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Archives for May 2018

EMFs: a factor in neuropsychiatric symptoms and cancer

May 26, 2018 By Trudy Scott 10 Comments

Earlier this month I let you know that the EMF practitioner training for the Electrosmog RX evergreen version now available. Nicolas Pineault is an investigative health journalist and the course creator.

As a quick reminder it covers: EMF Basics, EMF Science, EMF Symptomology, EMF Mitigation and EMF Resilience.

Today I’m sharing a few slides from the presentation material so you have a feel of what’s being covered (and to get you on board with the seriousness of EMF issues if you’re not yet ready to do the course or are not a practitioner since it is a practitioner-level course)

This training focuses on the clinical side of EMFs as an environmental factor contributing to ill health (including widespread neuropsychiatric effects) and includes critical information on what to ask your patients/clients to assess if they’re being over-exposed. And as you can see it’s heavily researched-based, which I love!

Here are a few relevant slides from the EMF Science webinar (and some of the references), where he covers how EMFs affect every cell in the body.

Cancer is one of the more recognized dangers of EMFs but “EMFs are still listed as a Class 2B ‘possible’ carcinogen and countless researchers who contributed to the 2011 decision say that EMFs should be re-classified to Class 2A or Class 1.” Hardell’s research

“shows an increase of 500% in brain tumors in teenagers using cell phones before age 20.” This article on The Environmental Health Trust site goes into this in more detail. This site is an excellent resource for all things EMF.

“EMFs also act as a co-carcinogen, confirmed by Tillmann in 2010, and replicated by Lerchl 2015.”

EMFs are also a factor in neurological and neuropsychiatric symptoms, as reported in this 2016 paper: Microwave frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) produce widespread neuropsychiatric effects including depression

Among the more commonly reported changes are sleep disturbance/insomnia, headache, depression/depressive symptoms, fatigue/tiredness, dysesthesia, concentration/attention dysfunction, memory changes, dizziness, irritability, loss of appetite/body weight, restlessness/anxiety, nausea, skin burning/tingling/dermographism and EEG changes.

There are limits of the current science because “most studies mimic exposure to 2G or 3G technology but we’re already moving towards 5G. In 2015, Schmid and Kuster reported that all current published studies have underestimated the EMF exposure at the cellular level by 20-fold.”

The very disturbing fact is that “studies funded by the Telecoms are 10X more likely to find no biological effect, which represents a bias 2.5 times worse than Big Pharma.”

I was amazed to learn that “most studies are done with signal generators instead of real cell phones and wireless devices, and probably vastly underestimate the biological effects.”

More importantly, he shares that “most studies don’t consider that the frequency, modulation, pulse rate and many other characteristics of an EMF signal have different effects on different cells and tissues.

While experimental studies employing simulated EMF-emissions present a strong inconsistency among their results with less than 50% of them reporting effects, studies employing real mobile phone exposures demonstrate an almost 100% consistency in showing adverse effects. This consistency is in agreement with studies showing association with brain tumors, symptoms of unwellness, and declines in animal populations.

Nick shares these smart tips in the EMF Mitigation webinar:

He also shares how to use EMF-blocking clothes and how to use grounding as a wonderful EMF mitigation and healing approach. I’m blown away by the power of grounding and will be sharing more in future blogs.

The webinar on EMF Resilience is also excellent, with so much that we can do from a nutritional point of view to make us stronger and help us heal when we are sensitive to the effects of EMFs.

If you missed the earlier announcement about this upcoming practitioner training you can read about the course and watch a short video presentation on EMFs by investigative health journalist and course creator Nicolas Pineault. It’s all on this blog: EMFs and how to help your electrosensitive clients/patients. As I’ve mentioned before I watched him present this live and was so impressed that I decided to take the course and I’m now urging other practitioners to take EMFs seriously!

And based on what I learned in the course, I’m speculating (and extrapolating from some of the research) that EMF overload may play a role in chronic anxiety, insomnia, benzodiazepine issues, SIBO, high cortisol and dietary oxalate issues in some susceptible individuals.

If you want to learn latest evidence-based, cutting-edge, credible information on how Electrosmog exposure affects your patients/clients, how to prevent EMF-related symptoms and illness, and how to support those clients/patients who have symptoms, then I highly recommend this course.

