Smoking can cause many health problems. Cigarettes contain nicotine, a highly addictive stimulant, that often makes quitting smoking a difficult proposition. There are numerous products on the market that purport to help you quit smoking. Tyrosine is an amino acid found in some of these products that may help you quit smoking. Before taking any supplement that contains tyrosine, however, you should speak to a medical professional.
Tyrosine
Tyrosine is a nonessential amino acid naturally produced in your body. The amino acid phenylalanine is responsible for the production of tyrosine. Your body uses tyrosine to support several neurotransmitters including dopamine. According to "Nicotine Psychopharmacology," neurotransmitters influence your mood and because addiction involves the part of your brain where these neurotransmitters react, tyrosine may alleviate some of the withdrawal symptoms associated with breaking addiction.
Dosage
Before taking any supplement, you should talk to a health professional and fully understand all of the possible complications and drug interactions associated with the use of the supplement. "Nicotine Psychopharmacology," recommends that you take 2,000 mg per day of tyrosine for smoking cessation. Additionally, you should start taking the tyrosine supplement while you are still smoking and develop a plan to gradually reduce the amount of cigarettes you smoke.
Withdrawal Symptoms
You may experience withdrawal symptoms when you stop smoking. Tyrosine may help minimize some of these withdrawal symptoms. Common symptoms associated with nicotine withdrawal include anxiety, insomnia, increased appetite, impatience, poor concentration, irritability and strong and powerful cravings for nicotine.
Benefits of Quitting Smoking
You can realize many benefits by quitting your smoking habit. Besides the social implications associated with smoking, doctors have attributed many health problems to cigarettes. You can greatly reduce the risks of developing many of the diseases associated with smoking by quitting smoking. Health risks associated with smoking include emphysema, chronic bronchitis, bladder cancer, oral cancer, head and neck cancers, lung cancer and coronary heart disease.
References
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Smoking Cessation; July 2003
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Tyrosine
- "I Don't Smoke!": A Guidebook to Break Your Addiction to Nicotine"; Joseph Cruse, 2009
- "Nicotine Psychopharmacology"; Jack E. Henningfield, et al.; 2009
