9/10/2023 0 Comments Frontline side effect in dogsIt’s odd that L-tryptophan was largely ignored by the dog world until a research paper published in 2000 suggested that feeding supplemental L-tryptophan might reduce dominance-related or territorial aggression in dogs1 (see references on page 10). Today, L-tryptophan is once again available as a nutrient supplement, but it has never regained its earlier popularity as a supplement for humans. Although the problem was eventually traced to a contaminant in a supplement that was imported from a Japanese supply company (and not the L-tryptophan itself), the ban remained in effect until 2009. The US Food and Drug Administration quickly banned its import and sale as a supplement. L-tryptophan enjoyed a robust reputation as the nutrient for “all that ails ye'” until 1989, when it was found to be responsible for causing eosinophilia-myalgia in more than 5,000 people, killing at least 37 and permanently disabling hundreds. (My personal favorite was the promotion of L-tryptophan as a treatment for Tourette syndrome.) However, as is the nature of these things, the promoted benefits of L-tryptophan rapidly expanded to include, among other things, claims that it would enhance athletic performance, cure facial pain, prevent premenstrual syndrome, and enhance attention in children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. These were initially promoted as sleep aids and to reduce signs of anxiety. The tryptophan/turkey theory became so popular and widespread in the early 1980s that nutrient-supplement companies decided to bypass the turkey part of the equation altogether and began producing and selling tryptophan supplements (L-tryptophan). Therefore, the theory goes, after consuming a high-protein meal, in particular one that is high in tryptophan, the body’s production of melatonin and serotonin increases, which in turn causes drowsiness, reduced anxiety, and a calm state of mind. Melatonin helps to induce feelings of drowsiness (i.e., enhances sleep) and the neurological pathway through which serotonin works has anti-anxiety and calming effects. Once absorbed, tryptophan is used by the body to produce serotonin (a neurotransmitter) and melatonin (a hormone). This theory, first put forth by a nutritionist, proposed that turkey meat contains unusually high levels of tryptophan. A number of years later I learned that my post-feast drowsiness was presumably caused by a specific nutrient in turkey, the amino acid tryptophan.
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