chewable tryptophan

Lidtke tryptophan 100mg chewable is back! It’s great for anxious, worried, raging kids and pixie dust adults who have trouble sleeping too

June 6, 2025 By Trudy Scott 26 Comments

The Lidtke tryptophan 100mg chewable product has been out of stock for close to a year and it’s now back, hence this blog post. This product has been a firm favorite of mine for many years and I’ve used it successfully with children and adults with signs of low serotonin. If you’re new to tryptophan, it’s an amino acid that is a precursor or raw material for the production of your feel-good neurotransmitter called serotonin.

I’ve used this product in the past with children who are anxious, worried, raging, having problems sleeping and craving sugar and carbs. I’ve also used it with “pixie dust” clients who do well with a small dose and prefer a chewable form of tryptophan. And I often recommend clients use it to do the initial one-off trial to figure out if low serotonin is the issue (and before moving on to a typical starting dose of 500mg tryptophan twice a day).

In this blog you’ll see the label of the newly formulated tryptophan 100mg chewable and some of the many advantages of tryptophan as a low-dose chewable. You’ll also see some feedback on the previous formulation, a success story with a young girl and my personal experience too.

The newly formulated Lidtke L-Tryptophan Chewable

Here is the new label for the Lidtke L-Tryptophan 100mg Chewable. This product has been a firm favorite of mine for many years and the formulation has shifted over the years.

This formulation still contains 100mg tryptophan and a different sweetener – luo han guo, also known as monk fruit. It’s a zero-calorie natural sweetener that does not affect blood sugar. Monk fruit does belong to the gourd family and would need to be avoided if there are allergies to these foods (such as cucumbers, melons, zucchini etc). Also, some individuals do not like the aftertaste of monk fruit.

It does contain flavors – maple and vanillin – which may be problematic for sensitive individuals. Acacia gum (or gum arabic) is low FODMAP and typically well tolerated, but may cause bloating for some.

The chewable has not been available for about a year so this is very welcome news.

Chewable tryptophan for a young girl with anxiety, rage, sleep issues and strong cravings

As I mentioned I’ve been using chewable tryptophan with success for many years. I often share the success story of a young girl with anxiety, rage, sleep issues and strong cravings for candies in documentaries and summit interviews and – and how addressing low serotonin with a chewable tryptophan quickly helped:

So sitting in my office with this young girl and her mom, we started to talk about the sweets and the candies and the need to give up the candies. She was fuming with me. She was sitting in a swivel chair. She turned her back on me and didn’t want to talk about having to give up candy at all.

I said, “Look, let’s not even talk about that, but would you take this chewable tryptophan here? And we’ll talk about it in a second.” I gave her 100 mg of the chewable tryptophan and continued discussing things with her mom. She had no idea what it was going to do or how it would make her feel.

Within five minutes she turned her chair back, looked at me and she said, smilingly, “Yes, let’s do it. I can give up the candy.” She was smiling and she was happy.

So long story short, with this young girl, we started her on [chewable] tryptophan [and it turned things around quickly].

You can read her entire story here on the blog – Rage, anxiety, cravings & insomnia in 11-year old girl with RAD/reactive attachment disorder: chewable tryptophan turns things around (she also went gluten-free and addressed low iron levels and the change was transformative.)

Some of the many advantages of tryptophan as a low-dose chewable

Here are some of the many advantages of tryptophan as a low-dose chewable:

The low dose is suitable for sensitive adults and pixie-dust folks (i.e. a small amount goes a long way)
It can be easily broken apart if an even lower dose works well
It’s pleasant tasting
It’s easy to have available to use on the go when traveling or out and about
The dose dose and taste is suitable for children and kids who are picky eaters
The dose dose and taste is suitable for older adults with dementia or Alzheimer’s, adults with special needs or Parkinson’s
One less capsule to swallow and more pleasant that tryptophan powder on the tongue
A good tool for doing the initial one-off trial to confirm low serotonin symptoms before embarking on titrating up to a higher dose of tryptophan

My personal experience with chewable tryptophan

Personally, I have used tryptophan over the years with much success. It’s helped me with sleep issues, the worry type of ruminating anxiety and PMS symptoms.

I also used it when I was grieving after my mom passed away and found it particularly helpful a few months after her passing when I’d start to feel more sad after dinner and go searching for sugar as a pick-up. It worked well because serotonin takes a dip later afternoon/evening.

Most of the time I’ve used 500mg and above – capsules opened and powder.

