5-HTP might be as effective as SSRI antidepressants like Prozac. But that might not be saying much. Most (if not all) of the benefits of SSRIs “are due to the placebo effect,” a re-analysis of FDA studies found. Antidepressants and 5-HTP may work in ways that don’t involve boosting serotonin. Continue reading
Without tryptophan there would be no melatonin, the backbone of the biology of sleep. But tryptophan’s role in sleep might be more about how it is affected by things like diet, light exposure and gut health than it is about the tryptophan itself. Continue reading
A 2017 randomized controlled trial of 67 depressed patients asked the question: “If I improve my diet, will my mental health improve?” Half of them received nutrition counseling, and for them the answer was yes. Not true for the other half, who got social support sessions instead of nutrition counseling. Continue reading
There’s burgeoning evidence that the various bacterial species inhabiting our gut have an important influence on our psychological health. Based on their antidepressant and anxiolytic effects, these beneficial bacteria that inhabit our GI tract have been dubbed “psychobiotics”. Continue reading
Find out how to defeat the vicious cycle by resetting the biological clock with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia and how to short-circuit stress and inflammation with biofeedback, hypnosis and talk therapy. Continue reading
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