The 5 Mood Types Part 2: Mood Solutions with Amino Acid Therapy
This is part 2 of my two-part series on amino acid therapy and the Mood Types. In part 1, we went over the what the 5 main Mood Types are.
In this post, we’re going to go over the amino acids that are used to address those same low neurotransmitter symptoms. Click on the Mood Type Questionnaire if you want to take the quiz that helps you identify your own Mood Types!
What is Amino Acid Therapy?
Amino acid therapy is a natural approach to balancing brain chemistry and overall health by using specific amino acids—building blocks of protein—to support neurotransmitter production. This therapy is often used to address mood disorders, anxiety, depression, cravings, and even hormone imbalances by replenishing essential neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and GABA.
Benefits of Amino Acid Therapy:
Improves Mood & Mental Health: Supports neurotransmitter balance, reducing anxiety, depression, and mood swings.
Enhances Cognitive Function: Boosts focus, memory, and mental clarity.
Supports Nervous System & Stress Response: Helps regulate stress hormones and improve resilience to stress.
Reduces Cravings & Supports Addiction Recovery: Balances brain chemistry to curb cravings for sugar, alcohol, and other substances.
Aids Sleep & Relaxation: Promotes restful sleep by supporting melatonin and GABA production.
Balances Hormones: Helps regulate cortisol, estrogen, and other key hormones by improving overall neurotransmitter function.
Targeted Amino Acids for Each Mood Type
Below we’re going to go over each Mood Type and how we can use amino acids to address them. This comes from the extensive work of Julia Ross and one of my mentors Trudy Scott, and also from my own experience working with amino acids.
NOTE: Please be sure to read the contraindications at the end of each section, because even though amino acids are a natural food-based supplement, there are certainly some things to be aware of before trying them yourself. Click here to read Trudy Scott’s article on Amino Acid Precautions
1. Low Serotonin: Tryptophan + 5-HTP supplements
To support low serotonin symptoms like anxiety, depression and negative thoughts, we use tryptophan or 5-HTP. These two amino acids are the precursors to making serotonin in the body. After supplementing, you should begin feeling less anxious, experience less negative thoughts and lighter and brighter moods. Some people do better with tryptophan and others do better with 5-HTP.
*Typical dosing:
5-HTP: 50-150mg of 5-HTP, twice daily, either on waking and at midmorning, or midafternoon and bedtime (can take with food)
Tryptophan: 500-1,500mg tryptophan twice daily, either on waking and at midmorning, or midafternoon and bedtime
Contraindications: These can both interfere with mood medications, so don’t take these if you’re on an SSRI or MAOI, unless you’re working with a practitioner who understands amino acid therapy and drug interactions and get the go-ahead from your prescriber.
2. Low Dopamine/Catecholamines: Tyrosine supplements
If you have low dopamine you may have very low energy and need lots of sleep, feel very unfocused or have ADHD symptoms, get bored easily and have flat and depressed moods. To address low dopamine/catecholamines, we use l-Tyrosine, or Tyrosine for short. Tyrosine is used in the body to produce thyroid hormones and make dopamine and adrenaline.
This amino acid is brilliant. It’s helped me ditch my morning coffee, improve my motivation and focus, wake up early (and with energy) and get myself through the days when I had really bad chronic fatigue from SIBO and viral load. After supplementing, you should notice you feel more focused, energized and with brighter moods and motivation.
Typical dosing: 500-1,000mg of Tyrosine 1-3 times daily, away from protein meals. Always start at the lowest dose and slowly titrate up from there.
Contraindications: Not recommended if you have Grave’s disease/overactive thyroid, Phenylketonuria (PKU), melanoma, high blood pressure, migraine headaches, or bipolar. Take last dose before 3pm if you have insomnia, and note that it can sometimes make you feel more anxious if you haven’t addressed low GABA and serotonin first, since it helps increase adrenaline. I didn’t experience this myself, but it’s worth noting.
3. Low GABA: GABA supplements
Low GABA is very uncomfortable. I know because I’ve been there (for years!!) and know what a relief is is to finally have enough GABA in the brain. If you’re low, you’ll feel anxious, may have intrusive thoughts, feel extra worried, can’t shut your mind off, have poor sleep, experience tense, tight muscles and aches, and oh did I mention the panic attacks? After supplementing, you should notice calmer moods, less physical tension and those racing, worried thoughts should begin melting away.
Typical dosing: 125mg GABA 1-2 three times daily between meals. I generally take 200-300mg per dose when needed.
Contraindications: Can lower blood pressure. Don’t take more than 700mg in one dose, this may make symptoms worse. I’ve experienced feeling more wired/jittery or my arms and legs feeling tingly after a dose of 750mg and more. If that happens, just take 1,000mg vitamin C to stop any symptoms.
4. Low Endorphins: DPA supplements
Low endorphins will make you sensitive to emotional and physical pain, tear up or cry easily and crave comfort foods to soothe your moods. After supplementing, you’ll start to feel more comforted and less sad and emotionally raw pretty quickly.
