Amino Acid Therapy – Providing the Building Blocks for Health

Amino acids are building blocks our bodies use to make many vital compounds we need for optimal functioning. Most often, people think of amino acids as building blocks for muscles and other tissues. But amino acids are used by the body to manufacture a number of very important compounds, including neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that the body uses to relay messages and exchange information. There are over 50 known neurotransmitters and each is made from a specific combination of amino acids and co-factors (i.e., other vitamins, minerals or compounds that are essential for the manufacture of the neurotransmitters). Giving the body these specific amino acids and co-factors during specific times of the day supplies the body with the nutrients it needs to preferentially make particular neurotransmitters.

Many disorders are associated with neurotransmitter imbalance, including depression, anxiety, hot flashes/night sweats, bipolar disorder, migraines, insomnia, premenstrual syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease and obesity. If neurotransmitter imbalance is present, supplying the body the necessary nutrients to restore balance will lead to an improvement in symptoms.

We use a number of targeted amino acid therapies, including several invented by Marty Hinz, MD. Dr. Hinz’s patented products include NeuroReplete, Replete Extra, D5, D5 Extra, D5 Mucuna (Mucuna Pruriens) and CysReplete. These products are used in clinics across the country to address disorders associated with neurotransmitter imbalances.

More information on amino acid therapy and the NeuroReplete line of products can also be found at www.neuroreplete.com.

From The July Newsletter Of The Cole Center For Healing:

https://www.drkaslow.com/html/neurotransmitter_repletion.html

NEUROTRANSMITTER DEFICIENCY

The treatment methods of Marty Hinz, M.D. for neurotransmitter dysfunction have not only been helpful for patients in whom other methods of treatment haven’t worked, but also for patients with almost any one of the symptoms due to neurotransmitter deficiency.

For years it has been known in medicine that low levels of Serotonin and/or Norepinephrine can cause many diseases and illness. Some of the diseases and/or illnesses caused by or associated with low levels of Serotonin and/or Norepinephrine include:

Depression ~ Anxiety ~ Panic Attacks ~ Insomnia/Sleep disorders
Premenstrual Tension / PMS ~ Fibromyalgia ~ Obesity ~ Anorexia ~ Bulimia
“Hypoglycemia” ~ Chronic pain states ~ Migraines ~ ADD/ADHD

In addition, over 60 diseases and illnesses may be caused by or associated with neurotransmitter deficiency. Low neurotransmitter levels is not only very common, it is epidemic.

PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS: NOT THE ANSWER

If you have neurotransmitter deficiency, most likely you have been given a medicine that will reduce the symptoms but are not curative. Although effective to some degree in reducing symptoms, in the long run the medications can actually make the underlying neurotransmitter deficiency worse. For example, if you have depressive symptoms caused by low levels of serotonin, taking a “SSRI” medication such as Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, or Paxil is merely tricking the brain into thinking that it has more serotonin. These medications merely interfere with the body’s normal metabolism of serotonin and do nothing to correct the real cause, which is not a neurotransmitter metabolism problem but rather a deficiency of the neurotransmitter itself. These medications do not stimulate the production of more neurotransmitters. In fact there is solid scientific evidence that they accelerate the depletion of the neurotransmitters over time. This is why many of these medications only work for a short time and then stop being effective. The Neurotransmitter Repletion program pioneered by Dr. Hinz actually enables the body to make more serotonin and other neurotransmitters that naturally corrects the cause of the problem.

The SSRI medications are designed to work just on a very specific part of the brain. While this may temporarily correct the deficiency in that one location, what about the rest of the body’s need for serotonin and catecholamines? There are receptors for these important chemicals throughout the entire body. Medications don’t address the deficiency in these areas, but the neurotransmitter repletion will give the entire body what it needs.

REPLENISHING NEUROTRANSMITTERS

Make no mistake serotonin and catecholamines come from only one source. The amino acids, vitamins, and mineral we eat are converted to neurotransmitters. Eat a diet deficient in these things and you will have a neurotransmitter deficiency. The following foods are serotonin-rich: avocado, banana, red plum, tomatoes, pineapples, eggplants, walnuts, and possibly coffee.

However, it is not a simple as eating the right foods. From our database we know that prolonged dietary deficiency requires amino acid intake higher than normal food levels can give. Dr. Hinz reports that neurotransmitter repletion excels in patients in whom medications do not work, “the refractory patient” and it is safe to use with prescription medications. In most cases patients with refractory depression finds that their depression lifts in 3 to 4 weeks. It is his recommendation that 4-6 weeks after the patient begins to experience relief; any medications the patient takes should gradually be tapered by every 2 to 4 weeks.

