Re: Need help getting smart again!!

[Guest guest]

It's been all over the media lately that blueberries can make you

smarter.

Two things that get my brain going are rooibos tea www.strandtea.com

has some, and homemade kimchi, which I shouldn't eat after lunch or

I'm up all night thinking of all kinds of neat creative ideas and

planning what I'll do the next day. Someone on another group said

kimchi has lots of " warm " or " heating " ingredients, so is very

energizing, I find it especially affects my thought processes, much

like a caffeine high but longer lasting without any jitteriness or

fatigue later.

If you feel you may have some nerve damage, lecithin, omega-3's, and

coQ 10 are supposed to help rebuild nerve damage. I've never taken

lecithin, but do the omega-3's and coQ10 and feel they really give

my mind a boost.

Last, many on the salt/c protocol where you use natural salt, start

at 1 - 2 grams of each per day and work your way up to a max of

around 12 grams a day (treatment for lyme) report that after a few

months, or sometimes almost immediately, their brain fog clears up

and they get their memories back, which is really remarkable as the

memory problems, or so I've been told, are a result of brain

lesions. I've been on it for 8 months now and my memory and mental

function is very much improved. Many also report that after a few

months their blood levels are those of a healthy person, so I guess

it does something to help modulate body processes.

>

> I'm preparing for an engineering licensing exam in April and

> desperately need help.

>

> As I'm studying, I'm struggling with focusing, thinking clearly,

> analyzing problems, doing math, relearning stuff I haven't done in

> years. I used to be really smart – one of the top students in my

> engineering class and I'm so frustrated with what's happened to my

> brain.

>

> A few years ago I was diagnosed with celiac disease and have been

> doing Atkins for Life since then (no grains, no sugar). I feel

> pretty good –plenty of energy and very stable moods and emotions,

no

> more female-parts-problems, weight is normal, but I haven't got my

> brain back.

>

> I've been NT for about a year but ate very badly until then –

> drinking diet cokes everyday, aspiring to be a vegetarian, eating

> plenty of processed foods and all the wrong fats. I think I got

> really depleted of all vitamins and minerals.

>

> Can someone help me with diet/supplements for preparing for and

> taking my exam. Oh, and I have very adverse reactions to cod

liver

> oil (even Blue Ice) so I can't do that. I'm 33 if that makes a

> difference.

>

> Here's my usual diet and supplements:

>

> Breakfast: sausages (homemade with organs) with coconut milk/egg

> yolks/berries " shake " , B-vitamins, vitamin A and D(isolated from

> fish oil)

>

> Lunch: meat (shrimp, chicken, beef), salad, and coconut-curry

soup,

> almond-parmesan crackers with liver pate

>

> Dinner: meat (shellfish, chicken, pork, beef, fish), steamed

veggies

> with loads of butter, kimchi

>

> biogest HCl with most meals (though I'm switching when I finish

this

> bottle to whatever was discussed on this list recently)

>

> TIA – you guys are the best!

>

> Lindsey M.

>

[Guest guest]

I know just how you feel. I went back to school several years ago

and had that exact thing happen. The annoying thing is that it was

Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) school! So, anyway, there's lots

of protocols in TCM both of acupuncture and herbs, depending on your

constitution, that can help you both over the long haul and on exam

day. I bet you can find a TCM practitioner near you to help you

though this in addition to your work on your diet. If you can't

find anyone, email me and I will help you. , L.Ac. (oh

yeah, I made it!)

>

> I'm preparing for an engineering licensing exam in April and

> desperately need help.

>

> As I'm studying, I'm struggling with focusing, thinking clearly,

> analyzing problems, doing math, relearning stuff I haven't done in

> years. I used to be really smart – one of the top students in my

> engineering class and I'm so frustrated with what's happened to my

> brain.

>

> A few years ago I was diagnosed with celiac disease and have been

> doing Atkins for Life since then (no grains, no sugar). I feel

> pretty good –plenty of energy and very stable moods and emotions,

no

> more female-parts-problems, weight is normal, but I haven't got my

> brain back.

