STRESS IV THERAPY IN KATY & THE WOODLANDS

Amino acids, also called “the building blocks of protein”, are natural compounds that combine to form proteins in the body. When proteins are digested and broken down, they leave behind amino acids. Amino acids are crucial in helping the body break down food, repairing body tissue, growing, and performing many other bodily functions.

This combination of amino acids may help boost metabolism, boost energy levels, increase endurance, and help to burn calories and fat. Another benefit to taking this blend is that you will be receiving the essential and nonessential amino acids your body requires to stay healthy.

Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin that was first isolated in the 1930s. The term vitamin B6 refers to six common forms, namely pyridoxal, pyridoxine (pyridoxol), pyridoxamine, and their phosphorylated forms.

Pyridoxine nutritional status has a significant and selective modulatory impact on central production of both serotonin and GABA – neurotransmitters which control depression, pain perception, and anxiety – owing to the fact that the decarboxylases which produce these neurotransmitters have a relatively low affinity for pyridoxal phosphate (PLP). In a prospective study of 3,503 free-living people aged 65 and older from the Chicago Health and Aging Project, total vitamin B6 intakes (but not dietary intakes alone) were inversely correlated with the incidence of depressive symptoms during a mean follow-up period of 7.2 years.

Vitamin B12 is an essential vitamin that’s crucial for many vital metabolic and hormonal functions — including the production of digestive enzymes and carrying important nutrients into and out of cells. Due to how it helps convert and synthesize many other compounds within the body, it’s needed for well over 100 daily functions. Some of the roles that are attributed to vitamin B12 include: red blood cell production, DNA/RNA synthesis, methylation and producing the coating of the nerves.

L-Lysine is an essential amino acid which cannot be synthesized by mammals, thus making it indispensable. A diet deficient in L-lysine (Lys) decreases the whole-brain content of Lys and affects norepinephrine activity in the hypothalamus. Of all indispensable amino acids (AA), 2 Lys is the one most strongly conserved, due to its capacity for storage and slower catabolism. Prolonged lysine supplementation reduced plasma cortisol in animals by inhibiting long-term anxiety but without directly affecting the adrenal gland.

Acute stress has been shown to be associated with increased plasma Mg levels and increased urinary Mg excretion. This means that during times of chronic stress the body is having to use a lot of magnesium. Clinical manifestations of hypomagnesemia include neuromuscular irritability and weakness (tremors, fasciculations, tetany and positive Chvostek’s and Trousseau’s signs, although some of these features may be due to concomitant hypocalcemia), headaches, focal seizures, hyper- emotionality, generalized anxiety, panic attack disorders, insomnia, fatigue, and asthenia.

An interesting correlation has been reported between Mg deficiency and attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Elevated subjective stress levels and stress intolerance is often mentioned as part of the clinical presentation of ADHD, and often these patients present high post-stress cortisol concentrations.

GABA is a brain chemical that blocks certain communication between nerve cells in the brain. Researchers think GAMA may make you calm or boost your mood. Magnesium has been shown to modulate GABA activity in the brain. Magnesium ions can occupy GABA receptors acting as GABA receptor agonists to help facilitate GABA neurotransmission. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain that plays a role in motor control, vision, and anxiety. GABA and magnesium bind to benzodiazepine receptors resulting in an anxiolytic effect. These are the same receptors that are targeted with anxiolytic prescription medications like Lorazepam (Ativan) or Diazepam (Valium).

Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter that plays an important role in the development of the brain and is a key player in neuroplasticity, learning, memory, and locomotion. The amount of glutamate released in the brain is tightly regulated by the central nervous system. Increased levels are found in the brains of patients suffering from major depressive disorder, which may play a role in its pathophysiology.

Magnesium is a very potent inhibitor of NMDA receptors (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor), which are a subtype of glutamate receptors. Magnesium is a natural antagonist to calcium and exerts its inhibitory effect in the nervous system by blocking the flow of calcium through the voltage-dependent NMDA receptors, preventing an excitatory response in the brain.

A magnesium deficiency coupled with high levels of calcium and glutamate is a recipe for disaster in the brain. This combination can depolarize neuronal membranes and lead to altered synaptic function and the development of anxiety and depression. The NMDA/glutamate pathway is one-way magnesium exerts its anxiolytic and antidepressant effects in the brain.

Taurine is a type of amino acid found in many foods and often added to energy drinks. Many people take Taurine as a supplement, and some researchers refer to it as a "wonder molecule."

Taurine has been shown to have several health benefits, such as a lower risk of disease and improved sports performance. It is also very safe and has no known side effects when taken in reasonable doses. The reason we are at risk of becoming deficient in Thiamine quicker than some other vitamins has to do with the way our bodies handle Thiamine once it is absorbed. Upon absorption into the body, Thiamine is used to form thiamine pyrophosphate, which as noted in the table provided is an essential co-factor used by several cellular enzymes. The pyrophosphate portion is important since this group on the Thiamine is used to bind to magnesium and then further bind to amino acid side chains on the cellular enzyme. This allows the thiamine pyrophosphate to function as a co-factor to that enzyme so that it can facilitate the forward movement of its assigned biochemical reaction. Unfortunately, thiamine pyrophosphate binding to the enzyme is relatively weak and thus results in a high turnover of thiamine by the body. Therefore, a patient who consumes a Thiamine deficient diet or has impaired absorption of Thiamine from the intestines can easily become deficient.

Thiamine is one of the first B vitamins to be used in detoxification of liver diseases (hepatitis, cirrhosis, fatty liver), especially in alcoholics.

Vitamin C is a potent reducing agent, meaning that it readily donates electrons to recipient molecules. Related to this oxidation-reduction (redox) potential, two major functions of vitamin C are as an antioxidant and as an enzyme cofactor.

Vitamin C is the primary water-soluble, non-enzymatic antioxidant in plasma and tissues. Even in small amounts vitamin C can protect indispensable molecules in the body, such as proteins, lipids (fats), carbohydrates, and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), from damage by free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are generated during normal metabolism, by active immune cells, and through exposure to toxins and pollutants (e.g., certain chemotherapy drugs and cigarette smoke). Vitamin C also participates in redox recycling of other important antioxidants; for example, vitamin C is known to regenerate vitamin E from its oxidized form.


Vitamin C’s role as a cofactor is also related to its redox potential. By maintaining enzyme-bound metals in their reduced forms, vitamin C assists mixed-function oxidases in the synthesis of several critical biomolecules. Symptoms of vitamin C deficiency, such as poor wound healing and lethargy, result from impairment of these enzymatic reactions and insufficient collagen, carnitine, and catecholamine synthesis.

Vitamin C affects several components of the human immune system; for example, vitamin C has been shown to stimulate both the production and function of leukocytes (white blood cells), especially neutrophils, lymphocytes, and phagocytes. Specific measures of functions stimulated by vitamin C include cellular motility, chemotaxis, and phagocytosis. Neutrophils, mononuclear phagocytes, and lymphocytes accumulate vitamin C to high concentrations, which can protect these cell types from oxidative damage. In response to invading microorganisms, phagocytic leukocytes release non-specific toxins, such as superoxide radicals, hypochlorous acid ("bleach"), and peroxynitrite; these reactive oxygen species kill pathogens and, in the process, can damage the leukocytes themselves. Vitamin C, through its antioxidant functions, has been shown to protect leukocytes from self-inflicted oxidative damage. Phagocytic leukocytes also produce and release cytokines, including interferons, which have antiviral activity. Vitamin C has been shown to increase interferon levels in vitro.