Functional Medicine Clinic in Toronto Educates Patients On The Benefits Of Tryptophan

Toronto, Ontario -

Toronto Functional Medicine Centre, an integrative functional medicine clinic based in Toronto, has published a blog post that talks about the functional medicine benefits of tryptophan that it may offer to patients. The health and wellness practitioners at the functional medicine center would like to share some information about the benefits of Tryptophan and its impact on health and their personalized integrative medicine treatment plans.

Tryptophan is one of the amino acids the human body uses for protein biosynthesis. It is essential because the human body needs Tryptophan in daily life for supporting muscles, neurotransmitters, and enzymes. The body can’t create this amino acid by itself and hence it is imperative to find healthy sources of it. Tryptophan can be consumed through dietary supplements and food sources such as bananas, peanuts, and turkey. Those who have intolerances to the aforementioned foods or have other dietary restrictions can always turn to a functional medicine practitioner to help them get the supplements they need to make up for the lack of Tryptophan in their system.

Tryptophan has been studied extensively and the studies suggest that it could positively affect mental health and cognition. According to an article published in the International Journal of Tryptophan Research, Tryptophan can “change the rates of serotonin synthesis in the brain.” Sleep is one crucial natural bodily function where Tryptophan might have an effect. Getting abundant sleep is crucial for normal functioning. A study on adults aged 55-75 years old showed that Tryptophan could enrich sleep for seniors. Participants were given cereals that contained Tryptophan, which led to enhanced sleep efficiency and lowered sleep latency. In the same study, participants also noted that they had improvements to their anxiety and depression symptoms due to ongoing consuming Tryptophan-rich cereals. In subsequent studies, it was found that Tryptophan may also impact other age groups in reducing anxiety. In one study, university students were given high-Tryptophan or low-Tryptophan diets. Students who ate high levels of Tryptophan experienced less depression and anxiety compared to those who ate low amounts of Tryptophan.

Tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin, which may aid in the symptom management of PMS and PMDD (i.e. mood swings). In a study of women, a lack of Tryptophan was shown to increase irritability during PMS and PMDD. The Journal of Affective Disorders reported that “Symptom magnitude was correlated with diminution of Tryptophan relative to other amino acids. This result supports other evidence implicating serotonin in premenstrual syndrome.”

Tryptophan may also help with nicotine withdrawal symptom management and can aid those who want to quit smoking. The Journal of Behavioral Medicine noted that “Tryptophan-treated subjects who could not fully abstain were able to smoke fewer daily cigarettes. Reported anxiety and other withdrawal symptoms were lower in the Tryptophan group compared with control subjects.”

The Toronto Functional Medicine Centre’s healthcare providers provide interdisciplinary care for their patients both in-person and virtually. Their clinical practice has an integrative approach to functional medicine. Its treatments consist of a combination of western medicine or allopathic medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine or eastern medicine, naturopathic medicine, client education on clinical nutrition, and maintaining a healthy diet, among others.

The clinic’s wide range of treatments can address various health concerns including adrenal fatigue, brain health, chronic conditions, detoxification, digestive health, food allergies, food intolerance, hormone imbalances, infertility, immunity, inflammation, menopause, mold toxicity, nutritional deficiencies, thyroid malfunction, functional medicine for SIBO and others.

Toronto Functional Medicine Centre is located at 162 Cumberland St 222 A, Toronto, ON M5R 1A8. It can be contacted at the phone number (416) 968-6961 or email at info@tfm.care for booking appointments.