Last updated: September 30th, 2019
N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine, or NALT, is a supplement that’s commonly used by people with ADHD.
People with ADHD are naturally drawn to stimulating supplements like NALT for obvious reasons.
But, NALT is a unique supplement, because many people report feeling smooth energy, stress relief, happiness, and motivation after using NALT.
In other words, many people agree that NALT can work well when it comes to helping you think, focus, and perform better.
So, this article dives into everything that you need to know about…
- What NALT is
- The potential benefits of using NALT when you have ADHD
- The benefits of using NALT when you’re experiencing a “comedown” or “crash” from Vyvanse or Adderall
- The best sources of NALT
- How much NALT should you take?
- The potential risks of using NALT
Ready? Let’s get started…
Contents
What is N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine (NALT)?
N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine is a derivative of L-tyrosine, which is an amino acid that helps your body produce neurotransmitters like:
- Dopamine
- Serotonin
- Adrenaline
NALT is a special form of tyrosine, because NALT has undergone acetylation.
This means that NALT is easier for your body to absorb compared to plain tyrosine.
NALT is significantly more water soluble than standard tyrosine.
Most people agree that NALT is more effective and useful than regular tyrosine.
What NALT can potentially do for people with ADHD (the possible benefits)
People with ADHD lack dopamine. This is a normal characteristic of having ADHD.
By taking NALT, there’s a chance that you can help your ADHD brain produce the dopamine that it needs.
Of course, if you already use ADHD medication to treat your ADHD symptoms, then you probably won’t need any more dopamine.
But, for people who don’t use ADHD medication, you could have some success with supplementing with NALT.
You might experience short-term cognitive benefits such as:
- Improved focus
- Better mood
- More motivation
Everyone responds differently to supplements.
So, if you’re interested in trying NALT, then you’ll likely need to find out for yourself how your brain responds to NALT.
Can you use NALT with ADHD medications like Vyvanse or Adderall?
First of all, it’s worth noting that you should always consult with a doctor before taking any supplements in combination with ADHD medication.
But, I will admit that NALT is popular in the ADHD community because many people supplement with NALT in the evening, when their ADHD medication is starting to wear off.
This makes sense, because if you’re experiencing a Vyvanse crash, then your brain is likely being depleted of dopamine (while Vyvanse is leaving your system).
So, supplementing with NALT in the evening is one way to ease your mind while your ADHD medication is wearing off.
The best sources of NALT
Interested in trying NALT for yourself?
Well, these are the best sources of NALT that I could find…
1. BulkSupplements Pure N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine (NALT) Powder
BulkSupplements Pure N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine (NALT) Powder is a pure, powdered form of NALT.
The main benefit of consuming NALT in powder form is that you can mix this type of NALT with juice, and simply chug it down.
NALT is water soluble. So, you can drink some NALT before exercising, studying, running errands, or doing anything else that requires you to focus.
Plus, BulkSupplements is a trustworthy brand that provides lab-tested NALT.
You can take 400mg of this powdered NALT daily, before your meal. 400mg is about the same as 1/8th of a teaspoon.
If you decide to use this powdered NALT, then you might want to invest in an inexpensive measuring spoon set (Amazon) if you don’t have one already. Taking accurate doses of NALT will help you determine exactly how much NALT works best for your brain and body.
Pro tip: Some people actually “microdose” NALT by taking ~150 mg of NALT in the morning, followed by ~75 mg of NALT in the evening. If you’re sensitive to stimulants, then you might want to start with a low “microdose” of NALT too.
2. Jarrow Formulas N-Acetyl Tyrosine
Jarrow Formulas N-Acetyl Tyrosine (Amazon) is a great NALT supplement to take if you prefer swallowing capsules rather than guzzling down a powdery beverage.
I’ve always trusted Jarrow Formulas. They’re an awesome company, and I trust that their NALT is high-quality.
But, here’s the main benefit of supplementing with NALT from Jarrow Formulas:
This product actually contains vitamin B6 in addition to N-Acetyl Tyrosine.
Vitamin B6 is involved in amino acid metabolism. So, vitamin B6 can help your body absorb NALT.
The Jarrow Formulas brand of N-Acetyl Tyrosine ultimately provides you with a beneficial pair of ingredients that can improve your mood, focus, energy level, and more.