>

> I've been NT for about a year but ate very badly until then –

> drinking diet cokes everyday, aspiring to be a vegetarian, eating

> plenty of processed foods and all the wrong fats. I think I got

> really depleted of all vitamins and minerals.

>

> Can someone help me with diet/supplements for preparing for and

> taking my exam. Oh, and I have very adverse reactions to cod

liver

> oil (even Blue Ice) so I can't do that. I'm 33 if that makes a

> difference.

>

> Here's my usual diet and supplements:

>

> Breakfast: sausages (homemade with organs) with coconut milk/egg

> yolks/berries " shake " , B-vitamins, vitamin A and D(isolated from

> fish oil)

>

> Lunch: meat (shrimp, chicken, beef), salad, and coconut-curry

soup,

> almond-parmesan crackers with liver pate

>

> Dinner: meat (shellfish, chicken, pork, beef, fish), steamed

veggies

> with loads of butter, kimchi

>

> biogest HCl with most meals (though I'm switching when I finish

this

> bottle to whatever was discussed on this list recently)

>

> TIA – you guys are the best!

>

> Lindsey M.

>

[Guest guest]

>

> I'm preparing for an engineering licensing exam in April and

> desperately need help.

>

> As I'm studying, I'm struggling with focusing, thinking clearly,

> analyzing problems, doing math, relearning stuff I haven't done in

> years. I used to be really smart – one of the top students in my

> engineering class and I'm so frustrated with what's happened to my

> brain.

Low serotonin makes my brain feel like that. I know I'd get myself

in a low-serotonin state if I used stimulants (diet soda), low

protein (maybe, depending on how you did your veg lifestyle),

inadequate omega3-to-omega6. What's your rest like? Are you a hard

driver or is your ratio of work-to-rest in balance?

Once serotonin gets low an Atkins program, as you've described it,

wouldn't bring mine back up again all by itself. I'd have to tweak my

meal timing and composition before worrying about exotic supplements.

if serotonin is what it is, imho.

Connie

[Guest guest]

Lindsey-

>I've been NT for about a year but ate very badly until then ­

>drinking diet cokes everyday, aspiring to be a vegetarian, eating

>plenty of processed foods and all the wrong fats. I think I got

>really depleted of all vitamins and minerals.

You not only depleted yourself of nutrients, you

unfortunately damaged your brain with the diet

cokes. I did the same thing, so I know what it's like.

Luckily, there are things you can try. Before I

get to suggestions, though, I have a couple questions.

>Oh, and I have very adverse reactions to cod liver

>oil (even Blue Ice) so I can't do that. I'm 33 if that makes a

>difference.

What sort of adverse reactions?

>Breakfast: sausages (homemade with organs)

Excellent!

>with coconut milk/egg

>yolks/berries " shake " , B-vitamins, vitamin A and D(isolated from

>fish oil)

The shake sounds good, the vitamins A and D sound

good, but what source of B vitamins are you

using? There's unfortunately a lot of crap in

the B vitamin world -- in the whole vitamin world, unfortunately.

>Lunch: meat (shrimp, chicken, beef), salad, and coconut-curry soup,

>almond-parmesan crackers with liver pate

Sounds very good again.

>Dinner: meat (shellfish, chicken, pork, beef, fish), steamed veggies

>with loads of butter, kimchi

And again very good. What sort of kimchi? Very red? White?

>biogest HCl with most meals (though I'm switching when I finish this

>bottle to whatever was discussed on this list recently)

NOW brand seems to be the least bad and most effective.

Have you tried pancreatin? Hypochlorhydria is

often accompanied by pancreatic insufficiency.

Now on to the suggestions.

The raw egg yolks are excellent brain nutrients

-- if they're from quality eggs, of course -- but

many people find that they're poor choline donors

for the brain and wind up getting better results

from more efficient donors. The best choices are

Alpha GPC choline and CDP choline. To a large

extent which one is best depends on the individual.

