Archives for August 2015

Targeted individual amino acids: what do we really mean?

August 21, 2015 By Trudy Scott 54 Comments

tryptophan — Lidtke Tryptophan 500mg is an example of an individual amino acid

You’ve heard me talking about using targeted individual amino acids with my clients but what do we really mean by targeted and individual?

“Targeted” means the amino acids are very specific for a person who may have anxiety, or low mood, or feelings of negativity or worry or overwhelm or experience emotional eating.

The big focus is that they’re targeted to a person’s “individual” needs. We each have our own unique biochemistry and therefore our needs are different. There is no one-size fits all.

There is another aspect to “individual” amino acids – it means they are not part of a combination product but are standalone amino acids such as tryptophan, 5-HTP, GABA, tyrosine, glutamine and DLPA. This allows them to be easily titrated up or down as needed based on your individual needs. There is one combination product I really like and use a lot and that is GABA Calm (it has GABA, tyrosine and glycine). Here are the brands I like.

These targeted individual amino acids work really well and are very powerful when you figure out the right amino acids you need. I have all my clients complete the Amino Acid Questionnaire and we start our trials based on this.

These targeted individual amino acids also work well when you take them in the correct amounts – doing a trial and starting low is the best way to do this. Most people can start with the typical starting amount. For example, 500mg tryptophan is typical to start with and I like to start my clients on 125mg GABA. However, if you’re very sensitive, you may be what we call a “pixie dust” person and may need a few dabs to start.

These targeted individual amino acids also work best when you take them at the right time. Different amino acids are more effective at certain times: like tryptophan/5-HTP later in the day; tyrosine earlier; and GABA, glutamine and DPA throughout the day.

You may have changed your diet to a real whole foods diet, you may be on medications for anxiety or depression, and maybe you’re not getting results or maybe you’re experiencing side-effects from the meds.

Even though you’ve quit coffee and sodas you still feel anxious and overwhelmed and you still stress-eat. You just know intuitively that you’ve got to get to the root cause of the problem.

Maybe you’ve removed gluten, sugar and other carbs but you still feel deprived. You still feel like you need that reward or treat. Maybe the addictive nature of gluten/sugar/carbs is getting the better of you still can’t quit and there’s something missing.

When there’s this “something that’s missing”, this is when you would consider targeted individual amino acids. We are figuring out if you’ve got this deficiency, and then we are supplementing short-term, for 3 to 12 months, to raise your levels so you can start to feel good, calm, happy and motivated again, with no more cravings.

Please be aware that not everyone benefits from individual amino acids. They only work if you have a deficiency and actually need them. If you don’t need them they won’t make any difference or they may even make you feel worse. For example, if you don’t need tryptophan and take it (or even if you take too much) you may feel more anxious and more emotional. This can happen even if you score high on the low serotonin section of the Amino Acid questionnaire. There are many other causes of anxiety: low blood sugar, not enough protein in the diet, food sensitivities, poor gut health/low levels of good bacteria, parasites, candida, caffeine and/or sugar consumption, high cortisol and many more. I share the 60+ causes here.

If you do have a deficiency and do find the correct combination of targeted individual amino acids you will amazed at the results and like me, you will soon be calling them the amazing amino acids.

Please do share if you’ve experienced benefits from the amazing amino acids (targeted and individual of course). If you’ve been using them for awhile you may find some answers to your common questions here: Amino acids for anxiety – which ones and for how long? And here is a blog called Troubleshooting when you are not getting results.

If this is all new to you please share how you score on the Amino Acid Questionnaire.

If this all sounds intriguing and also a little overwhelming, stay tuned for the launch of The Amazing Aminos for Anxiety homestudy group program that will be starting in September. This homestudy group program will provide guidance with using each of the targeted individual amino acids. You’re welcome to sign up here to be notified when we have details about the start date and more.

Encore day Mental Wellness Summit – Gut, root cause, inflammation, pyroluria

August 17, 2015 By Trudy Scott 2 Comments

A heads up that today is encore day of the Mental Wellness Summit and the last day to purchase at the summit special price.

These talks were voted the best of the best talks and are available for a 24-hour period (I’m honored and humbled be in the top 5 favorite talks!)