However I like to try what I recommend (if possible) so I have tried a few bottles of the previous formulation of the chewable tryptophan. It worked well and the taste and texture was pleasant. But because I do better on a higher dose I was needing to chew too many!

I have yet to try this new formulation myself but will report back as soon as I have had a chance to do so – on the taste, the texture and the effectiveness.

Positive feedback on the previous chewable tryptophan product

Until I get feedback on the new formulation, here is some general feedback from individuals in the community.

Jean is a practitioner who uses it herself and with patients:

It works within 15 minutes to stop looping thoughts/anxiety and the dose isn’t too sedating during the day. I never find it too sweet and wouldn’t let the taste keep me from such rapid relief.

I like the 100 mg chewable because it only has tryptophan and I didn’t want the other ingredients in the [Lidtke tryptophan] Complete for my needs.

I’ve had patients do well with tryptophan with the 100 mg chewable and others with the higher dose capsule.

Kelly likes the low 100mg dose compared to the 500mg capsules:

I purchased the adult pills and they were too strong. I was groggy in the morning.

Erin is also a practitioner and mom:

I have used this [the chewable tryptophan 100mg] with my 8 year old when he’s in a rage or showing signs of excessive worry and it works great! So glad it’s coming back. I recommend it to clients all the time.

Ali is also happy the chewable is coming back:

Great news!! I love the chewable and I prefer 100 mg early evening for anxiety and sleep. Sometimes 200mg but not often.

I appreciate them all sharing and hope to get updates from them when they try the new formulation.

Negative feedback on the new tryptophan chewable formulation

Update: June 14, 2025

Unfortunately, since publishing this blog and sharing on Facebook, the negative feedback has been coming in fast and furiously. Here is some of what people are sharing:

Melissa: “Love this company. I like that it’s chewable but it’s a large tablet and flavor is awful. Tastes like when you put maple syrup on a burnt pancake to try and cover up the burnt . I will finish the bottle though. I wish there were other chewable options, like GABA calm’s orange flavor.“
PS: “Revolting. Aftertaste like artificial sweetener. Smoother texture, last longer. Made me suspicious they were fake and I spat it out.“
Tamar: “I recently bought a few bottles of the maple sugar chewable. Taste is quite sweet and artificial, IMO. I don’t like chewing them because the product gets jammed in my teeth and stays there. I’ve been letting them dissolve, which takes a very long time.”

And these are comments from this blog:

Erin: “I was so excited to get this back, especially for my 8 year old son who has symptoms of ADHD rage. However, the new flavor is bitter and gets stuck in our teeth and now I can’t get him to take it!”
Nikki: “I got these about two weeks ago…. Truthfully I think it tastes horrible but that’s just me. Just unpleasant. Kind of sour and stale. They smell amazing but you get one in your mouth and it’s so hard to chew and swallow.”
Tara: “The new formulation of the Lidtke does taste horrible. Initially I thought oh this smells lovely, tried to have my daughter take it and she said ick mom. So I said ok let me try it and ICK was right, the sweetener was gross and it did have a stale taste. So unfortunate as I had hope for this to help my daughter dealing with a lot of fears, worry, upset stomach and negative self talk at 9 yo and rage and sugar cravings.”

As of now I am NOT recommending this product.

The good news is that Nikki emailed Lidtke and shared this: “I just got an email back from Lidtke. Her name was Jessica and she stated: So, I’ve talked to the owner and let him know how many people are complaining about this new formula. He told me he was not aware it was changed and we are having a new batch made using the old formula that everyone loves. Going to take a month maybe a little more but we are definitely having this fixed.”

I appreciate her for emailing them and sharing this update. I’ve been communicating with someone else at the company and was told they have no plans to make any changes so if this is true it’s really good news!

Stay tuned for further updates and please share your own feedback in the comments below.

Additional resources when you are new to using tryptophan and other amino acids as supplements

As always, I use the symptoms questionnaire to figure out if low serotonin or other neurotransmitter imbalances may be an issue.

If you suspect low levels of any of the neurotransmitters and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids on your own so you are knowledgeable. And be sure to share it with the practitioner/health team you or your loved one is working with.

There is an entire chapter on the amino acids and they are discussed throughout the book in the sections on gut health, gluten, blood sugar control (this is covered in an entire chapter too), sugar cravings, anxiety and mood issues.

The book doesn’t include product names (per the publisher’s request) so this blog, The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements, lists the amino acids that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.