There's also a large body of evidence that CDP

choline stimulates the brain to grow new neurons,

meaning you might be able to undo some or all of

the damage caused by the aspartame in the diet

cokes. Lithium is another neurotrophic

nutrient. Taking small amounts of lithium

orotate (yielding up to about 30mg of elemental

lithium per day) stimulates the growth of gray

matter without the side effects and drawbacks of

the huge doses of lithium carbonate (300mg up to

as much as 4g or so per day of elemental lithium

per day) used for bipolar disorder and other severe neurological conditions.

It's also very possible that you could benefit

from supplementing with precursors for other

neurotransmitters, particularly seratonin and

dopamine. Tryptophan and 5-HTP work for the

former and tyrosine works for the

latter. There's no feedback control mechanism

for dietary 5-HTP, though, so be somewhat

cautious if you try it. Tryptophan,

unfortunately, is not very effective or very available.

-

[Guest guest]

Lindsey-

>Can someone help me with diet/supplements for preparing for and

>taking my exam.

I forgot to mention acetyl l-carnitine, which is a tremendously

useful supplement. Take it on an empty stomach. If you try ALCar,

though, which I heartily recommend, you have to also take

supplemental R-ALA, because ALCar boosts mitochondrial energy

production and therefore oxidation, meaning you need more R-ALA, an

important and very potent mitochondrial antioxidant, to prevent

accompanying excess oxidation.

It may sound like ALCar is only good for people with flagging energy,

but it's actually useful for mental energy, focus and clarity.

Also, though your diet sounds great, try to pay special attention to

the quality of its individual components. With the crap soils we

have today, " superfoods " aren't nearly so super anymore.

-

[Guest guest]

> Low serotonin makes my brain feel like that. I know I'd get myself

> in a low-serotonin state if I used stimulants (diet soda), low

> protein (maybe, depending on how you did your veg lifestyle),

> inadequate omega3-to-omega6. What's your rest like? Are you a hard

> driver or is your ratio of work-to-rest in balance?

Fortunately, I was a pathetic vegetarian. I had no will-power. Every

few days I'd secretely eat meat when my vegan roommates weren't looking.

I get about 8-9 hours of sleep and since I've been eating better and

taking B vitamins I sleep really well. I do work hard at work and

long hours, but don't feel like I really overdo it.

> Once serotonin gets low an Atkins program, as you've described it,

> wouldn't bring mine back up again all by itself. I'd have to tweak my

> meal timing and composition before worrying about exotic supplements.

> if serotonin is what it is, imho.

> Connie

What exactly do you mean by meal timing - how late dinner is? I eat

breakfast on the way to work, lunch around noon (occasionally not til

2 if I have a lunchtime meeting) and dinner when I get home, between 6

and 6:30.

Lindsey M.

[Guest guest]

> You not only depleted yourself of nutrients, you

> unfortunately damaged your brain with the diet

> cokes. I did the same thing, so I know what it's like.

Bummer. How long did it take you to repair the damage? I'm reviewing

now and the test is in April, but that's probably too soon to expect

results, huh?

> >Oh, and I have very adverse reactions to cod liver

> >oil (even Blue Ice) so I can't do that.

>

> What sort of adverse reactions?

I stop being able to sleep, get jittery, tons of giant cystic-like

pimples, sore skin, inflamed gums, and I feel like scratching out the

eyes of everyone who annoys me. And everyone annoys me. I think it

is the omega-3 component that does this because the same thing

happened when I went on a flax kick last year, and the isolated A and

D don't do this.

> >Breakfast: sausages (homemade with organs)

>

> Excellent!

They are excellent. And I think it's your recipe I dug out of the

archives. I substitute ground organs for some of the fat and meat.

> >with coconut milk/egg

> >yolks/berries " shake " , B-vitamins, vitamin A and D(isolated from

> >fish oil)

>

> The shake sounds good, the vitamins A and D sound

> good, but what source of B vitamins are you

> using? There's unfortunately a lot of crap in

> the B vitamin world -- in the whole vitamin world, unfortunately.

The A and D aren't great but it was the best I could find. They use

safflower as the carrier oil, but they are so small and I got the

highest potency so it's not very much safflower. (I also meant to say

they come from cod liver oil, not fish oil)

The B vitamins are Thorne brand. What's a good B vitamin? And should

I bother with a separate B12 sublingual as recommended in the WAPF b12

article? I couldn't find a non-sugar, non-creepy-ingredients b12.

