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Food, Mood and Women's Health – Be your healthiest, look and feel great!

Archives for May 2014

Is Roundup toxic and a cause of anxiety, autism and celiac disease?

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Dr. Stephanie Seneff, Senior Research Scientist at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, kindly agreed to share her expertise on Roundup/glyphosate on The Anxiety Summit.

This is the title of our interview: “Aluminum and glyphosate (Roundup) collaborate to cause anxiety, depression, autism and celiac disease.”

Recently Dr. Seneff has become very concerned about the current autism epidemic and her research leads her to believe that glyphosate plays a critical role in this epidemic as well as in modern diseases like anxiety and depression

During our interview Dr. Seneff shared this:

“There are a group of us who are extremely concerned because the manufacturer of glyphosate has repeatedly claimed that it’s almost harmless to humans. So people are using it very carelessly and they are not monitoring it in their blood, in their urine, in their food or in their water. Everyone is assuming that it’s fine and so it is extremely insidious and dangerous for that reason”

We also talked about how widespread the use of Roundup has been, which is all rather disturbing considering what Dr. Seneff and other researchers are finding.

Dr. Seneff shared this:

“Wheat and sugar cane… farmers have been increasingly adopting the practice of spraying these crops right before the harvest (with Roundup)…These are not Roundup ready so the crops dies. And that’s the intention…to hasten the harvest… Nobody thinks it’s toxic…And we have the celiac disease epidemic…and all these gluten free sections showing up in the grocery stores. I think this is directly due to Roundup residue in the wheat.”

Dr. Seneff’s 2013 paper called Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance found that:

“Deficiencies in tryptophan, tyrosine, methionine and selenomethionine associated with celiac disease, match glyphosate’s known depletion of these amino acids”… contributing to anxiety and depression.

The paper ends with this plea:

“We conclude with a plea to governments to reconsider policies regarding the safety of glyphosate residues in foods.”

Join us on The Anxiety Summit to hear the whole interview (and hear 20+ other experts share research, nutritional pearls, food advice and protocols)

  • Why glyphosate is sprayed on wheat right before the harvest, and how this explains the epidemic in gluten intolerance
  • How glyphosate disrupts gut bacteria causing a deficiency in beneficial bacteria and an overgrowth of pathogenic forms
  • How glyphosate depletes minerals like cobalt, zinc, molybdenum, and manganese by caging them; and how it depletes serotonin and GABA levels
  • How glyphosate disrupts cytochrome P450 enzymes in the gut and liver, with devastating consequences

The Anxiety Summit is a free online virtual event that runs June 9 to June 22 and will be bringing together experts from all over the world – to share nutritional approaches to end anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks and OCD. Get access here www.theanxietysummit.com

UPDATE: the summit concluded on Tues 6/24 – season 2 of The Anxiety Summit will be in November 2014. If you’d like to be on the notification list just sign up here www.theAnxietySummit.com

Nutritional interventions in postpartum depression and anxiety

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A 2013 paper published in Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine and titled “Nutritional interventions in depression and perinatal depression” states the following:

In pregnancy three “different physiological causes of depression have been identified: low serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine levels in the brain; altered neuromembranes and the impact of polyunsaturated fatty acids on these membranes; and hormones, especially hormonal changes that occur during and after pregnancy. Each of these pathways is affected by specific nutrients and may be altered by nutritional approaches.”

The paper lists the following possible nutritional deficiencies to consider:

  • Folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 – which help maintain sufficient levels of neurotransmitters in the brain . These B vitamins are critical factors in homocysteine metabolism and homocysteine is a necessary precursor in the biosynthesis of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
  • omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) – which keep neuronal membranes fluid and thereby enhance neurotransmitter production
  • SAMe – which has an antidepressant effect

The authors also discuss the importance of addressing possible imbalances of sex hormones, cortisol and thyroid hormones.

The paper concludes with this:

“Nutritional interventions may be a cost effective way of preventing and treating depression in pregnancy. When used prophylactically, nutritional interventions may decrease the incidence or severity of perinatal depression. When used as treatment methods, nutritional interventions may reduce the utilization of or the necessary dose of psychotropic drugs. Decreasing the amount of psychotropic drugs used during pregnancy may reduce the risk of harm to the fetus, while still providing the mother with an equivalent amount of therapy.”

In addition to the above, there is also research on: tryptophan, melatonin, zinc, and the role of inflammation in postpartum depression and anxiety.

It should be noted that by addressing many of these factors, both depression and anxiety may be alleviated. Also, since each person has their own unique biochemistry, it’s important to figure out what factor plays a role for that person.

I recently had the opportunity to share and more when I exhibited at the “California Maternal Wellness Summit: Postpartum Depression and Beyond.”

I met some wonderful women and groups who are doing amazing things to support women who have postpartum anxiety and depression. The response to my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution, and all the research on the powerful food mood connection was wonderful!

Because I feel this topic is so important, I’ve interviewed Christa Orrechio for “The Anxiety Summit.” The topic of her interview is: “Preventing and Quelling Post-Partum Anxiety.”

“The Anxiety Summit” is a free online virtual event that runs June 9 to June 22 and will be bringing together experts from all over the world – to share nutritional approaches to end anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks and OCD.  You can register for “The Anxiety Summit” here.

UPDATE: the summit concluded on Tues 6/24 – season 2 of The Anxiety Summit will be in November 2014. If you’d like to be on the notification list just sign up here www.theAnxietySummit.com

Anxiety nation: why are so many of us ill-at-ease

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anxious childAnxiety nation – this is what we are!

I recently received a call from a school in New York City asking me to present to the parents of the autistic children who go to the school. The school director said the biggest issue their kids face is …anxiety and OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).

“For a condition that affects so many of us, there is very little agreement about what anxiety actually is. Is it a physiological condition, best treated with medication, or psychological – the product of repressed trauma, as a Freudian might suggest?

Is it a cultural construct, a reaction to today’s anomic society, or a more fundamental spiritual and philosophical reflection of what it means to be human?

For most sufferers, the most pressing concern is whether drugs work, and if therapy is a good idea.”

This is an excerpt from a recent article with this same title on newstatesman.com – you can read the whole article here.

The author also states:

“The most recent nationwide survey, which took place in 2007, found that three million people in the UK have an anxiety disorder.

About 7 per cent of UK adults are on antidepressants (often prescribed for anxiety, too) and one in seven will take benzodiazepines such as Xanax in any one year.

Mental health charities warn that our anxiety levels are creeping even higher”

Something is NOT working, both in the UK, here in the USA and in other developed countries – it’s time to be open to more than only medications and therapy.

I’d like to suggest that we rather look at the beneficial effects of real whole food and nutrients (like zinc and GABA and tryptophan) and exercise and yoga and nature.

Here are a few examples:

This questionnaire is taken from chapter 6 of The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings, now available in major books stores, at Amazon and via www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com. – See more at: https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/low-gaba-questionnaire-anxiety/#sthash.UI3XqHNv.dpuf

Read more in The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings, available in major books stores, on Amazon and via www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com

 

This questionnaire is taken from chapter 6 of The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings, now available in major books stores, at Amazon and via www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com. – See more at: https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/low-gaba-questionnaire-anxiety/#sthash.UI3XqHNv.dpuf
This questionnaire is taken from chapter 6 of The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings, now available in major books stores, at Amazon and via www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com. – See more at: https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/low-gaba-questionnaire-anxiety/#sthash.UI3XqHNv.dpuf