Statistics say, a diagnosis of infertility is as stressful as a diagnosis of HIV or terminal cancer. So I'm always on the lookout for ways to help keep that stress from interfering with your hormone balance.
Recently, I've been researching L-theanine, a compound found in green tea, which is also used in supplement form. It's got some interesting benefits, including reduced blood pressure, reduced heart rate, antitumor activity, increased serotonin and dopamine levels in the hippocampus, hypothalamus, and striatum, neuroprotection, weight loss, stroke protection, improved learning and memory, reduced neuron excitability, reduced insulin concentration, suppressed food intake
Of course, the caffeine and polyphenols in green tea have enough benefit themselves that for the most part, I'd prefer to see green tea consumed whole instead of parsed into its separate parts. However, given the fact that this anxiety we see with our audience can stretch into the extreme zone, there may be benefit to L-theanine in addition to whole green tea in your daily program. I am also intrigued by the beneficial effects on learning and memory, given the number of you reporting the problems you're having in that department.
I'm running a little theanine experiment here with myself as the subject. Not that it's all that scientific, but I do like to test things I'm writing about, when I can, so I've got a personal as well as an evidence-based perspective. Stay tuned for some followup reports on how my study is coming along!
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