GABA side effects, supplements, for anxiety
GABA or gamma-aminobutyric acid, discovered in 1950, is the most important and widespread inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. Excitation in the brain must be balanced with inhibition. Too much excitation can lead to restlessness, irritability, insomnia, and even seizures. GABA is able to induce relaxation, analgesia, and sleep. Barbiturates and benzodiazepines are known to stimulate GABA receptors, and hence induce relaxation. Several neurological disorders, such as epilepsy, sleep disorders, and Parkinsons disease are affected by this neurotransmitter. For more GABA information.
GABA is made in the brain from the amino acid glutamate with the aid of vitamin B6. GABA is available as a supplement in vitamin stores, but taking it in pill form is not always an effective way to raise brain levels of this neurotransmitter because GABA cannot easily cross the blood-brain barrier. Companies are searching for ways to place GABA in an oil base in order to ease its entry across this barrier. Having said this, I have spoken to a few people who feel that GABA helps reduce their anxiety. One user takes GABA in the morning and says it takes the edge off his anxiety, and the effects are noticed a few hours later. Other supplements that help with relaxation more effectively include 5-HTP which converts into serotonin, and Kava Kava which is from the South Pacific islands. Other herbs that help relax are passionflower and valerian.
GABA Enzymatic Therapy
Recommendations: One, two, or three GABA capsules once or twice daily.


GABA is an important amino
acid neurotransmitter in the brain.
GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid) - 250 mg *
GABA supplements summary
We have come across few
studies regarding the use of GABA supplements in humans. We don't have a strong
opinion regarding the effectiveness of GABA supplements for anxiety at this time.
There are many other herbal options to reducing
anxiety.
Do GABA supplements have any side effects?
As of now, no significant side effects have been reported with the use of GABA
supplements.
GABA and anxiety
Q. I have an anxiety disorder and fibrormyalgia with multiple chemical
sensitivities. I had a severe anxiety attack on my new job yesterday so I
thought I would try a low dose of Gaba supplement this am for the first time. I
have read lots of articles about GABA pills helping with anxiety. I took 250mg
(half of 500mg pill) and it caused me to have another anxiety attack within 30
to 40min. after taking it on an empty stomach! I wouldn't advise GABA pills to
treat anxiety!
A. We doubt the GABA supplement caused another anxiety attack, most
likely it did not have any effect at all. In our opinion, GABA supplements are
not effective to treat anxiety, there are better herbs and nutrients for this
purpose.
GABA supplements email questions and answers
Q. I am a little concerned with some
conflicting reports I have seen on
GABA since I have started taking it.
On the one hand a at first glance it sounded like a miracle supplement but the claims of
increases in growth hormone I was slightly suspicious off, most adverts steal results and
quotes from clinical drugs trials report "Increase HGH levels by 550%" etc When
I read the more independent research on it, the doctors say, Yourself included (funnily
enough this is not found in the commercial adverts) that GABA as a sport supplement, in
powder form cannot transgress easily the brain/blood barrier so in reality, the GABA in
your head, is the stuff your body produces naturally and nothing else. - Certainly amongst
the guys I know taking it nobody taking it seemed to be turning into the hulk over night.
Q. Recently I read that 5 g of GABA supplements would
increase the level of growth hormone by 500%, is this really right? I’m not
considering taking GABA in order to gain muscle but for my anxiety the dos I
have bin considering is 250-500 mg actually I would consider an elevation
in growth hormone an undesirable side effect as I’m worried that it might case
increased hair growth on the body, do you think that’s possible? And do you
think 250-500 would have any effect on levels of HGH?
A. We don't think small amounts of GABA supplement use would have
much of an influence on HGH. We also, thus far, have not seen any convincing
studies that GABA supplements increase in a consistent way the release of HGH.
Q. Thanks for all the info on your website. Regarding
GABA however there is an article I recently read which I've linked to below that
points to a possible connection between GABA and cancer? I haven't been able to
find any other information regarding this but the website I found the
information on was - The American Association for Cancer research. According to
this article there is some link between the GABA-b receptor and increased
production of MMP which in turn increases risk for prostate. Is there indeed a
link to GABA causing or increasing cancer factors? If there is a link - are
there any GABA supplements that act only on the GABA-a receptor? http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/63/23/8090
A. There is a huge leap from the interpretation of in vitro studies
of GABA receptors on cells and the effects of GABA supplements when taken
orally. The study you cite does not relate, on a practical level, to oral GABA
supplementation.
Q. Where in Colombia and Venezuela Can I buy GABA
supplements?
