Posted by JLx on January 12, 2006, at 11:03:47
In reply to Is this statement true (about 5-htp) ?, posted by linkadge on January 5, 2006, at 20:22:45
> Taken from:
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> http://forum.lef.org/default.aspx?f=41&m=17274
>
> "The purpose of the 5-HTP is to increase the brains output of serotonin, but for some people this may occur outside the brain and cause little increase in brains serotonin. If this happens, it is a potentially negative occurence because of the potential for blood serotonin to damage heart valves. That it the reason why LEF (on the advice of Steve Harris, MD researcher) has never offered 5-HTP as a primary product."
>
>
> Linkadge"In September 1997, the popular weight loss drug Redux and its chemical cousin fenfluramine, part of the “fen-phen” combination, were taken off the market based on a study showing that these drugs may have caused permanent damage to heart valves in as many as one-third of the people who took them. There is no evidence that 5-HTP produces these effects. Unlike Redux, 5-HTP does not raise blood serotonin levels to a significant degree nor does it block reuptake of serotonin. The point here is that 5-HTP does not disrupt the normal process of serotonin release, reabsorbtion, and elimination from the body. 5-HTP is not a synthetic drug; it is an amino acid produced naturally by your body’s metabolism."
http://www.doctormurray.com/newsletter/3-04-2005.htm
It sounds like he's saying that even though 5-HTP taken as capsules may not have been produced by your body it is something that IS produced by our bodies so the normal homeostasis mechanisms would apply. Iow, how does 5-HTP taken by capsule differ enough from what one might naturally produce to the point that it would accumulate dangerously?
As you probably know, Dr. Michael Murray is a popular naturopath, who in this case has written a book on 5-HTP. I've not had reason to doubt him in the stuff I've read of his.
JL
poster:JLx
thread:595605
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20051208/msgs/598319.html