I learned recently that 5-HTP is an intermediate between the amino acid tryptophan (oh ye of post-Thanksgiving turkey dinner sleepiness fame) & the neurotransmitter serotonin, whose activity is targeted by a lot of antidepressants. Thus, 5-HTP is alternative to antidepressants–& from my standpoint, a superior one. This is important to me given my history of problems with depression. Since I’m also insulin resistant (prediabetic), the metabolism of carbs & their intimate relationship with tryptophan & hence serotonin levels is crucial.
When I overhauled my diet to a low glycemic/moderate carb diet a couple of years ago, I discovered that I was just as prone to fall into depression if I went too low in carbs as I did when I was my carb intake was too high. I don’t seem to be having that problem so much now, as I go to a lower carb diet. Maybe I’ve adapted. But I’m now also supplementing with 5-HTP.
Here’s how I understand the mechanism relating carbs & insulin to tryptophan > 5-HTP > serotonin to mood disorders like depression (& probably other things like road rage, anxiety, etc.).
Low serotonin levels frequently (especially in insulin resistant people whose blood sugars are all over the map) lead to carb cravings because intake of carbs brings (as most of us here will know) increase in insulin secretion. The insulin works not only to control blood glucose (as best it can), but also to cause various amino acids to be absorbed into body tissues — except apparently tryptophan isn’t absorbed as much. This then leads to tryptophan to have less competition from other amino acids for riding the carrier molecule they use to get through the blood-brain barrier, where the tryptophan is synthesized into 5-HTP & from 5-HTP into serotonin. The effect of eating carbs for the depressed person is, thus, to increase serotonin levels into the brain — but at a cost (higher blood sugars, higher blood insulin, increase in insulin resistance & obesity, etc.).
The reason it might be better to supplement with 5-HTP than tryptophan is because: (1) tryptophan is also used in the body to synthesize other products, which might not hold as much advantage for mood issues, whereas (I think) 5-HTP is used mainly to synthesize serotonin; & (2) 5-HTP has a much easier time getting through the blood/brain barrier than tryptophan — apparently doesn’t require the carrier molecule that tryptophan does (in which tryptophan competes with other amino acids).
My source for this info is the book Hunger Free Forever: The New Science of Appetite Control by Michael T. Murray, N.D. and Michael R. Lyon, M.D. Murray has also written a book specifically about 5-HTP. I’ll see if I can find actual scientific cites. In any case, so far it’s working well for me.
Update 12 May 2008: I finally got around to finding a reference. Here is is, with its abstract.
- Birdsall TC.. 5-Hydroxytryptophan: a clinically-effective serotonin precursor. Altern Med Rev. 1998 Aug;3(4):271-80.(Full article with references is available at http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/.fulltext/3/4/271.pdf.)
5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is the intermediate metabolite of the essential amino acid L-tryptophan (LT) in the biosynthesis of serotonin. Intestinal absorption of 5-HTP does not require the presence of a transport molecule, and is not affected by the presence of other amino acids; therefore it may be taken with meals without reducing its effectiveness. Unlike LT, 5-HTP cannot be shunted into niacin or protein production. Therapeutic use of 5-HTP bypasses the conversion of LT into 5-HTP by the enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase, which is the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of serotonin. 5-HTP is well absorbed from an oral dose, with about 70 percent ending up in the bloodstream. It easily crosses the blood-brain barrier and effectively increases central nervous system (CNS) synthesis of serotonin. In the CNS, serotonin levels have been implicated in the regulation of sleep, depression, anxiety, aggression, appetite, temperature, sexual behaviour, and pain sensation. Therapeutic administration of 5-HTP has been shown to be effective in treating a wide variety of conditions, including depression, fibromyalgia, binge eating associated with obesity, chronic headaches, and insomnia.
