Toni, a 26-year-old Native American, was referred to our clinic because she was exhausted, profoundly depressed, anxious and suffering lifelong trauma from the physical and emotional violence of her family. Toni drank alcohol and ate sweets to cope. She went regularly to her scheduled counseling sessions but was unable to rouse herself to communicate with her counselor. She had volunteered to come to Recovery Systems, hoping that a new approach would help. Toni had already been through three long-term treatment programs for alcohol addiction. Clearly, she was motivated to solve her problem. When we saw Toni's condition, the nutritionist and I conferred and decided to give her amino acids on the spot. I asked her to tell me one thing: What was the worst thing she was experiencing at that moment? She said "I'm sooooo tired." Her slumped body and still, dull eyes confirmed this. Our goal? To treat her lack of energy and depression by raising her levels of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, the body's natural energizer. We gave her our smallest dose - 500 milligrams of L-tyrosine. While we waited and hoped for an effect, I spoke about how and why amino acids can be helpful. After about ten minutes, Toni said, "I'm not tired anymore." "Great!" I said. And then I asked my next question: "What is the worse thing you are experiencing, now that your energy is better?" She answered by bending over and grasping herself around the stomach. "I'm really uptight." We then gave Toni the smallest dose of GABA - 100 milligrams - a natural Valium-like chemical along with 300 milligrams of L-taurine. We suspected that together these supplements would help relieve her tension and allow her to relax - and they did. She stretched her legs out in front of her and then stood up, got a glass of water, and went to the bathroom. While she was gone, her counselor came in and happened to tell me that Toni was in a lot of emotional pain because of the chronic alcoholic violence in her family. When her family members drank alcohol, they all became different people, vicious and cruel. And they had never been able to stay away from alcohol. When Toni returned, I asked her, "Can we give you something to help you endure the emotional pain that you are in?" She said yes, so I gave her a supplement containing 300 milligrams DL-phenylalanine and 150 milligrams L-glutamine. (DL-phenylalanine is the amino acid used to alleviate emotional pain.) In ten minutes I asked Toni how she was feeling, and she smiled and said, "Just right." |
Stopping Carbohydrate Cravings It may sound impossible, but you can stop your food cravings almost instantly with just one amino acid supplement. Any absence of fuel for your brain's functions is perceived correctly by your body as a code-red emergency. Powerful biochemical messages then order you to immediately eat refined carbohydrates to quickly fuel your brain. There are only two fuels that the brain can readily use:
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