Can You Alleviate Anxiety With An Amino Acid?

Alleviating anxiety can be accomplished without heavy duty drugs but with an amazing amino acid. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is more than an amino acid. It is also one of the central nervous system’s most important inhibitory neurotransmitters, meaning it stimulates receptors that inhibit, or calm down, activity in the brain. It works, in a sense, in opposition to the excitatory neurotransmitters that rev the brain up. Obviously these two types
need to be in balance, and taking supplemental GABA when you’re restless, anxious, or irritable helps restore necessary equilibrium.

Anxiety is not a disease. We all experience some degree of uneasiness, apprehension, worry, fear, or even terror when we feel unsafe or threatened, or when we find ourselves in unnerving situations such as giving a presentation or taking an exam. It’s normal to feel anxious in these circumstances. This “fight-or-flight” response is a survival mechanism that alerts your body to potential threats and gets you ready for action. Of course, most of the stressors we encounter in our daily lives require neither fight nor flight, but the body prepares you for it just the same. Anxiety may arise from thoughts of a loved one who is having problems, bills that need to be paid, or disturbing news. But whether the stressor is external or internal, real or imagined, the physiological response is the same. We can all tolerate a little stress and it makes us more alert and gives us an edge in certain situations.

Chronic anxiety, on the other hand, is emotionally and physically debilitating. Nobody should have to live in a state of constant fear and worry, or suffer through panic attacks or anxiety-driven insomnia, shortness of breath, gastrointestinal problems, and heart palpitations. But drugs are not the answer.

Because supplemental GABA is safe, nontoxic, and non-habit forming it should be a frontline defense in the battle against anxiety. But if you see most doctors for anxiety, you’ll likely leave with a prescription rather than a recommendation for this inexpensive supplement. The most popular class of meds for treating anxiety is benzodiazepines, which include Xanax, Valium, and Ativan. They too target GABA receptor sites, but the similarities between the supplement and the drugs end there. Benzodiazepines also depress the central nervous system and have powerful sedative, hypnotic, and relaxant effects.

These drugs cause sleep disturbances, cognitive problems, and gait impairment. They dramatically increase the risk of falls as demonstrated by a study conducted a few years ago linked at least 10,000 hip fractures per year to these drugs. They also impair driving ability and are an underlying cause of thousands of automobile accidents annually. Benzodiazepines are especially risky for older people, who are more sensitive to their effects and have a harder time eliminating them from the bloodstream. This age group is also more prone to adverse side effects, which are all too often chalked up to aging. Furthermore, benzodiazepines are highly addictive. Even though they’re meant for short-term or occasional use, many people end up taking them for years on end.

Once you’re dependent, getting off these drugs is not plesant. Anxiety Is Not a Disease. All too often benzodiazepines and a host of other drugs are often inappropriately prescribed. According to a 2007 paper from Columbia University, up to 20 percent of older Americans take these drugs on a regular basis, despite their well-documented toxicity.