> And again very good. What sort of kimchi? Very red? White?

Um...multi-colored? It's based on that recipe that someone (Heidi, I

think??) posted in the files. It's cabbage, broccoli stems, carrots,

broccoli sprouts, kale, sesame seeds, and I've started adding dried

shrimp, but I'm only up to 4 individual shrimps per jar. (I'm slowing

increasing cause the eyes still freak me out and the flavor takes some

getting used to)

> Have you tried pancreatin? Hypochlorhydria is

> often accompanied by pancreatic insufficiency.

No I haven't, but I will. I remember running across this discussion

and printed out the recommendations to try when I finish this

econo-sized bottle of biogest.

> The raw egg yolks are excellent brain nutrients

> -- if they're from quality eggs, of course -- but

> many people find that they're poor choline donors

> for the brain and wind up getting better results

> from more efficient donors. The best choices are

> Alpha GPC choline and CDP choline. To a large

> extent which one is best depends on the individual.

That makes sense. I never really felt any zing after eating raw egg

yolks.

> There's also a large body of evidence that CDP

> choline stimulates the brain to grow new neurons,

> meaning you might be able to undo some or all of

> the damage caused by the aspartame in the diet

> cokes. Lithium is another neurotrophic

> nutrient. Taking small amounts of lithium

> orotate (yielding up to about 30mg of elemental

> lithium per day) stimulates the growth of gray

> matter without the side effects and drawbacks of

> the huge doses of lithium carbonate (300mg up to

> as much as 4g or so per day of elemental lithium

> per day) used for bipolar disorder and other severe neurological

conditions.

Ooooh, this sounds like just what I need if it works!

> It's also very possible that you could benefit

> from supplementing with precursors for other

> neurotransmitters, particularly seratonin and

> dopamine. Tryptophan and 5-HTP work for the

> former and tyrosine works for the

> latter. There's no feedback control mechanism

> for dietary 5-HTP, though, so be somewhat

> cautious if you try it. Tryptophan,

> unfortunately, is not very effective or very available.

I took 5-htp last year and it did help with sleep and sugar cravings I

had suddenly developed. It seemed like after a few months it made my

sleep worse so I stopped taking it. What could happen if I take too

much? I also tried tyrosine at the same time and didn't really notice

it doing anything for about a week, then I felt really wired until I

stopped taking it. I don't know if I just took too much or what.

> Also, though your diet sounds great, try to pay special attention to

> the quality of its individual components. With the crap soils we

> have today, " superfoods " aren't nearly so super anymore.

Yeah, most of my farmers seem to go through the right motions with the

animals, but I know our soils are poor to start with and most don't

seem to do much of anything to improve them. I've often wondered if

it would be better to mail order from better sources than to " Eat

Local " . And also my gastroenterologist said I lost about 75% of my

villi, but enough have grown back that I'm no longer considered

celiac, but I still probably have absorption issues. I also eat out

with friends now and then so I get a few pieces of crappy

restaurant-grade meats every month. I'm hoping that doesn't undo

everything else I'm doing.

So I guess my shopping list is:

- acetyl l-carnitine

- R-ALA

- Alpha GPC choline

- CDP choline

- Lithium orotate

- possibly 5-htp and tyrosine

Do you happen to have any great sources for these? I usually like to

buy NOW brand bulk powder supplements and package them myself, but it

doesn't appear that NOW makes any of these in bulk powder. I looked

around the internet a little - do these look okay?

Jarrow makes an ALCar powder:

http://www.iherb.com/acetyl5.html

R-ALA:

http://zlabs.us/rala.html

That's all I've found so far.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Lindsey M.

[Guest guest]

> Fortunately, I was a pathetic vegetarian.

> I had no will-power. Every

> few days I'd secretely eat meat when my vegan

> roommates weren't looking.

this so makes me smile. I might do the same thing... if I had vegan

roommates. oh that peer pressure

> I get about 8-9 hours of sleep and since

> I've been eating better and

> taking B vitamins I sleep really well. I do work hard at work and

> long hours, but don't feel like I really overdo it.

