GABA supplementation may improve emotional health in overweight women

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GABA supplementation may improve emotional health in overweight women

The efficacy of GABA supplementation is partly measured by heart-rate variability (HRV), which is determined by the fluctuation in inter-beat intervals controlled by the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the auto­nomic nervous system.

“Sedentary individuals characterized by low physical fitness often manifest autonomic imbalances typified by augmented sympathetic and attenuated parasympathetic activity at rest,” the team of Brazilian researchers wrote in the Journal of Dietary Supplements​. 

“Within this investigation, volunteers previously sedentary underwent a structured training regimen, wherein the GABA-supplemented group demonstrated promising findings with marked improvements in HRV. These favorable GABA-associated effects on HRV potentially stem from dual avenues: direct HRV enhancements and secondary improvements in emotional and sleep parameters, sub­sequently influencing HRV.”

The findings suggest that the elevation of HRV fostered the nervous system’s “rest and digest” parasympathetic predominance over “fight or flight” sympathetic excitation, presenting GABA supplementation “as a promising avenue for augmenting both cardiovascular and emotional well-being among individuals actively participating in physical exercise.”       

GABA and the brain

GABA is a neurotransmitter implicated in stress, anxiety, sleep-related disor­ders, and heart rate reactions and HRV, the latter serving as a cost-effective, noninvasive metric to determine cardiovascular health, the researchers noted.

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