tryptophan

Researchers Discover a Promising Link Between 5-HTP and Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis affects about 1.3 million Americans. While there are treatments that can slow the joint degeneration associated with this disease, modern medicine struggles to adequately treat it. This is especially true in the preclinical, aka early phase, when a great deal of permanent damage can occur. However, a new study examining 5-HTP and rheumatoid arthritis suggests that this supplement may protect against joint damage created by inflammatory immune cells before rheumatoid arthritis develops in full.

What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis is a condition that causes pain and inflammation in the joints. Unlike osteoarthritis, which is related to age and wear-and-tear, rheumatoid arthritis is caused by an autoimmune attack. The body perceives healthy joint tissue as a threat and attacks it with immune cells. This can lead to not just pain, but permanent damage to joints and permanent loss of mobility.

One of the key problems with rheumatoid arthritis is that it is difficult to diagnose. People often begin having vague symptoms that are not treated until they worsen. By the time most people get a diagnosis and treatment, their joints have already suffered irreparable damage. Doctors call this undefined phase the “preclinical phase.” Treating the preclinical phase of RA can make an immense difference in a person’s quality of life and future response to treatment.

5-HTP and Rheumatoid Arthritis

In a recent study, researchers induced an autoimmune reaction similar to rheumatoid arthritis in mouse cells. These cells were then treated with 5-HTP, a metabolite of tryptophan, an essential amino acid that must be obtained from the food we eat. When given 5-HTP, these cells exhibited decreased production of inflammatory immune cells that have been linked to the damage seen in rheumatoid arthritis. These cells also produced more serotonin and other hormones that play a key role in reducing pain.

This new link between 5-HTP and rheumatoid arthritis is especially important for people in the preclinical phase when T-cells and cytokines are actively attacking collagen and other joint tissues. Taking 5-HTP during the preclinical phase of rheumatoid arthritis may help protect against joint damage in the months before a firm diagnosis can be made and treatment can begin.

5-HTP: A Promising Supplement

This is not the first time that 5-HTP has been shown to have positive effects relating to certain conditions that involve minor pain and discomfort. It has been helpful in the treatment of fibromyalgia in prior clinical trials, improving symptoms across the board. Because 5-HTP is a precursor to serotonin, researchers believed that its serotonergic effects were mainly responsible for the improvement. However, the new evidence of its effects on the immune system suggests a second mechanism for 5-HTP in the treatment of certain health conditions.

5-HTP is all-natural and made by the human body, although sometimes not in the amounts that are needed to help alleviate minor discomfort. With very few side effects and drug interactions, this amino acid offers hope for people who struggle to live with painful and debilitating conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Ten Foods That Help You Sleep

Feb 12 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Having trouble falling or staying asleep? The answer could lie in your kitchen. Foods that help you sleep contain sleep-promoting nutrients that can induce a natural, restful nights’ sleep.

If a survey were to be done asking individuals what they would like to do more of in a typical day, sleep would likely be one of the top answers. For various reasons, many of us lie awake in bed and have the most difficult time falling and staying asleep.

Experts have suggested that when this occurs, we should turn to food as a solution. The nutrients and phytochemicals in certain foods can play the same role in our body as sleeping medications and supplements when the right foods are chosen.

Exploring Foods That Help You Sleep

Foods that help you sleep at night have the ability to stimulate the production and release of certain sleep-promoting brain chemicals. Also, if an underlying condition such as muscle cramps interrupts your sleep, these foods may provide relief of those symptoms as well. To get a better night’s sleep, consider experimenting with these great nighttime snacks.

Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds are a great source of tryptophan, an essential amino acid. Our bodies convert tryptophan to melatonin during a four-step reaction involving serotonin, a mood-enhancing neurotransmitter. Melatonin is a natural hormone released by the pineal gland that directly promotes sleep. It is commonly used as a dietary supplement and sleep aid.

Almonds

Almonds or almond butter can make a great snack before bedtime. They are a rich source of iron, calcium, zinc, potassium, magnesium and B vitamins. These nutrients offer many benefits to the body as they relax muscles, help regulate brain activity, and increase levels of melatonin. Almonds are also a source of 14 amino acids, one of which is tryptophan.

Cherries

Tart cherries are one of the only natural food sources that can supply our bodies with melatonin, the natural sleep-promoting hormone. When cherries are out of season, you can supplement with a glass of cherry juice or some dried cherries. Researchers who have linked cherries with melatonin suggest eating them one hour before bedtime. Other natural sources of melatonin include grapes and walnuts.

Bananas

Bananas are among the foods that help you sleep. They are a good source of potassium and magnesium, both of which are natural muscle relaxants. They also contain tryptophan, which is converted in the brain to the sleep hormone melatonin.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a complex carbohydrate that doesn’t cause the sugar spikes seen with other carbohydrates. It is a filling food that is easily digestible, allowing your body to rest easy at night. It is also a great source of calcium, potassium and magnesium, nutrients that promote relaxation of the body.

