Consuming tryptophan, the essential amino acid, may help people be more sure of themselves, according to a report.
People who consumed 3 grams of tryptophan daily were more confident and less quarrelsome than they were when taking an inactive placebo.
Tryptophan is an important precursor to the brain chemical serotonin, which helps regulate mood. For example, moderate dieting is known to lower blood levels of tryptophan, which may alter serotonin levels in the brain.
Low serotonin has been found to be related to depression, impulsivity and aggression.
Moskowitz and her team recruited 98 healthy volunteers who were split into two groups. One group took 1 gram of tryptophan with each meal for 12 days, while the other group took a placebo pill.
At the end of 12 days, both groups received no treatment for 2 days and then switched pill types for another 12 days. During the entire study period, the men and women completed daily questionnaires that assessed various mood states and behaviors.
The absence of a consistent effect on mood is consistent with other studies that have shown that tryptophan may enhance mood in depressed individuals.
Agreeable and dominant behaviors are more common in most people's social repertoire than quarrelsome or submissive behaviors.
When taking tryptophan dominant behaviors increase further in frequency and quarrelsome behaviors decrease in frequency, the researcher concluded. It is particularly interesting to note that daily peaks of quarrelsome behaviors decreased.
Neuropsychopharmacology August 2001;25:277-289
Of all the supplements one can use for depression, tryptophan is clearly my favorite. Being an amino acid it is far closer to a food and in light of it being a precursor for serotonin it certainly makes sense to consider using it for depressive disorders.
Having said that though I rarely use tryptophan. Or for that matter antidepressants.
Since I have started incorporating Emotional Freedom Technique I have not had to use any of those tools that I previously relied on.
I suspect there are cases that don't respond to EFT but I have yet to find them.
I am so amazed with EFT that I will be writing my first book that will be on the treatment of depression with EFT.
Of course following the eating plan is critical.
Related Articles:
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Tryptophan Depletion Reverses Improvement in Patients with Seasonal Affective
Using Tryptophan to Treat Depression
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