My wife was being treated for depression by the medical profession by the use of Prozac, and other SSRIs all of which have bad side effects. My wife is sensitive to most medications and if there is a side effect she will most always know it. One of the anti-depressants was called Cymbalta. At a dosage of 30mg she experienced relief from depression and anxiety. The dosage was increased to 60 mg and she began to gain weight and her blood sugar increased to 200. The medication was changed to Prozac and the side effects were too much for her so she quit. Today she is trying different supplements but as yet has not found any that work. In you article you touched on the blood sugar issue and stated in the last sentence of the 4th paragraph that the blood sugar levels increase due to the 5-HTP needing a high carb intake to work efficiently. Since you are a type 2 diabetic how do you control your blood sugar level? By the way, my wife is using Lantus insulin at night and before each meal she uses Novolog flex pen to control her blood sugar with poor results. She is a two-time survivor of breast cancer having been through radiation once and chemo twice. She is cancer free and has been for 15 years but all of the chemo has made her sensitive to most medications.
Hi Bill.
I'm not actually a Type 2 diabetic, but rather prediabetic, doing whatever I can to change my diet/lifestyle to prevent myself from becoming fully diabetic.
But, too your question — I guess how I wrote it didn't make it clear. As I understand it, no, you don't actually need a high carb intake to make 5-HTP work efficiently to synthesize serotonin. Rather, you supplement with 5-HTP in order to make the serotonin without having to eat so many carbs.
Let me see if I can explain it another way. Okay, you know already that eating carbs causes the body to secrete insulin. The insulin has two effects relevant here: (1) it tries to take care of the blood sugar from all the carbs — which is problematic in prediabetics & Type 2 diabetics); (2) it forces the amino acids OTHER than tryptophan into the muscle tissues, so that tryptophan has no competition in riding that carrier cell across the blood/brain barrier. The reason a depressed person eats carbs — "comfort foods" as they say — is because of that second effect: once in the brain, the tryptophan can be used to synthesize 5-HTP, which in turn is used to synthesize serotonin, which in turn makes the depressed person feel better.
But if you just take 5-HTP as a supplement instead — you can skip the high carbs AND the high blood sugar. The 5-HTP doesn't need that carrier molecule to pass through the blood/brain barrier, & thus doesn't need insulin's help to move competing amino acids out of the way. No need to eat those carbs. Which is fortunate for people like your wife & me, because high carbs is the last thing we need.
In fact, I think its arguable that a lot of the problem with depression to begin with is how blood sugars fluctuate all over the place when an insulin resistant person (diabetic or prediabetic) eats a diet high in carbs, especially highly refined carbs. We eat a lot of carbs, our blood sugar skyrockets, the insulin kicks in, our blood sugar crashes… & our mood crashes too. The authors of that book Hunger Free Forever refer to this as blood sugar volatility. But what we need is stable blood sugars. So — I eat a moderate to low-carb diet to keep my blood sugars stable, & I supplement with 5-HTP to assist me in keeping my mood stable. (I'm also an Alaskan, which means I don't get natural sunlight during a lot of the year to get enough Vitamin D, so I supplement with that too.)
The article that I linked is actually fairly readable for a layperson, & it might help explain better than I just did. 5-HTP is apparently used very widely in Europe instead of the antidepressants that are pushed so heavily in the U.S. 5-HTP is available in the supplements section of most natural food stores. No prescription needed.
Hope this helps.
— Mel
Bill, I also want to recommend the book Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution, which is the one book I would recommend to anyone dealing with diabetes, whether Type 2 or Type 1. I can't say enough good things about it, & it might be a big help for your wife. A lot of it can be read online, so you can check it out first to see whether you want to buy it.
Bernstein goes against American Diabetes Association orthodoxy on a lot of things, but in my opinion ADA orthodoxy is one of the biggest contributors to diabetics getting worse, not better. I wish my mom had known about Dr. Bernstein — she might be alive today.
My best wishes to you & your wife.
— Mel
Thank you Mel, very much for the input. I will try to keep you updated on what happens.
God bless you.
5-HTP has certainly helped me. When I first took it there did not seem to be any change. However after two weeks I feel much calmer and able to cope.