FeelBetterwithPhenylalaninePhenylalanineMayCheerYouUpItseemstoimprovemoodindepressedpatientsbyconversiontothe“lovemolecule,”phenylethylamineByWillBlockeallwanthappiness,right?AndtheDeclarationofIndependencecitesour“unalienableRight”topursueit.Somepeoplechoosetodothatwithmind-alteringdrugs,someofwhichcanalsoalterthestructureofthebrain—andnotinagoodway.Thebrainisanorgansoexquisitelyfine-tunedtoperformitsinnumerabletasks—amongwhichistomakeusfeelhappy—thatdisruptingitsdelicatechemicalbalanceswithmoleculesthatarealientoitisfoolhardy.DepressionIsStillaChallengeOfcourse,thosechemicalbalancescanalsobedisruptedinthenormalcourseofevents,andthat’sbadenough.Sometimeswe’renothappy,andifthatconditionissevereenoughandlastslongenough,it’scalleddepression.Asusceptibilitytodepressionhashunglikeablackcloudovermankindthroughouthistory.Duringthattime,menandwomenhaveappliedendlessingenuitytowardfindingremediesthatwork.Someofthemdowork—sometimes,forsomepeople.It’saniffyproposition,andthechallengeremainsalmostasgreatasever.Theadventofantidepressantdrugsinmoderntimeshasbeenanundeniableblessing,butit’sonewithsomeunpleasantstringsattached.EnterPhenylalanineAmorenaturalapproachistousenutritionalsupplements,whichmanypeoplepreferbecausethey’relargelyfreeofadversesideeffects,andthey’relessexpensivetoo.Theaminoacidphenylalaninehaslongbeenofinterestbecauseofitsroleintheproductionofdopamineandnoradrenaline,twoneurotransmittersthatplaykeyrolesintheregulationofmood,especiallywithregardtooursenseofwell-being,i.e.,ourhappiness.Significantly,deficienciesoftheseneurotransmittersinthebrainareassociatedwithdepression.Phenylalanineisanessentialaminoacid—itmustbeobtainedfromoutsidesourcesbecauseourbodiescannotsynthesizeitinappreciableamounts.It’soneofthe20commonaminoacidsfoundindietaryproteinsthatweobtainfromplantsandanimals.(Babies,takenote:breastmilkisparticularlyrichinphenylalanine.)HowAminoAcidsAreUsedWhenourdigestivejuicesdegradedietaryproteinstotheirconstituentaminoacids,thelatterenterourbloodstreamandthenenterthecellsofourbodies,theretobeusedindifferentways.Themainuseisinthesynthesisofnew(human)proteins,theworkhorsesoflifeprocesses.Aminoacidsalsoundergochemicaldegradationtoformmajormetabolicintermediatesthatcanbeconvertedtoglucose(ourpremiercellularfuel)oroxidizedintheKrebscycle,thebiochemicalpathwaythatprovidesthechemicalenergyforlife.Alsoimportantistheuseofaminoacidsasthechemicalprecursorsofmanysmallmoleculeswithdiverseandbiologicallyimportantroles.Amongthesederivativesarepurinesandpyrimidines,theorganicbasesthatconstitutethebasepairs(the“rungsintheladder”)inthestructureofournucleicacids,DNAandRNA.Someaminoacidsalsoserveasprecursorsforhormones.Inouradrenalglands,forexample,sometyrosine—anotheraminoacidthat’sfoundinourfood—isconvertedtoanonfoodaminoacidcalleddopa(akaL-dopaorlevodopa).Somedopa,inturn,isconvertedtothehormonedopamine,someofwhichisconvertedtothehormonenoradrenaline,someofwhichisconvertedtothehormoneadrenaline.Thesethreehormonesarecalledcatecholaminesbecausetheirmolecularstructuresincorporatethatofthecompoundcatechol.**Fortwopreviousarticlesonthissubject,see“CatecholaminesKickOuttheDemonsofDepression”(September2003)and“NourishYourBrainwithAminoAcids”(September2004).WhyTyrosineIsImportantThecatecholaminesarehormonalneurotransmittersinboththeperipheralandcentralnervouss...