A. GABA supplements can be shipped to these countries but we don't
know where GABA supplements are sold in Columbia or Venezuela.
Q. Can gaba pills cause blood pressure to go up?
Since taking gaba pills mine has gone up and I'm having a problem getting it to
come down even with blood pressure pills. I've stop taking them to see if there
is a difference.
A. We have not seen any studies that have evaluated the role of
GABA pills and blood pressure and this is the first feedback we have had from a
user of GABA pills with this potential effect. Please let us know if your blood
pressure drops when you stop the GABA pill supplement and whether the blood
pressure increases again after restarting.
Q. I take GABA supplement by InShape Dream Shape
about an hour before I want to fall asleep and find it works very, very well. I
don’t think this is a placebo effect because when I first started taking it, I
had no idea it was a sleep aid and it worked anyway. In fact when I woke up the
first morning, I thought “This is the best night’s sleep I’ve had since I was a
child.” It was/is a deep, refreshing sleep. On occasion I will have vivid,
interesting dreams that seem qualitatively different than any dream I have
without this GABA supplement. I also have arthritis in my feet and find that my
pain is dramatically reduced. This is wonderful – I worry about taking NSAIDs
and have stopped taking them. As far as weight loss, I would say “fat loss” or
“change in fat distribution” is more accurate. It is not a dramatic difference,
but there is a difference. Post-menopause obese abdomen…has “lifted” off my lap
and my pants fit better. My appetite has changed. I know I am eating less,
without really planning it…I just get full sooner. This is subtle and if I end
up losing a lot of weight it will take awhile…but that’s the best way anyway. As
far as GABA getting into the brain – like you say on your website, there hasn’t
been much research on GABA pills, and how would they be able to know this
anyway? With human subjects? Give them GABA pills and then take a sample of
brain tissue? Last thing, I tried GNC brand of GABA pill after having run out of
Dream Shape and it did nothing. No effect whatsoever. I take 3 capsules of the
Dream Shape with a glass of water. Tried the powder form, but got the tingles, a
headache, and felt a little nauseous. This stuff must absorb really fast and the
capsules dissolve slower.
A. We are not familiar with DreamShape GABA pills but find it
difficult to believe that one company's GABA would work differently than other
GABA products on the market unless there are other ingredients in the product.
We also have no basis to believe that GABA supplements influence weight loss or
fat distribution.
Q. Also, is
there any oil based GABA supplement product yet on the market?
A. As of October 2008, we have not come across an effective
oil-based GABA supplement product.
I have used GABA only when needed instead of a prescription pill initially prescribed by a doctor for anxiety. I have used the NOW Foods 500 mg. I have used it for more than 10 years, it works very well and within an hour. I have no side effects, no dependencies. I do have myelodisplastic syndrome diagnosed for more than a year now. When I run low on hemoglobin before my transfusion I am much more prone to run into anxiety
I have a question about gaba pills, i been reading on ur
site about hgh and how long term use can cause diabetes risk among other
unwanted affects. so hgh can cause bad things to happen as well as good so i was
wondering if someone took long term gaba or precursors that also increase hgh
does that mean that gaba can put u at diabetes and all these negative risks if u
use them long term? i would like try gaba but i have liver disease and
borderline normal blood sugar which is higher than it used to be but still
normal and i might wanna take gaba for anxiety but i also dont want to put
myself at further risk etc. i guess if u answer the first question it will give
me some input as to whether this supplement is safe long term.
We have not seen enough human long term research with GABA
supplement use to know what effect it has on HGH production or secretion, we
suspect it would not have a major influence.
I'm trying to get some reliable info on gaba product.
I have a lot of trouble sleeping, and found that taking 1500 mg gaba plus
theanine helped tremendously. But after taking it for 3 nights, I woke up with
blurry vision and a left hand that was going numb. The doc at the ER said it
wasn't a stroke, as friends had been telling me it was, but when I told him
about the gaba product, he said I must have had a reaction to it.(?) I've taken
gaba before in lower doses, with no sleep effect, and no side effects. Is here a
chance it can do permanent harm if taken a t a larger dose? (the vision problem
and hand numbness cleared up slowly, in a few days to a couple of weeks) I need
to find something that will help me sleep, and I would like to try gaba again,
in a lower dose. Do you feel there could be harm in that? I've tried almost
everything else, next up is glycine, another neurotransmitter inhibitor.
We are not aware of any such side effects with this amino
acid neurotransmitter or with theanine. It is difficult to know in your case
what caused the symptoms.
home to index yohimbe bark