That sounds great. The kind of overdoing it that depletes sertonin

is staying up late and getting a rush from being oh so busy all the

time that you lurch from crisis to crisis. I'm sure you know people

like that. Also serotonin production needs REM sleep and if that's

disturbed, things don't go so well. I used to do all of that

believe it or not - use stimulants all day, skipped meals, stay up

and kept me out of REM sleep. No wonder I got into a state.

> What exactly do you mean by meal timing -

> how late dinner is? I eat

> breakfast on the way to work, lunch around

> noon (occasionally not til

> 2 if I have a lunchtime meeting) and dinner when I get home,

between 6

> and 6:30.

>

> Lindsey M.

Your meal timing sounds good too ! regular meals help with the

regular alternating ebb and flow of insulin & glucagon. Those make

a difference in the body's ability to generate serotonin during REM

sleep. What screws it up is the starve binge cycle - skipping

breakfast, waiting until you're starving, not eating after overdoing

it, that whole extreme cycle.

If you're having adequate protein and fixing those omega3s, it will

get better at the speed of growing things as your brain recovers.

As we've talked about before on this list, supplements can maybe

kick start it too. But I would still have a baseline of the food

part.

Connie

[Guest guest]

> I took 5-htp last year and it did help with sleep and sugar cravings

I

> had suddenly developed. It seemed like after a few months it made my

> sleep worse so I stopped taking it. What could happen if I take too

> much? I also tried tyrosine at the same time and didn't really

notice

> it doing anything for about a week, then I felt really wired until I

> stopped taking it. I don't know if I just took too much or what.

This is exactly why there is controversy over using isolated

supplements to heal something as complex as serotonin levels. Dr.

DesMaisons found that it was difficult if not impossible to find the

right levels of these isolated things, given that dosages aren't even

usually very uniform. But tyrosine is an amino acid for pete's sake

so enough high-quality animal protein would give you all the

precursors you need for making serotonin, in their natural package

which I think includes all those cofactors we don't even know about!

If you get too much you also get disturbed sleep and nightmares,

jitters, etc.

[Guest guest]

On 2/5/06, cbrown2008 <cbrown2008@...> wrote:

> But tyrosine is an amino acid for pete's sake

> so enough high-quality animal protein would give you all the

> precursors you need for making serotonin, in their natural package

> which I think includes all those cofactors we don't even know about!

That's only if your deficiency is due to a deficiency in precursors.

What if it's due to a damaged ability to make the conversions? It

would seem that tyrosine might be best for a first resort, but that

ultimately many people would have to experiment with different doses

of 5-HTP, no?

Chris

--

Dioxins in Animal Foods:

A Case For Vegetarianism?

Find Out the Truth:

http://www.westonaprice.org/envtoxins/dioxins.html

[Guest guest]

> That's only if your deficiency is due to a deficiency in precursors.

> What if it's due to a damaged ability to make the conversions? It

> would seem that tyrosine might be best for a first resort, but that

> ultimately many people would have to experiment with different doses

> of 5-HTP, no?

True about the conversions. And there are multiple types of serotonin

so no method will be perfect for everyone. But as to experimenting -

5-HTP itself is still a precursor to serotonin, just farther down the

line from tyrosine. And personally I'd rather experiment with food.

It's amazing what you can do with a potato. I watched the change in

my quality of serotonin as measured by changes in quality of sleep.

First I got deep sleep back. Then, dreams I remembered, in black and

white. Then dreams in color. Then really vivid dreams, and then

uncomfortably wild dreams. That's when I quit using the potato

because my serotonin level was back up where I wanted it. Hello,

impulse control and clear thinking, how nice to have it back!

When I was using a potato I could control the quality of sleep/ dreams

by controlling the protein during the day, regularity of meals, and

size of potato. It's the specific carb-induced insulin rise from the

potato in that specific context that starts the serotonin dominoes

falling. It was a lot of fun.