You will likely find you will benefit personally too. I am seeing huge improvements in my own health since making changes I’ve learned about. I discovered I have electromagnetic hypersensitivity!

Details and registration here for the practitioner Electrosmog RX evergreen training

Hope to see you in the private facebook group! This aspect was a big incentive for me to do the training rather than simply only reading his book (I did that too) – and it was invaluable and continues to be a place for excellent discussions and plenty of sharing!

For non-practitioners I highly recommend his new book – “The Non-Tinfoil Guide to EMFs: How to Fix Our Stupid Use of Technology” (my Amazon link) and please feel free to share this EMF practitioner training, ElectrosmogRX, with your own health practitioner

If you have comments or questions please share them below on the blog.

Filed Under: EMFs Tagged With: electrosmog, EMF, EMFs, nicolas pineault

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/ALS: ketogenic diet, GABA, 5-HTP and environmental toxins

May 25, 2018 By Trudy Scott 26 Comments

(Image from ABC: The Enemy Within – Australian Story)

I recently watched a documentary on the life and work of Justin Yerbury, a basket-ball player turned scientist who has motor neuron disease (also referred to as ALS) and is seeking a cure. It was aired on ABC and called The Enemy Within – Australian Story

When Justin Yerbury’s family members began to die from motor neurone disease he made a life-changing decision.

He turned his back on a professional basketball career and enrolled in a science degree. Almost 20 years later, he is an internationally recognised expert on the disease, leading the way in the search for a treatment.

Recently, however, Justin’s work took on a terrible urgency as he too developed symptoms of MND.

As Australian Story filmed with Justin and his family, his condition deteriorated dramatically, requiring difficult decisions to enable him to continue his search for a cure.

Having met Justin in 2017, Professor Stephen Hawking recorded the introduction to this story shortly before his death from motor neurone disease.

(the Australian spellings are neurone instead of neuron and recognised instead of recognized)

I felt very moved by his story and work and felt compelled to reach out to Dr. Yerbury to share what I have learned about this condition in the last few years. I know of a number of practitioners who work with individuals with this condition and even some colleagues with family members who have been diagnosed with this condition. I have also had enough queries that it’s time for a blog post on the topic so you are informed too.

What is Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and motor neuron disease (MND)?

Let’s start with the fact sheet on Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis from the NIH (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke). They describe ALS as follows:

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a group of rare neurological diseases that mainly involve the nerve cells (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement. Voluntary muscles produce movements like chewing, walking, and talking. The disease is progressive, meaning the symptoms get worse over time. Currently, there is no cure for ALS and no effective treatment to halt, or reverse, the progression of the disease.

ALS belongs to a wider group of disorders known as motor neuron diseases, which are caused by gradual deterioration (degeneration) and death of motor neurons. Motor neurons are nerve cells that extend from the brain to the spinal cord and to muscles throughout the body. These motor neurons initiate and provide vital communication links between the brain and the voluntary muscles.

I encourage you to watch the 30 minute program if you want to learn more about this condition and Dr. Yerbury’s work (they call it MND rather than ALS in the documentary.)

You may also be familiar with the life and story of Professor Stephen Hawking – he had ALS or motor neuron disease.

Ketogenic diet for ALS?

Here is some of the information I sent to Dr. Yerbury, explaining my work as a nutritionist working with women with anxiety using nutritional psychiatry approaches. Many of these nutritional psychiatry approaches – such as the SMILES study – have been spear-headed in Australia by Professor Felice Jacka.

I’ve recently being looking at the growing research base on the ketogenic diet and mental health and when I saw his story on ABC my first thought was – I wonder if there is research on ketogenic diets and ALS/MND? After a very quick search I found these papers:

  • High-Fat and Ketogenic Diets in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

there are strong epidemiologic data showing that malnutrition is a common symptom of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis both in humans and in mice and may contribute to disease progression. There is also epidemiologic evidence that increased dietary fat and cholesterol intake might reduce the risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and the rate disease progression. Finally, data from animal studies strongly suggest that increasing dietary intake of fat ameliorates disease progression. However, determining whether amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients should be treated with a high-fat or ketogenic diet can be based only on randomized double-blind placebo-controlled interventional trials.

  • Neuroprotection in Metabolism-Based Therapy

Metabolism-based therapy [which includes the ketogenic diet] has been used successfully in the treatment of seizures but study of its use in other neurodegenerative disorders [such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and ALS] is growing.