3. Source Naturals N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine
Source Naturals N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine (Amazon) is a quality source of NALT that comes in the form of tablets (rather than the powder or capsules listed above).
The major difference with this NALT supplement is that it contains folate (vitamin B9) in addition to NALT and vitamin B6.
Folate is provided (along with vitamin B6) to assist in the process of converting L-tyrosine to key biological compounds like:
- Dopamine
- Epinephrine
- L-dopa
- CoQ10
- Thyroid hormones
- Melanin
I like Source Naturals’ products, and can vouch that this is a premium NALT supplement that’s worth trying.
How much NALT should you take?
Here’s a quick breakdown of how much NALT you should take, depending on which NALT product you invest in…
> BulkSupplements Pure NALT recommends taking 400mg of NALT per serving (1/8 teaspoon of pure powder)
> Jarrow Formulas NALT recommends taking 350mg of NALT per serving (one capsule)
> Source Naturals NALT recommends taking 300mg of NALT per serving (one tablet)
So, supplementing with 300mg to 400mg of NALT is an appropriate dose for most people.
But, keep in mind that everyone is different. Some people respond best to smaller-sized doses (microdoses) of NALT.
Other people prefer larger-sized “megadoses” of NALT, in the realm of 1000mg or more (especially before exercising).
The key is to experiment with small doses of NALT at first, and then work your way up to determine the precise dose of NALT that works best for your system.
This is actually the reason why I prefer the pure powder variety of NALT. When you consume powdered NALT, you’re free to experiment with different dose sizes, and determine exactly how much NALT you need.
What are the risks of using NALT?
NALT is a relatively safe non-essential amino acid.
From Dictionary.com:
Nonessential amino acid – An amino acid that can be made by humans and so is not essential to the human diet. There are 11 nonessential amino acids: alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine, and tyrosine.
The only real issue with NALT is that you can develop a tolerance for NALT quite easily. This means that it’s best to take breaks from supplementing with NALT for at least a few days out of the week.
It’s common for people to supplement with NALT during the work week (for increased work performance), and then take a break from using NALT over the weekend. You could refer to this as running a cycle of “5 days on, two days off.”
It’s also important to keep in mind that tyrosine may interact with MAOIs (according to Examine.com). So if you’re taking an MAOI, please talk with your doctor before using NALT.
And, here’s a quick tip for taking NALT:
To improve the effectiveness of NALT, it’s best to take NALT on a completely empty stomach. If you take NALT with a meal, you might not feel it work. It’s for this reason that many people use NALT first thing in the morning, or late in the evening.
Final thoughts
Overall, there unfortunately isn’t a whole lot of scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine (NALT) at this time.
But, many people with ADHD swear that NALT helps with focus, mood, energy, and motivation.
So, with the extremely affordable price tag of most NALT supplements, I think it’s worth a shot at experimenting with NALT.
At worst, you might end up with a slight improvement in your mood, and a little bit of extra energy.
At best, you could feel significantly more motivated to accomplish your work, socialize with people, exercise, and perform better at whatever you need to do!
NALT is one of those dietary supplements where there’s plenty of positive first-hand reports without much scientific backing to support those claims.
So, please proceed with caution, while staying open to the chance that NALT could work very well for you. You never know what could happen.
I am a 62 year old male and was diagnosed with ADHD in Sept., 2017. I was prescribed Ritalin, took it for one month and experienced very little improvement with unpleasant side effects including chest discomfort, irritability and trouble sleeping. About a month ago I started taking L-Tyrosine and saw a little improvement. Now I have been taking NALT for two weeks and it has been a game changer for me. The most important improvement I have experienced is that I can concentrate during conversations especially with my wife. I remember little things (non-stimulating things), and she really appreciates that. With greatly reduced frustration, It takes a lot more to get me into the ‘fight or flight’ mode during conversations. That alone has saved my 20 year marriage! I take 150mg first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, and in about 30 minutes, my mood turns to ‘everything is OK’. I’ll take your advice and take a break from taking NALT a few times a week. Thanks for providing this information that I’ve been searching for.
I’m really happy to hear that NALT has been a game-changer for you Jeff. That’s amazing to hear. It’s always nice when you can get incredible results from a nice little OTC supplement. I wish you and your wife the very best!
