excerpted from chapter 12 of Dealing with Depression Naturally, copyright (c) 1995 by Syd BaumelL-Tyrosine and L-PhenylalanineDosage: Tyrosine: 1-8 grams/day (6,7,21). L-phenylalanine: 500 mg to 6 grams/day (6,7). Relatively low doses suffice when taken on a "protein-free stomach," i.e., at least 45 minutes before or three hours after eating protein. Blood levels of other amino acids that compete for passage across the blood-brain barrier are low then. Side effects: Irritability, aggression, feeling tense or "wired," headache (if chocolate gives you headaches, phenylalanine may too), constipation, nausea or upset stomach, difficulty falling asleep if taken at night, mania or hypomania (6,21). Other side effects have been attributed to aspartame, which is 40% phenylalanine, though these effects -- which include dizziness, blurred vision, hives, epileptic seizures, mental confusion, and (paradoxically) depression -- could be due to aspartame's other ingredients: aspartic acid and methanol. Some side effects could be due to induced deficiencies of serotonin, in which case extra tryptophan or a high complex-carbohydrate diet could help. Cautions and contraindications: Use with caution (especially phenylalanine), or avoid, if you have a history of aggressive behavior, mania (these amino acids may retrigger it), hallucinations, delusions, schizophrenia, migraines, heart rhythm irregularity, high blood pressure, or mitral valve prolapse (6,7,41). May raise blood pressure if combined with non-selective MAOI (monoamine oxidase inhibitor) antidepressants (6). Theoretically, large doses may promote an involuntary movement disorder (tardive dyskinesia) in some users of antipsychotic neuroleptic drugs (42) or worsen malignant melanoma (7). Avoid phenylalanine if you have phenylketonuria or are pregnant -- it may harm the fetus.
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N O T E S7. Priscilla Slagle, The Way Up from Down (New York: Random House, 1987). 21. J. Mouret et al., "Treatment of Narcolepsy with L-Tyrosine," Lancet, December 24/31, 1988, pp. 1458-1459. 41. M. E. Wolf and A. D. Mosnaim, "Phenylethylamine in Neuropsychiatric Disorders," General Pharmacology, 14 (4, 1983): 385-390. 42. G. Gardos et al., "The Acute Effects of a Loading Dose of Phenylalanine in Unipolar Depressed Patients With and Without Tardive Dyskinesia," Neuropsychopharmacology, 6 (June 1992): 241-247. |
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