A gluten-free diet?

We must always consider gluten with every chronic health condition. There is a case report of celiac disease with neurologic manifestations misdiagnosed as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis:

he was diagnosed as having CD, and a gluten-free diet was immediately begun. At a 4-month follow-up, his weight and the quality of his stool had improved gradually, and the neurological manifestations had not progressed.

Another study reports that in certain cases, ALS may be associated with autoimmunity and gluten sensitivity, with elevated transglutaminase 6 antibodies in the serum of 23 patients.

GABA and 5-HTP: the Deanna Protocol

Awhile back I was contacted by someone in my community about the Deanna Protocol for ALS because it uses amino acids GABA and 5-HTP and other nutrients like niacin and CoQ10:

It is determined that the substances in the DP™ Plan provide energy to cells that are dying and in doing so keeps them alive.  This is very important because when nerve cells die, they release glutamate which kills the contiguous cells.  If too many cells are dying then we cannot supply enough energy to keep up with the rate of death of the cells.  When the DP™ Plan​ is taken in sufficient quantities, it will support the nerves that are challenged by glutamate.

As you may already know I use targeted individual amino acids such as GABA and tryptophan/5-HTP with clients so I am very familiar with their therapeutic benefits for anxiety and I am fascinated they also ease symptoms in ALS.

There is an animal study supporting this approach: Metabolic therapy with Deanna Protocol supplementation delays disease progression and extends survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) mouse model.

Anxiety and depression

There is also research indicating that psychiatric symptoms often precede an ALS diagnosis:

neuropsychiatric conditions are overrepresented in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patient kindreds and psychiatric symptoms may precede the onset of motor symptoms…. A diagnosis of depression was significantly associated with a first record of ALS ≥5 years later, in keeping with growing evidence for major depressive disorder as an early marker of cerebral neurodegeneration.

This doesn’t mean if you have anxiety or depression that ALS or another neurodegenerative disorder is in your future, because we can address so many of the root causes before we get to that diagnosis. Many of the nutrients in the Deanna Protocol will help both the person with ALS and the caregivers who also suffer psychological distress.

Environmental toxins and ALS

We recently spent 3 days at Shell Harbour just south of the Wollongong area and we loved it!

Lovely Red Sands Beach, NSW

As beautiful as it was I couldn’t help but be concerned about the toxins being released into the air from the steel production plants. Dr. Yerbury lives in the area and is conducting his research at the University of Wollongong. I know toxins play a role in many diseases and wondered about an ALS connection. I found this paper: Association of Environmental Toxins With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Pollution in Wollongong

I also shared that I’m a total research geek and pretty passionate about the power of nutrition, lifestyle and environmental factors because this was how I was able to eliminate my own anxiety and panic attacks.

You can learn more about Dr. Yerbury and his publications here. We appreciate the work him and his research team are doing and thank him for sharing his story.

It would be wonderful if some of this information can help Dr. Yerbury and even be considered for future research by his very passionate research team. I also hope this information will be helpful for you or a loved one suffering with ALS or MND.

Filed Under: Anxiety, Gluten, Toxins Tagged With: 5-HTP, ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, anxiety, caregiver, depression, Dr. Justin Yerbury, environmental toxins, GABA, gluten, Ketogenic diet, MND, motor neuron disease

Brain and mood benefits of a ketogenic lifestyle

May 19, 2018 By Trudy Scott 4 Comments

Keto Edge Summit

We know that ketones help you burn fat for energy, powerfully reduce inflammation and show promise in preventing and eradicating diabetes, cancer, autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and even play a role in mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. Experts on the Keto Edge Summit share many of the brain and mood benefits of a ketogenic lifestyle.

Dr. David Jockers shares this about anxiety and GABA and glutamate (his #5 benefit) in his interview on the ‘Top 7 Benefits of a Ketogenic Lifestyle’:

We have an epidemic of depression and anxiety in our society. And so, one of the key things that being keto-adapted does—not only does it downregulate inflammation in the brain, and we know that depression now is really neuroinflammation.

So the other big thing is we’ve got these neurotransmitters. One is glutamate; the other is GABA. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter, meaning that it helps us think sharply and quickly. What balances glutamate is this other neurotransmitter called GABA, gamma-aminobutyric acid. And it’s inhibitory. It helps balance us and calm us. What we find is that people with anxiety, they have high glutamate, low GABA. They don’t have a good ratio. Same thing with depression.

