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M A J O R N U T R I T I O N A L P L A Y E R S Americans should be getting happier. We are richer, better educated, and bet- ter medicated than anywhere else in theworld, and than ever before. We save time by using a microwave or a cellphone, we avoid the flu by taking a sim- ple little shot, and we no longer rely onthe post office to send and receive mostof our mail. Yet, despite our added wealth and convenience, we aren’thappy. In fact, we seem to be getting proliferation of antidepressantsthese days, between 5 and 10.3 percent of Americans are depressed.
And things clearly aren’t getting better.
Depression, especially among Amer-ica’s youth, continues to increase. sion is confounding because, as pharma-ceutical companies will tell you,“miracle drugs” for depression havebeen available for over sixteen years.
The drugs, called SSRIs (selective sero-tonin reuptake inhibitors), come inmany different names: Prozac®, Luvox®,Paxil®, Zoloft®, and Celexa®, amongothers; and, they have already beenembraced, amazingly, by over 28 millionAmericans (almost 10 percent of us!). argue that the rise in incidence ofdepression—despite mass consump- WHY ARE WE DEPRESSED?
cine are, sadly, just politics. We under- don’t get paid for “curing” depres- at Healthy Living believe that people HOW DO WE BECOME
SEROTONIN DEFICIENT?
ical in the brain called serotonin. Sero- 46 The Doctors’ Prescription for Healthy Living / Volume 9, Number 3 M A J O R N U T R I T I O N A L P L A Y E R S tonin, meaning they are often useless for ✓ When we lack sufficient amounts of serotonin, have a problem using the little serotonin anger, obsessive-compulsive actions, overeat- ing (especially carbohydrates), anxiety, fatigue, ✓ If given the opportunity, serotonin always gets ✓ Tryptophan is the only substance in the body The Physicians’ Desk Reference reports thattryptophan doesn’t have any side effects. transmitters from entering the brain.
✓ Because tryptophan is an essential amino acid, our bodies cannot produce it. We require other neurotransmitters to function.
a certain amount of it in our diets to ade- depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, etc., quately function. Unfortunately, it is hard to “eat” enough tryptophan, as it is the least tryptophan, serotonin’s precursor, does prevalent amino acid in foods. Thus, supple-mentation is recommended.
occurring supplement, doesn’t shareany of Luvox’s long list of side effects.
TRYPTOPHAN AS A SUPPLEMENT
As a matter of fact, the Physicians’ Desk Reference reports that tryptophan doesn’t have any side effects.
THE COMEBACK KID
back kid of the nutritional industry.
brain. That’s right! Tryptophan can be usually found in the nutrition industry. every quality control measure out there,” founder. “Safety comes first for us. We wouldn’t give the public what we would- n’t take ourselves or give to our families.” using SSRIs like Prozac. Problematically, most of our lives. Healthy Living isimpressed with FTH’s commitment torestoring consumer confidence in nat- Tips for Tryptophan Supplementation Because tryptophan is an essential amino acid, our bodies cannot produce it. We require a certain amount of it in our diets to adequately function. Unfortunately, it is hard to“eat” enough tryptophan, as it is the least prevalent amino acid in foods. So supple-mentation is vital. To enable tryptophan to cross the BBB and more easily convert to serotonin, follow these ➮ Take it with B-complex vitamins and vita- ➮ In the case of tryptophan, less is more.
min C. WHY—These two vitamins, particu-
WHY—Studies using moderate doses of
larly, help tryptophan convert to serotonin. ➮ Take it on an empty stomach. WHY—
better alleviate depressive symptoms than studies using large doses (3 mg to 9 mg).
it isn’t competing with other nutrients oramino acids.
Volume 9, Number 3 / The Doctors’ Prescription for Healthy Living 47

Source: http://www.fth-inc.com/pdf/68781E1Dd01.pdf