Connie

[Guest guest]

When I learned from WAPF articles that soy is so bad for us, I told

my DH that I was not going to buy him those Morningstar Farms

Breakfast Patties (made from soy) for him anymore.

He used to eat an entire box at a sitting!

Instead of soy patties, I started making him scrambled eggs. When I

can, I use free-range eggs, but not always.

He went from being unable to concentrate on his business (he is a

farmer, so being able to make decisions and deal with snafus is a

*must* for him), to being able to do his own legal research and file

his own motions in court cases.

His physical complaints--such as feeling cold all the time, having

tingling in his hands and feet, having strangely dry skin, and brain

fog--reduced to practically nil.

You didn't say that you were a heavy soy user, so your experience is

not an exact match. But I know the switch to " real " eggs was

instrumental in getting him back on track. I understand that

Japanese mothers go to considerable effort to make sure their

children have eggs to eat because they consider them to be " brain

food " .

The other ideas I have deal with your self talk and its role in

creating or reducing stress.

<Dutch Aunt mode on>

I think you should refrain from making negative comments about

anything in your meals.

You need to bless your food (e.g., say good things about it) and be

thankful for it.

Do not tell yourself that you're harming yourself by consuming, for

example, restaurant meat.

Do the best you can to eat healthy protein with its attached fat,

minimize the use of supplements (sorry, Chris!) unless you know you

*have* to have them, and get probiotics in or on your food just about

every day.

Check out EFT. See Dr. Mercola's site. Your gut is like a second

brain (you probably already knew that). So if you have gut issues,

you probably have brain issues. And vice versa. Emotional issues

can really mess up your mind.

<Dutch Aunt mode off>

Just my two cents' worth.

Oh, I didn't notice any milk (raw or otherwise) in your menu. Are

you avoiding it? How about yogurt with live cultures?

Are you getting any salt?

P.S. You *can* do this (get back your mental sharpness and pass the

test)!

>

> I'm preparing for an engineering licensing exam in April and

> desperately need help.

>

> As I'm studying, I'm struggling with focusing, thinking clearly,

> analyzing problems, doing math, relearning stuff I haven't done in

> years. I used to be really smart – one of the top students in my

> engineering class and I'm so frustrated with what's happened to my

> brain.

>

> A few years ago I was diagnosed with celiac disease and have been

> doing Atkins for Life since then (no grains, no sugar). I feel

> pretty good –plenty of energy and very stable moods and emotions,

no

> more female-parts-problems, weight is normal, but I haven't got my

> brain back.

>

> I've been NT for about a year but ate very badly until then –

> drinking diet cokes everyday, aspiring to be a vegetarian, eating

> plenty of processed foods and all the wrong fats. I think I got

> really depleted of all vitamins and minerals.

>

> Can someone help me with diet/supplements for preparing for and

> taking my exam. Oh, and I have very adverse reactions to cod liver

> oil (even Blue Ice) so I can't do that. I'm 33 if that makes a

> difference.

>

> Here's my usual diet and supplements:

>

> Breakfast: sausages (homemade with organs) with coconut milk/egg

> yolks/berries " shake " , B-vitamins, vitamin A and D(isolated from

> fish oil)

>

> Lunch: meat (shrimp, chicken, beef), salad, and coconut-curry soup,

> almond-parmesan crackers with liver pate

>

> Dinner: meat (shellfish, chicken, pork, beef, fish), steamed

veggies

> with loads of butter, kimchi

>

> biogest HCl with most meals (though I'm switching when I finish

this

> bottle to whatever was discussed on this list recently)

>

> TIA – you guys are the best!

>

> Lindsey M.

>

[Guest guest]

> You didn't say that you were a heavy soy user, so your experience

is

> not an exact match. But I know the switch to " real " eggs was

> instrumental in getting him back on track. I understand that

> Japanese mothers go to considerable effort to make sure their

> children have eggs to eat because they consider them to be " brain

> food " .

I never " purposely " ate soy but ate processed foods that often

contain soy, but have been off processed foods for about a year.

