Can You Drink Alcohol and Take 5-HTP at The Same Time?
Can you take alcohol and 5-HTP at the same time? Is it safe?
Nootropics are known to interact with booze, hence, precaution must be observed.
To know whether it’s okay to drink after taking 5-HTP, we need to understand how this nootropic works in your body.
Function of 5-HTP
5-HTP is bodily chemicals naturally produced by your body through converting the amino acid tryptophan.
5-HTP reduces anxiety, symptoms of depression and keeps you in a good mood, eventually, helping you have a better sleep at night. It is also good for healing ailments as it speeds up cell rejuvenation.
Aside from the production of tryptophan, 5-HTP is an important precursor to the production of serotonin. Serotonin mitigates symptoms of alcohol addiction and that is why doctors recommended alcohol addicts to also take 5-HTP in their diet and medication.
However, it should be taken up to a moderate dosage as it could worsen alcoholism if not taken gradually.
Function of Alcohol
Alcohol, similar to 5-HTP, accelerates serotonin level in the brain because it is actually a precursor to serotonin as well.
Many physicians are critical on the interaction of alcohol and 5-HTP as the two are both precursors of serotonin.
There was an interesting study conducted on rats regarding the reduction of alcohol intake amongst rats and this was due to 5-HTP as a form of medication. However, rats did not take alcohol during the prior days before taking the 5-HTP.
This chemical actually helps in the therapy or program of alcohol addicts while they are in transition accordingly.
Alcohol and 5-HTP Interaction
Physicians, caution patients in taking alcohol and 5-HTP as combining these two at an optimal level can be life threatening.
The overwhelming increase of serotonin in a person’s brain can affect the therapeutic effect of 5-HTP.
An alcoholic may experience withdrawal and this could resort to seizure and delirium in the patient. This withdrawal syndrome may include:
- Migraine
- Headache
- Nausea
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Sweating
To counter the effects of withdrawal, several medications are being recommended by physicians such as antipsychotics and barbiturates.
The concurrent use of alcohol and 5-HTP can be medically good and even advisable when you are on a therapy. This is an assurance that the patient is really taking these at a moderate level and has been recommended by a doctor.
According to doctors, the right way of drinking alcohol should be 5 hours after the patient has taken 5-HTP.
Eventually, as a side effect, the patient may feel a little nauseous after dosing 5-HTP. This is because the chemical slowly helps the body and the brain learn to slowly avoid alcohol.
5-HTP helps the patient learn to dislike alcoholism. However, though doctors will recommend the moderate usage of the two chemicals, there is no actual proof yet of how the combination can actually influence the body given the very complex nature of serotonin.
Serotonin may have a complex and unpredictable effect to the central nervous system of a person.
Conclusion
Alcohol can increase the brain’s serotonin activity, so when paired up with 5-HTP, there is a tendency that the brain produces an extra or overwhelming supply of serotonin.
This combination can be seen or becomes apparent on the first few takes of 5-HTP during the therapy. To prevent the overproduction of serotonin, the patient or the doctor can altogether do not combine the two.
Thus, it is highly recommended that 5-HTP should not be paired with alcohol to maintain and make use of the therapeutic effect of 5-HTP.
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