrancer :)
 
There's another thread in this forum which has a discussion running along similar lines to this one, although it's got a lot more infomation. So, to prevent discussion of this issue fragmenting between two threads and becoming difficult, please refer all further comments to this thread - Possible danger associated with 5-HTP?.
I know both threads have their merits, but it'll be unbearable having two threads for the one purpose. Any comments or questions, please don't hesitate to email me.
:)
 
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