Quitting is not easy. Sometimes, it may seem just about impossible.
Let's say you want some extra boost to your willpower but your certainly not willing to opt for drugs, especially if drugs are the root of your problem.. There is an ever growing interest in vitamins and dietary supplements accompanied by boasts all types of benefits. Shouldn't there be something natural that can help with addiction and compulsion? Perhaps there is.
Scientists are studying an antioxidant for treatment of impulsive/compulsive and addictive symptoms. It's called N-acetyl-cysteine and is abbreviated as NAC.
What is N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC)?
NAC comes from an amino acid; it is a building block of glutathione, which is considered to be the body's most important antioxidant. Glutathione plays a key role in fighting oxidative stress as well as in detoxification or chelation, which is the removal of toxic heavy metals from the body.
Research has shownt that NAC can increase the levels of glutathione in cells. In addition NAC has its own ability to reduce oxidative stress, from the University of Arizona Health Science Center.
NAC for Compulsive/Impulsive and Addiction Symptoms
A review published last year in the journal Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience described the rationale for the use of NAC to treat behavioral problems and psychiatric disorders -- including depression, which has been associated with oxidative stress, and compulsions or addictions, which involve malfunction of the brain's reward systems.
Repetitive acts that seek some type of reward are governed by the actions of another amino acid called glutamate. Malfunction of the brain's glutamatergic system has been linked to addiction. Treatment with NAC is being investigated to determine if it can restore normal glutamate function in the brain.
After NAC is absorbed in the intestines, it passes through the blood to the brain where it is converted to cysteine, an amino acid that contributes to glutathione production. As complex as this chain of events may sound, a series of NAC clinical trials is underway.
Pathological Gambling
Researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine enrolled 27 participants with pathological addiction to gambling in a study to examine the effectiveness of NAC. Significant reductions of gambling behaviors were observed in 16 participants, according to the study, which appears in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
Cocaine Dependence
A study of 23 cocaine-dependent users taking NAC for four weeks found that 70 percent discontinued or significantly reduced their cocaine use.
In a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial, 13 cocaine addicts who took 800 mg of NAC per day during three days of cocaine withdrawal reported a reduction in cocaine cravings and withdrawal symptoms when compared to the placebo group.
In The American Journal on Addictions in 2006, the authors explain: "At the present time, there is no effective FDA-approved treatment for cocaine dependence, despite over two decades of intense research. A pharmacological treatment that could serve as an effective adjunct to psychosocial treatment for cocaine dependence would constitute a major public health advancement."
Results of Clinical Trials on NAC
Tobacco Smoking
A small placebo-controlled study led by researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina looked at the effect of 2400 mg per day of NAC on nicotine-dependent smokers. They found that those taking NAC reported that they smoked fewer cigarettes. The results were published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
Hair-Pulling
Researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine conducted a 12-week, double-blind controlled trial among 50 individuals with compulsive hair-pulling, a condition known as trichotillomania.
A publication by the American Medical Association reveals that "Fifty-six percent of patients 'much or very much improved' with N-acetylcysteine use compared with 16 percent taking placebo. Significant improvement was initially noted after nine weeks of treatment."
So what can we make of all this?
Science is discovering, perhaps anew, the ways in which nutrition's role is not confined to the physical body, but extends above the neck and into our brain and mind. Research now shows the promise in the use of the supplement NAC for smoking, marijuana dependence, cocaine dependence, pathological gambling hair pulling and more.
References and More Reading here
What is N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC)?
NAC comes from an amino acid; it is a building block of glutathione, which is considered to be the body's most important antioxidant. Glutathione plays a key role in fighting oxidative stress as well as in detoxification or chelation, which is the removal of toxic heavy metals from the body.
Research has shownt that NAC can increase the levels of glutathione in cells. In addition NAC has its own ability to reduce oxidative stress, from the University of Arizona Health Science Center.
NAC for Compulsive/Impulsive and Addiction Symptoms
A review published last year in the journal Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience described the rationale for the use of NAC to treat behavioral problems and psychiatric disorders -- including depression, which has been associated with oxidative stress, and compulsions or addictions, which involve malfunction of the brain's reward systems.
Repetitive acts that seek some type of reward are governed by the actions of another amino acid called glutamate. Malfunction of the brain's glutamatergic system has been linked to addiction. Treatment with NAC is being investigated to determine if it can restore normal glutamate function in the brain.
After NAC is absorbed in the intestines, it passes through the blood to the brain where it is converted to cysteine, an amino acid that contributes to glutathione production. As complex as this chain of events may sound, a series of NAC clinical trials is underway.
Pathological Gambling
Researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine enrolled 27 participants with pathological addiction to gambling in a study to examine the effectiveness of NAC. Significant reductions of gambling behaviors were observed in 16 participants, according to the study, which appears in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
Cocaine Dependence
A study of 23 cocaine-dependent users taking NAC for four weeks found that 70 percent discontinued or significantly reduced their cocaine use.
In a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial, 13 cocaine addicts who took 800 mg of NAC per day during three days of cocaine withdrawal reported a reduction in cocaine cravings and withdrawal symptoms when compared to the placebo group.
In The American Journal on Addictions in 2006, the authors explain: "At the present time, there is no effective FDA-approved treatment for cocaine dependence, despite over two decades of intense research. A pharmacological treatment that could serve as an effective adjunct to psychosocial treatment for cocaine dependence would constitute a major public health advancement."
Results of Clinical Trials on NAC
Tobacco Smoking
A small placebo-controlled study led by researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina looked at the effect of 2400 mg per day of NAC on nicotine-dependent smokers. They found that those taking NAC reported that they smoked fewer cigarettes. The results were published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
Hair-Pulling
Researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine conducted a 12-week, double-blind controlled trial among 50 individuals with compulsive hair-pulling, a condition known as trichotillomania.
A publication by the American Medical Association reveals that "Fifty-six percent of patients 'much or very much improved' with N-acetylcysteine use compared with 16 percent taking placebo. Significant improvement was initially noted after nine weeks of treatment."
So what can we make of all this?
Science is discovering, perhaps anew, the ways in which nutrition's role is not confined to the physical body, but extends above the neck and into our brain and mind. Research now shows the promise in the use of the supplement NAC for smoking, marijuana dependence, cocaine dependence, pathological gambling hair pulling and more.
References and More Reading here
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