So what a ketogenic diet does, when we’re keto-adapted, it helps balance out the glutamate to GABA ratio and creates stability there. What does that mean to you? That means you’re going to be able to think sharply and quickly but you’re not going to get out of control. Your brain’s not going to be going too fast. You’re not going to be at risk for anxiety, for depression in the same way. You’re going to notice just an improved mood, more emotional balance.

Dr. David Perlmutter shares the importance of blood sugar regulation in his interview ‘Keto for Brain Health’:

Blood sugar regulation is pivotal as it relates to the destiny of your brain. Probably the most important biometric that determines whether you will or won’t become an Alzheimer’s patient is what your fasting blood sugar is today.

Even with the ApoE-4 gene, the ketogenic diet, physical exercise, and gluten-free, lowering sugar and carbs… are important changes that can absolutely rewrite your book.

I think it’s important to understand that humans have probably been in a state of ketosis most of the time over most of our existence on this planet. It’s only been in the last 10,000 years or so when we’ve created agriculture that we’ve had this robust availability of carbohydrate resources that has really shifted the human diet to one that is carbohydrate-based as opposed to fat-based.

Dr. Cheryl Burdette also covers inflammation in her interview, ‘Inflammation and the Ketogenic Diet’:

So when we see markers of oxidative stress high, not only do we know the DNA is suffering but we know our mitochondria, our powerhouse is suffering and, therefore, our brain is suffering. And so what you see is a high 8-OHdG – you see that high in conditions like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s but you even see it high in depression or bipolar or anxiety. What you also see is a ketogenic diet, helps to lower that. What you also see is adding more antioxidants, helps to lower that. So again, we’re back to our green leafies with our good fats.

The Keto Edge Summit is available online and there are REPLAYS ALL WEEKEND. You can still register here to hear the replays

Please share your gems and what you’ve implemented or are planning to implement in terms of a ketogenic lifestyle.

Filed Under: Events, Ketogenic diet Tagged With: anxiety, brain, David Jockers, David Perlmutter, depression, GABA, glutamate, Keto Edge Summit, Ketogenic diet, ketogenic lifestyle, mood

Thyroid health and anxiety: fluoride, mercury, nitrates, phthalates and other toxins

May 18, 2018 By Trudy Scott 3 Comments

thyroid health and anxiety

Dr. Amy Myers MD, author of The Autoimmune Solution, The Thyroid Solution and The Autoimmune Solution Cookbook, presented on thyroid health at the recent Bioceuticals Conference on Autoimmunity in Melbourne. I promised to share some highlights from her presentations (she did 4 different ones) and since toxins play such a huge role when it comes to anxiety, I’m sharing some highlights from the toxins presentation and the top thyroid toxins you need to avoid: mercury, perchlorate, halides or halogens, nitrates, plastics and parabens and phthalates. These toxins all also play a role in anxiety too.

We also have a new meta-analysis published earlier this month: Association of Depression and Anxiety Disorders With Autoimmune Thyroiditis – A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis confirming what functional medicine practitioners like Dr. Amy Myers, Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Izabella Wentz have been educating about for years:

Patients with AIT [autoimmune thyroiditis] exhibit an increased chance of developing symptoms of depression and anxiety or of receiving a diagnosis of depression and anxiety disorders.

Taming the toxins is one of 4 pillars that Dr. Myers covers in her approach for preventing and reversing autoimmune disease:

Pillar I: Heal your gut.

Pillar II: Get rid of gluten, grains, and legumes.

Pillar III: Tame the toxins.

Pillar IV: Heal your infections and relieve your stress.

Dr. Myers shared the top thyroid toxins you need to avoid:

  1. Mercury
  2. Perchlorate
  3. Halides or halogens
  4. Nitrates
  5. Plastics
  6. Parabens and phthalates

“A 2011 study found that women with high mercury exposure are 2x more likely to have positive thyroid antibodies.” The paper: Mercury and thyroid autoantibodies in U.S. women, NHANES 2007-2008, reports this increase for thyroglobulin autoantibodies.

As far as anxiety is concerned, Kris Homme shares much evidence to support her belief that mercury toxicity is a likely root cause of the other root causes of anxiety in our Anxiety Summit interview.

