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Tyrosine is a truly phenomenal natural antidepressant. In addition to being the fuel that your brain uses to make its three antidepressant cate-cholamines, it is one of the basic ingredients that your adrenal glands need to produce their heroic “fight or flight” chemicals. If you are no longer able to handle stress, like a soldier with shell shock, your adrenal glands may have run too low on their own special cats. Tyrosine has been studied and found to be effective in reversing the physical and mental consequences of stress in military and other subjects.¹³

On top of having antidepressant and stress-protective powers, tyrosine is a primary component of your most powerful pleasure-promoting chemicals, the “enkephalins” (cousins of the better-known endorphins). In this role, tyrosine also contributes to an overall sense of well-being.

Last, but far from least, tyrosine is the raw material from which your thyroid gland makes its vital metabolic regulators, the hormones T₃ and T₄, which stimulate every cell in your body, including your cat-producing brain cells. People with low thyroid function typically have low levels of tyrosine,¹⁴ and we’ve often seen tyrosine supplementation eliminate symptoms associated with this glandular condition, right along with the symptoms of a catless brain.

Note: There is more of the thyroid hormone T₃ in high-cat brain areas than in any other part of the brain. But if your thyroid is sluggish, it may not be able to supply your brain with enough T₃ to produce the cats, even if you take in plenty of tyrosine. When our clients with the flat, tired blahs do not respond dramatically and consistently to tyrosine supplementation, blood testing almost always reveals a low-thyroid condition that requires medicating. You’ll need to do some of the thyroid investigation described in the second part of this chapter if tyrosine supplements and a few other supportive nutrients plus increased protein intake don’t relieve your symptoms.