Derek's Guide to Depression

Lose Weight by Restoring Your Serotonin Balance

Tryptophan Degradation

Obesity has been shown recently to decrease or degrade tryptophan levels in your body.  Body fat creates and liberates an inflammatory cytokine called interferon-gamma.  Cytokines are molecules used in cellular communication.  Interferon-gamma activates the enzyme, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase.  It is this enzyme that degrades tryptophan’s ability to produce serotonin.

Unsatisfied Hunger

Some obese individuals are eating less and exercising more and still have lower levels of tryptophan because of their excess fat.  A lower level of tryptophan produces less serotonin and contributes to a reduction in satiety.  Satiety should cause us to stop eating because we feel full.  So, obese people are caught in a loop of wanting to eat less, but actually eating more, because they constantly suffer hunger.

Tryptophan Supplementation

Studies have shown that obese patients supplemented with large doses of L-tryptophan before meals resulted in significant decrease in consumption of carbohydrates compared to proteins.  L-tryptophan is an essential amino acid (one of the twenty amino acids found in your body) and is the only form that is involved in protein synthesis.   An essential amino acid is one that cannot be synthesized by your body.  Subsequent double-blind (the gold standard in testing) studies showed that obese patients could lose weight with tryptophan supplements and protein-rich diets compared to patients given placebos.

Tryptophan Ban by FDA

In 1989 nutritional supplements of L-tryptophan were banned by the FDA from being sold in the United States.  The disability disease, eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS), was attributed to the commercial manufacture of L-tryptophan.  Further analysis revealed that the manufacturing process was contaminated and was limited to one producer.  In 2001, this restriction was removed and L-tryptophan is available again.

Tryptophan Competition in Your Brain

So, if I get tryptophan from eating the right foods, why should I take an L-tryptophan supplement?  L-tryptophan competes with other amino acids to cross your blood-brain barrier.  This competition reduces the amount L-tryptophan that can enter your brain and be converted to serotonin.  I’m sure most of you have had a craving for sugar (chocolate, or some other carbohydrate) at some time in your life.  Some scientists speculate that this craving causes us to eat more carbohydrates, which results in larger quantities of insulin being produced.  Insulin assists L-tryptophan to cross your blood-brain barrier, which results in the production of more serotonin – and we feel good almost instantly – our craving is met.  Maybe this is your body’s mechanism to produce more serotonin when levels plummet below the norm.

Tryptophan and Aging

The level of tryptophan-degrading enzymes in your brain increase as you age.   People over 50 years of age have 30% more of these tryptophan-degrading enzymes – which explains why many elderly have difficulty sleeping.  This also contributes to difficulty in losing weight.   Low calorie diets typically decrease tryptophan levels.

Tryptophan and Vitamin B Competition

Tryptophan is one of the least plentiful of the amino acids.  There is aggressive competition for your available tryptophan.  Assume for a moment that your body is deficient in vitamin B3.  60 mg of tryptophan is required to make 1 mg of vitamin B3 in your liver.  Vitamin B3 deficient individuals use most, if not all the available tryptophan, to synthesize vitamin B3 – leaving little for serotonin synthesis in your brain.  The same can be said for individuals deficient in vitamin B6.

Tryptophan from Dietary Sources

The food you eat actually provides very little of this essential amino acid, tryptophan, directly to your brain.  Typically your brain receives around 1% of the ingested tryptophan from dietary sources.  Yet, tryptophan is the only chemical that your brain can use to synthesize serotonin.  As a result,  you may gain weight, develop insomnia or possibly Depression – all because you might be deficient in serotonin.

Pharmaceutical-grade Tryptophan Availability

L-tryptophan is now available in pharmaceutical-grade supplements – and also, in some cases, with additional nutrients that can block or neutralize tryptophan-degrading enzymes.  Consider adding the pharmaceutical-grade supplement, L-tryptophan with a blend of cytokine-suppressing nutrients, as a part of your comprehensive strategy to lose weight.

About the Author

Red OLaughlin is a retired Navy Captain and senior corporate executive redirecting his life’s experiences into improving prosperity for those who deserve it. His research into health and nutrition is to find out why something works or does not.

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