5HTP Weight Loss information - Does this serotonin precursor help curb your appetite? Will you lose weight if you take this supplement? What is the right dosage to eat less? Should you take 50 mg, 100, 150 or 300 mg a day?

5HTP. or 5-HTP, is a supplement that converts in the brain into serotonin. Serotonin is an important neurotransmitter involved in mood, behavior, appetite, impulse control, and sleep. Scientists have examined the role of 5HTP in weight loss and appetite control. It does appear that many users who take this supplement notice that they have less appetite. The question that still remains to be answered is in regards to tolerance. Would the continued use of 5-HTP supplements over several weeks or months lead to tolerance or would the benefits of appetite suppression leading to weight loss continue? Also, is there a risk to using 5HTP pills for weight loss if done so for prolonged periods? It appears thus far that the use of this natural supplement for days or weeks is quite safe. Until more studies are published, it would be wise to not use these natural pills daily for longer than one or two months. You can take a week break each month to be on the safe side, and then resume again if no side effects or problems have occurred.

Benefits of Diet Rx with 5 HTP for weight loss
All natural appetite suppressant, decreases appetite so you eat less
Helps you maintain healthy cholesterol and lipid levels
Provides a variety of antioxidant from two dozen herbs and nutrients
Improves natural energy so you get motivated to take walks and burn more calories
Balances mood so you don't have the urge to eat to satisfy a need for a mood lift
Improves will power and choice of food selection

5-HTP and appetite suppression leading to weight loss in rodents
5-Hydroxy-L-tryptophan 5 HTP suppresses food intake in food-deprived and stressed rats.
Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2004 January. Amer A, Breu J, McDermott J, Wurtman RJ, Maher TJ. Amer A, Breu J, McDermott J, Wurtman RJ, Maher TJ. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA, USA.
Giving L-tryptophan, serotonin's circulating precursor, or a serotonin-releasing drug can decrease food intake and body weight. Giving 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan 5-HTP, serotonin's immediate intracellular precursor, has been thought to be ineffective in enhancing brain serotonin synthesis unless it is coadministered with a dopa decarboxylase inhibitor to protect 5-HTP from destruction outside the brain. We have examined the effect of 5-HTP on food consumption and tissue 5-HTP levels among rats subjected to two different hyperphagic stimuli, food deprivation and a standardized stress (tail pinch), and on plasma 5-HTP levels in humans. In rats, 5-HTP (3-200 mg/kg ip) suppressed food intake in a dose-dependent manner in both models, but was at least eight times more effective in our stress-hyperphagia model. This suppression was blocked by coadministration of another large neutral amino acid (LNAA), L-valine. Brain 5-HTP levels correlated significantly with peak plasma 5-HTP or 5-HTP / LNAA levels. Additionally, among humans, oral 5-HTP (1.2-2.0 mg/kg) produced, after 1 and 2 h, a significant increase in plasma 5-HTP (1.5- to 2.3-fold). These observations suggest that 5-HTP may be useful in controlling the excessive food intake sometimes generated by stress, even if given without decarboxylase inhibitors or other drugs.