Halogens or halides also have an impact on thyroid health. In areas where fluoride is added to the water there are “2x the rates of hypothyroidism than non-fluoride areas.”

Bromine is also an issue and is found in “flame retardants, plastics, many baked goods and citrus flavored drinks.”

GABA in relation to thyroid health and fluoride was not covered in the presentation but there is research showing that GABA reversed fluoride-induced hypothyroidism in an animal study. I blogged about this research here: GABA protects against hypothyroidism caused by fluoride and reduces anxiety. The fluoride-exposed mice that were subsequently treated with GABA were found to have improved results for T4, T3 and thyroid hormone-binding globulin (TBG levels) and healing of the structural abnormalities in thyroid follicles that were observed after fluoride exposure.

The authors conclude with this statement, reporting that GABA acted as a natural antioxidant:

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to establish the therapeutic efficacy of GABA as a natural antioxidant in inducing thyroprotection against fluoride-induced toxicity.

The amino acid GABA  helps with physical-tension and stiff-and-tense-muscles type of anxiety, often in certain settings like public speaking or driving, and the need to self-medicate to calm down, often with alcohol but sometimes with carbs and sugary foods. Insomnia can also be due to low GABA and you’ll experience physical tension (rather than the ruminating thoughts which is the low serotonin type of insomnia – although it’s not uncommon to experience both). GABA also helps ease panic attacks, muscle spasms and pain relief when muscles are tight.

“Nitrates, found in fertilizer and foods, resemble iodine enough to block thyroid hormone absorption.” In one study, Nitrate intake and the risk of thyroid cancer and thyroid disease women were found to be “more likely to develop thyroid cancer with higher nitrate levels in the water.” Research shows similar results with nitrites and children and thyroid cancer.

Since the amino acid taurine offers neuroprotection against ammonia in the central nervous system I suspect GABA may offer some protection against nitrates too.

Parabens and phthalates found in many personal care products (and fast-foods) “mimic estrogen and disrupt the hormonal cascade”, with higher estrogens resulting in higher TBG (thyroxine binding globulin).

“A CDC study found phthalates were 39% higher in the urine of individuals who ate 35% of their calories from fast food.” This CNN article: Fast food serves up phthalates, too, study suggests covers many of the hormonal impacts

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a report in 2013 stating that high levels of exposure to phthalates could lead to adverse reproductive outcomes in women. Research has linked these chemicals with increased risk of fibroids and endometriosis, which can cause infertility, and reduced IQ and behavioral problems in children exposed in the womb. High phthalate levels have also been linked with diabetes risk in women and adolescents.

There are countless ways that people can be exposed to phthalates. They are found in soaps, perfumes, nail polish, medications, and we can ingest, inhale and absorb them through the skin.

Out of all these routes of exposure, however, diet is emerging as a major one.

Dietary exposure is a major route of exposure of phthalates and this is one of many excellent reasons to cook and eat home-cooked meals. Dr. Myers makes it easy for you in her wonderful new book The Autoimmune Solution Cookbook.

Mycotoxins from mold are also an issue as is poor mouth health. I was pleased to see EMFs mentioned as it is a growing concern and is under-rated as having harmful effects on the thyroid and when it comes to unresolved anxiety, SIBO, oxalate issues and high cortisol.

As far as detoxification, Dr Myer’s has these general recommendations:

  1. Infrared sauna
  2. Glutathione, the master antioxidant and detoxifier
  3. Milk thistle, magnesium and alpha-lipoic acid (ALA)
  4. Cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage
  5. Sulfur rich foods such as onions, garlic, eggs

In her bestselling book, The Autoimmune Solution (my Amazon link), Dr. Myer’s covers the four pillars in great detail. You can read more about taming the toxins in this blog post.

Have you identified and eliminated exposure to these toxins and seen improved thyroid health and/or reduced anxiety? Is ongoing detoxification a priority for you?

Filed Under: Thyroid, Toxins Tagged With: anxiety, detoxification, Dr. Amy Myers, GABA, The Autoimmune Solution Cookbook, thyroid, toxins

The Human Longevity Project – Secrets of the World’s Healthiest People

May 12, 2018 By Trudy Scott Leave a Comment

The Human Longevity Project is a first-of-it’s-kind 9 part online documentary filmed over 2 years, in over 50 locations, with over 90 expert interviews!