Cheese & Crackers

The carbohydrates in crackers help you fall asleep faster. After consuming carbohydrates, the body is triggered to produce insulin. Along with insulin, the sleep-promoting brain chemicals serotonin and tryptophan are released. The protein in the cheese is also an excellent source of tryptophan.

Toast with Peanut Butter

Toast provides the same carbohydrate benefit of crackers to help you sleep, plus peanut butter is rich in tryptophan. With this combination, you will get the benefit of tryptophan and the benefit of the carbohydrates, which helps tryptophan reach the brain easier.

Cereal & Milk

This is a great bedtime snack combination. Milk is a source of sleep-promoting tryptophan. According to the National Sleep Foundation, the carbohydrates in the cereal make tryptophan more available to the brain. Also, as previously mentioned, after eating carbohydrates the sleep-promoting brain chemicals serotonin and tryptophan are triggered along with insulin.

Pineapple

Researchers have found that certain foods can boost our natural levels of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin. After eating pineapples, the levels of a melatonin marker were increased by 266 percent. Bananas also contributed to a rise of 180 percent and those who ate oranges had a rise of 47 percent.

Popcorn

The popcorn works in a manner similar to cheese and crackers. If sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese, this snack can give your body a boost of tryptophan and the carbohydrates it needs to help the brain absorb it more readily.

Need Sleep? Drink “Night Milk”

Jan 20 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Can’t seem to fall asleep? New research suggests that a glass of “night milk” may be as effective as common sedatives in promoting sleep.

Next time you have trouble falling or staying asleep, reach for a glass of night milk instead of into your medicine cabinet. To clarify, this beverage isn’t called night milk because you drink it before bedtime; it’s actually cow’s milk that is harvested from the cow in the evening hours. If you’re like the majority of people learning about this new concept, you’re probably wondering why the time the cow is milked makes a difference.

Thanks to a study performed by a Korean research team we have the answers.

The Science Behind Night Milk

Recently, a new animal study that was published in the Journal of Medicinal Food determined that before bed, a mother’s milk takes on an enhanced chemical structure with elevated levels of tryptophan and melatonin.

Authors of the study from Sahmyook University in Seoul, South Korea concluded from this finding that night milk may be a promising natural remedy for anxiety and sleep disturbances.

Can Night Milk Improve Sleep and Reduce Anxiety?

To test this theory, milk from cows was collected at various times during the day and night. The milk was then put into powder form and fed to groups of mice.

Evaluation of the milk’s effect on both groups revealed that the mice fed night milk were notably less active than the mice that received milk from cows who were milked during the day.

Surprisingly, the mice who were less active were more apt to explore open spaces. Researchers interpreted their attempt to explore as being reflective of reduced anxiety, with effects comparable to the effects of diazepam, a common sedative used to treat anxiety.

The night milk was found to contain nearly 10 times more melatonin and 24 percent more tryptophan than daytime milk.

However, the effects have yet to be tested on people, though many people have been drinking milk or taking melatonin to successfully fall asleep for years.

New Theory, or Just First of Its Kind Research?

While this is new research, it is not a new concept. A German company patented “nocturnal milk” and produced a powder from milk that had been collected from cows between the hours of 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.

The effectiveness of nocturnal milk can be vouched for by happy consumers like Maike Schnittger, who was able to get through a troublesome period of anxiety by taking the powder that helped her fall asleep within half an hour. She also stated that she fell into a deep sleep and felt really awake the next morning.

Carl Bazil, director of the Epilepsy and Sleep Division of the neurology department at Columbia University, was a little skeptical about the night milk concept. However, he stated that the theory behind it is correct, as melatonin and tryptophan have proven sedative properties and milk is also known to help people fall asleep.

The Effects of Melatonin and Tryptophan on Sleep

Wondering just how the tryptophan- and melatonin-rich milk might work? Studies dating all the way back to the 1970s have suggested that taking between one and 15 grams of tryptophan at bedtime can help people fall asleep. Even smaller doses, as little as 250 milligrams, were found to provide people with increased sleep quality by lengthening the amount of time they spent in the deepest stage of sleep.

Normal sleep is produced by two main biomolecules: the hormone melatonin and the neurotransmitter serotonin. Both of these are made naturally in the body from tryptophan, making tryptophan a valuable supplement for those seeking a better quality of sleep.

Scientists reviewed 15 studies of sleep in healthy adults and noted that the administration of melatonin significantly reduced the amount of time needed to fall asleep, boosted the percentage of time that people were actually asleep while in bed and increased their total sleep duration. This is due to the active role melatonin has in the sleep-wake cycle.

So, does this research warrant replacing conventional sleep aids with a glass of night milk? For some, maybe, if they have access to night milk. Although this is excellent research and a great first step in providing a natural solution for two very common conditions, i.e. anxiety and sleep disturbances, we anticipate that a human study is most likely imminent.