I’m suffering from anxiety issues and I’ve researched that GABA is good for anxiety. Can it be taken every day? Are there better alternatives? I’m prtty sure im prone to anxiety. My older sister suffers a lot from anxiety and is on lexapro(spelling?) but I definitly do not want to go that route. So any other input would be awesome.
I’ve used different formulations which contain GABA and it always leaves me feeling sedated, but not in a good way. It’s almost like a mild benzodiazepine but with a lot more mental fogginess, not an effect I’m looking for.
For anxiety, give ashwagandha and holy basil a try. These are both herbal supplements you can buy at most health food stores. They worked extremely well for me and are backed up by a fair amount of research (check pubmed)
Once GABA enters the stomach it is no longer GABA… the digestion process basically renders it useless.
If you want to increase your GABA levels, which is great for your anti-anxiety, use the amino-acid Taurine. Taurine is the essential building block for GABA. 3g-6g/day definitely does the trick. The good news is Taurine is quite cheap too.
Another good add if you can afford it, is magnesium. Look for a magnesium chelate, preferably with multiple forms mag glycinate, mag taurate, mag fumarate, mag aspartate. My favourite brand is UberMag.
Good luck!
[quote]hungryone wrote:
Once GABA enters the stomach it is no longer GABA… the digestion process basically renders it useless.
[/quote]
=0 could you explain or point me in the direction of some material on this? Kind of curious of why and how this occurs.
oh and my addition to this thread would be L-Theanine. I’ve used it in the past on my girlfriend
EDIT: that came out wrong but i’ll leave it be
GABA pales in comparison to what else is available.
My favourites are bacopa, picamilon and phosphatidylserine.
[quote]Fulford wrote:
[quote]hungryone wrote:
Once GABA enters the stomach it is no longer GABA… the digestion process basically renders it useless.
[/quote]
=0 could you explain or point me in the direction of some material on this? Kind of curious of why and how this occurs.
oh and my addition to this thread would be L-Theanine. I’ve used it in the past on my girlfriend
EDIT: that came out wrong but i’ll leave it be[/quote]
Don’t have any research on hand… but I’ll offer some stuff that hopefully can guide you for some research.
Once GABA enters the stomach, due to the digestive process the structure of the molecule is broken down and is ultimately useless.
This unfortunately is the case with all neurotransmitters. You can’t consume serotonin, acetylcholine, dopamine, etc. However, you can consume pre-cursors to these neurotransmitters, and thus have them created in your gut (you’re gut apparently is the site of 2/3’s of your neurotransmitter production).
Hope that makes sense!
That is a good point then why the hell is GABA even marketed on any level. I’ve never heard anything worth talking about with GABA.
[quote]RSGZ wrote:
GABA pales in comparison to what else is available.
My favourites are bacopa, picamilon and phosphatidylserine.[/quote]
What sort of dosage are you taking for these? Daily? Thanks.
[quote]XanderBuilt wrote:
[quote]RSGZ wrote:
GABA pales in comparison to what else is available.
My favourites are bacopa, picamilon and phosphatidylserine.[/quote]
What sort of dosage are you taking for these? Daily? Thanks.[/quote]
Generally 250mg - 500mg of the Bacopa and PS daily.
Picamilon, 100mg once or twice a day.
Sleep like a baby on them, and feel they improve my mood too.
[quote]RSGZ wrote:
[quote]XanderBuilt wrote:
[quote]RSGZ wrote:
GABA pales in comparison to what else is available.
My favourites are bacopa, picamilon and phosphatidylserine.[/quote]
What sort of dosage are you taking for these? Daily? Thanks.[/quote]
Generally 250mg - 500mg of the Bacopa and PS daily.
Picamilon, 100mg once or twice a day.
Sleep like a baby on them, and feel they improve my mood too.[/quote]
Cool thanks man.
So these are at night yeah? (sorry to be pedantic).
Right now I’m taking <1g of PS and 250mg of Bacopa and ZMA with GABA and a Sleep Formula which has Valerian Root/Melatonin etc. I’m feeling okay I guess, but I still get anxious during work etc. (plus stress!). Guess personality traits need to change too (meditate etc).
[quote]XanderBuilt wrote:
Right now I’m taking <1g of PS and 250mg of Bacopa and ZMA with GABA and a Sleep Formula which has Valerian Root/Melatonin etc. I’m feeling okay I guess, but I still get anxious during work etc. (plus stress!). Guess personality traits need to change too (meditate etc).[/quote]
Have you tried Inositol?
I used it to wind down at night, by increasing the dose until I had crazy dreams (and they can get crazy). Then I cut back by a gram.
It can be taken anytime you feel anxious. Morning, Noon, before bed.
[quote]hungryone wrote:
[quote]Fulford wrote:
[quote]hungryone wrote:
Once GABA enters the stomach it is no longer GABA… the digestion process basically renders it useless.
[/quote]
=0 could you explain or point me in the direction of some material on this? Kind of curious of why and how this occurs.
oh and my addition to this thread would be L-Theanine. I’ve used it in the past on my girlfriend
EDIT: that came out wrong but i’ll leave it be[/quote]
Don’t have any research on hand… but I’ll offer some stuff that hopefully can guide you for some research.
