Tuesday, July 9, 2013

What is 5 HTP? What Are The Benefits

5-HTP is a relatively new supplement having been discovered in 1994.  It has many potential benefits from aiding weight loss to helping relieve insomnia, to helping overcome anxiety and depression.


Below I'll explain these potential benefits in more detail:

5-HTP and Weight Loss

5-HTP does not actually help you lose weight, but what it does do is stops the craving certain foods, such as carbohydrates and fats,  that often cause weight gain.  If you are one of those people who craves for cakes, bread and pasta then this could work for you.  You will only achieve weight loss by reducing the amount of these foods you are eating and 5-HTP can help acting as a simple, convenient suppressant.

Craving often occurs when your Serotonin levels are low, so we start to crave foods to raise it.  Unfortunately, Serotonin is not found in high quantities in many foods, so we turn to carbohydrates and fats to fulfill that need.  5-HTP provides a natural, effective alternative to increasing our levels to more normal levels.  If our Serotonin levels are normal / high then our cravings for these fatty foods subside.


Depression

Depression is a major subject in today’s world.  There are many diagnosis of depression including loss of interest in activities, overwhelming sadness or fear, the feeling of helplessness and disturbed sleep patterns just to mention a  few.  There are many more symptoms but these are the more common.

The medical profession usually prescribe SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors).  However, there are many side effects with these drugs as well as the risk that they become addictive.  5-HTP is a non-addictive supplement and has proven to be as effective as many prescription drugs.

5-HTP does not change the brains normal metabolic processes, unlike SSRI’s like Prozac.  It works by raising raise the level of Serotonin in the brain.

It is recommended that you start on a low dosage of 50mg and increase this to 100mg if you feel the need, taking a break after 3 months to re-evaluate how you feel.

It can take time for the supplement to raise your Serotonin level, typically around 2-3 weeks, so be patient and don’t give up after a week.


Insomnia

 Insomnia is the inability to remain asleep for any length of time.  The brain has the inability to rest and ‘switch off’.

The brain makes a hormone called Melatonin which is a sleep inducing hormone and aids restful sleep.  If your levels are low then it makes restful sleep difficult.

5-HTP not only raises the Serotonin levels but also the Melatonin levels in the brain.  Both are needed to achieve a restful sleep as well as relieving worries.

If you are using 5-HTP to aid sleep, you are advised to keep to a low dose of around 50mg.  It should be noted that one of the more commin effects of using 5-HTP is that it can enhance your dreams making them more vivid.  This can be good or bad depending on how you view it.


Anxiety

Anxiety manifests itself in many forms.  Shortness of breath, heart palpitations, shaking, nausea, bloating and dizziness to mention a few but there are more that have been reported.

Most of these effects are caused by low Serotonin levels.  Taking a regular dose of 5-HTP will help raise your Serotonin level to a point where these attacks cease.  Again be patient as the Serotonin levels can take a couple of weeks to reach normal levels where if benefits become noticeable.

Few Men's problem

Pre-mature edaculation and erection problems (ED) are 2 of the most commons problem men face today. In several studies 5 htp has shown that it can inderetly cure these problems.


As with any medication it is advisable to fully research the product and you may want to read about side effects and dosage.

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