5-HTP: Nature's Serotonin Solution (Paperback)

~ Ray Sahelian (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

(Avery Publishing Group) Discusses recent research in the areas of weight loss, depression, anxiety disorders, fibromyalgia, migraine headache, premenstrual syndrome, insomnia, and other neurological disorders. Describes how this nutrient works and how it can be combined with herbs, nutrients, vitamins, and hormones. For consumers. Softcover.

Product Details

• Paperback: 210 pages
• Publisher: Avery; 1st edition (January 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895298716
• ISBN-13: 978-0895298713
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #304,200 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative and practical, May 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: 5-Htp (Paperback)

I disagree with the previous reviewer. Perhaps it was Michael Murray himself or a family member who wrote it. I have read three books on 5-HTP and without hesitation I can say Dr. Sahelian's book was the most informative, practical, and clinical. The low dosages he recommends, along with his personal and professional experiences that tolerance can develop and one should not use 5-HTP all the time without a break are all very helpful. I got sick from 5-HTP when I followed Michael Murray's recommendation of taking more than 300 mg a day. I got nauseated and threw up. I don't think other authors of books on 5-HTP have as much experience as does Dr. Sahelian.I'm doing much better now with the Medical Doctor's advice.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 5-HTP Decisions, July 21, 2000

By	Suzanne Chonok (SLC, Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 5-Htp (Paperback)

Regarding the previous two reviews, each has merit. The bottom line is that both books offer considerable information on the benefits of 5-HTP. For many it is proving to be a viable solution to the conditions that plague so many. Sahelian's book offers clear cut information that is easy to understand. My sister has taken 5-HTP for a while now and is seeing great improvement without suffering from the side effects of the SSRI she had been on previously. A site where she has had great service as well as a variety of product choices is iHerb. She is pleased that they offer several choices of 5-HTP with dosages as low as 50 mg. so she could initially start with a low dosage and then find what works best for her.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, but anecdotal, not scientific, August 16, 2001

By	Bart Tare "Cristobal" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 5-Htp (Paperback)

This is the only book I have read on 5-HTP. I have tried several different SSRIs for anxiety and depression, but I am not fond of their various "side effects." Having experimented a little with St. John's Wort, kava, passionflower, and SAM-e (which, as of October, does work for me, but inconsistenly), all to no avail, I wanted to give 5-HTP a try. I agree that Ray Sahelian's book is both hopeful and cautious. Reading it gave me hope that 5-HTP might have some benefit. However, while Sahelian does go to great effort to document evidence of this drug's success via the various (mostly European) studies and trials that have taken place with 5-HTP, it's clear that many of these studies are too small to be of any real scientific value. (Most involve only 20-30 participants.) And, because of the small scale of most of these studies, Sahelian's whole book has a very anecdotal quality to it. This is reinforced by the fact that Sahelian bases some of his conclusions about 5-HTP's effectiveness on his own successful experimentation with the drug. I also find it a little scary that, even though Sahelian does take a cautious tone, this book sort of presents 5-HTP as something that's mostly safe. However, we know very little about the long-term effects of taking 5-HTP. It would be great if our society was devoted to investigating something such as 5-HTP more thoroughly as it seems to hold such promise. Unfortunately, my few experiments with 5-HTP have not proved to be as positive as Mr. Sahelian's. I have ended up feeling extremely anxious and wired when I take 5-HTP. That's frustrating to me, as I would like to believe that 5-HTP could provide some of the benefits of SSRIs without the annoying side effects.