Once GABA enters the stomach, due to the digestive process the structure of the molecule is broken down and is ultimately useless.
This unfortunately is the case with all neurotransmitters. You can’t consume serotonin, acetylcholine, dopamine, etc. However, you can consume pre-cursors to these neurotransmitters, and thus have them created in your gut (you’re gut apparently is the site of 2/3’s of your neurotransmitter production).
Hope that makes sense![/quote]
So by extension surely a healthy stomach will help improve neurotransmitter production, reducing anxiety in the process? Could this even be a stomach/gut based problem?
Doesn’t that make digestive enzymes effective anxiety blockers in some sense?
[quote]XanderBuilt wrote:
[quote]RSGZ wrote:
[quote]XanderBuilt wrote:
[quote]RSGZ wrote:
GABA pales in comparison to what else is available.
My favourites are bacopa, picamilon and phosphatidylserine.[/quote]
What sort of dosage are you taking for these? Daily? Thanks.[/quote]
Generally 250mg - 500mg of the Bacopa and PS daily.
Picamilon, 100mg once or twice a day.
Sleep like a baby on them, and feel they improve my mood too.[/quote]
Cool thanks man.
So these are at night yeah? (sorry to be pedantic).
Right now I’m taking <1g of PS and 250mg of Bacopa and ZMA with GABA and a Sleep Formula which has Valerian Root/Melatonin etc. I’m feeling okay I guess, but I still get anxious during work etc. (plus stress!). Guess personality traits need to change too (meditate etc).[/quote]
Don’t have to be at night, just anytime I feel like de-stressing. But, they will assist in you get to sleep if that’s what you need.
[quote]Mr_White wrote:
[quote]hungryone wrote:
[quote]Fulford wrote:
[quote]hungryone wrote:
Once GABA enters the stomach it is no longer GABA… the digestion process basically renders it useless.
[/quote]
=0 could you explain or point me in the direction of some material on this? Kind of curious of why and how this occurs.
oh and my addition to this thread would be L-Theanine. I’ve used it in the past on my girlfriend
EDIT: that came out wrong but i’ll leave it be[/quote]
Don’t have any research on hand… but I’ll offer some stuff that hopefully can guide you for some research.
Once GABA enters the stomach, due to the digestive process the structure of the molecule is broken down and is ultimately useless.
This unfortunately is the case with all neurotransmitters. You can’t consume serotonin, acetylcholine, dopamine, etc. However, you can consume pre-cursors to these neurotransmitters, and thus have them created in your gut (you’re gut apparently is the site of 2/3’s of your neurotransmitter production).
Hope that makes sense![/quote]
So by extension surely a healthy stomach will help improve neurotransmitter production, reducing anxiety in the process? Could this even be a stomach/gut based problem?
Doesn’t that make digestive enzymes effective anxiety blockers in some sense?
[/quote]
A healthy gut is the key to generally healthy mental function, IMO. If your stomach doesn’t absorb all the vitamins and nutrients it needs, you and your mind will not perform as they should - and this can lead to other problems down the line.
Starting point - get off the wheat and minimize dairy where possible.
[quote]RSGZ wrote:
[quote]Mr_White wrote:
[quote]hungryone wrote:
[quote]Fulford wrote:
[quote]hungryone wrote:
Once GABA enters the stomach it is no longer GABA… the digestion process basically renders it useless.
[/quote]
=0 could you explain or point me in the direction of some material on this? Kind of curious of why and how this occurs.
oh and my addition to this thread would be L-Theanine. I’ve used it in the past on my girlfriend
EDIT: that came out wrong but i’ll leave it be[/quote]
Don’t have any research on hand… but I’ll offer some stuff that hopefully can guide you for some research.
Once GABA enters the stomach, due to the digestive process the structure of the molecule is broken down and is ultimately useless.
This unfortunately is the case with all neurotransmitters. You can’t consume serotonin, acetylcholine, dopamine, etc. However, you can consume pre-cursors to these neurotransmitters, and thus have them created in your gut (you’re gut apparently is the site of 2/3’s of your neurotransmitter production).
Hope that makes sense![/quote]
So by extension surely a healthy stomach will help improve neurotransmitter production, reducing anxiety in the process? Could this even be a stomach/gut based problem?
Doesn’t that make digestive enzymes effective anxiety blockers in some sense?
[/quote]
A healthy gut is the key to generally healthy mental function, IMO. If your stomach doesn’t absorb all the vitamins and nutrients it needs, you and your mind will not perform as they should - and this can lead to other problems down the line.
Starting point - get off the wheat and minimize dairy where possible.[/quote]
I’ve actually done just that recently, last year my diet was somewhere between a clean and dirty bulk and I used a lot of milk for that, almost a gallon or there about, funnily enough my anxiety came back last year in a big way.
Right now with the cleaner diet, I will have a single glass of milk maybe two or three times a week. Feeling a lot better for it, might get some of those yakult things and see if they help at all.