Tryptophan, an essential amino acid, helps to manufacture serotonin, a neurotransmitter that may help stabilize moods and provide better sleep. The body uses tryptophan to synthesize protein from foods and needs the amino acid for growth and development. Tryptophan also helps to make niacin, a B-complex vitamin necessary for health. The body cannot make tryptophan, which must come from foods.
Foods
Foods containing tryptophan include turkey, chicken, fish, cheese, eggs, milk, nuts, peanut butter, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, soy and tofu, MedlinePlus notes. Carbohydrate-rich foods improve the action of tryptophan when it crosses from the bloodstream to the brain, signaling neurotransmitters to help you relax.
Relieving Anxiety
Tryptophan may relieve or prevent anxiety, according to MayoClinic.com, which recommends getting tryptophan from carbohydrates, such as whole grain bread, cereal and pasta. Whole grains also include oatmeal, oat bran, brown rice and barley. Carbohydrate foods as well as foods containing tryptophan may help relieve tense feelings caused by stressful conditions by regulating neurotransmitters. Tryptophan also improves sleep. Anxiety can cause insomnia in some cases.
Producing Serotonin
Neurotransmitters, made from amino acids, determine your moods and changes in your mind that affect motivation, focus or relaxation. Protein breaks down into amino acids during digestion. Some proteins, such as tyrosine, produce energy and mental alertness by increasing levels of certain neurotransmitters that give you a mental boost and excite you. Carbohydrates, on the other hand, release insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin clears away many amino acids, but leaves tryptophan alone, Middle Tennessee State University explains. Tryptophan travels from the bloodstream to the brain and has the opposite effect of protein energizers. It converts to serotonin, a brain chemical that provides you with a sense of calm and improves sleep.
Needed for Niacin
Tryptophan also helps other nutrients to provide healthy body function. Niacin, a form of vitamin B-3, may help control cholesterol levels and improve circulation. Deficiencies in the vitamin can lead to disorders of the central nervous system. Niacin has been used to treat depression, alcohol dependence and pellagra, a disease caused by B-3 deficiency that can lead to skin disease, dementia and depression. Tryptophan can convert into niacin, but the body also needs other nutrients in order for the amino acid to work properly. Those nutrients include iron from cereals, bread, dried beans, lentils and poultry; riboflavin from lean meats, eggs, legumes, nuts, green leafy vegetables and dairy products; and vitamin B-6, found in fish, cereal and liver.
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