GABA PAK

If you often suffer from headaches and are irritable when you go without food for more than four hours, have a history of panicky feelings or prefer alcohol, downers and prescription relaxants, then the GABA Pak may be for you.

Like serotonin, GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter associated with relaxation. However, GABA promotes mental (thinking) relaxation more than emotional relaxation. GABA may be instrumental in such actions as calming racing thoughts that can interfere with falling asleep. GABA is also thought to play a role in preventing seizures and anxiety attacks, and GABA deficiencies are associated with chronic anxiety and panic attacks. So effective is this neurotransmitter that it has been labeled the natural Valium of the brain. In fact, it should be the other way around: Valium should be called the unnatural GABA, because Valium can only temporarily make you feel the way you would if your brain were producing adequate amounts of GABA.

Because alcohol mimics the effects of GABA, many people often use alcohol to unwind and relax. Another important class of prescription drugs, called benzodiazapenes, also mimics GABA. These drugs, which are widely prescribed in the treatment of anxiety disorders, include Valium (generic name: diazepam), Librium (chlordiazepoxide), and Xanax (alprazolam). Both alcohol and benzodiazapenes are potentially highly addictive, and using them, often for only short periods of time can severely interfere with normal GABA functions and cause physiological dependence. Is/was a GABA deficiency at the root of your substance abuse problem?