Mucuna Pruriens: Benefits, Dosage, Side Effects | Using Mucuna Pruriens For Depression

Mucuna Pruriens reviews always say how good this supplement is. It’s known as the “dopamine bean” because of its ability to indirectly raise dopamine levels, improving mood.

But does that dopamine level increase come at a cost? We will also look at Mucuna Pruriens side effects in this review, and whether the side effects could be significant enough to mean you should steer clear of using it.

We will look at the mechanism of action of Mucuna Pruriens, and explain why people are using it to try and retain muscle mass in the bodybuilding world, and also how it’s been linked to rises in testosterone levels, sperm counts, and libido.

Plus, we will look at how Mucuna Pruriens could help depression, and how taking Mucuna Pruriens before bed could aid your sleep. The conclusion of this Mucuna Pruriens review will also tell you where you can buy 100% pure Mucuna Pruriens capsules, and how to spot a good online seller.

What Is Mucuna Pruriens?

Mucuna Pruriens is big news in many parts of the world, but little known about in the West. In Africa, India, China, and across the tropics it is commonly grown and has been used in traditional medicine for as far back as can be traced.

For centuries it’s been used to treat many conditions, including evidence from China that it’s been known that the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease could be minimized using doses of Mucuna Pruriens for centuries, despite not actually knowing what Parkinson’s disease was. It’s also known as the dopamine bean and the velvet bean. You also possibly may have read about it being called the cowhage plant, but that is less common

There are several key benefits to using Mucuna Pruriens that are raved about, but how do those benefits potentially happen? Well, an ingredient in the dopamine bean, often in low concentrations, but sometimes as much as 40%, is a non-protein amino acid called L-DOPA.

L-DOPA is an amino acid that can easily cross the blood-brain barrier. Once it does this, an enzyme we carry in the body converts it into dopamine.

Dopamine functions as a hormone and neurotransmitter in our bodies. One key role dopamine plays in the brain is to regulate motivation and reward, as well as some aspects of pleasure, making it vital the happiness and drive.

Another crucial aspect of dopamine in the body is that it elevates levels of HGH, the human growth hormone, which is crucial to maintaining muscle mass. As we get older, HGH levels decrease, which is why older people start to lose muscle mass.

Benefits Of Mucuna Pruriens

So now that you understand a bit more about how Mucuna Pruriens raises dopamine levels, and levels of HGH, let’s talk about the full range of benefits you can potentially gain from using the best Mucuna Pruriens supplement:

So in terms of bodybuilding, or just maintaining a good physique, the velvet bean could help to keep levels of HGH higher than naturally. As we age, these levels drop. By the time you’re 40 they are half of what they are we are at 20, and the half of the level again by the time we reach 60. So anybody over the age of 30 will benefit from regular doses of Mucuna Pruriens.

If you’re male, you could also see increases in testosterone levels, which can also help with building muscle and strength. In men and women, Mucuna Pruriens raises libido, and in men, it can increase the amount and motility of sperm.

Side Effects To Watch Out For

Now all those brilliant benefits could sound too good to be true, and in one way they could well be. A lot of Mucuna Pruriens reviews don’t tell you about how significant the side effects of using it could be.

Now before you get concerned, you would have to be taking a very high dose, and for a very long amount of time to get the side effects I’m now going to tell you about. But they are potentially there, and very few people are aware of the danger.

In a lot of studies doses have been as high as 5 g per day, but I’m not saying you should go anywhere near that level, especially not every single day. But if you do take a really high dose consistently, then you could be putting your natural dopamine production at risk.

When the body doesn’t need as much dopamine production, because it’s being generated with outside influence, it drops that production level to try and keep things balanced.

When the outside influence disappears, dopamine production levels return to normal within a few days. However, with chronic long-term use, this can shut dopamine production down almost completely, at least temporarily, and sometimes permanently.

This could lead to depression. So you need to watch your doses and check your mood and responses.

Using Mucuna Pruriens For Depression

If you already have depression, then Mucuna Pruriens really can help, but you have to tread carefully because as we have now seen, high doses over a long time can lead to a diminishing of natural dopamine production.

Although most studies into Mucuna Pruriens depression benefits have been on animals, the evidence is clear that it can have a positive effect on dopamine levels, and lower stress and depression.

You will have to be very careful with the dose if you are going to try and use Mucuna Pruriens for depression, and you should keep it as low as possible. But take it every day for a few weeks to see what happens.

However, if you have existing depression and you are on antidepressants, you should be very careful about using Mucuna Pruriens. If you are not using antidepressants, then it is far easier to experiment, but you should never come off them without seeking medical advice.

Using Mucuna Pruriens Before Bed

Some people have advocated using Mucuna Pruriens before bed, to help with sleep problems. However, the link between dopamine and sleep regulation is not fully established. There have been a few studies that have linked dopamine to helping to regulate sleep.

The theory is that dopamine inside the pineal gland influences this. This gland is central to our circadian rhythm, which when settled helps us to sleep regularly and well. Increased dopamine levels seem to stimulate this gland and produce a better understanding of night and day, allowing us to sleep more readily.

There could also be a link between the fact that dopamine just makes us feel more satisfied, and as we are less stressed, it can make us sleep more easily. So it’s worth a try, but the link is tenuous between dopamine and sleep and therefore using Mucuna Pruriens before bed might work, but it might not.

Mucuna Pruriens Dosage

Earlier in this Mucuna Pruriens review, I mentioned about watching the dosage so that you don’t encourage your body to produce less dopamine for the long term.

In the few human studies that have taken place, several grams per day have been used. Also when Mucuna Pruriens has been used to treat Parkinson’s disease, very high doses have been used, up to 30 g per day.

Now obviously we don’t know the purity, but I’m guessing that the purity was pretty good for scientific studies. They would have sourced dopamine bean with high levels of L-DOPA.

Now when I experimented with Mucuna Pruriens regularly, I only take occasionally now, I never went above 2 g per day, which equates to 4 x 500 mg capsules. I always buy Mucuna Pruriens capsules because it’s just easier to get an exact dose. But the loose powder is much cheaper, and so obviously it’s also an option, but it does taste disgusting.

So I would suggest starting with a single gram a day for a week. See how you feel, and then double the dose for another week to see how you feel. If you want to just see how a large dose feels, take several grams at once and wait for lift-off. However, be aware that at larger doses nausea and vomiting can also be a side effect.

Buying The Best Mucuna Pruriens

So look, Mucuna Pruriens reviews are accurate if they are telling you it can really have a positive effect on your mood, libido, and help with your body development and maintenance.

However, you have to watch the dosage and be aware of the potential side effects, especially if you’re looking to explore Mucuna Pruriens depression benefits.

As with any supplement, if you want to get the best effects, then you have to get 100% pure material. The best Mucuna Pruriens supplement I’ve found has been from Absorb Health.

$13.99 will get you 100 capsules, each with 500 mg in it. Free shipping over $75, and a moneyback guarantee make this an unbeatable deal for me.

While I’m concluding this Mucuna Pruriens review, I’ll also mention the fact that Absorb Health does a mood enhancer pack.

This is a discounted pack of five mood-enhancing supplements, including Mucuna Pruriens. So it’s great value, and well worth buying if you want to experiment with several things that could improve your mood, and you want to experiment with stacking Mucuna Pruriens.