Archives for August 2019

IMMH highlights: mold, oxalates, anxiety, panic attacks and depersonalization

August 30, 2019 By Trudy Scott 3 Comments

Today I’m sharing some highlights from three different presentations at the recent IMMH/Integrative Medicine for Mental Health Conference – on mold and the connection to oxalate issues, as well as a major trigger of anxiety, panic attacks, depression and depersonalization.

Matthew Pratt-Hyatt, PhD: “The Hidden Threats of Mycotoxins.”

Matthew Pratt-Hyatt, PhD presented on “The Hidden Threats of Mycotoxins.” He shared medically significant mycotoxins and that ochratoxin affects the kidneys and my first thought was: “I wonder if this plays a role in oxalate issues?”

I asked Dr. Pratt-Hyatt after his presentation and he said yes, the mycotoxins produce oxalates and then dietary oxalates can be the tipping point. He wasn’t aware of any research on the mycotoxin-oxalate connection but sees the connection on the Great Plains MycoTOX lab test and Organic Acids test

Dr. Neil Nathan: “Mold Toxicity as an Unrecognized Cause of Mental Health issues.”

One of my favorite presentations was the one delivered by Dr. Neil Nathan on “Mold Toxicity.” He defines mold toxicity and how it can directly trigger anxiety, panic attacks, depression, depersonalization and hallucinations, as well as some of the common complications which can exacerbate mental health symptoms. These include mast cell activation, multiple chemical sensitivities, secondary porphyrias, methylation dysfunction and pyroluria.

I do appreciate the fact that he addressed that there can be PTSD caused by physicians when someone knows they are sick – especially with mold toxicity – and yet they do not feel heard or validated. This can even lead to their families being less supportive.

Dr. Nathan is a brilliant and compassionate practitioner, and the author of the excellent book – Toxic: Heal Your Body from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, and Chronic Environmental Illness (my Amazon link)

Dr. Kurt Woeller: “Metabolic Products in Mental Health – How Fungal, Bacterial, Mitochondrial and Other Compounds Influence the Brain.”

Dr. Kurt Woeller shared more about oxalates and mold in his presentation: “Metabolic Products in Mental Health.” I really like the Oxalate Metabolism diagram that shows the role of low vitamin B6, dietary oxalates including ascorbic acid, collagen and gelatin, mold, yeast and genetics in someone with high oxalates.

On a side note, low serotonin is often a factor with collagen and gelatin but it can be a source of oxalates.

He mentions various health problems associated with high oxalates – pain issues are common and so is fatigue and behavioral issues. Dr. Woeller works primarily with children but I have seen anxiety and depression in adults with oxalate issues too. If mold is one of the triggers then the mental health issues can be further impacted.

In case you missed the previous two IMMH blogs:

Last week I shared a few highlights from my IMMH presentation: “GABA for Anxiety, Insomnia, ADHD, Autism and Addictions: Research and Practical Applications” – benzodiazepines are not the solution, some new 2019 research on the far-reaching benefits of GABA, and the role of GABA in ADHD.
The previous week I wrote this blog post on one of the new studies in my presentation: how a combination of GABA and theanine improves sleep and reduces anxiety.

What wasn’t discussed were some of the other mechanisms that may be causing the increased anxiety – such as the impacts of toxic mold on neurotransmitters and low levels of zinc.

Have you been exposed to toxic mold and was this a trigger for your anxiety, panic attacks and other mood issues?

Did GABA, tryptophan and zinc (and other nutritional support approaches) help ease some of the anxiety symptoms while you were remediating your home and detoxing from the mold toxicity?

Do you have oxalate issues and have you ruled out the fact that toxic mold may be a trigger? I personally have oxalate issues (I share more about this here) and plan to do the MycoTOX test to learn more. I’ll keep you posted on what I find.

As a practitioner, do you want to learn more about how to incorporate GABA and the other targeted individual amino acids, tryptophan/5-HTP, DPA, glutamine and tyrosine, into your work to help your clients/patients with anxiety triggered by toxic mold? I invite you to check out my new online practitioner training here: Balancing Neurotransmitters – The Fundamentals. I’m extending the $100 discount offered at IMMH for a few weeks (use coupon code immh2019).