I've also been eating 2 egg yolks per day for about a year, too. I

have seen improvement in many aspects of my health over the past

several years - just frusterated that my brain isn't functioning the

way it was 10 years ago.

> <Dutch Aunt mode on>

LOL!

> Oh, I didn't notice any milk (raw or otherwise) in your menu. Are

> you avoiding it? How about yogurt with live cultures?

Raw dairy (except butter) doesn't agree with me. Or pasturized for

that matter - Jersey, goat or otherwise. I've also tried SCD yogurt

which had the exact same effect, so I'm guessing it's not a lactose

thing. I've been getting my probiotics through kimchi.

> Are you getting any salt?

Loads - I'm a Celtic sea salt addict :-)

> P.S. You *can* do this (get back your mental sharpness and pass

the

> test)!

Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions!

Lindsey

[Guest guest]

Connie-

>But tyrosine is an amino acid for pete's sake

>so enough high-quality animal protein would give you all the

>precursors you need for making serotonin, in their natural package

>which I think includes all those cofactors we don't even know about!

I'm afraid you're very wrong on that. Actually, you're wrong on a

couple counts.

First, L-Tyrosine is NOT a serotonin precursor, and I don't know why

everyone seems to think it is. L-Tyrosine is a _catecholamine_

precursor, meaning it's metabolized into the following chain: L-Dopa,

Dopamine, Norepinephrine, and Epinephrine. Serotonin (better called

5-HT) is synthesized from 5-HTP, which is synthesized from L-Tryptophan.

And second, there are a great many factors which can prevent people

from synthesizing adequate catecholamines from dietary L-Tyrosine,

and it's even more difficult to synthesize adequate Serotonin from

dietary L-Tryptophan. (I'm actually thinking about proposing a paper

on this overall issue to " Wise Traditions " , because it's a complex

but fascinating and extremely relevant subject that can actually

boiled down to a very understandable overview.) Among them are:

absorption, presence of adequate cofactors, production and presence

of necessary enzymes, and competition from other metabolic pathways.

The last factor is particularly important, because once the body

settles on an insufficient amount of certain neurotransmitters as a

new set point, dietary amino acid precursors tend to be shunted into

other pathways even when consumed and absorbed in

abundance. L-Tyrosine, for example, has all sorts of uses in muscle

tissue and is also an essential constituent of thyroid hormones.

-

[Guest guest]

> I'm afraid you're very wrong on that. Actually, you're wrong on a

> couple counts.

>

> First, L-Tyrosine is NOT a serotonin precursor, and I don't know

why

> everyone seems to think it is. L-Tyrosine is a _catecholamine_

> precursor, meaning it's metabolized into the following chain: L-

Dopa,

> Dopamine, Norepinephrine, and Epinephrine. Serotonin (better

called

> 5-HT) is synthesized from 5-HTP, which is synthesized from L-

Tryptophan.

>

> The last factor is particularly important, because once the body

> settles on an insufficient amount of certain neurotransmitters as a

> new set point, dietary amino acid precursors tend to be shunted

into

> other pathways even when consumed and absorbed in

> abundance. L-Tyrosine, for example, has all sorts of uses in

muscle

> tissue and is also an essential constituent of thyroid hormones.

>

>

>

> -

I'll take your word for it on all the pathways of L-tyrosine. I also

wonder why everyone thinks it is. A quick Google search turned up

ample evidence that it's " common thinking. "

As for my own story, it's mine and I'm sticking to it. I did change

my neurotransmitter situation with food as opposed to trying to

micromanage it with supplements. I couldn't be more pleased with my

own results.

Connie

>

[Guest guest]

> I still have a whole gallon of milk left to make more

> eggnog and smoothies.

Sharon -

What is your recipe for eggnog? I would appreciate it if you would

share it!

Thanks!

- Ann

[Guest guest]

For getting smart I suggest:

* rosemary - fresh is best, also essential oil from www.floracopiea.com.

* sage - fresh best, dried organic next best.

* bone marrow from grass fed veal, cows, or pigs. You can combine

cooked marrow and herbs and spread on toast, it's delicious.

* brain from dr rons, www.drrons.com.

cheers,

J