Now Foods, 5-HTP 100 mg Vegetarian

by Now Foods

Product Features

• Serving Size - 1 cap
• Does Not Contain: Yeast, wheat, gluten, corn, soy, milk, sugar, salt, colors or preservatives.

Product Description

Size: 100 mg - 120 Vcaps

VEGETARIAN Griffonia simplicifolia is an African plant which is extracted to produce 5-HTP, the intermediate metabolite between the amino acid L-tryptophan and serotonin. 5-HTP is a metabolite of the amino acid tryptophan. You may know tryptophan as the agent in turkey that makes you feel like taking a nap after Thanksgiving dinner (in addition to a full belly). 5-HTP is a direct precursor of the important inhibitory neurotransmitter serotonin, which is secreted in response to mood or emotion swings. Serotonin soothes and calms and brings about feelings of contentment.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 2.5 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B00024CS72
• UPC: 733739001061
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: 0106
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,864 in Health & Personal Care (See Top 100 in Health & Personal Care)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY GOOD MEDICINE FOR THOSE OF US WHO NEED IT!, August 27, 2005

By 

Heather L. Parisi "Robert and Heather Parisi" (St. Augustine, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 5-HTP (Health and Beauty)

As 5-HTP goes, this is good stuff and reasonably priced. It does seem to cause vivid dreams and it seems to have the effects it is supposed to. However, it should be noted that although you need take only 1-2 capsules for insomnia, the short half life of 5-HTP from "GRIFFONIA SEEDS" necessitates rather frequent dosing for depression and appetite suppression, usually 4x per day and attention needs to be paid to the timing of doses with other amino acids. Serotonin syndrome may also be an issue for some.

Whereas many important issues are not certain or resolved regarding 5-HTP dosage and usage, it does seem to do a lot of good when used appropriately. Naturally a lot more can be said and books have been written on 5-HTP. It is a product that must be used with considerable care and professional medical monitoring is advisable due to the serious conditions it is used for and its effects on human brain chemistry. [Depression, Obesity, Insomnia] Nevertheless after taking it for 3 years I can say that I have experienced no negative side effects. Also, I have noticed reduced cravings for sweets, less anxiety in social situations and have slept better than I ever have. There has also been no sign of 5-HTP being habit forming in my experience.

If you are considering using this product for anxiety or sociophobic disorders the same company [NOW] makes a 200mg dosage combined with the amino acid L-tyrosine. Many have found the addition of 250 mg of L-tyrosine to be most helpful and the product still retains all of its other characteristics.

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ambrosia, September 9, 2009

By 

Daniel Payne - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Now Foods, 5-HTP 100 mg Vegetarian (Health and Beauty)

Ever since the age of 13, I've suffered from terrible social anxiety and depression. It got progressively worse until, at 17, I dropped out of high school. Even the thought of going to school would bring on a panic attack, and every day was a constant struggle. As I aged, the depression advanced, leaving me with a nagging feeling that somehow, in some way, something was terribly wrong--with my life, with the world, with everything. I didn't enjoy doing anything, and hope for the future was a completely foreign concept.

Enter 5-HTP.

I started taking 100mg right before bed, primarily to combat insomnia, but after a couple weeks, my depression and social anxiety began to subside. It didn't cure me or drug me up, in fact I could barely tell it was having an effect at all, but it did enough that I could tackle the problem myself, head on. Over the course of about 6 months, I was able to learn how to talk to people, be social, and start enjoying activities. It felt so natural that I stopped taking the 5-HTP, thinking my progress had been all my doing, but after about a week the anxieties started creeping back into my life.

That happened on several occasions until I finally admitted that 5-HTP had been the key all along, but I don't care if I have to take this stuff for the rest of my life. I'm experiencing the world in ways I'd never, in my wildest dreams, dreamed possible, and I wouldn't trade that for anything. Constant stress, fear, and paranoia, have been replaced with a calm sense of security and the cheery demeanor I had before the onset of my symptoms. The stuff is truly a life saver.

That being said, I do have hope that I'll be able to progress to the point where medication with 5-HTP isn't necessary. When I take a break and the symptoms return, they aren't nearly as bad as they were before I discovered this stuff. 5-HTP empowers me to go out and build the positive experiences that, in time, I hope will serve as a foundation for natural relief.

If you're going to take this, you can save yourself a lot of trouble if you follow these guidelines:
* NEVER take this in combination with another antidepressant or any kind of SSRI.
* Never take more than 100mg in any 3-4 hour period unless you're a heavy person. Even then, start slow.
* Never take it within an hour of having an alcohol buzz, regardless of when you had your last drink.
* Don't take 5-HTP after eating a meal heavy in protein, and in the beginning, perhaps wait a couple hours after eating any protein at all.
* Take it with a meal, preferably carb-based, until your stomach and intestines are used to it. If you don't, it can cause some minor cramping and nausea.

Taking too much will leave you feeling spacey and tired, yet unable to sleep, and it may also cause stomach pain or shallow breathing. The same can be said about taking it with alcohol, and taking it with protein greatly reduces its effectiveness while exacerbating typically negligible side effects like cramping; however, taking it with fruit juice will improve its effectiveness and reduce negative side effects if you're experiencing them. Taking it with another antidepressant or an SSRI can be potentially dangerous. Unless your doctor specifically tells you to, do not, under any circumstance, combine them.

Be smart, be consistent, and this stuff can do wonders for you.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for insomnia, May 14, 2007

By 

Gavin Black - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 5-HTP (Health and Beauty)

I ended up trying 5-HTP originally because it was one of the few OTC products that has any good testing done on it in medical publications, and has shown a statistically significant effects on sleep. To me it seems to help best when feeling mentally restless, but not help at all if I just feel uncomfortable lying down. One thing I've noticed is that it takes a long time to make me drowsy, usually a couple hours, so I have to plan to take them. The best thing about 5-HTP compared to about any other sleep medication is that it seems to have no drowsiness the next morning.

One last thing, not to attack other reviewers, but melatonin is only used for very specific types of insomnia(That occur because of melatonin deficiencies). There have been alot of studies on it(Check PubMed), and found it has no effect on general insomnia, but incredibly significant effects on the elderly and other groups with melatonin deficiencies.

One slight warning about 5-HTP is it does seem to cause very lucid dreaming, not really a bad thing but something to be aware of.

2115|R1OEFYU2CIGE3Q;2115|R3DA8WD49MK1SN;2115|R2D5Y5QD1WIAA8;