Kelly Brogan, MD: Holistic Medicine and Root-Cause Resolution
David Perlmutter, MD: Microbiome: A New Frontier in Mental Health
Chris Kresser, MS, LAC: About the Brain-Gut Connection
Julie Daniluk, Holistic Nutritionist: Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Reducing Depression and ADHD
Trudy Scott, Certified Nutritionist: Anxiety, Pyroluria and Amino Acid Therapy

Here is a gem from Dr. Kelly Brogan:

Here is a gem from Dr. David Perlmutter:

Here is a gem from Chris Kresser:

mwq-3

Here is a gem from Julie Daniluk:

mwq-4

Here is a gem from my interview (we’re talking about pyroluria here):

mwq-5

If you’ve already signed up – enjoy the encores (and big thanks if you voted for me!)

In case you haven’t yet signed up you can do so here and listen to these encores – enjoy!
https://vt239.isrefer.com/go/summitreg/trudyscottcn/

Once the encore presentations expire on Tuesday at 10 A.M. U.S. eastern (tomorrow!), the prices to own the entire set of interviews increase from $47 to $97, and from $97 to $147.

Gain lifetime access to all expert mental health interviews. Click here to purchase The Mental Wellness Summit expert talks. They also come with some great bonus gifts, like eBooks, videos and much more (including an eBook on pyroluria from me!)
https://vt239.isrefer.com/go/summitorder/trudyscottcn/

Amino acids for anxiety – which ones and for how long?

August 14, 2015 By Trudy Scott 221 Comments

amino-acids

The targeted use of individual amino acid supplements will balance brain chemistry to alleviate anxiety, fear, worry, panic attacks, and feeling stressed or overwhelmed. They can also be helpful in addressing other problems that contribute to or exacerbate anxiety, such as sugar cravings and addictions. In addition, they can help with depression and insomnia, which often co-occur with anxiety. When you balance your brain chemistry, not only will you alleviate symptoms of anxiety, you’ll also have a great mood, eliminate cravings, sleep well, and have good energy and mental focus.

The above is from an earlier blog post: Anxiety and targeted individual amino acid supplements: a summary

I recently shared this article on my facebook page TrudyScott AntianxietyFoodSolution and we had such a healthy productive discussion going I’ve decided to share some of the great questions here – and my responses to them – so you can benefit too.

Some of these have been paraphrased, typos have been corrected and I’ve added additional information. Here is the link to the facebook discussion.

The first question was related to how to know which amino acid to use:

But how do you know which one will help? I have heard of so many different options. I was told by my nutritionist to try one called l-theanine but I haven’t tried it due to the fact that she told me it could have a reverse effect on me. Any advice?

Here is my response:

I have my clients do the amino acid questionnaire and then a trial of the amino acids that show up as likely being low: tryptophan for low serotonin, GABA for low GABA, DPA for low endorphins, tyrosine for low catecholamines and glutamine for low blood sugar. You may need support in more than one area. And if you need the amino acids you can actually get results in 5 minutes!

I prefer GABA to theanine as it’s often more effective but you may do well on theanine. And yes too much can cause a reverse effect so start low and back down if you don’t feel an improvement or feel worse.

In case you have not heard me present on this topic I’ll be featured on the online Mental Wellness Summit that started this week. My interview airs Saturday August 15^th.

Another question was related to how long to take the amino acids:

When do you stop taking them? I have been taking GABA since January and it has helped tremendously. Is there ever a time you stop or do you take it indefinitely?

Here is my response:

I’m so pleased to hear the GABA has helped tremendously. Some people just forget to take them and then realize they feel good, have no more anxiety and don’t need the amino acids any more.

For other people we may say “let’s stop or cut back and see how you feel.” If you cut back and feel worse then you add them back again. If you feel fine on the lower amounts then you stay there and lower again a few weeks later.

With GABA, if you’re taking too much you may feel sluggish and tired.

There is no set length that works for everyone – it varies. For some it’s a month. I would say 6 months is pretty typical but a year is not unheard of.

If you find you are needing to keep taking the amino acids long term then I like to look at why. So we’d look at diet, stress and adrenal health, food sensitivities, malabsorption etc.

As someone kindly said in this same thread:

You can’t just “wing it.” You need dosage guidance on amino acid supplements, same as you would a prescription. I found reading Trudy’s blogs and book The Antianxiety Food Solution very helpful, plus the book The Mood Cure by Julia Ross give specific guidance on which ones to use and how.

