**Transcript**
L-tryptophan is back and I am so excited about this. I'm Dr Julie McLaughlin from McLaughlin care and if you haven't heard L-tryptophan is back. So you're like what the heck is L-tryptophan? It's an amino acid and it's been banned for about 20 years here in the United States and recently they've reversed it and and now they're allowing over-the-counter sales. It's an awesome supplement and it can be effective for treating depression, insomnia, and even PMS.
So what happened is the manufacturers messed up back in the 1980s it was a very popular dietary supplements we used it with our patients all the time. But there was a manufacturing error and it was quickly identified but it was one of the largest manufacturers and there's been no reports of problems ever since. And so that's why it's back.
If you're going to be looking at using tryptophan some of the benefits are to treating insomnia so people can take 500 to 2000 milligrams 30 minutes before bed it's great for sleep. L-tryptophan can be successfully used as an alternative to anti-depressant medication but remember depression is potentially a serious illness and it shouldn't be self-treated. So if you're interested in using this be sure to work with a healthcare practitioner who's trained in nutritional therapies. It helps with PMS. Women who have PMS can use anywhere from 500 to 600 milligrams per day and is very very helpful for that.
As with many supplements they can affect how your body reacts to them so because it's an amino acid you want to not take it with a high protein meal because it decreases its effectiveness. It's more effective if you take it on an empty stomach or along with some carbohydrates. Like with a small glass of juice or some fruit so the carbohydrates release the insulin which helps tryptophan use more easily but always use it safely and wisely because tryptophan is a great benefit for many people as long as you're not already taking medications or supplements that might interact, so check on the antidepressant medications if you're taking them or if you're taking the supplement called 5htp.
Talk with to your doctor before you use it but it's very exciting news and I think you'll be as happy about it as we are. That's it for this week for McLaughlin care and if you're interested please subscribe to our YouTube channel if you have any questions type them in the comments below and feel free to subscribe and share see you next time.