Since all neurotransmitters are made up of proteins, the diet must contain adequate amounts of protein. Because tryptophan is the amino acid from which serotonin is produced, patients who have mixed neurotransmitter dysfunction probably do not get enough of tryptophan in their diet. Because tryptophan has other uses besides formation of neurotransmitters, using Dr. Hinz’ NeuroRepletion program alone is not enough to regain mental and physical health. Note in the diagram below that only 2-10% of the tryptophan is metabolized into serotonin, the majority is needed for other proteins and vitamin synthesis. Also note that the vast majority of serotonin is produced in the gut. Thus, a healthy gastrointestinal tract is also required for mental health. Your success with any condition related to neurotransmitters requires more than just taking the NeuroReplete products; you must eat and digest enough high quality protein and have a healthy gastrointestinal tract!

Obesity and Eating Disorders: Of all the neurotransmitter deficiency diseases, obesity and eating disorders need the most intensive treatment. Treatment of obesity and weight problems is something has not really been truly mastered, but the Hinz program does work with remarkable success. At present, there are over a 100 clinics around the United States using this weight management program. Results of our weight management program are impressive. The average group weight loss the first month is 16.9 pounds and over 90% of patients starting the program make their goal weight and stay there with our long-term maintenance program.

Complex Appetite: Most people have never heard of this problem, but many people suffer from it. Appetites can be categorized into one of two categories:

1. Regular appetite, these are people who can go all day without eating and not experience symptoms. A person with a normal appetite will only consume (on the average) enough calories to maintain their ideal body weight. This is about 10 calories for every pound (Ex: a 150 pound adult should consume on the average 1500 calories/day). Any ongoing intake above 10 calories/pound/day is excessive and suggests an imbalance in the brain centers that control appetite.

2. Complex appetite, these are people who when they do not eat every few hours during the day experience many different symptoms. In some, the label of hypoglycemia has been applied. When diagnostic tests such as the oral glucose tolerance test is performed, there is in fact no hypoglycemia found. The symptoms however are real and may be due to neurotransmitter deficiency. The following is a list of some of the symptoms people with “complex appetite” experience. In general, most patients that we have seen experience only 3 or 4 of the symptoms on the following list, but for many people these symptoms can cause the patient to not only feel bad but they can also interfere with daily activities:

Symptoms seen in complex appetite (misnamed “hypoglycemia”)

Tremor	Headaches	Lightheadedness
Dizziness	Sweating	Irritability
Nausea	Anxiety	Disorientation
Goose bump skin	Feeling of uneasiness	Abdominal pain

Patients with a “complex appetite” are often mistakenly labeled by doctors as having hypoglycemia based primarily on the fact that the symptoms got better when the patients ate something. This is NOT hypoglycemia, it is a neurotransmitter deficiency and while “complex appetite” can occur in patients of any weight, patients who are overweight and suffer from “complex appetite” are very much compromised. Whenever they try and diet by eating less food, the complex appetite symptoms get worse. Typical of complex appetite patients is if they do not eat something every 3 to 4 hours they experience symptoms such as headache and tremor. This was can be a very real problem, especially during school, long business meetings, travel, etc. Many patients keep candy with them in case they begin to experience symptoms. The patented treatment method can be very effective in resolving “complex appetite” symptoms.

Fibromyalgia: Fibromyalgia is a descriptive term and not really a disease itself. The hallmark of fibromyalgia is chronic pain in muscle and fibrous tissue points throughout the body. There has been no real cure identified for fibromyalgia and treatment has centered on use of multiple medications for partial symptom management and counseling such as support groups. Neurotransmitter Repletion has proven to be extremely effective and economical, and in most cases patients gradually quit taking all other medications for fibromyalgia. One clinic in Kansas using the same methods treated employees of the state of Kansas who had fibromyalgia. Results were so good that the program is covered by insurance for State of Kansas employees.

Insomnia: Using the definition of severe insomnia as “sleeping less than 4 hours a night with frequent wake ups of 20 minutes or more” and including those people who simply do not sleep well at night encompasses a broad range of sleep disorders. The issue of poor sleep is such a large problem that in larger cities many hospitals have sleep clinics. Medications used for sleep obtain marginal results at best and sleeping pills on a chronic basis are not the answer. Correction of sleep problems with Neurotransmitter Repletion usually takes two to four weeks but results are spectacular in most. Patients sleeping only 2 to 3 hours a night with frequent wakeups find they are sleeping five to eight hours a night without waking up, and they report feeling better than they have in years.