Hey Stefan,
Great article! I was diagnosed with ADD last year and have chosen the natural route to help with my symptoms. NALT has defiantly helped with my attention, focus, and inability to stay still during the day. I also noticed that I am more confident in conversations with people because I can pay attention and remember what they said. Before, I could not retain what people were talking to me about because my brain was focused on other things besides the conversation. Many people with ADD are also non-methlyators which means that the body is unable to make enough dopamine to satisfy the demand of the receptors sites due to lack of B vitamins. Supplementing with a methyl supplement enhances the NALT.
Awesome tip about some of us being non-methylators. I hadn’t heard that before. But that makes sense, because I feel incredibly better after taking a basic food-based multivitamin (with lots of vitamin B). Awesome comment!
Do you have ADHD and if you do, how do you deal with it? I take meds and supplement with NALT. I’m was just wondering what you do. Maybe it can help me.
Hi Jesse. This website is all about how I try to live a great life with ADHD. Enjoy 🙂
Thank you so much for your article. It answered all my questions and then some.
Much appreciated…
Thank you Cindy 🙂
Hi Stefan – I’m really liking the info you are sharing on the various supplements. I don’t respond well to the ADD/ADHD medications, and I’m looking for alternatives to stay focused, motivated and productive. Thanks for sharing your recommendations.
I’m liking you too Jennifer. Thanks for reading!
I can’t wait to try this. I spent a year on and then off vyvanse, then took a few pills to get through some stressful holidays this year. I forgot just how much of a RELIEF it is to be medicated. I’ve tried combos of L tyrosine and L phenylalinine and both made me INCREDIBLY sleepy and depressed. What gives? Perhaps I should have tried microdosing those too, but I’m going to give anything a shot at this point. I hate the confrontation of seeing doctors for vyvanse, especially as I’ve moved around a lot…ADHD much? 😉
Ah yes it’s frustrating CF but definitely worth finding the right tools that work for your life. Whether that’s the right foods, ADHD meds or supplements!
This is just a private note to you, Jeff. I had an academic career as a linguist and in retirement I have been doing native English copy editing from our home in Cairo, Egypt (wife is Egyptian) (Google “native English copy editing”; I am #1 in the world and have been for about 10 yrs). I am from Iowa in the USA originally > 6 yrs @ uiowa (BA, MA), 2 yrs @ uhawaii (MA), 5 yrs in Micronesia (compiling a native language dictionary), 7 yrs in Australia (PhD linguistics and anthropological research officer at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Heath) and then 5-7 yrs, I think it was, just making some MONEY (long haul truck driver back in USA). Then another two yrs at the Australian National University with a dream grant to write about the prehistory of family (“social”) organization about the Polynesians, Micronesians and those of “Melanesia” who speak related languages… what was that?… oh, yes… two yr dream grant and then retiring to my wife’s native Egypt.
Began learning about adult ADHD from 18 months ago or so when I was retained to deal with the legacy of a young gentleman who died of cancer just as he was finishing up the Arab world’s first PhD on adult ADHD (so far as I know). He screened 300 consecutive adult outpatients presenting for consultations due to issues of various sorts and surprise, surprise, surprise ~25% screened positive for adult ADHD (the most prominent comorbidity was actually bipolar).
So I worked with the Rakhawy (shutter) family of psychiatrists to deal that that young fellow’s legacy and slowly got hooked on the notion of learning to facilitate adult (male) ADHD screening and diagnosis.
I have some eminant international advisors (Kooij [Netherlands], Moffitt [Indiana but perhaps orginally from UK], Ginsberg [Sweden], Young [UK] who are all women… perhaps only women have the patience for dealing with ADHD men.
Anyway, I was very glad a few hours ago to have my first long look at your ADHDboss web site.
I’ll put you on my “Cairo Quarterly” email list if you send me your prefered email address (next mailing ~15 July).
Thank you very much for your highly informative comment Jeffrey. Will send you an email shortly. I’d be happy to learn more about Arab Adult ADHD.
How many times a day does one need to take NALT? Is it 400 mg per day? And is it okay to give to an elementary-aged child?
Once a day is great. I’d consult your pediatrician in giving NALT to your child.