As I mentioned a few days ago, I’m putting together a vitamin ’stack’ to help my body and mind keep up with my, ahem, unique lifestyle. A crucial element of this stack is an amino acid known as 5-HTP.

5-HTP is the precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin (see my piece here), an important mood (and sleep) regulator. Normally, I buy 5-HTP at Wild Oats and spend around $25 for 60 capsules of the 100mg dose. I was delighted to find King Soopers’ (Colorado’s strangely named Kroger incarnation) having a sale on the 100mg capsules: BUY ONE GET ONE FREE.

Then I went home and read the label. Dammit.

On my normal 5-HTP purchases (typically Jarrows or Natrol brand), there is a single active ingredient listed: 5-HTP.

On this strange “Nature’s Bounty” brand?

INGREDIENTS: Per Capsule: Niacin (as Niacinamide) 5 mg, Vitamin B-6 (as Pyridoxine Hydrochloride) 5 mg, Magnesium (as Magnesium Oxide) 25 mg, 5-HTP (from Griffonia Extract) (Griffonia Simplicifolia) (Seed) 50 mg, Valerian Root (Valeriana Officinalis) 50 mg, Cellulose (Plant Origin), Dicalcium Phosphate, Gelatin, Silica, Vegetable Magnesium Stearate.

Now the Magnesium is no problem. Not only is it another element of my normal daily regimen, but on the special occasions where I take additional doses of 5-HTP, I take a large dose of Magnesium along with it.

Far more troubling is the B-6.

The reason I take 5-HTP is to increase the amount of serotonin availble to my mind and nervous system. In the copious amounts of research I’ve done about what I need to ‘optimize’ my stack, I vaguely remembered hearing about the importance of taking 5-HTP not only on an empty stomach, but without ‘conflicting’ vitamins.

A quick web search yielded the answer.

Alas, one company I know packages their 5-HTP in 50 mg
capsules with 10 mg of B6.  They do this ostensibly so that 5-HTP
can be converted to serotonin in the brain.  Duh.  This insures
that any 5-HTP will get converted to serotonin in the liver
instead, and thus never make it to the brain.  Vitamin B6 is the
*LAST* thing you want in an 5-HTP product.

What’s worse, in additon to preventing the normal efficy of the 5-HTP, this process can actually prove dangerous:

At the very best, people who take B-vitamins with 5-HTP, or
who take 5-HTP products with B6, waste their money.  All this
would be merely humorous (caveat emptor) were it not for some
other facts.  At worst, ignorant people fooling with 5-HTP
actually risk their health, since serotonin in the peripheral
blood is not benign.  Serotonin causes not only harmless flushing
and diarrhea, but people with serotonin secreting tumors (hindgut
carcinoids) also have problems with fibrosis of the endocardium
and valves in their right hearts, which can cause heart failure.
This fibrosis is caused by the serotonin.

So what does this leave me with?  Thanks to a shredded receipt, a $24 ‘lesson’ in the importance of

1. Knowing the facts about supplements you choose to take, and their potential interactions
2. Reading the phreaking label BEFORE you hit the register

I plan on a future post outlining my entire stack.. I’m sure you can hardly wait