Is Your Happiness Level,Aches and Pains,or Sleep Being Affected ?
We are seeing an explosion of women who are struggling with lower moods, feeling irritable or wired but tired, or are having increased aches and pains and poor sleep.
If this is you, perhaps this dynamic is at play and one key intervention can help you to feel so much better!
Today’s tip is all about tryptophan – an essential amino acid most famous for its role in serotonin synthesis and the downstream conversion of serotonin to melatonin. I’m sharing some of the most common symptoms clinical research is showing as Long-Haul or Post-Covid Syndrome and what interventions may be helpful.
Melatonin is a hormone made in the pineal gland and it is critical for restorative sleep and acts as powerful antioxidant support. Serotonin, in addition to being nicknamed ‘the happy hormone’ helps to regulate pain perception in your body as well as affecting other major organ systems including the cardiovascular system, central nervous system, and the GI system.
The conversion of tryptophan into serotonin is an important pathway, but not the primary one for tryptophan metabolism in the body. A large amount of tryptophan is metabolized down the kynurenine pathway which plays an important role in inflammation and immunity. This pathway in particular becomes upregulated in instances of infectious disease and in particular viral infectious disease in order to support the immune system.
Kynurenine upregulation promotes infection resolution but can shunt tryptophan away from serotonin/melatonin synthesis. As a result, we have seen many women struggle with lower moods or increased anxiety, increase in bodily aches and pains, and interrupted sleep simply because of the amount of tryptophan left over after supporting the immune system.
If you are noticing these symptoms, especially if they are notable after a bout of covid infection, you can certainly utilize a functional medicine plasma test to assess the amount of tryptophan in your blood.
However, you may find relief by simply doing a trial supplementation of tryptophan in order to see if it helps you with the symptoms described. You may trial 500-1000 mg of tryptophan taken once or twice a day on an empty stomach.
If you are ready for focus, support, clarity, and understanding of what specifically is going to be beneficial for you - I invite you to have a conversation with me or my team just simply book a balance call here and we'll find out what's going on in your circumstance and how we can support you moving forward.