Does 5-HTP Reduce Anxiety and Stress?

5-Hydroxytryptophan or better known as 5 HTP is an amino acid that has been shown to help with serotonin levels in people suffering from anxiety and stress. People also take 5 HTP as a sleep aid, antidepressant, and appetite suppressant. Continuing research on 5-HTP has been shown to have this effect on serotonin in the central nervous system tissue. Serotonin prescription antidepressants are usually prescribed for anxiety and stress sufferers to aid the level of serotonin in their bodies, while 5 HTP remains a natural supplement that does not require a prescription.

Thought of as a therapuetic supplement, 5 HTP can also be found in foods such as cheese and poultry and many herbal stores are selling 5-HTP as a supplement. 5-HTP is sold in the form of gelatin capsules in both 50 mg and 100 mg doses. In addition to 5 HTP sold as a supplement alone, companies are manufacturing products with 5-HTP along with other natural supplements to produce the highest of effects for stress and anxiety relief.

The age of probiotics and Omega 3s, and other natural supplements have been proven to aid people for all sorts of problems and now people are turning to a natural way 5 HTP. With the ever-growing pharmaceutical antidepressant drugs along with or stress relievers such as Clonazepam, more and more people, with the worry of addiction on their minds are turning to 5-HTP to reduce and relieve anxiety and stress.

The 5 HTP supplements offered out there all include, among other ingredients, varied types of ginseng, and Niacin as mixing these three ingredients together has presented the effects of natural tryptophan in white mean poultry, similar to the calming effect we get from eating turkey. Since 1996, people have claimed this has helped them with depression, anxiety, and stress naturally and have opted to choose 5 HTP supplements over prescription drugs.

High doses are usually needed in order to receive the desired effect, as much as 200 MG per day. Because 5 HTP is a precursor for serotonin that is naturally in the body, studies have shown that used along with a decarboxylase inhibitor increases the chances for depression and anxiety relief. According to Wikipedia, decarboxylase inhibitors are “carbon-carbon lyases that add or remove a carboxyl group from organic compounds. These enzymes catalyze the decarboxylation of amino acids, beta-keto acides, and alpha-keto acids.”

Doses higher than 200 MG per day of 5 HTP have shown to cause gastrointestinal problems as well as nausea, so it’s best to talk with a pharmacist, physician, or herbalist to discuss which dose they recommend. If these side effects do present, they appear to be only short-term, however, long-term side effects have not been researched for 5 HTP.

The decision to take 5-HTP in natural gelatin capsule form alone or with a combination of other supplements must be a choice for the person. While research has shown some positive results when compared to people taking a placebo, it remains unknown if 5 HTP is the in and all replacement to antidepressants or other calming prescription drugs normally used for depression, stress, and anxiety. 5-HTP can be found in most herbal remedy stores in pure or supplement-added form, or online by doing a browser search for health supplements.

Finding the exact causes of panic attacks, anxiety sufferers, and depression have long been studied, but most researchers and physicians will tell you that the brain, our most important organ is the one they know the least about. If people are finding ways to relieve these issues without mood-altering drugs, then they will be apt to do it.