GABA Euphoria Happiness

You are on FIRE. Go get 'em!

I’m a big advocate of boosting/promoting GABA and there are several ways to get the building blocks for it. But we also need the enzyme to break it down. 

I started finding the research behind Autistic and ADHDrs in connexion to lower GABA in 2020. There was some prior, but it’s been on the increase. And these papers all suggest that it’s a key fundamental difference to how we’re wired. However, our modern diet doesn’t help. And while I think there’s a lot more questions here, I’ve found a few things to help boost it. 

However, my mum didn’t drink or smoke or do drugs (religiously against them as her older brother was the opposite) but as we’re finding the genetic link to ADHDrs having autistic kids, Autistics having dyslexic kids and so on, you *may* have already been set up to have lower GABA regardless. 

GABA is designed to be the bodies inhibition, like a resistor. We can even think of them like a customs office confiscating what they please as it’s responsible for filtering out unwanted “noise”, but it’s also responsible for pruning, slowing signalling, and so on. I would suggest there is a positive to it being a bit less, but I think there might be more happening externally and impacting the gut, further complicating GABA. We do see this affected with Long Covid, so I feel like it’s a “watch this space” sort of thing. 

I'd been having aldi energy tablets (soluble ones that are essentially fake berocca) recently until I noticed a pattern. Had a flair up of acne that I'd got under control previously and the only thing I'd changed was returning to using these. Which ties in to having them in the past at times of flare ups, just hadn't made the connection. 

Few days off them along with drinking a lot of water and things appear to o be clearing again.

Google seems to suggest it's the b12 and 6 at high doses. (Admittedly they have other ingredients too) So I've found something else that helps but causes side effects that means I won't use it...

Oh well!

Yeh good point bunny. Luckily I know what I am doing with dosing and stuff. I am not worried about the possible consequences as I have been taking this vitamin for years and not suffered any ill effects. But thanks for the heads up. 

Thanks for that post, some useful information there.

Vitamins (and some drugs for that matter) seem a bit like money. You need just enough. If you have built up a deficiency you might need more than enough for a short while, then a much lower sustaining dose. 

And peoples body chemistry and processing abilty seems to vary quite a lot, so the recommended dose is always a "best guess", and to get the right dose for the "dosee", some testing and evaluation is always required, as well as authoritative guidance. 

Yellow tree 118 said:

I take Holland and Barrett’s B6 100mg tablets.

Whilst that all sounds great, I suggest checking with your GP about taking this supplement, as it can cause detrimental side effects depending on factors including dose, duration of use, and other medications that people might be taking.

As you know, we can't give medical advice here, so I'll just reference some related resources:

The UK's Department of Health and Social Care advises: "Do not take more than 10mg of vitamin B6 a day in supplements unless advised to by a doctor".

The same NHS resource also specifies that:

"The amount of vitamin B6 adults (aged 19 to 64) need is about:

1.4mg a day for men
1.2mg a day for women
You should be able to get all the vitamin B6 you need from your daily diet.

The bacteria that live naturally in your bowel are also able to make vitamin B6."

NHS - B Vitamins and Folic Acid - Vitamins and Minerals

In 2023, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) specified a daily tolerable upper intake level (UL) of 12mg for adults:

efsa - Scientific opinion on the tolerable upper intake level for vitamin B6

www.reading.ac.uk/.../Vitamin-B6-could-reduce-anxiety-and-depression

Yeh it’s good. I think yeh I should share my wins with people. I take Holland and Barrett’s B6 100mg tablets. I’ve tried other brands of B6 but Holland and Barrett’s ones are the ones I trust most and the ones I always use. I used to take these years ago on and off and found some benefit from it but I just didn’t appreciate the science behind how they work. It is what they do now that I understand how they work it helps me know why I am taking them and I do see real benefits. They increase GABA a brain chemical that reduces brain activity and prevents seizures and anxiety. Did you know B6 is the only vitamin that when there is a lack of it can cause epileptic seizures. It’s called pyridoxine dependent epilepsy. There is studies that say that taking B6 for at least 3 months substantially increases GABA levels in the human brain. I will attach these studies.

What I hope you will do next, is tell us exactly what brand, strength and dosage you take.

Maybe even provide an indication of your body size, (LMS would be enough) and possibly your age group. 

I'd certainly like to give it a go, and see if my experience matches yours.  

THIS IS HOW THE INTERNET SHOULD WORK!!

We know know from Catwoman (IIRC) that B12 gives you more energy, We know from me that D3 makes you much morre resistant to illness, and we now know from you that B6 makes us happier! (E&OE)

No one who sells supplements is allowed to really say what they do except in the most vague and uninspiring terms, we need people like you (and dare I say it, me) to testify as to what works. 

Hat Tip and maximum respect for this post, mate! (Please excuse the over familiarity, but I get excited when other people discover and share good things!)