I agree, of course, and would like to add that each person is different and has their own unique needs. And not everyone with anxiety or depression has a neurotransmitter deficiency and needs amino acids.

This question about adverse effects was also posted:

What’s the story with trying amino acid supplements and tyrosine gives you headaches and makes you feel unsettled, and GABA and 5-HTP makes you feel dopey. I’ve tried different dosing and I’m still not getting anywhere. Can you suggest what else may be going on?

Here is my response:

I would look at the quality of the amino acids being used (here are brands I use and like) and also consider if you’re possibly using too much. Some pixie dust clients need just a dab to start.

You may also have genetic SNPs that are affecting you or you may simply not need them. That’s when we dig deeper and look for other causes: here are the 60+ Nutritional & Biochemical Causes of Anxiety I covered in the last Anxiety Summit

If you enjoyed this and want to be part of future interactive discussions do come on over to facebook and join in.

If you’ve been using any of the amino acids, I hope this has been helpful for you. Please share how you’re doing in the comments and feel free to ask additional questions.

If you’re new to the amazing amino acids for anxiety and you’d like more detailed information, my book The Antianxiety Food Solution has a whole very detailed chapter on the topic, together with the other 8 steps I use with my clients to alleviate anxiety: real whole food, balance blood sugar, quit caffeine, quit gluten, address the gut, pyroluria, lifestyle and other factors.

If this sounds intriguing and you’d like guidance with using the amino acids, stay tuned for the launch of The Amazing Aminos for Anxiety homestudy group program that will be starting in September. You’re welcome to sign up here to be notified when we have details about the start date and more.

Lithium, bipolar and heavy metal detox on the Mental Wellness Summit

August 9, 2015 By Trudy Scott 17 Comments

mental-wellness-summit-3

Ross McKenzie, Co-founder of Mental Wellness Summit, Filmmaker of Bipolarized : Journey Beyond Meds, is interviewed by Dr. John Dempster on The Mental Wellness Summit. Here are a few snippets from the compelling interview “Journey Beyond Meds”:

I was playing soccer. Our soccer team in college, we were number one in the country. And then 6 months later, I’m at this seminar. I’m having this huge euphoric bliss. And then I’m in a straightjacket in a white-padded room. I’m like okay, what on Earth just happened to my life?
I’m just watching my life pass me by. And the expression I think of how it felt for so many years is I felt like the walking dead without the actual benefits of being dead. It was a nightmare. It was like being trapped in my body. And it was brutal.
So I had this big wake up call. One of the things with lithium is that you have to get your kidneys tested. It’s very hard on your organs. And you have to get blood work done just to make sure that you’re not in toxic levels. My first year of taking it, I actually almost died of lithium toxicity. It was so bad. I actually felt my body shutting down from that, which was terrifying.

Ross also talks about detoxing from prescription lithium and how he was then able to start filming his story and making the movie Bipolarized; and how there is this grassroots awakening happening right now [in integrative mental health]. His message is very clear and inspiring:

become your own best doctor. Become an informed consumer, do your research
we can actually address root cause symptoms, heal these symptoms. These diseases are not for life.
So there’s a place for all of it… an integrated mental health holistic model. And to have that be the norm on the planet. What an incredible thing that would be

Ross also says:

I know I can speak from experience now, too, having gone through the [heavy metal] chelation process. There are studies now saying it’s affecting the central nervous system. It can cause anxiety. It can actually lead to psychosis.

During the summit, Ross McKenzie also interviews Dr. John Dempster, who is his doctor and helped him address his high levels of heavy metals – both mercury and lead. Here are some snippets from this interview: “Heavy Metal Detoxification and Functional Medicine”:

mental-wellness-summit-4

Heavy metals are a neurotoxin. And they’re an endocrine disruptor. And in English, that means that they are going to break a lot of the chemicals, such as your neurotransmitters, which make you feel great. They make you sad. They make you sleep. They make you feel energized. They make you focused. This is your dopamine, your serotonin, your GABAs.
there’s a difference between what we call a toxic metal burden, which means much in your body’s tissues, versus a heavy metal toxicity, which is a bit more in the acute state of where it circulating your blood.
And if we aren’t being careful and we’re mobilizing these toxic agents and they get stuck in these organs, we’re going to have some kidney function issues that can affect all sorts of other aspects of our health. So this is where it does have to be done with somebody who is been trained properly in the proper detoxification programs and processes.