There are two types of amino acids for supporting your low endorphins, DPA and DLPA (D-Phenylalanine and DL-Phenylalanine.) These amino acids help reduce pain by blocking enzymes that break down endorphins. I’d suggest starting with DPA, as people often get better results with it. Supplementing with either DPA or DLPA can quickly turn off your intense cravings for comfort foods, while supporting and balancing your emotions. Sometimes one works better than the other, so I’ve included both options below. You don’t need both at once.
Typical dosing:
DPA: 500 to 1,500mg 3 times a day, before breakfast, lunch and dinner
DLPA: 500-1,55mg 3 times daily, before breakfast, mid morning and midafternoon
Contraindications: If you have insomnia don’t take DLPA after 3pm, as it’s more stimulatory. Both types not recommended if you have Grave’s disease/overactive thyroid, Phenylketonuria (PKU), melanoma, high blood pressure, migraine headaches, or bipolar.1
5. Low Blood Sugar: L- Glutamine + Nutrition
Low blood sugar is a very common cause of anxiety, mood swings and fatigue between meals. Your brain needs a steady supply of glucose to function normally and give you stable moods. Low blood sugar symptoms are identical to anxiety and mood swing symptoms, and can even wake you from your sleep with panic.
L-Glutamine is a gut-healing amino acid that also helps to improve glucose metabolism. After supplementing, you should notice feeling more grounded and less irritable, shaky or anxious.
Typical dosing:
l-Glutamine: 500-1,500mg 3 times daily, before breakfast, lunch and dinner (can use the powdered form for a quicker effect)
1 Simple Step to Start Balancing Blood Sugar:
Try this: Eat a little protein and healthy fats within 1 hour of waking to help steady your blood sugar and regulate your stress hormones for the rest of the day. You can even start small with a beef stick and some nut butter on celery. A good blood-sugar balancing breakfast could be 2-3 eggs cooked in ghee and half an avocado- it’s that simple! Aim for 3 meals a day with around 20-30 grams of protein with each meal, and try to keep carbs around 30-40 grams per meal (around 1/2 cup of complex carbs) to keep glucose and insulin balanced- instead of dipping and causing anxiety between meals.
If you struggle with low blood sugar between meals, you would likely benefit eating a snack that includes 8-15g of protein every 2-3 hours to keep your blood sugar stable.
How To Do An Amino Acid Trial
I always suggest using the ‘trialing method’ when you start taking amino acids, which means you’re chewing the lozenge or opening the capsule and pouring it into your mouth directly, (or with a little water). This helps it get right into your bloodstream so you can note the effects very quickly. After you find the right dose for you, you can swallow the capsules normally. Always start with the lowest dose, or even half of the capsule/lozenge to make sure you tolerate it well.
Print out the Mood Type Questionnaire and record the levels of severity for each symptom on a scale of 0-10, with 10 being most severe.
Record your starting symptom severity. Let’s say you picked GABA as your first amino acid. Start with the lowest dose of GABA (125mg), chew up the lozenge or pour the powder on your tongue or in a little water, swallow, then after 5-10 minutes, record the severity of those same symptoms for a second time (you can use the same page, just jot down the changes next to your first recorded numbers).
Record any changes. Did your anxiety, racing thoughts or physical tension go from a 9 in severity to a 3 or 4? If it helped just a little, you might want to try 2 capsules/lozenges the next time you do a trial of this amino acid. This will guide you on your own personal dose for amino acids. Most people benefit from taking 3 doses a day, as the half-life of amino acids are only a few hours long since it’s a food-based support.
How long should you take amino acids? You will probably notice after a few weeks or months that you don’t need such a high dose as at first, and start slowly lowering your daily dose. Eventually you will notice you only need the amino acids once in a while, on an as-needed basis. As long as you’re eating plenty of protein in your diet, you’ll have enough neurotransmitter production built up after a few months of amino acid therapy to feel well and balanced without them.
*If negative effects are felt (a slight headache or slight worsening of symptoms) immediately take 1,000mg of vitamin C to halt any of the negative effects. This works with all the amino acids, but it also stops any of the benefits you felt.
**IMPORTANT: Always check with your health practitioner or prescriber before adding in new supplements, especially if you’re on any medications or have any medical diagnoses.
Working with me
I hope this post is helpful for you! Amino acid therapy has changed my life for the better, and now I love to support my clients with this amazing tool!
If you’d like to work with me to address your Mood Types, just book your virtual Intro Session and I’ll help you put together a clear and concise wellness plan to improve your moods!
If you want more info on how to take amino acids and read other people’s experiences trying them, just go to Trudy Scott’s blog at everywomenover29.com.
Take the Mood Type Questionnaire below to learn which of your own neurotransmitters may need extra support:
To purchase any of the amino acids I mentioned in this post at 5% off, just go to my Fullscript supplement dispensary below:
References:
*Dosing instructions from Trudy Scotts book ‘The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution’
1: Trudy Scotts book ‘The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution’