[Dec 18, 96 - 11:25] Jane Kelley of 1:138/255 wrote to Jerry Schwartz:
JS>>As for the consumption of neurotransmitters some things, when
JK> eaten,
JK> Sorry, Jerry, but this one sentence points up your total and complete
JK> lack of any real knowledge or understanding of the entire subject of
JK> brain chemistry.  One does not consume neurotransmitters.  One can and
JK> should consume the amino acids that are the precursors to the production
JK> of specific neurotransmitters if one is aware that one has a problem.
I understand that full well.  Since you have spoken only in vague terms of 
"supplements" you are leaving it to me to guess what you mean.  One can, of 
course, consume neurotransmitters: one can eat brains, if one so chooses.  I 
agree that they aren't likely to survive digestion, so that leaves precursors 
(the amino acids you mentioned) and various things that affect the 
production, uptake, or utilization of them.  There are plenty of those: oral 
psychoactive pharmaceuticals, of course, and street drugs, and the naturally 
occurring relatives of both.
But you have offered nothing to show why your unspecified dietary supplements 
help AD(H)D, nor what these supplements are.  If you were more specific, I 
would be more disposed to give your ideas a hearing.
JK> For example, turkey is high in tryptphan.  For some reason I do not
JK> fully understand, my arthritis is much better the next day when I eat
JK> turkey the night before than when I do not.
Perhaps it is the occasion, rather than the turkey?  I don't know if you see 
this affect after a quick turkey sandwich, or only after a comforting family 
dinner.  With your background and training, I'm sure you understand the 
pitfalls of self-assessment.
JK> It also tends to cut down on the irritablity factor.
Whatever the mechanism, I am not surprised that they go together.  The same 
things that make us irritable can make us more sensitive to pain (and perhaps 
contribute to it in any of several ways), and certainly pain can make us 
irritable.
Jerry Schwartz
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