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gamblers given amino acids stopped gambling.
The neurotransmitters adrenalin and noradrenalin, for example, are made of
amino acids L-phenylalanine and L-tyrosine. They create arousal, energy,
stimulation and mental focus, and symptoms of deficiency include depression
and poor concentration. The substances used to compensate for this deficiency
are caffeine, cocaine, amphetamines, tobacco, marijuana, alcohol and sugar.
Dopamine is made of L-phenylalanine and L-tyrosine and creates feelings of
satisfaction and comfort. Deficiency symptoms are lack of pleasure, motivation
and reward, and fatigue and depression, compensated by use of alcohol,
marijuana, cocaine, caffeine, amphetamines, sugar or tobacco.
Endorphins and enkephalins create physical and emotional pain relief,
pleasure, euphoria and sense of wellbeing, and are made from the amino
acids D-phenylalanine and DL-phenylalanine. Symptoms of deficiency include
physical and emotional hyper-sensitivity and inability to feel pleasure, and are
compensated by heroin, alcohol, marijuana, sugar or chocolate. Seratonin,
meanwhile, is made from L-tryptophan or 5-HTP and creates emotional
stability, self-confidence, pain tolerance and quality sleep, while deficiency
causes depression, compulsiveness, worry, low self-esteem, insomnia and
irritability, compensated by use of alcohol, sugar, chocolate, tobacco and
marijuana. So, if you’re a habitual coffee drinker during the day, then crave a
glass of wine or two in the evening, and would feel tired, depressed and less
able to concentrate without them, then the amino acids that are most likely
to help you would be L-phenylalanine and L-tyrosine.
Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that. Your ability to turn these amino
acids into neurotransmitters, and the ability of those neurotransmitters to be
‘read’ by the brain, also depends on other nutrients such as B vitamins,
minerals and essential fats. In our book
How to quit without feeling s**t
we
have a specific strategy for each addiction, backed up by a specific
supplement regime – you can also find summaries of these strategies on the
website www.how2quit.co.uk .
Supplementing amino acids
Eating protein is the best way to get essential amino acids for a normal
healthy person, but taking amino acid supplements is the best way to
guarantee a person in a state of reward deficiency is receiving the optimal
amounts to rebalance their neurotransmitters. One of the advantages of
taking supplements containing individual amino acids is that they are more
easily absorbed this way. Certain amino acids compete for absorption, so if
you supplement with tryptophan, for example, you will absorb more into the
bloodstream if you take the supplements without eating protein-rich food at
the same time. Taking the supplements with a carbohydrate food, such as
fruit, may be even better because the presence of carbohydrates is known to
help the absorption of amino acids. The minimum effective starting dose for
most of these amino acids is 500mg per day and can be increased gradually
to 3,000mg per day (except for 5 HTP, which ranges in dosage from 50 to
400mg per day, and L-glutamine, which ranges in dosage from 500 to
15,000mg per day). It’s best to start with a lower dose and increase it until
you feel the benefits. Most people respond to the daily dose being divided
into two or three doses a day.
Brain support nutrients
The process of turning amino acids into neurotransmitters depends on a
process called methylation, which is dependent on B vitamins, especially folic
acid, B12 and B6. A person’s methylation ability is determined by measuring
homocysteine in the plasma – substance misusers typically have raised
homocysteine levels, indicating a greater need for these B vitamins. The
reception of neurotransmitters is also dependent on an adequate supply of
essential fats, most notably the omega 3 fats EPA and DHA. Among
substance misusers, the higher the plasma EPA the lower the anxiety scores,
and the higher the plasma DHA, the lower the anger scores.
IV nutrient therapy
For those with serious addictions, the inclusion of intravenous nutrients given
after they have been through detox and delivered via a daily drip, usually for
six days – based on a person’s specific addiction and neurotransmitter
imbalances – greatly speeds up the recovery from abstinence symptoms. This
is especially helpful for addictions that mess up the digestive tract, either
because the person doesn’t eat properly, as in the case of stimulant drugs,
or because the nature of the substance and its effects on the gut, as in the
case of alcohol or heroin.
The critical question, of course, is does it work? At Bridging The Gaps, a
treatment centre in Virginia that has incorporated this approach alongside
conventional addiction recovery treatment, we gave a group of clients
nutritional therapy, including specific supplements and diet, and compared
them with a group also given IV nutrient therapy.
At the end of the month, those given oral nutrient therapy had reduced
their abstinence symptoms (based on the scale of abstinence symptom
severity) from an average score of 88 to 40 – a 55 per cent drop, while those
also given the IV nutrient therapy had a 75 per cent drop – from an average
of 114 to 29. Those receiving the IV nutrient therapy had a 69 per cent
reduction after the six days of IV treatment. The hypothesis here is that if you
feel so much better then you’re less likely to relapse. Most treatment centres
expect around 80 per cent to relapse.
Bridging The Gaps’ Dr James Braly assessed the severity of symptoms
commonly experienced in abstinence before the start of nutritional therapy,
daily for six days, and again at 30 days. The group receiving intravenous and
nutritional therapy had greater reduction in severity of symptoms at the end
of six days than the group that had oral nutrients had at 30 days.
The centre also followed up 23 clients who had had serious drug and
alcohol addictions and had received IV nutrient therapy, followed by diet and
oral supplements, one year after their admission. Of these, 21 – 91 per cent
– were still clean or sober after a year or more, and 16 had had continuous
sobriety. These results are very encouraging and will, hopefully, inspire more
research – the website www.how2quit.co.uk lists treatment centres offering
this approach.
Patrick Holford is CEO of the Food for the Brain Foundation
www.foodforthebrain.org
‘Eating protein is the best way to get essential amino
acids for a normal healthy person, but taking amino acid
supplements is the best way to guarantee a person in a
state of reward deficiency is receiving the optimal
amounts to rebalance their neurotransmitters.’
23 March 2009 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 19
Research |
Addiction
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