GABA

[Ritch]

on my container it says 430mg per 1/4 tsp.

[jamex]

that'll do. thanks.

[jamex]

Again I'll ask what people are using to dose and how much they believe to be taking? I've experimented a bit and found that after a while a teaspoon wasn't noticeably effective. I ramped up a bit each night and found a tablespoon is quite nice and the gf finds this work for her as well. Is this really around 5grams? Seems high, but no big deal as long as tolerance doesn't keep pushing it further making doses increase.

Anybody using this daily or close to? I like to use it Sun-Thur so I get a nice nights sleep before work, and so far I've been enjoying it. Anybody been running it for months this way and still find it effective without increasing doseage? And what dose are you using now that you've been on it for a while?

Thanks

[ironwill]

I use GABA and tryptophan nightly.......for a long while (many months) now without increasing doseages.......I take a week off here and there, for no reason other than to take a break...
I use Gaba in the 3-5 gram range 1/2 hour before retiring, and tryptophan at 1-1.5 grams 1/2 hour before as well....I absolutely love the benefits of these products, sleep like a friggin baby......

[ironwill]

^^^200mg is alot of 5-htp Ironwill. I don`t think you need more than 50mg. 100 tops. This stuff plays with your serotonin levels and using doses that high, I`d worry about getting bad sides when stopping a product with that much 5-htp. The gaba you can go up to 5 grams no problems. That dose have given me the constant positive effects we all rave about from gaba.

200 isnt bad of a dose at all bro.....I switched over to tryptophan and love it.....just for anxiety they recommend 5-htp at 200 mg a few times per day.....for skin problems they recommend even more for scoriasis (sp)...
I cut out the melatonin and recvd a whack of GABA, tryptophan from Trueprotein and got it in cap form...CHEAP!!!!, i bought up town in december and got ripped terribly......Ive been doing it ever since and love it..

[ironwill]

5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) is a compound produced by the body from tryptophan. It is naturally found in many foods and most commonly extracted from the seeds of the Griffonia plant.

In Europe, 5-HTP has been used for decades as an approved treatment for depression, sleep problems, weight loss, and other medical complaints. It is now starting to be used in the USA.

Clinical trials show that 5-HTP is a safe, natural way to boost the brain serotonin levels. Use of 5-HTP has been shown to produce results equal to or better than those of standard synthetic drugs used in the problems arising from serotonin deficiency syndrome.

5- HTP provides the quickest, most effective, and most consistent overall results in treating insomnia. It is an effective alternative for dealing with sleep problems in a safe and natural way compared to sleep medicines. 5-HTP improves the quality of sleep. More importantly, clinical studies show that 5- HTP is also useful in the treatment of sleep disorders other than insomnia.

5-HTP increases REM sleep significantly (typically by about 25 percent) while simultaneously increasing deep sleep stages 3 and 4 without increasing total sleep time. 5- HTP accomplishes this by shortening the amount of time you spend in sleep stages 1 and 2, which in certain ways are the least important stages of the cycle. The higher the dose, the more time spent in REM.

By shifting the balance of the sleep cycle, 5-HTP makes sleep more restful and rejuvenating. Instead of waking feeling tired, worn out, and "hungover," people taking 5- HTP feel vibrant, well rested, and ready to take on the challenges of the day. When we sleep more deeply and dream more efficiently, we wake in the morning with our physical and psychological batteries fully charged.

The impact of 5-HTP on sleep stages is dose-related; taking higher doses produces a somewhat greater impact. In most cases, the lower dosage is adequate. Higher doses may lead to a greater number of disturbing dreams and nightmares due to abnormally prolonged REM sleep. It can also lead to mild nausea.

Melatonin vs. 5-HTP

5-HTP bypasses the brain's light-regulation system that controls the secretion of melatonin. 5-HTP results in the increased the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine that stimulate the noradrenergic receptors in the brain. This stimulation directly triggers the production and release of melatonin.
Thus, when you take 5-HTP, it causes the release of melatonin irrespective of how much light is present. The higher levels of melatonin in circulation, helps you to fall asleep and stay asleep better.

People with low melatonin who take 5-HTP at nighttime can enjoy the same sleep enhancing benefits as they will from taking melatonin alone, but they will also be getting the broader spectrum of benefits that comes from increased serotonin levels. (If you take melatonin alone it does not enhance the functions of the serotonin system.)

The effects of 5-HTP on melatonin depend on:

How much 5-HTP you take and
Time of the day 5-HTP is taken.

