Many of you, myself included, have spent nights tossing and turning, a hamster wheel of thoughts stopping your tired soul from sleep. It can be a frustrating process, especially when you’ve made efforts to remedy the problem, such as magnesium use, meditation and cleaning up your diet.

GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid) is a neurotransmitter. It’s the main inhibitory neurotransmitter, meaning it calms you down. GABA deficiency is becoming an increasing problem among westerners due to stimulative technologies such as blue-light screens, social media and environmental toxins, as well as foods that produce far too much adrenaline, such as grains, coffee, and alcohol.

One amino acid, excessive in a western diet is Monosodium Glutamate. This is the sodium salt of Glutamic Acid and one of the most abundant non-essential amino acids. You may know it as MSG.

The use of MSG in foods is a big issue for our brains, because when Glutamate is in excess, our neurons become over excited and don’t fire how they’re supposed to. This can lead to overstimulation of brain cells, nerve damage and neurological inflammation. Some symptoms of all this biochemical mess include insomnia, anxiety and hyperactivity. Looking for a supplement to deal with inflammation and stress? Check out quercetin australia.

When GABA is low, Glutamate is high and visa versa. It’s not as simple as trying to produce more GABA to compensate for sleep problems, we must also minimise MSG exposure in our foods.

There’s an enzyme called GAD (glutamic acid decarboxylase) which converts Glutamate into GABA, however this enzyme is often impaired due to several different factors, one being viral infections like strep.

So, how do we increase this enzyme to then allow our body to convert excitatory Glutamate into inhibitory GABA? Taurine!

Taurine has been clinically shown to increase the GAD enzyme, found predominantly in seafood and red meat. When western diets consist primarily of grains, dairy and non-organic food sources, it’s no wonder our bodies aren’t allowing us to sleep! The use of certain botanicals have also proven to be beneficial, such as passionflower and lavender, which lock GABA in our brains allowing us to use the magical restful power of this neurotransmitter.

Take Action:

  • Consume foods that are rich in taurine, such as grass-fed red meat and non-farmed seafood
  • Burn or diffuse essential oil lavender at night
  • Find a passionflower tonic to have before bed