Dr. Dempster goes on to talk about functional testing, food, and the importance of healing the gut, sleep, nature and much more – for anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and ADHD.

On The Mental Wellness Summit you will also hear both these interviews:

Ross McKenzie Co-founder of Mental Wellness Summit, Filmmaker of Bipolarized: Journey Beyond Meds
John Dempster, ND, Co-founder of Mental Wellness Summit: Heavy Metal Detoxification and Functional Medicine

And you can listen to all the other amazing interviews that address functional and integrative approaches to root cause resolution of anxiety and depression.

Please leave your comments, questions and feedback below.

Kindness and oxytocin: a mystery memory box of treasured memories

August 7, 2015 By Trudy Scott 14 Comments

This is a story of kindness and warm and fuzzy feelings all around. There is plenty of oxytocin-boosting happening here!

On Tuesday around 6:30pm I received excited emails from Anxiety Summit fans in San Diego about a story that had just aired on the CBS8 show: Return to Sender The Mystery Memory Box.

Here is one of them:

I just watched my local San Diego Ch. 8 KFMB news and saw old pics of you from the 80’s. A lady in this area has evidently kept a couple of “mystery boxes” that appear to be yours for 17 yrs. She moved from South Africa years ago and mistakenly received these boxes. She’s wanted to return them, the name she found among the items… Trudy Hatfield!

Contact Jeff Zevely, reporter at the KFMB station, cbs8.com. I’m sure you’ve received lots of emails and calls about this. YIPPEE!

one of your many Anxiety Summit fans

You’ll see the video she’s referring to at the link below – enjoy the mystery, and a glimpse of my laughing, smiling adventurous youth!
Part 1: Return to Sender The Mystery Memory Box

Ninety minutes hours after the story is aired the mystery is solved – the box DOES belong to me! I find out via the emails from my fans (like the one above) and Barbara (the anchor) connects with Crombie (my brother).

What a trip down memory lane to see all those photos! There are many from my trip to Europe when I was in my 20s, plus postcards I sent to my family. There are also special family photos, the the last one of me hugging my baby sister Wendy. How very special!

I connect with Jeff at CBS8 and they arrange the follow-up video/story the next day. Here is the Wednesday video where I “meet” Jeanette via skype and get to give her a virtual hug and thank her for her kindness!

You can read the full story of part 2 here: Return to Sender: Mystery Memory Box Owner Found

It’s such fun to see pictures of my bother Crombie and hear how it all came together – his tennis connection to Barbara and my fans reaching out to me.

If you’ve been reading some of my recent blogs you’ll see I’m fascinated by oxytocin and it’s connection to social anxiety, postpartum depression, and autism.

I feel so good right now and am on such an oxytocin-high that I’d like to share how this act of giving and kindness is connected to oxytocin.

Paul J. Zak is the author of a book called “The Moral Molecule.” It’s all about oxytocin and here is what he says about this molecule:

It is a “feel good” hormone that increases when we do simple, feel good things like giving or receiving a hug, or when we give generously

The act of giving stimulates this hormone resulting in the recipient desiring to trust the giver
[It] accounts for why some people give freely of themselves

The above snippets come from a Wall Street Journal article: The Trust Molecule. It is a fascinating read.

Wow wow wow! So we all win, we all get to feel good, and we all get all get an oxytocin boost!

Jeanette Smith for keeping that box safe for 17 years and trying to locate me over the years! How do you repay kindness like this? I just hope she finds her missing box too
CBS8 reporter Jeff Zevely for running with the story, CBS8 anchor Barbara Lee-Edwards for immediately thinking of her tennis coach Crombie Hatfield (my brother!), and the power of TV and the internet
My Anxiety Summit fans who recognized me in the video and emailed right away. How thoughtful and kind!
Me for being at the center of this AND getting my box of precious memories back! You hear of this type of thing happening to others and never imagine it could happen to you!!
Everyone who watches the videos and loves the heart-warming story. My Facebook friends are blown away and are saying how this restores their faith in humanity. I could not agree more!