Join Health Researcher, Jason Prall, as he travels the world investigating why certain people live extraordinarily, healthy, happy and long lives.

Here is a trailer to inspire you to watch and learn and go on this amazing journey with Jason and the people he interviews:

With this documentary he wants to share that there are

  • populations all over the world that are virtually free of chronic disease
  • places where people typically live well into their 90s and 100s
  • ways to live a healthier, longer and happier life, using strategies that work for the oldest populations… free of fad diets and short-lived health trends.
  • ways to get clear on what naturally works to cure depression, anxiety, and overwhelm
  • new and proven ways to treat and prevent most epidemic diseases
  • tools to turn your mitochondria into a powerhouse for your body, so you get more energy and stamina throughout the day

Jason not only traveled the world to learn from these healthy populations, he interviewed leading researchers, doctors and experts to uncover the underlying mechanisms that afforded them such long, healthy and happy lives.

The results are stunning and scenery is superb!

(It’s truly magnificent and I’ve only seen snippets! It takes me back to my late 20s when I backpacked through Europe and lived like the locals did, eating amazing local food, explored beautiful Greece and Turkey and met incredible people!)

What’s wonderful is that you can now learn the secrets of the world’s healthiest people, and how to apply their wisdom to your modern life.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from just a few of the amazing speakers:

Yes to having a sense of purpose – a sense of purpose is the only one thing you need! Purpose is SO important and Deanna Minich, PhD shares why on The Human Longevity Project.

Do you have a sense of purpose? And how has it helped you heal and live a fuller life?

I know that quitting my computer job over 15 years ago and going back to school to become a nutritionist was the best thing I ever did! Helping others finding nutritional solutions for their anxiety symptoms is so incredibly rewarding. It’s my purpose in life – that’s for sure! I actually consider my own anxiety and panic attacks a gift now – a gift that led me to what I do today!

I love this quote from Preston Smiles:

It’s not the happy people who are grateful, it’s the grateful people who are happy

And don’t you just love his name and lovely smile too!? So much wisdom!

And wisdom from 68-year old Cristina in Costa Rica – go barefoot and walk on the ground to raise our defenses and build immunity.

Ayako, from Japan, is 83 years old and she says this:

The most important thing is balance in your way of eating, sleeping and work. If there is an imbalance you will get sick

I hope you feel as excited about this as I do! You can register for The Human Longevity Project here

Enjoy every beautiful minute of it!

Filed Under: Anxiety, Events Tagged With: anxiety, balance, grateful, health, Jason Prall, longevity, purpose, The Human Longevity Project

GABA, 5-HTP and melatonin isn’t working anymore for my insomnia and tryptophan gives me a migraine – what should I do?

May 11, 2018 By Trudy Scott 18 Comments

Today I’m addressing a great question I received on a recent tryptophan blog about insomnia and the use of the amino acids GABA and 5-HTP in a combination product together with melatonin, and what the next steps should be when you are not getting the expected results. And if continuing with tryptophan is a good idea when it seems to be causing a migraine and isn’t leading to a whole night’s sleep. Here is the question:

I have suffered from insomnia for most of my life. I just got your book and am loving it! Thank you for all that you do. My symptoms seem to be high for both low GABA and low serotonin [here is the questionnaire].

I also believe I have a blood sugar problem, so I’m starting to follow your suggestions for that.

I’ve been taking a supplement for sleep that has both GABA and 5-HTP in it, along with melatonin. It worked for a year, however it just recently stopped working.

I thought maybe I should try tryptophan. After taking only 220 mg per night, along with 5 mg of melatonin, I was able to sleep, but not through the entire night. However, the next day I woke up with a horrible headache/migraine. I know it was the tryptophan because I did a trial and tried a night without it and then again with it and the nights I took it, sure enough, the migraine would return.

I must add that I had bloodwork done and tested low for melatonin, which is why I was adding the melatonin into my protocol.

My question is: do I continue with a higher dose of GABA, 5-HTP and melatonin, since it worked for a year i.e. do I up the dosage of the supplement I’ve been taking? Or do I continue trying different doses of tryptophan?

I shared this response in my comment (with some additions for this blog post).

