Posted by drjohnlapumamd on February 12, 2003, at 22:19:15
In reply to La Puma: Amino Acids and Weight.., posted by jay on February 12, 2003, at 10:52:34
Hmmm. I'd be careful here. The boondoggle with tryptophan many years ago now was in fact due to contamination. You're right to seek pharmaceutical grade supplements. Make sure it says USP or DSVP or NSF on the label---that means that they meet those standards of purity, dissolution and composition. It's not clear to me that manufacturers can produce contaminant-free L-tryptophan. And the interaction with other drugs is well known---SSRIs, phenothiazines, sedatives, MAO inhibitors. I'd stay away.
Single amino acids are very appealing, because they are the building blocks of protein, and higher protein intakes, within limits, do help in athletes building muscle. But there's no evidence they help with weight loss. At all.
L-tryptophan is a precursor of serotonin and is also converted to nicotinic acid and nicotinamide). L-tryptophan has sedative effects. In addition, the contamination you refer to is not necessarily gone---the contaminant 1,1'-ethylidenebis [L-tryptophan] (EBT) was cited, but other chemical contaminants are possible, and some cases of eosinophilia myalgia syndrome (EMS) were not linked to the contaminant; cases of chronic B-cell lymphocytic leukemia were also linked.
Best of luck.
poster:drjohnlapumamd
thread:140430
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030208/msgs/140791.html