The Mood Cure by Julia Ross

Several friends have been asking recently about Julia Ross’ excellent book “The Mood Cure”. It describes how to dramatically shift your mood and energy using amino acids like L-Tryptophan (for depression), GABA (for stress and anxiety), DL-Phenylalanine (for both focus and to eliminate physical and emotinal pain), L-Tyrosine (for drive and clarity), and L-Glutamine (to eliminate cravings). These amino acids are precursors to neurotransmitters and supplementing them between meals can correct amino acid imbalances in the diet. The effects are not subtle and can often be felt within 15 or 20 minutes. Whole Foods sells them and I’ve had good luck with the much cheaper Swanson’s branded versions.