Always first address the nutritional foundational aspects

Firstly, I was glad to hear she is loving my book The Antianxiety Food Solution (my Amazon link) and implementing dietary changes. This is so foundational to any protocol for both anxiety and insomnia. Too often, someone hears me talking about the amazing amino acids and forgets the nutritional basics of real whole food, quality animal protein (like wild fish, pastured eggs and chicken, grass-fed red meat), organic veggies and fruit, healthy fats (like olive oil, coconut oil and butter), fermented foods and broths, and no gluten, caffeine or sugar.

I don’t ever have clients push through

With regards to her trial of tryptophan I shared that I don’t ever have clients push through on a product that is causing any adverse effects, and especially when it’s a migraine. She was smart and trialed the tryptophan twice to make sure it was the tryptophan that caused the migraine and not something else.

Capitalize on what has worked and increase one at a time

With regards to the GABA, 5-HTP and melatonin I shared that I always like to capitalize on what has worked in the past (or is currently working) and would rather increase the 5-HTP and/or melatonin and/or GABA one at a time.

Notice that I said increase these products one at a time. She is taking a combination product so it’s impossible for her to do this. Maybe her GABA levels are now good (because her progesterone levels have improved due to be on a regular zinc supplement or because she has been doing regular yoga sessions) and maybe she needs more serotonin support (because her estrogen levels are off because of recent exposure to xenoestrogens in plastics).

Even though is research showing that a combination product containing GABA and 5-HTP improved sleep and sleep duration more than the use of either of the two amino acids alone, based on her feedback, if we were working together I would have her do each of the GABA, 5-HTP and melatonin separately. This way it’s easy to mix and match and increase one and possibly lower the other, until the ideal combination is found for her unique needs at this time in her life.

She may even find she only needs GABA or only needs 5-HTP or only melatonin. She may also find she needs sublingual melatonin for helping her fall asleep and timed-release melatonin for helping her stay asleep.

She mentions the amino acid questionnaire so it sounds like she is clear on her symptoms: low GABA physical anxiety affecting her sleep and low serotonin mental worry-type of anxiety affecting her sleep. So as she trials the individual amino acids she can see how she does symptom-wise in order to find the ideal amount.

Other factors to consider with insomnia

It’s often straight-forward with the amino acids and the great thing is that one you have the correct combination you will see results in a few days to a few weeks. But There are other factors we may need to consider with insomnia:

  • Keep in mind that 5-HTP can raise cortisol and low blood sugar can indicate adrenal issues so looking at high cortisol as a factor in the sleep problems would be something to consider. A 4-collection saliva test will measure this and my favorite product for lowering high cortisol is Seriphos. Other nutrients for adrenal support may be needed too.
  • Just addressing low blood sugar can often improve insomnia. Eating to support blood sugar swings, early morning sunlight and no blue light after dark can make a world of difference.
  • Other sleep factors we always want to consider: sex hormone imbalances, parasites (they are more active at night and can keep you awake and play a role in high cortisol), accidental gluten exposure, SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), candida, sleep apnea and mouth breathing, EMFs (WiFi in the home, commuting with the iphone on, a new cordless phone etc.) and medication side-effects (benzodiazepines are a common one).

I really appreciate questions like this being posted on the blog so others like you also get to benefit. This question also demonstrates just how our needs for certain nutrients can change over time and how we may to keep adjusting what we are doing.

In case you have questions about specific products that I use with clients, here is my supplements blog and more information on GABA for the physical type of anxiety and 5-HTP/tryptophan for the worry-type of anxiety.

Can you relate to this scenario? Feel free to ask your questions about sleep, GABA, 5-HTP, tryptophan and melatonin and share your experiences with these products and how they have helped you or if you’ve had issues with any of them.

Filed Under: Anxiety, GABA, Insomnia Tagged With: 5-HTP, anxiety, benzodiazepines, cortisol, GABA, insomnia, melatonin, migraine, sleep, tryptophan, worry

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  • 5-HTP for a calm brain, and a racing mind at night: questions and answers
  • Night eating syndrome: is low serotonin a root cause and is tryptophan a solution?
  • GABA for easing physical anxiety and tension: some questions and answers
  • Tryptophan calms comfort eating, eases self-doubt, reduces uncontrollable late night snacking and results in a lot more peace around food.
  • 5-HTP in Parkinson’s disease: benefits for depression, levodopa-induced motor complications, anxiety and sleep issues

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