Hi, ex navy,
And welcome to the MH forum of SR!
I read the "Myth or Miracle" article, and found it interesting. I was taken by the conclusion and the sources, though, and think the author was wise in his caution regarding the use of this suppliment:
Quote:
Who This Information Was Supplied By:
The articles I found on the web about 5-HTP were all written by distributors of the herb. This means the information could be biased. The fact that all but one article failed to include specific details about the claims, should also alert the reader to the fact that the claims may not be true.
The articles I later found in the library were medical journals and reviews. These sources are reliable and informative. However, there were few journals and reviews to be found. This leads me to think little research has been done on the supplement, 5-HTP and thus little is known about the herb. The sources seem consistent with the scientific evidence given hence, making the sources even more reliable.
Conclusion:
Although I believe that 5-HTP may have positive benefits, the articles I read provided too little detail to convince me that they are not just trying to sell the herb. My impression is that 5-HTP does help depression and most likely has other beneficial properties however, very little research has been done to prove this and even less evidence is to be found on the webs. Fortunately, the medical journals and reviews provide further insight into the benefits of 5-HTP. I can confidently say 5-HTP will provide benefits with regard to depression, blood pressure and minimal weight loss. However, with regards to sleeping disorders and panic attacks, I feel the research is inconclusive. I feel it may have benefits but to what extent is not know. It should also be realized that little was said as to the side effects of 5-HTP and any drawbacks. The only negative side effect was that there was an increase in anxiety in almost half the patients in the study by Costa and Greengard (1984). The fact that there have been so few studies on 5-HTP leads me to think there are side effects which are unknown to us still. Still, the consumer should consider 5-HTP for the stated ailments but should be wary to the possibility of averse reactions.
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Thanks for the input. Have you tried it? Let us know what you think!
Shalom!