- What is 5-HTP?
5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is an amino acid that is the intermediate step between tryptophan and the important brain chemical serotonin. There is a massive amount of evidence that suggests that low serotonin levels are a common consequence of modern living. The lifestyle and dietary practices of many people living in this stress-filled era results in lowered levels of serotonin within the brain. As a result, many people are overweight, crave sugar and other carbohydrates, experience bouts of depression, get frequent headaches, and have vague muscle aches and pain. All of these maladies are correctable by raising brain serotonin levels. The primary therapeutic applications for 5-HTP are low serotonin states as listed in Table 1.
Table 1. Conditions associated with low serotonin levels helped by 5-HTP
Depression Obesity Carbohydrate craving Bulimia Insomnia Narcolepsy Sleep apnea Migraine headaches Tension headaches Chronic daily headaches Premenstrual syndrome Fibromyalgia
Although 5-HTP may be relatively new to the United States health food industry, it has been available through pharmacies for several years and has been intensely researched for the past three decades. It has been available in several European countries as a medicine since the 1970s.
- What effect does 5-HTP have on weight loss?
As far back as 1975, researchers demonstrated that administering 5-HTP to rats that were bred to overeat and be obese resulted in significant reduction in food intake (6). It turns out that these rats have decreased activity of the enzyme that converts tryptophan to 5-HTP and subsequently to serotonin. In other words, these rats are fat as a result of a genetically determined low level of activity of the enzyme that starts the manufacture of serotonin from tryptophan. As a result, these rats never get the message to stop eating until they have consumed far greater amounts of food than normal rats.
- How does 5-HTP compare with melatonin in the treatment of insomnia?
5-HTP may prove to be better than melatonin. Several clinical studies have shown 5-HTP to produce good results in promoting and maintaining sleep in normal subjects as well as those experiencing insomnia (11-14). One of the key benefits with 5-HTP in the treatment of insomnia is its ability to increase sleep quality.
- What is fibromyalgia and how does 5-HTP help?
Fibromyalgia is a recently recognized disorder regarded as a common cause of chronic musculoskeletal pain and fatigue. Fibromyalgia is a relatively common condition estimated to affect about 4% of the general population. Diagnosis requires fulfillment of all three major criteria and four or more minor criteria.