People who use melatonin as a sleep sedative may find that switching from melatonin to 5-HTP will make it easier to fall asleep and to stay asleep. They will also enjoy healthy and memorable dream periods, and wake up without the morning grogginess that some of them experience with melatonin.

Recommended Dosage for 5-HTP: Take 100 to 300 mg, thirty to forty-five minutes before retiring. Start with the lower dose for at least three days, then consider increasing the dose if results are not what you expected.
I have looked into it quite a bit and found anywhere from 50-500 mg/s for 5-htp, but you can definitely overdose on this stuff....So be careful...

[BenT]

Here is a study of GABA using 5 grams on people. It claims to raise HGH by 5x.

http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/su...on-effects.htm

~D~

The site says: "one study (conducted by the University of Milan in Milan) found that 90 minutes after GABA supplementation HGH levels increase by 5 times. This research studied 19 subjects who took GABA compared to 18 placebo subjects..."

I couldn't find this article, but I did find other studies:

One study, also from the University of Milan, say that GABA restrains GH secretion and promotes prolactin (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 45, No. 3 579-584).

Against GABA: An article in the The Journal of Experimental Biology 203, 1477–1485 (2000) shows that GABA reduces serum GH levels within 30 minutes.

For GABA: Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 Jan;40(1):104-10. Shows that GABA increases serum GH by 400% in a group of resistance-trained men.

Against GABA: European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 28(5):607-609: shows a decrease in GH caused by GABA

This article is pretty interesting though and may point to a genetic difference in response to GABA:

Glutamate decarboxylase autoimmunity and growth hormone secretion in type I diabetes mellitus*1
Andrea Giustina, a, b, c, , Paolo Desenzanib, c, a, Paola Perinib, c, a, Elena Bazzigaluppib, c, a, Corrado Bodinib, c, a, Simonetta Bossonib, c, a, Claudio Poiesib, c, a, William B. Wehrenbergb, c, a and Emanuele Bosib, c, a
a Endocrine Section, Department of Internal Medicine and Chemistry, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
b Department of Medicine, San Raffaele Hospital, University of Milano, Milano, Italy
c Department of Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA
Received 17 June 1996; accepted 1 October 1996. Available online 31 August 2004.
Abstract
Insulin-dependent (type I) diabetic patients are known to have an exaggerated growth hormone (GH) response to GH-releasing hormone (GHRH), which is hypothesized to be due to a decrease in somatostatin tone. The aim of the study was to ascertain the influence of the presence and activity of the autoimmune process involving a key enzyme (glutamic acid decarboxylase [GAD]) in the synthetic pathway of a neurotransmitter regulating somatostatin secretion, ie, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), on the GH response to GHRH alone or combined with an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, pyridostigmine (PD), in patients with type I diabetes mellitus. Twenty non-obese type I diabetic patients and 17 normal subjects underwent an intravenous (IV) injection of 100 μg GHRH(1–29)NH2. Twelve of 20 diabetic subjects and all of the control subjects also underwent a second experimental procedure, administration of 120 mg oral PD 60 minutes before IV injection of 100 μg GHRH. Diabetic subjects with serum GAD antibody (GADA) levels more than 3 U (n = 10) showed significantly higher serum GH levels after GHRH injection as compared both with diabetic patients with GADA less than 3 U (n = 10) and with normal controls, whether expressed as absolute or peak values. GH peaks after GHRH were significantly (rs = .46, P < .05) correlated with the level of GADA in the whole population of type I diabetic subjects studied. PD significantly enhanced the GH response to GHRH, in terms of both absolute and peak values, in patients without GADA (n = 6) and in normal subjects. On the contrary, PD failed to enhance the GH response to GHRH in diabetic patients with GADA (n = 6). Our findings suggest that autoimmunity may play a key role in determining the exaggerated GH response to GHRH in type I diabetes mellitus. The mechanism underlying this effect is hypothesized to be the production of antibodies to GAD, a key enzyme in the synthesis of GABA, and in turn a reduced GABAergic stimulatory tone on somatostatin production at the hypothalamic level.

[ironwill]

Good post Bent, i was excited about that info when i read it a yr or so ago, then found more articles saying it wont pass the blood brain barrier....But who knows, im an optimist, so ill think it does raise gh, ive been felling/looking younger as of late!!!haha

[BenT]

Good post Bent, i was excited about that info when i read it a yr or so ago, then found more articles saying it wont pass the blood brain barrier....But who knows, im an optimist, so ill think it does raise gh, ive been felling/looking younger as of late!!!haha

Whether or not it actually boosts GH it seems to help pretty much everybody with sleeping (at least anecdotally) - I think that in itself would have positive results.