g-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an amino acid that functions as an inhibitory neurotransmitter. It serves one-third of brain neurons and is involved in depression and mania.
GABA is known for producing a calming effect. It’s thought to play a major role in controlling nerve cell hyperactivity associated with anxiety, stress and fear.
Although there are some dietary supplement and food sources for GABA (cruciferous vegetables, spinach, tomatoes, beans, and rice), the primary source may be endogenous prodution. Nervous tissue, the gut microbiome, the liver, pancreas, and endothelial cells are important sources for production.
Endogenous GABA is produced by the decarboxylation of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamic acid. It can also be produced from the diamine putrescine using diamine oxidase (DAO). Also, the gut microbiome is capable of synthesizing various hormones and neurotransmitters. For example, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species can produce GABA.
In general, plasma GABA may reflect brain GABA activity, however urine GABA levels are felt not to correlate with CNS levels.
References:
- Petty F. Plasma concentrations of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and mood disorders: a blood test for manic depressive disease? Clin Chem. 1994;40(2):296-302.
- Briguglio M, Dell’Osso B, Panzica G, et al. Dietary Neurotransmitters: A Narrative Review on Current Knowledge. Nutrients. 2018;10(5):591.
- Brandes RP. A Buttery Taste to Vascular Biology: Endothelial Cells Generate and Release γ-Aminobutyric Acid. Circ Res. 2016;119(5):577-579.
- Lee H, Doud EH, Wu R, et al. Mechanism of inactivation of γ-aminobutyric acid aminotransferase by (1S,3S)-3-amino4-difluoromethylene-1-cyclopentanoic acid (CPP-115). J Am Chem Soc. 2015;137(7):2628-2640.
- Hardt J, Larsson LI, Hougaard DM. Immunocytochemical evidence suggesting that diamine oxidase catalyzes biosynthesis of gamma-aminobutyric acid in antropyloric gastrin cells. J Histochem Cytochem. 2000;48(6):839-846.
- Nicholson-Guthrie CS, Guthrie GD, Sutton GP, Baenziger JC. Urine GABA levels in ovarian cancer patients: elevated GABA in malignancy. Cancer Let. 2001;162(1):27-30.
- Galland L. The gut microbiome and the brain. J Med Food. 2014;17(12):1261-1272.
- Dhossche D, Applegate H, Abraham A, et al. Elevated plasma gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in autistic youngsters: stimulus for a GABA hypothesis of autism. Med Science Mon. 2002;8(8):Pr1-6.
- Griffiths JA, Mazmanian SK. Emerging evidence linking the gut microbiome to neurologic disorders. Genome Med. 2018;10(1):98.
What does it mean if your g-aminobutyric acid (GABA) result is too high?
High intake of protein and GABA-containing foods can contribute to elevated levels.
The metabolism and degradation of GABA requires a vitamin B6- dependent enzyme; therefore vitamin B6 deficiency can contribute to elevated GABA levels.
Elevated plasma GABA levels have been observed in autistic children.
All Your Lab Results.
One Simple Dashboard.
Import, Track, and Share Your Lab Results Easily
Import, Track, and Share Your Lab Results
Import lab results from multiple providers, track changes over time, customize your reference ranges, and get clear explanations for each result. Everything is stored securely, exportable in one organized file, and shareable with your doctor—or anyone you choose.
Cancel or upgrade anytime
What does it mean if your g-aminobutyric acid (GABA) result is too low?
Decreased protein intake, GI maldigestion, and malabsorption can contribute to lower levels. Also, since GABA can be made endogenously from glutamic acid and other pathways, low glutamic acid levels, issues with enzymes like DAO, or an altered microbiome should also be considered.
Reduced GABA levels are known to exacerbate seizures.
Laboratories
Bring All Your Lab Results Together — In One Place
We accept reports from any lab, so you can easily collect and organize all your health information in one secure spot.
Pricing Table
Gather Your Lab History — and Finally Make Sense of It
Finally, Your Lab Results Organized and Clear
Personal plans
$79/ year
Advanced Plan
Access your lab reports, explanations, and tracking tools.
- Import lab results from any provider
- Track all results with visual tools
- Customize your reference ranges
- Export your full lab history anytime
- Share results securely with anyone
- Receive 5 reports entered for you
- Cancel or upgrade anytime
$250/ once
Unlimited Account
Pay once, access everything—no monthly fees, no limits.
- Import lab results from any provider
- Track all results with visual tools
- Customize your reference ranges
- Export your full lab history anytime
- Share results securely with anyone
- Receive 10 reports entered for you
- No subscriptions. No extra fees.
$45/ month
Pro Monthly
Designed for professionals managing their clients' lab reports
- Import lab results from any provider
- Track lab results for multiple clients
- Customize reference ranges per client
- Export lab histories and reports
- Begin with first report entered by us
- Cancel or upgrade anytime
About membership
What's included in a Healthmatters membership
Import Lab Results from Any Source
See Your Health Timeline
Understand What Your Results Mean
Visualize Your Results
Data Entry Service for Your Reports
Securely Share With Anyone You Trust
Let Your Lab Results Tell the Full Story
Once your results are in one place, see the bigger picture — track trends over time, compare data side by side, export your full history, and share securely with anyone you trust.
Bring all your results together to compare, track progress, export your history, and share securely.
What Healthmatters Members Are Saying
Frequently asked questions
Healthmatters is a personal health dashboard that helps you organize and understand your lab results. It collects and displays your medical test data from any lab in one secure, easy-to-use platform.
- Individuals who want to track and understand their health over time.
- Health professionals, such as doctors, nutritionists, and wellness coaches, need to manage and interpret lab data for their clients.
With a Healthmatters account, you can:
- Upload lab reports from any lab
- View your data in interactive graphs, tables, and timelines
- Track trends and monitor changes over time
- Customize your reference ranges
- Export and share your full lab history
- Access your results anytime, from any device
Professionals can also analyze client data more efficiently and save time managing lab reports.
Healthmatters.io personal account provides in-depth research on 10000+ biomarkers, including information and suggestions for test panels such as, but not limited to:
- The GI Effects® Comprehensive Stool Profile,
- GI-MAP,
- The NutrEval FMV®,
- The ION Profile,
- Amino Acids Profile,
- Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones (DUTCH),
- Organic Acids Test,
- Organix Comprehensive Profile,
- Toxic Metals,
- Complete Blood Count (CBC),
- Metabolic panel,
- Thyroid panel,
- Lipid Panel,
- Urinalysis,
- And many, many more.
You can combine all test reports inside your Healthmatters account and keep them in one place. It gives you an excellent overview of all your health data. Once you retest, you can add new results and compare them.
If you are still determining whether Healthmatters support your lab results, the rule is that if you can test it, you can upload it to Healthmatters.
We implement proven measures to keep your data safe.
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.