Post subject: Amino Acids & Mood Disorders

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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2003 9:58 pm

Post subject: Amino Acids & Mood Disorders

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Below is a review of a lecture which I found on the Optimal Health

e-list a fwew months ago. The review below deals with amino acid

supplementation, diet, mood disorders, and may of the topics so near

& dear to my heart.

 

Alobar

 

 

Julia Ross is a licensed psychotherapist, author of " The Diet Cure "

and more recently " The Mood Cure " . Both of these books look at the

impact of amino acids, specifically defecits of particular amino

acids, and dietary fats on health and mood. She is the Executive of Recovery Systems Clinic in Mill Valley, CA. She has

founded and directed six outpatient addiction and eating disorder

treatment centers in the San Francisco Bay area.

 

She started her talk by putting up a copy of an advertisement for a

weight gain formula, targeted at women. The before picture, the poor

starving dear, looked like what we would consider by modern

standards to be a slightly plump gal in her 1890's style undies. The

after picture, the ideal of the time, looked almost Rubanesque.

Aside from comic relief, her point was that the people back then

recognized that being very thin was not consistent with good health,

particularly fighting off infectious disease. They generally ate

lots of fat and protein, and almost no sugar. Depression was almost

unheard of.

 

More recently, the Japanese were known for low levels of depression.

Their diet is very high in fish, which has both protein and healthy

essential fatty acids. However, when they introduced refined

vegetable oils into the Japanese diet, there was a huge rise in

depression. The Japanese lipid chemists took a look at what was

going on, and issued a report stating that " Vegetable oils are not

fit for human consumption. "

 

Fat is needed for the brain to develop and operate properly,

especially the cell walls of brain tissue.

 

In the 1920's in the south, there was an epidemic of mental illness.

The problem was a food shortage which led to a high consumption of

corn and whatever vegetables the people could grow. Malnutrition

lead to pellagra. When they started to be fed properly, the people

flew out of the mental hospitals. It is her opinion that we have

rampant " subclinical " pellagra now, along with a booming

antidepressant industry because of it.

 

Low fat/high carb diets lead both to inadequate protein intake but

also to carbohydrate addiction. In particular, L-tryptophan is

lacking in high carbohydrate diets. (She mentioned later that whey

is a good source of tryptophan.) As we reduce tryptophan, we become

serotonin deficient. Serotonin is also stimulated by Vitamin D which

is produced by sunlight. (She mentioned that Seasonal Affective

Disorder is probably wrapped up in that somewhere.)

 

By eating this way, we have lost the fatty shield for cells that

make good mood chemicals. Some people attempt to supplement with

flax, but only about 1/3 of the population can convert the fats in

flax to the longer chain fats needed for good cell walls and 2/3

can't. These people need GLA and EPA from fish oil and red algae

(which has a lower concentration of these fatty acids than fish, but

it is better than nothing.)

 

The Japanese eat about 2.5 pounds of fish a week. Fish has a lot of

omega-3 fats in it. The brain prefers these omega-3 fats, and will

choose them preferentially, but it will take whatever it can get if

the omega-3s are not there. Omega 3 and omega 6 fats need to be kept

in balance. The best ratio is 1:1. The good fats will then get into

the brain and affect function.

 

For bipolar disorder, she was giving 9 grams of fish oil per day,

which led to 100% elimination of depression, but occasionally

brought on bouts of mania. DHA is stimulating, helps focus and

increases the catecholamines (dopamine, epinephrine and

norepinephrine). EPA is anti-inflammatory.

 

In addition to the fish oils, you should consume both olive oil and

saturated fats. These support the fish oil biochemically. You should

not eat any vegetable oils, but get these out of the vegetables you

consume as part of your diet.

 

Vegetarian diets are also high homocysteine diets.

 

High carbohydrate diets are bad for the heart. Recently, a group of

heart experts has made a recommendation to drop the percentage of

refined carbohydrates to 10% or less of the diet.

 

She then talked about the history of supplementary tryptophan. It

used to be prescribed regularly by psychiatrists for depression.

However, a bad batch was released into the US, and a number of

people got very sick and/or died from the contaminant. A voluntary

ban was instituted by the FDA, but any psychiatrist that would risk

prescribing it could then be sued for malpractice if anything bad

happened. She said that the timing was very interesting- the bad

batch of tryptophan hit the US very shortly before Prozac was

released onto the market. There is no proof of any connection

between the two events, but the timing sure is fishy.

 

So, we now have 5-HTP, which is chemically one step closer to

serotonin than tryptophan supplements. Serotonin can then go down

one of two pathways. The first path is melatonin, which is the sleep

hormone, and very potent antioxidant.

 

The second path is to 5HIAA. Low levels of this lead to severe

depression and are often found in drug addicted people. Low levels

can also cause violent behavior. This chemical can be lowered by

SSRIs. There is an association between suicides, homicides and Paxil

(one SSRI, but it probably applies to others as well. Oh- as an

aside, most of the kids involved in school shootings over the past

number of years have been on these kinds of medicines.)

 

If you give tryptophan or 5-HTP, you can repair the serotonin to

5HIAA conversion, however if you have low thyroid, you may not be

able to make this conversion. The best source of tryptophan is

animal protein.

 

We are inundated with stress, including processing of environmental

toxins. Our stress-handling system is overloaded, and over time,

this can drain us of other amino acids. Caffeine aggravates stress

conditions and further reduces serotonin.

 

She handed out a flyer on use of amino acid supplements for various

mood imbalances with permission to copy if acknowledgement given. It

is copyrighted Julia Ross, M.A., Author of " The Mood Cure " and " The

Diet Cure " .

