The UltraMind Solution (30 page)

What would you choose?

When Prozac came on the market, most of the research on the use of tryptophan or its by-product, 5-HTP, to help the body naturally produce serotonin, slowed way down or was stopped.

But the evidence is strong that supplementing with the building blocks of serotonin, while at the same time addressing the other underlying reasons for low-serotonin production, is not only safer but more effective than just taking Prozac or other SSRIs.
^17
;
18

No one has committed suicide because he or she was taking vitamins or amino acids, but there is up to a 60 percent increased risk of suicide attempts in people taking some types of antidepressants and an overall 39 percent increase in suicide from all antidepressants.
¹⁹
You don’t hear about nutritional treatments like these, because supplement manufacturers don’t have billions to advertise on television or millions to fund large studies the way pharmaceutical companies do.

In
chapter 22
, you will learn how to fix low serotonin levels naturally, using the concepts I have discussed here.

Do you have low GABA levels? Take the following quiz to find out.

In the box on the right, place a check for each positive answer. Then find out how severe your problem is using the scoring key below.

GABA QUIZ, *
It is hard for me to relax and kick back.
I am easily stressed out or overwhelmed.
It is common for me to feel overworked or pressured.
My body is stiff or uptight.
I sometimes feel weak and shaky.
I am bothered by loud noises, lights, or too much activity.
I feel more anxious or stressed if I skip meals.
I use substances such as sugar, alcohol, and/or drugs to help me relax.
* For your convenience, this quiz has been reprinted in The UltraMind Solution Companion Guide . Simply go to www.ultramind.com/guide , download the guide, and print out the quiz.

Score one point for each box you checked.

We are a stressed-out society. And we push ourselves to burnout with habits like overworking, not enough sleep, too much coffee, too much sugar, refined foods, and junk food that we use to temporarily relieve our stress, as well as exposure to environmental toxins and silent infections.

Your adrenal glands produce powerful chemicals (cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine) that help you respond to stress. These chemicals are excitatory hormones, neurotransmitters that get our bodies ready for dangerous situations (which was the original purpose of the anxiety response).

However, with your foot to the gas pedal like this all the time, you burn out and feel stressed, anxious, exhausted, can’t sleep, and are either tired or wired constantly.

Thankfully, our brains have an antidote to these stress hormones.

It is called GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) and it calms the brain from too much of the neurotransmitters epinephrine and norepinephrine.
It is like a brake on overstimulation in the brain. When you have low levels of GABA, it is harder for you to relax after your body has released these excitatory neurotransmitters.

People with anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, seizures, and schizophrenia all have low levels of GABA. Who likes the feeling of tense muscles, a pounding heart, dry mouth, sleeplessness, fatigue, and sweaty palms? No one. That’s why so many self-medicate with the medications mentioned above.

Valium works by imitating GABA, our natural brain relaxant. Many use alcohol or marijuana to self-medicate for anxiety. These too act like GABA in the brain. But using alcohol, marijuana, or tranquilizers backfires because they are all addictive and produce diminishing returns over time so you need more and more to “relax.”

Why not just take GABA supplements? Well, thankfully, you can. And you can use other natural substances to boost GABA levels to overcome the anxiety that millions of you experience every day.

One study showed that within sixty minutes of taking GABA, alpha brain waves (a sign of relaxation) were increased on EEG tests. Taking GABA also boosted the immune system, which functions best when you are relaxed.
²⁰

You can take GABA supplements directly, or supplement your diet with the raw materials out of which GABA is produced. For example, another key amino-acid helper called
taurine
boosts the production of GABA and helps relax the nervous system. It can even reduce seizures.
²¹

Other helpful brain relaxants that boost GABA include theanine from green tea, inositol (a B vitamin), other B vitamins such as B
₃
, B
₆
, and B
₁₂
, and magnesium. Calming herbs such as kava, valerian, hops, and passion flower can also be helpful.