If, after reading this blog and my book, you don’t feel comfortable figuring things out on your own (i.e. doing the symptoms questionnaire and respective amino acids trials), a good place to get help is the GABA QuickStart Program (if you have low GABA symptoms). This is a paid online/virtual group program where you get my guidance and community support.

We are also offering the Serotonin Quickstart Program, a paid online/virtual group program where you get my guidance and community support during 5 LIVE Q&A calls.

If you are a practitioner, join us in The Balancing Neurotransmitters: the Fundamentals program. This is also a paid online/virtual program with an opportunity to interact with me and other practitioners who are also using the amino acids.

Wrapping up and your feedback

Now I’d love to hear from you – have you used the chewable tryptophan with success in the past? And how has it helped you or a loved one?

(once you try the new formulation I’d love to hear your feedback on taste, texture and effectiveness)

If you’d like to get on the notification list for the next Serotonin Quickstart Program (a paid online/virtual group program where you get my guidance and community support during 5 LIVE Q&A calls), please do so here.

If you’re a practitioner have you used chewable tryptophan with your clients/patients?

Feel free to share and ask your questions below.

Rage, anxiety, cravings & insomnia in 11-year old girl with RAD/reactive attachment disorder: chewable tryptophan turns things around

May 28, 2021 By Trudy Scott 21 Comments

Today I’m sharing the case of an 11-year-old girl who had huge rage issues, was angry much of the time, suffered from terrible anxiety, had crazy sugar cravings (for bread and colored candies) and had dreadful insomnia. Because of the insomnia she was also very fatigued and this likely drove some of her cravings and irritability too. She was adopted and had been diagnosed with RAD (reactive attachment disorder). During our first session, chewable tryptophan turns things around quickly – she smiles and is willing to make changes and quit the sugar and gluten. We also address low iron levels and with these 4 nutritional interventions this child’s behavior improves dramatically.

This book chapter, Reactive Attachment Disorder, states how The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th Edition (DSM-5) classifies reactive attachment disorder as follows:

a trauma- and stressor-related condition of early childhood caused by social neglect or maltreatment. Affected children have difficulty forming emotional attachments to others, show a decreased ability to experience positive emotion, cannot seek or accept physical or emotional closeness, and may react violently when held, cuddled, or comforted. Behaviorally, affected children are unpredictable, difficult to console, and difficult to discipline. Moods fluctuate erratically, and children may seem to live in a “flight, fight, or freeze” mode. Most have a strong desire to control their environment and make their own decisions. Spontaneous changes in the child’s routine, attempts to discipline the child, or even unsolicited invitations of comfort may elicit rage, violence, or self-injurious behavior.

Reactive attachment disorder/RAD and low serotonin

There is no research on tryptophan helping to address RAD symptoms or trauma, but based on her low serotonin symptoms, a trial of tryptophan was the first thing I considered.

There is, however, evidence to indicate the role of low serotonin in RAD, as indicated by a study where antidepressants were successfully used. The authors mention how:

The absence of responsive and consistent caretaking can subject the developing brain to an inordinate amount of physiological stress, leading to increased cortisol production and consequential inefficiencies in the serotonin and the growth-hormone releasing systems.

Although not specific to RAD, another paper looking at trauma states that:

Serotonin and dopamine levels were found to be abnormal in the presence of PTSD.

As the field of nutritional psychiatry grows, I expect to see more and more research supporting the use of tryptophan and other amino acids for those suffering from symptoms like this. Symptoms that are caused by imbalances that are triggered by the trauma in their lives.

We know that therapy, EFT, EMDR and other approaches are crucial for trauma recovery (this family had already done some of this work) but we must start to incorporate nutritional support too.

The case study

Here are the details of this case study and the nutritional interventions. As I mentioned above, because of her severe rage episodes, a trial of tryptophan was the first thing I considered:

She was referred to me by a friend. The family didn’t have much money. And so, we had to really try and figure out a few simple interventions that we could use that were going to be effective.

This young girl had been adopted. She was diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder and her anger issues were just phenomenal. The mom had to physically put her body around her and hold her down when she was having one of her fits because she was worried that she was going to hurt herself and hurt other people.

She also had anxiety, huge cravings for colored candies and insomnia. She was so fatigued because she wasn’t sleeping well.

So sitting in my office with this young girl and her mom, we started to talk about the sweets and the candies and the need to give up the candies. She was fuming with me. She was sitting in a swivel chair. She turned her back on me and didn’t want to talk about having to give up candy at all.

I said, “Look, let’s not even talk about that, but would you take this chewable tryptophan here? And we’ll talk about it in a second.” I gave her 100 mg of the chewable tryptophan and continued discussing things with her mom. She had no idea what it was going to do or how it would make her feel.