 

----------Start Flyer----------------

 

Amino Acid Warnings:

 

Please consult a physician before taking any amino acids if any of

the following statements apply to you: - You react to supplements,

foods or medications with unusual or uncomfortable symptoms - You

have serious physical illness, particularly cancer or lupus - You

have severe liver or kidney problems - You have an ulcer (amino

acids are slightly acidic) - You are pregnant or nursing - You are

taking medications for mood problems - You have schizophrenia or

other mental illness - You are on methadone

 

If you have overactive thyroid (Grave's Disease), PKU

(phenylketonuria) or Melanoma, do not take L-tyrosine, DL-

Phenylalanine or L-phenylalanine. Sometimes if you have Hashimoto's

thyroiditis, these amino acids can be overstimulating.

 

If you have high blood pressure, consult a physician before taking L-

tyrosine, DL-phenylalanine or L-phenylalanine. (or licorice)

Tyrosine has also proven helpful in lowering blood pressure, but

this needs to be monitored.

 

If you take MAO inhibitors, consult a physician before taking L-

tyrosine, DL-phenylalanine, L-phenylalanine, L-tryptophan or 5-

hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). You must ask your doctor when it would be

appropriate to start taking tryptophan or 5-HTP after discontinuing

MAO inhibitors. (My note- the herb St. John's Wort also acts as an

MAO inhibitor, so you need to be careful combining it with any

aminos.)

 

If you take SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) or other

serotonin-activating drugs (like Effexor and Serzone), consult a

physician before taking L-tryptophan or 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)

(watch for digestive discomfort, or sleep or mood problems due to an

excess of serotonin. You must ask your doctor if you can take these

aminos with your SSRIs. Many MDs are open to doing this.

 

If you have manic depression (bipolar tendencies), consult a

physician before taking L-glutamine, which can trigger mania, as can

L-tyrosine, DL-Phenylalanine, L-Phenylalanine, SAM-E, St. John's

Wort, bright therapeutic lamps, chromium and too much fish or flax

oil.

 

If you get migraine headaches, consult a physician before taking L-

tyrosine, DL-Phenylalanine, or L-phenylalanine.

 

If you have low blood pressure, consult a physician before taking

GABA or taurine (or niacin).

 

If you have asthma, or severe depression consult a physician before

taking melatonin.

 

Big note: Even if your doctor agrees that you can try amino acids or

other nutrients, if you experience discomfort of any kind after

taking them, stop taking them immediately.

 

The Four False-Mood Types:

 

Type 1: Low in Serotonin (our natural Prozac) Symptoms: -

negativity, depression - worry, anxiety - low self esteem -

repetitious, obsessive thoughts or behaviors - insomnia, disturbed

sleep - night owl, hard to get to sleep - irritability, rage - fear

of heights, water, snakes, performance, etc. - panic attacks -

winter blues (SAD) - PMS - fibromyalgia, TMG (jaw tension, pain) -

afternoon or evening cravings for carbs, alcohol or drugs - suicidal

thoughts - dislike of hot weather

 

Solution: 5-HTP 50 mg or L-tryptophan 500 mg, (1-3) mid-afternoon &

evening. If needed after 25OHD test, especially for SAD, 1000-4000

IU Vit. D. per day. (Ideal level 40-55 ng/ml)

 

Type 2: Low in Catecholamines (our natural caffeine) Symptoms: -

depressed, bored, apathetic - lack of energy, drive - lack of focus,

concentration - cravings for caffeine or other stimulants

 

Solution: L-tyrosine 500 mg(1-3) early AM and mid-afternoon

 

Type 3: Low in GABA (our natural valium) Symptoms: - feel stiff and

tense - stressed, burned out, overwhelmed - unable to relax, loosen

up

 

Solution: GABA 100-500 mg as needed

 

Type 4: Low in Endorphin (our natural chocolate or heroin)

Symptoms: - very sensitive to emotional or physical pain - cry

or " tear up " easily - crave comforting or numbing " treats " - " Love "

certain foods, drugs or alcohol

 

Solution: DL-phenylalanine (DLPA) 500 mg (1-3) early AM, and mid-

morning, or D-phenylalanine alone if needed, 500 mg 1-3x per day.

 

Solutions that apply to all types: - Fish Oil 1000-3000 IU combined

EPA and DHA (higher DHA helps focus) - Multivitamins and minerals

are also essential as in a diet that contains no less than 4 cups

vegetables in a minimum of 3 meals each containing at least 25 grams

of protein, good fats, and healthy carbs. - For hypoglycemics, L-

Glutamine helps stop carb cravings and moodiness by preventing low

blood sugar in the brain- 500 mg (1-3) AM and between meals.

 

-------------End Flyer----------------

 

She covered the Type 1 already.

 

Type 2- Low catecholamine. She calls this the 5 snooze alarm

patient. 2 capsules of tyrosine first thing in the morning, instead

of coffee, often gets this person jumping out of bed in a few days.

 

She says you need to eat protein 3 times a day, and/or take a free-

form amino acid mix.

 

She suggests going to the Broda Barnes foundation to get information

for thyroid and adrenal function.

 

There may be a connection between soy foods and Alzheimer's disease.

Men of Japanese extraction were studied, and their incidence of AD

was correlated with tofu consumption.

 

Type 3- GABA stops adrenaline. You need cortisol to keep going, but

you can get burned out if you are going all the time. Protein

rebuilds the adrenal glands. GABA can also help with hyperactivity.

Tyrosine helps with concentration.

 

To stop cravings for carbs, you need to be sure to get good fats and

fish oil, eat protein 3 times a day and no wheat, because gluten

acts like a corrosive in the gut.

 

Someone who is not responding to this change of diet may be mercury

toxic.

 

Amino acids can be taken on the top of the tongue- they are absorbed

just fine that way.

 

DHA can raise dopamine levels 40% in the body.

 

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