L-GLUTAMINE

TED'S REMEDIES

Depressant drugs (ie., heroine, opium, alcohol, etc.) lowers the serotonin signals through their suppression of neuroactivity but does not directly resolve this problem. In extreme cases, the brain through the use of drugs also loses its ability to produce serotonin and takes weeks to restore the brain's ability to produce serotonin, bringing extreme suffering for its victim.

People feels anxiety and withdrawal syndrome whenever cigarettes or alcohol are withdrawn, but from different causes but they are still linked to reduction in serotonin levels.

A cigarettes has a nicotine, so if the brain level is already low with nicotinic acid for example (vitamin B3 niacinamide), the nicotine, being a close cousin of the nicotinic acid or vitamin B3 niacinamide, actually does lower the anxiety problems, but is not nutritionally relevant and hence damages the brain in the long run. B3 or niacinamide, by the way is related to the brain's synthesis of serotonin and is one of the required nutrients. A simple demonstration of its effectiveness of reduction of anxiety level can be noted if I took B3 niacinamide, about 300-500 mg mixed in a water, and the feeling of reduction of anxiety or burn out can be felt within 30 minutes. It is actually faster, but 30 minutes is my worse case scenario. Similar instance can be noted if a general amino acid supplements (or predigested protein) are taken, but those take a bit longer within one hour, because certain amino supplements don't have suffient amount of them.

In case of an alcoholic addiction it is seen with a twist, the alcohol's depressive effects lowers the brain activity, thus reducing the need for serotonin only temporary, because brain activity is reduced. Whenever the alcohol goes out the system, the brain also loses some ability to produce serotonin due to the physiological damaging effects of alcohol has on the brain. Hence, the brain needs serotonin, but instead of treating the cause, we turn our backs and take alcohol or even barbiturates, which again lowers the need for serotonin without actually resolving the cause.

Hence, the addiction cycles becomes vicious and the more alcohol is taken the worse it becomes. Although I won't deny the blood sugar hypothesis to addiction because alcohol helps replenish the sugar. A much simpler solution can be seen by eating candies, toffees and chocolate. However I don't see any alcholic running to eat candies or even at least a glucose supplement to raise his blood sugar. Hence, in psychology, the science of addiction is understood to be serotonin as the primary cause of addiction and eating candies to raise sugar level or at least stabilize it won't help directly in reducing such addiction.

A more reasonable approach appears to be to take supplements to HELP in raising the serotonin levels as being the remedy to resolve this addiction problem. Obviously I can use generalized remedies against this through eating fishes (high in protein, an hence amino acid), eating brocolli and partially cook liver (high in vitamin Bs).

Of course a more specific supplement might more fitting in raising the serotonin. The most well known amino acid is the tryptophan, which helps reduce anxiety level and helps increase serotonin levels, but can also help in certain children (ADHD) with restless leg syndrome just the same. Firing of serotonin levels if it becomes problematic, can lead to restless leg syndrome, hyperactivity, anxiety, learning disorders, addiction, and even grinding of teeth during sleep (serotonin and heavy metals are implicated here). Hence, for an adult dose I might consider 1000 mg-3000 mg of tryptophan, for example.

The second one I think that has helped is the niacinamide B3 about 300 mg, biotin about 8 mg, vitamin C sodium ascorbate 1000 mg, and some B6 about 100 mg, zinc gluonate 50 mg three times a week, as well as the general vitamin B complex overall three times a week, as one possibility. Those are synergistic in helping the brain produce serotonin. But this list is not complete, without considering a tiny amount of lithium, which is a required nutrition. Its been known for ages that lithium helps stabilize the serotonin levels. This is one reason why a person who gets addicted easily to alcohol do so because his level of serotonin is unstable and lithium is implicated as one possiblity, as opposed to the blood sugar hypothesis. The dose for lithium is extremely small if we compare to people who take it for other reasons, and the dose that I find ideally are about 5-10 mg of lithium citrate or lithium carbonate. A bipolar disorder uses a large amount, such as 250 mg, but I think at that dose, they are physiologically damaging to the such size of the dose. Hence, I would much prefer to take supplements that help increase serotonin and stabilize them if an alcholic addiction or even a withdrawal symptoms, or even people who desire to quit smoking or drinking, a supplements such as these are called for.

Now I am not trying to discourage the use of glutamine amino acid, but there is some study to show that the increase of serotonin lead to a decrease in glutamine (Molecular Pharmacology, Vol 13, 640-651, Copyright © 1977 by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Inhibition by Serotonin of Amino Acid Release and Protein Degradation in Skeletal Muscle) and this leads me to wonder whether the opposite is true, such as increases in glutamine, leads to decrease in serotonin. However, what I can be for certain is amino acid supplements will generally increase the serotonin but a more direct approach might be to take tryptophan amino acid as a more direct approach. I will also at least consider niacinamide B3 as the second most important one, but others should not be generally ignored either.

Even if addiction is dealt with, I cannot ignore the negative effects alcohol does in destroying the liver, and certain supplements are protective of fatty liver from alcohol and hence granulated lecithin, one tablespoon. Assuming the theory of unstable blood sugar is at risk, well stabilizing the blood sugar are most effective from the lecithin and perhaps the glutamine, however, I would concentrate more phyisological dependency of the brain to drugs, cigarettes and alcohol as the primary consideration at the very least.