{"id":11259,"date":"2023-12-08T14:00:19","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T22:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.everywomanover29.com\/blog\/?p=11259"},"modified":"2023-12-08T10:28:33","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T18:28:33","slug":"one-of-the-most-common-myths-gaba-supplements-dont-work-gaba-is-too-big-a-molecule-to-get-across-the-blood-brain-barrier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everywomanover29.com\/blog\/one-of-the-most-common-myths-gaba-supplements-dont-work-gaba-is-too-big-a-molecule-to-get-across-the-blood-brain-barrier\/","title":{"rendered":"One of the most common myths: \u201cGABA supplements don\u2019t work – GABA is too big a molecule to get across the blood brain barrier\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"gaba<\/p>\n

GABA supplements don\u2019t work \u2013 GABA is too big a molecule to get across the blood brain barrier. They don\u2019t typically work unless you have a leaky gut which means you have a leaky brain\u201d (also referred to as leaky blood brain barrier\/BBB).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is one of the most common myths I hear about GABA. Neither of the above statements are true. I stand by my recommendations of GABA Calm and other GABA products as an effective way to boost GABA levels that are low, and ease physical anxiety symptoms and the other symptoms you can experience with low GABA levels.<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, Suzanne asked a question on the blog after hearing a doctor state the above about GABA supplements not working for anxiety. She was justifiably confused and concerned:<\/p>\n

I stumbled across this video on Youtube and am seeking your thoughts on it please. In my quest to achieve a state of calm as naturally as possible, I research a lot of stuff. I have always taken on board the knowledge you share about GABA.<\/p>\n

The video, made by a quite well known fitness trainer, focuses on GABA. Your team suggested I time stamp the part of the video of interest, but frankly, there are poignant points made throughout.<\/p>\n

I would be really appreciative if you have time to watch it, as now I\u2019m unsure that the GABA Calm I have purchased, and yet to take, is in fact, going to be effective.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The video she had watched was a very recent Youtube video where a well-known fitness trainer interviews an integrative medical doctor. It\u2019s the doctor who said: \u201cGABA supplements don\u2019t work.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I reassured Suzanne and provided her with some additional reading (more on that below). This topic has been discussed by me before but it\u2019s time for another blog post that gathers the information into one place. Hopefully it offers you confidence if you are also uncertain and can be a resource for you to share with the naysayers or those who just don\u2019t yet know that GABA supplements really do work (when used in a specific way)!<\/p>\n

The effects of GABA supplements may be exerted through BBB passage or indirectly, via an effect on the enteric nervous system (but we don\u2019t really know)<\/h2>\n

I first discussed GABA and the blood brain barrier controversy during one of my interviews during The Anxiety Summit in 2016. I shared this October 2015 paper, Neurotransmitters as food supplements: the effects of GABA on brain and behavior<\/a>, which states that we don\u2019t really know how GABA supplements work:<\/p>\n

There is some evidence in favor of a calming effect of GABA food supplements, but most of this evidence was reported by researchers with a potential conflict of interest. We suggest that any veridical effects of GABA food supplements on brain and cognition might be exerted through BBB passage or, more indirectly, via an effect on the enteric nervous system. We conclude that the mechanism of action of GABA food supplements is far from clear, and that further work is needed to establish the behavioral effects of GABA.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I also discuss the fact that GABA\u2019s relaxing effect may be due to peripheral effects rather than the effect on\/in the brain. Here is an excerpt from this paper: GABA-receptors in peripheral tissues<\/a><\/p>\n

GABA and its receptors are found in a wide range of peripheral tissues, including parts of the peripheral nervous system, endocrine, and non-neural tissues such as smooth muscle and the female reproductive system.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Feel free to read more about this here<\/a><\/p>\n

Valuable feedback about GABA\u2019s effectiveness from other practitioners<\/h2>\n

Dr. Josh Friedman, integrative psychotherapist uses amino acids and other nutritional approaches in his practice:<\/p>\n

[GABA] is definitely something I use. I am not a biochemist, so I actually don\u2019t really know whether it crosses the blood\/brain barrier, nor do I care actually. The first question should be, is it harmful? Are any of these things going to cause harm? And the answer with all the amino acids is no, they\u2019re not going to cause harm, especially when compared to psychiatric medicines. The second question is, does it work? Is it helpful for our patients that we see in our practice? Yes it is.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jonathan Prousky, ND, MSc, editor of the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine and author of Anxiety: Orthomolecular Diagnosis and Treatment <\/em>shared this in our season 2 interview: Tapering off psychiatric drugs so they do not ruin your life<\/a><\/p>\n

I have found GABA to be invariably helpful and I don\u2019t really know exactly how GABA works but I know it to be very, very safe and, to me, that is fundamentally important. It\u2019s not associated with any withdrawal, with any tolerance, with any habituation, so people can try it without a lot of concern.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I feel the same way – GABA supplementation works, it is safe and it doesn\u2019t really matter how it works.<\/p>\n

Dr. Kharrazian\u2019s GABA Challenge for a leaky blood brain barrier is a theory<\/h2>\n

In addition to sharing the above with Suzanne, I also shared this blog with her: Dr. Datis Kharrazian\u2019s GABA Challenge for a leaky blood brain barrier is a theory and we still have much to learn<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I had the pleasure of interviewing him late in 2019 and we talked about his GABA challenge for testing for a leaky blood brain barrier. Read the above blog to learn how Dr. Kharrazian came up with the GABA Challenge and the fact that it\u2019s just a theory.<\/p>\n

GABA case studies\/success stories if you\u2019re still unsure<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re still unsure I encourage you to read the many case studies published in my book \u201cThe Antianxiety Food Solution<\/a>\u201d and on this blog. Here are some of them:<\/p>\n