Posted by Larry Hoover on December 10, 2004, at 9:27:21
In reply to Re: Tryptophan - legal in the US? safe? side effects? » Sleepless in the ATL, posted by MKB on November 23, 2004, at 20:36:38
> I read that you need B6 with Tryptophan, but I just take a multivitamin and Omega-3 Fish Oil. I usually take them in the morning with food. I also read that you should take Tryptophan with fruit juice, but I don't always do that. I do know that Tryptophan works best on an empty stomach. If I were you I would try not to add too many other things at the same time.
I just want to emphasize one issue with tryptophan. To get the most bang for the buck, i.e. to get the most drug-like effect, you need to take tryptophan in the absence of other amino acids. That's the empty stomach rule, in a nutshell.
Tryptophan has to be pumped into the brain, as it otherwise cannot cross the blood/brain barrier. The transporter responsible for that pumping action is not specific to tryptophan. Others use it too (e.g. phenylalanine, tyrosine, valine, leucine, isoleucine), and they all bind to the transporter better than does tryptophan. Moreover, those others tend to be in higher concentrations in food than is tryptophan.
So, you're trying to manipulate nature a bit. By supplying only tryptophan on an empty stomach, there really is not much else in the blood to directly compete with it for access to the brain.
The second aspect you might want to manipulate is insulin. Following ingestion of carbs or sugars, insulin is released, to control blood sugar. Insulin drives tryptophan into the brain, preferentially.
If you take tryptophan with fruit juice, on an empty stomach, you're accomplishing both things at the same time.
Allow about 45 minutes before eating a protein-containing food.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:418994
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20041123/msgs/427152.html