Within five minutes she turned her chair back, looked at me and she said, smilingly, “Yes, let’s do it. I can give up the candy.” She was smiling and she was happy.

So long story short, with this young girl, we started her on [chewable] tryptophan [and it turned things around quickly].

Chewable tryptophan – when I use it and when I don’t

I typically use 500mg Lidtke tryptophan for the adult clients I work with and prefer this company’s product because it is really high quality. It really does work better than many other tryptophan products on the market.

Lidtke also makes a chewable 100mg tryptophan which is also high quality, and the product I used with this young girl. Here are some benefits of this 100mg product:

It’s useful for doing the initial trial in order to figure out if tryptophan is going to help with low serotonin symptoms in children – because it’s a lower dose.
It’s especially useful for children for ongoing use (typically midafternoon and evening) because it’s a lower dose.
It’s also useful for adults who are “pixie dust” folks and do better with a lower dose of supplements in general or respond more severely to medications/alcohol/chemicals. We may start with a trial of the 100mg chewable and increase from there, also typically midafternoon and evening.

I don’t use the chewable 100mg tryptophan under these circumstances:

When the child (or adult) finds that 5 x100mg works for them at each time they need it. In this instance it’s best to switch to a 500mg tryptophan. Using it swallowed may work or it may need to be opened onto the tongue.
When the child (or adult) starts to consume the chewables like candy. They are sweet and do taste good and I’ve seen this happen. Because you are continually consuming something sweet you may end up over-consuming them if sugar addiction is one of your issues. You may also end up taking too much tryptophan.

If the chewable tryptophan is not available where you live, using a small amount of a powdered tryptophan or opening a capsule of the 500mg tryptophan is an option. Since it tastes bitter it can be mixed with mashed banana or inositol. (You can find all the Lidtke products in my online supplement store. The link is in the resources section below.)

Gluten and candies were also a huge issue, and she had low iron

There was more to her issues than only low serotonin:

Gluten was also a huge issue, so we got her off gluten and the candies. The tryptophan helped with this” (i.e. it made it easy to break the addiction and not feel deprived).

Tryptophan also helped her sleep. And it helped with the severe rage issues.

Obviously the gluten was contributing to the rage issues as well.

Her iron and ferritin levels were really low (possibly as a result of her gluten issues). So we added an iron supplement, and animal protein/red meat.

So with just four interventions – the gluten, the animal protein, getting her iron levels up and the tryptophan – this kid was just a new kid.

Here are some articles that are related to the above:

The role of low serotonin, low vitamin B6 and low iron in anxiety and panic attacks
Integrative Medicine Approach to Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety I write about a study where gluten was found to be the cause of a childhood case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Tryptophan for my teenager: she laughs and smiles, her OCD and anxiety has lessened, and she is more goal oriented and focused on school.

Keep in mind there is not a one-size-fits-all and these 4 simple nutritional interventions – tryptophan, gluten removal, adding red meat and addressing low iron – happened to be the combination that worked for this young girl.

Resources if you are new to using tryptophan as a supplement

If you are new to using the amino acid tryptophan as a supplement, here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution and a brief overview here, Anxiety and targeted individual amino acid supplements: a summary.

If you suspect low serotonin symptoms and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids so you are knowledgeable.

The book doesn’t include product names (per the publisher’s request) so this blog, The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements, lists Lidtke chewable tryptophan 100mg, Lidtke tryptophan 500mg and other products that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.

We use an amino acid like tryptophan for quick relief of symptoms, like I did in this instance. Then we focus on the foundations like diet – like no gluten and red meat in this instance – and address all other imbalances, like her low iron. If cortisol was high we would have addressed that.

This case deserves it’s own blog post

In case you’re wondering, I first shared this case study in my interview, “Calming Anxiety, Aggression and OCD with Amino Acids and Food”, on the ADHD and Autism Summit in May 2021. Due to the interest in this case and the use of chewable tryptophan, I felt it deserved a deeper dive and its own blog post with links to some of the research and some practical information about the chewable tryptophan.

Have you used this chewable tryptophan product with success – personally, with your child or with a patient/client?

Have you found that addressing serotonin with tryptophan (or 5-HTP) helps resolve symptoms in a child diagnosed with RAD or a child with rage issues? What about helping with sleep problems, easing anxiety and stopping cravings too?

Have you addressed low iron levels and seen improvements with the removal of gluten too.

Feel free to post your questions here too.