Discription of the product: Short for 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan, 5-HTP is a natural stepping-stone between a nutrient in our food and a crucial compound in our brains. Specifically, it's a substance that links the amino acid tryptophan to the chemical messenger serotonin. Tryptophan, which our bodies can't make but we do get from many foods, quickly turns to 5-HTP in the brain. 5-HTP, in turn, rapidly becomes serotonin, a compound that plays a large role in controlling mood, appetite, and sleep cycles. (You've probably heard of serotonin in the context of antidepressant drugs that seem to work by keeping up its presence in the brain.) Among other things, 5-HTP has been used to treat insomnia, migraines, fibromyalgia, attention deficit disorder, and Parkinson's disease. Because extra tryptophan in our diets leads to extra serotonin in our brains, tryptophan supplements became extremely popular in the 1980s as a natural remedy for insomnia, obesity, and depression. The enthusiasm ended when more than 1,500 people developed a crippling disease, eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS), after taking tryptophan supplements tainted with an impurity similar to one found in 5-HTP that's known as "Peak X." Thirty-eight of the victims died. (Many cases were linked to a batch of genetically engineered tryptophan supplements from Japan.) The Food and Drug Administration banned tryptophan supplements in 1990, a move that led to a wave of supplements containing 5-HTP. Today 5-HTP supplements are sold everywhere in countless health food stores and on the Web and promoted with the same promises that were once made about tryptophan.
Histroy of the product￡o5-HTP is used to treat a rare condition called post-anoxic myoclonus, which causes involuntary muscle contractions. 5-HTP may have the potential to stabilize mood. One small 6-week study compared 5-HTP to an antidepressant in the Prozac family and found equal benefit between the two, with 5-HTP causing fewer and less severe side effects. In another interesting study, researchers found that children treated with 5-HTP for night terrors showed significant long-term improvement.The substance also shows some promise as an antiobesity aid: An Italian study of 25 overweight people with Type 2 diabetes found that subjects who took 750 mg of 5-HTP each day for two weeks ate less fat and carbohydrates and lost weight. As for insomnia, evidence that 5-HTP supplements can help people fall asleep are scant. And although it's not widely advertised, 5-HTP may ease the pain of fibromyalgia.