A BIG thank you to everyone involved!

We need more feel-good stories like this don’t we?Have you had a complete stranger be kind to you? Or shown kindness to a stranger. Please share in the comments.

For now, smile and enjoy the feel-good oxytocin boost! And then go and spread the kindness!

And please share the story so we can help Jeanette find her missing box too!

Customizing special diets with Julie Matthews and Dr. Kurt Woeller

August 5, 2015 By Trudy Scott 9 Comments

We can all agree how the food we eat has such an impact on how we feel and that “food is medicine.”

We know we all have specific needs, unique biochemistry and very different genes so that is there NO “one-size-fits-all diet. We need to eat according to our own unique biochemistry and this is where BioIndividual Nutrition comes in to the picture.

Customizing your diet and nutrition strategy is essential to an integrative approach.

Julie has spent the past 14 years researching and applying specialized diets and is now teaching this BioIndividual Nutrition approach to advanced clinicians.

I know Julie personally, have read her book, have heard her present at many conferences (and even supported her at a few!) and have done her training. I can assure you that her knowledge in this area takes things to the next level! She is an expert on special diets, teaching about oxalates, salicylates, amines, glutamates, FODMAPs, gluten-free, GFCF (gluten-free-casein-free), GAPS and much more!

I’m sure you remember her from our prior interviews. Here are a few reminders:

She shared this during season 1 of the Anxiety Summit: BioIndividual Nutrition and Special Diets

My book is called Nourishing Hope for Autism, but a lot of people that have other conditions get my book, particularly because I call kids with autism the canaries in the coalmine. They’re the ones that are telling us that our world is too toxic, there’s too many stressors, it’s too deficient in nutrients, and we need to change our ways by adding more nutrition, more absorbable forms of supplements, getting supplements in general, eating good foods that are nutrient dense. These principles are principles that apply, in my experience, to almost all healing. So we learn a lot from the kids with autism on how it might apply to anxiety and other conditions.

And this during season 2 of the Anxiety Summit: Fermented foods and probiotics for anxiety and depression

There was a study done by a researcher named Tillisch and published in 2013 in Gastroenterology. We know a lot about how the brain sends signals to the gut, but she explained that in the study they learned that the gut also sends signals to the brain. The researchers found that with yogurt, they found positive effects on the brain, including sensory processing and those areas associated with emotion and mood.

And earlier this year I interviewed Julie on: Customizing a Low FODMAPS Diet for a Client with Anxiety and/or Depression and we covered

The scientific rationale for recommending a Low FODMAPS (an acronym, deriving from “Fermentable, Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols) Diet for someone with anxiety/depression
Defining oligosaccharides (fructans and galacto-oligosaccharides); disaccharides (lactose); monosaccharides (fructose) and polyols (sugar alcohols and more)
What are high free fructose foods and the fructose malabsorption/anxiety and depression connection

As you can see, Julie is up-to-date on the latest research and is very hands-on and super detailed when it comes to teaching and implementing special diets.

In this FREE BioIndividual Nutrition webinar on August 10, Julie Matthews and Dr. Kurt Woeller are teaming up to share what every integrative practitioner or nutrition professional would love to know and should know about customizing special diets to individual needs:

How personalizing food and nutrition strategies help improve patient/client outcomes
Which foods may negatively affect mood, learning, and behavior (Kurt and Julie will share wisdom from their experiences with autism)
The most advantageous special diets for healing: including: GFCF, SCD, GAPS Diet, Paleo diet, low phenol diets, low oxalate, and low FODMAPs
How to AVOID the 3 most common mistakes when making dietary recommendations
How to join the upcoming September “Study Group” at the BioIndividual Nutriton Institute, with Julie Matthews and Dr. Kurt Woeller

If you’re an integrative practitioner or nutrition professional and if you’re making diet and nutrition recommendations to your patients or clients, I highly recommend this upcoming webinar on customizing special diets.

You can register here for this educational webinar on August 10^th at 1pm PST:
https://az184.isrefer.com/go/imweb/TrudyScott

If you can’t make it live, register anyway to get a copy of the recording.

Have you benefited from being on a special diet? Do you currently use special diets with your clients/patients and see symptom reduction/resolution? Please do share in the comments.