5-htp needs Zinc, Magnesium, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin C to form Serotonin


Let's have a look at the 5-htp pathway to Serotonin formation and then understand why possibly there are "better than medication" options available in the battle against anxiety, depression and panic attacks.
 
Patients who suffer from depression are most aften advised that they have a "chemical imbalance" and the doctor then prescribes a medication(more chemicals) to "normalise" Serotonin levels.

We know from pathology text books that "All disease has it's origin in the biochemistry of the cells".

Surely then, the sensible thing to do, rather than add a cocktail of foreign chemicals into our systems, would be to find out WHY a person is not producing Serotonin.

In other words- What goes wrong in the biochemical pathway?
The 5-htp pathway to SerotoninWhen we look at the chemical pathway to Serotonin, we start by digesting the proteins we eat with stomach acid, which cannot be produced without plentiful Zinc.
So without enough Zinc and B6 , we dont even get out of the starting blocks, and can't even create L-Tryptophan (an amino acid).
 
L-Tryptophan needs the enzyme Tryptophan Hydroxylase and the presence of the cofactors Folate, Iron, Calcium and Vitamin B3 , in order to convert to 5-htp.
(If you click on cofactors, you'll gain an understanding of what cofactors are, and how important they are.)

Once we have 5-htp (5-Hydroxytryptophan), then we need the enzyme Dopa Decarboxylase to convert 5-hydroxtryptophan, in the presence of the cofactors B6 Magnesium,Zinc and Vitamin C, to 5-ht(5-Hydroxytryptamine) aka Serotonin.

...and there we have it! Our Happiness pathway.

Now, here's the rub:
The cofactors need to be in abundant supply AND their action must NOT be BLOCKED by ANTI-NUTRIENTS in order for everything to go smoothly and for us to be happy.
 
BUT.... if we DO get an adequate supply of all the raw materials, and we get rid of the anti-nutrients, then everything works- our 5-hydroxytryptophan will convert to Serotonin!

So what can we take from this page?
1. We need to learn about anti-nutrients and how to combat their effects in the body.
2. We need to supplement with certain Vitamins and Minerals (because we sure as eggs are not getting everything we need from our food).
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