During my absence from devpressed I’ve read Julia Ross’ Mood Cure (well, a translation so I can pass it along more easily) and pretty much straight after reading the 3rd chapter about Serotonin I’ve went to the pharmacy to get some L-Tryptophan (the stuff the body converts to (well first 5-HTP and then) Serotonin, which needs to be broken down to create Melatonin which in turn keeps you asleept at night). Half an hour after taking a 500mg dose of L-Tryptophan I actually felt really good, just like on some Tuesday in early summer when I slept well for the first time in months and started the day well rested. I can remember two times in the last year I felt so good.
This isn’t a marihuana-high “good”, just the “enjoying the summer-sun on your skin” good that many of us have lost.
But Julia Ross isn’t just writing about supplements she also explains that many things in you diet can make you sick and even addicted. She lays out a nice masterplan to clean up your diet so your body get’s the stuff it needs to create enough of all those neurotransmitters and homones to keep you alive AND kickin’.
And to come back to the studies: There are like 16 pages of references in the back of this book. I bet you can find some studies among those. Of course, there’s also an Articles and Research section on her website.