A new supplement based on a milk protein has been introduced on the market to help relieve stress, ease anxiety and alleviate sleep disorders. The supplement is said to work better than other stress relievers such as kava kava and St John's Wort.
US company Symbiotics claims that New Life TryptoZen is lactose-free and causes none of the side effects sometimes associated with insomnia remedies, such as drowsiness, addictive dependency, drug interaction or memory loss.
According to Symbiotics, clinical studies have shown that the milk peptide (tryptic peptide) is as effective as prescription drugs such as Valium, Xanax and Restoril and even more effective than the traditional herbals kava kava and St Johns Wort.
The study participants taking the milk peptide showed, in both mental and physical stress tests, a significant reduction in blood pressure, said the company.
During a mental (Stroop) test, the control group showed a 21 per cent increase in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings when placed under stressful conditions, whereas the increase was only 14 per cent in systolic blood pressure and 16 per cent increase in diastolic blood pressure for the milk peptide group. This is a 7 per cent and 5 per cent reduction of blood pressure respectively, the company said
In addition to lowering blood pressure, the company claims that the milk peptide can also help lower cortisol levels (a key indicator of heart disease). Participants showed no memory impairment, confusion, vertigo, signs of depression or tolerance buildup that would require an increase in dosage of the product.
During the physical stress tests, called a Cold Pressor test, results in the control group revealed that systolic blood pressure increased by 27 per cent, while diastolic blood pressure increased by 31 per cent. The milk peptide group showed a 23 per cent and 24 per cent increase respectively. Once again, blood pressure was lower by 4 and 7 per cent respectively.
Recent safety fears linked to St John's Wort and kava kava could see a number of people trying the milk-based supplement.
Symbiotics also distributes New Life GastroSHIELD, New Life Colostrum, New Life Colostrum Plus, New Life Diet, New Life Body, TherapeuticSolutions and Age Defiance products in US health food stores and retailers.