I speak a lot about amino acid therapy and how it modifies neurotransmitter levels in the brain which helps people eliminate the urge to pull. This is a convenient way to think about the problem and the solution: low or imbalanced levels of certain neurotransmitters cause the urge to pull and correctly those underlying imbalances fixes the problem. However, what we are really doing is a little more complicated than that. This blog post is a little bit more ‘heady’ than most, but will provide a more in-depth explanation of the change we elicit for those of you interested in more of the science of amino acid therapy.
The problem – imbalanced neurotransmitter levels
Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers; when neurotransmitter levels are too low or imbalanced, the messages get garbled and symptoms of disease or disorders develop, like trich. We correct this by restoring proper neurotransmitter balance by providing the body with the nutrients it needs to make the necessary neurotransmitters. However, it isn’t quite as simple as giving the body the nutrients and having it ‘make’ the necessary neurotransmitters.
The primary determinant of neurotransmitter levels in the body is the functional status of molecules called transporters. Transporters, which are molecules in the cell walls, facilitate the movement of neurotransmitters in and out of the cells, including the neurons. Neurotransmitters cannot cross the walls of the neurons on their own as they are water-soluble and the cell walls are made of fat. Water and oil (fat) do not mix. The transporters remedy this by escorting the neurotransmitters in and out of the neurons.
When there is damage to the neurons, a signal is sent throughout the body to all the transporters that encodes them to alter the flow or neurotransmitters in a way to try and compensate for the problem. When the damage is minor, the transporters can compensate for neurotransmitter imbalances by utilizing nutrients from a healthy diet. However, when significant damage occurs, properly balanced amino acid therapy needs to be used to correct the problem.
The solution – Organic Cation Transporter Optimization
A special transporter called the ‘organic cation transporter (OCT)’ is primarily responsible for the transport of serotonin and the catecholamines (dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine) as well as their amino acid precursors. These transporters are found throughout the body in many tissues, including the kidneys, gut, liver as well as the brain and function similarly in all tissues throughout the body. This means that if we affect change to the OCTs with amino acids it affects all the OCTs throughout the entire body.
When we run a ‘neurotransmitter test’ what we are really doing is determining the functional status of these OCTs in the kidneys in relation to a given amount of amino acids. By giving the body properly balanced amino acid therapy we can define the exact amounts of neurotransmitters and amino acids needed to restore proper functioning of the OCTs in the kidneys. However, because this also affects the OCTs in all the other tissues, including the brain in exactly the same way, testing the urinary excretion of neurotransmitters while taking an exact amount of balanced amino acids allows us to restore proper functioning within the brain. This restores the flow of electricity in the neurons and leads to the relief of disease symptoms – in this case – eliminating the urge to pull.
So what we are really doing is using amino acid therapy to help optimize the function of the OCTs in the neurons to facilitate proper signaling. This is akin to unscrambling the messages so that the brain gets the proper signals. When the signals are no longer crossed, you get your life back under (your) control.
If this post is too much science for you, don’t worry. Amino acid therapy works whether or not you understand why it works. It’s wonderful that way.