Premenstrual Syndrome: PMS are experienced by many women in the five to seven days prior to the onset of menses. In some women these monthly symptoms can be severe enough to be disabling and include water weight gain and emotional changes. In one of the more severe cases of PMS we have worked with, the patient would gain 17 pounds in fluid retention and went through extreme changes in personality and emotions. Although some approach PMS with hormones primarily, even hormones (as well as other medications) are merely masking the problem and treating the symptoms without curing the underlying disease. Using methods outlined under the patents has proven to be very effective.

Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder: Over the last several years, Dr. Hinz has collected ample data that ADHD kids show a pattern of hyperexcretion of neurotransmitters (the kidneys are literally dumping neurotransmitters and depleting the system). Approximately 86% of the kids dump serotonin and 40% dump norepinephrine. Dr. Hinz however has not collected data about the clinical response in ADHD, i.e. "How many kids get better?" "What is the average group dosing to get better?" etc. Following Dr. Hinz lead, our attitude is that "pharmaceutical grade amino acids are safe” under the guidance of a knowledgeable health professional.” If you give kids with ADHD a trial of neurotransmitter repletion and they improve it suggests that neurotransmitters are involved in that particular child’s case and you are not going to hurt anyone or interfere with other medications. E-mail correspondences from other medical doctors and patients often talk about dramatic beneficial effects of neurotransmitter repletion in ADHD. In fact, there are so many compelling reports that we feel it is worthy of trying even before a formal ADHD study is completed and reported. For now, all we have to go on is anecdotal evidence that in the treatment of ADHD, neurotransmitters are safe and often very effective.

Panic Attacks: The hallmark of panic attacks is “an abrupt onset of an impending sense of doom”; the sudden feeling that something bad is going to happen even though there is nothing going on. Many times people with panic attacks will also have agoraphobia, which is the fear of going into public or open places, or other fears. In medicine, for years these have been very hard things to treat effectively. Typically the patient is placed on multiple medicines, which do nothing more than mask the symptoms. Neurotransmitter Repletion has proven to be very effective in actually getting rid of the disease and the symptoms, and in the process, getting patients off the medications.

Anxiety: Up until a few years ago, the intense and inappropriate anxiety that interfered with day-to-day activities was treated with tranquilizers. In medicine today, most anxiety is treated with SSRI medications like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil or Celexa. As noted before, these drugs merely trick the brain into thinking it has more neurotransmitters and does nothing to actually correct the problem. Anxiety, even if it has plagued you for a long time, methods used under the patents may help.

“Severe depression” is life-threatening depression where the patient is contemplating suicide and this necessitates the referral to a psychiatrist immediately. One study showed that virtually all suicides had been seen by a physician within the previous 7 days. Refractory depression is defined as patients treated with prescription drugs where there is no clinical response. The cause of this problem is simple - “Drugs that work with neurotransmitters do not work if there is not enough neurotransmitters to work with…” In the abstract of a May 2000 Journal of Clinical Psychiatry article by Dr. Delgado (The Role of Norepinephrine in Depression), “Norepinephrine-selective antidepressant drugs appear to be primarily dependent on the availability of norepinephrine for their effects. Likewise, serotonin-selective antidepressants appear to be primarily dependent”. In refractory depression where the drugs quit working, the problem is that the level of neurotransmitters has dropped below the critical level needed the patient to be healthy and disease free and below the level for the drugs to work.

HOW TO DUPLICATE THE NEURO REPLETE FORMULA WITH LESS EXPENSE

Amounts Listed Are For An Adult of 160-180 Pounds

Adjust According To Your Weight

Inexpensive Source: Beyond A Century (BYC)

2,000 mg of Vitamin C (Item #125 in BYC Catalog)

If Vitamin C is too acidic for stomach take as Ascorbic Acid or Ascorbate

If causes loose stool cut back and increase gradually.

500 mg. Calcium (Item #304.1 BYC Catalog)

200 mg. B-6 (Peridoxine) (Item #106.5 BYC Catalog)

800 mg Folic Acid (Item #111.5 BYC Catalog)

1000 mg L-Lycine (Item #18.5 BYC Catalog)

600mg 5- HTP (Tryptophane) (Item #33.0 BYC Catalog)

6000 mg L-Tyrosine (Powder) (Item #24.0 BYC Catalog)

To be taken twice a day, once in A.M. and once in P.M. 5 – 6 hours before bed.

Not to be added to what you are already taking of these substances,

Adjust accordingly