IMMH highlights: GABA for anxiety, insomnia, ADHD, autism and addictions

August 23, 2019 By Trudy Scott 6 Comments

I’m back from 2 weeks in the USA, first attending the Mindshare Summit (a collaborative community of like-minded practitioners) and then speaking at the IMMH/Integrative Medicine for Mental Health Conference – my favorite mental health conference – on “GABA for Anxiety, Insomnia, ADHD, Autism and Addictions: Research and Practical Applications.”

Last week I shared a blog on one of the new studies in my presentation: how a combination of GABA and theanine improves sleep and reduces anxiety. Today I’m sharing some other highlights from my presentation: benzodiazepines are not the solution, some new 2019 research on the far-reaching benefits of GABA, and the role of GABA in ADHD.

It was great to meet so many of you from my community and to make new connections! I’m thrilled there is so much interest in using the individual amino acids for anxiety and insomnia, and for those with ADHD, autism and addictions.

It was also wonderful to get the support of my colleagues at my booth, for my talk, and to hang out with them, laugh and eat good food. There was plenty of sardines, sauerkraut and grass-fed beef in the place we all shared!

Pictured here, on the left is is Annie and Julie; on the right is Elissa, Jessica and Dr. Zendi

Let me share a little about these wonderful practitioners who are doing life-changing work:

Julie Matthews, is the author of Nourishing Hope for Autism (my Amazon link), co-author of a new study, Nutritional and Dietary Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder and creator/founder of the Bioindividual Nutrition Institute, offering practitioner training on special diets and bioindividual nutrition. Julie also presented at IMMH this year: “Effective Nutrition and Diet Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder: Newly Published Research.”
Elissa Arnheim is a health coach and a certified fermentationist. She is the creator of “Healthy Gut Happy Child”, “8 Days to Freedom from Picky Eating!” and the “Gut Health Mamas” group coaching programs.
Jessica Sherman’s work is all about raising resilient healthy kids and she teaches about nutrition for the brain, mood, behavior and better overall health. She is the author of Raising Resilience: Take the Stress out of Feeding Your Family and Love Your Life.
Zendi Molderhauer, works with children, adolescents and young adults, integrating her conventional medical background in pediatrics and psychiatry with more natural, holistic, and functional healing modalities.

Once the conference was over, we also got to lie on the warm sand chatting about what we had just learned, walk along the beach, jump for joy and play, and even have a quick swim in the ocean (it was chilly but invigorating).

Has GABA helped you with your anxiety, insomnia or addictions (carbs or alcohol or even drugs)? Do you have a child with autism or ADHD and have they benefited from GABA?

Do you have questions about using GABA for anxiety, insomnia, autism, ADHD and addictions?

If you’re a practitioner and want to learn more about how to incorporate GABA and the other targeted individual amino acids (tryptophan/5-HTP, DPA, glutamine and tyrosine) into your work to help your clients/patients with anxiety/insomnia/addictions/ADHD/autism, I invite you to check out my online practitioner training here: Balancing Neurotransmitters – The Fundamentals.

And be sure to save the date for IMMH 2020: August 20-23 in Chicago!

GABA and theanine mixture improves sleep and eases anxiety

August 16, 2019 By Trudy Scott 36 Comments

Today I’m sharing results from a new study on GABA and theanine and how this combination improves sleep: “GABA and l-theanine mixture decreases sleep latency and improves NREM sleep.”

I shared highlights from this paper with practitioners at the Integrative Medicine for Mental Health Conference, presenting on “GABA for anxiety, insomnia, ADHD, autism and addictions.”

The authors share the sleep and anxiety benefits of both GABA and theanine:

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter and it is well established that activation of GABAA receptors favours sleep.

l-Theanine, a naturally occurring amino acid first discovered in green tea, is a well-known anti-anxiety supplement with proven relaxation benefits.

The study objective was to investigate the: “potential synergistic sleep enhancement effect of GABA/l-theanine mixture.”

The GABA/l-theanine mixture showed a decrease in sleep latency (length of time to fall asleep) and an increase in sleep duration compared to GABA or theanine alone.

The study authors state:

The increase in GABA receptor and GluN1 (glutamine receptor subunit) expression is attributed to the potential neuromodulatory properties of GABA/l-theanine combination, which seems to affect sleep behaviour.

The dosing of GABA and theanine used in this animal study cannot be extrapolated to humans

Here are the amounts used in the study:

GABA: 100mg per kg of body weight
theanine: 20 mg per kg of body weight

This was an animal study and these very high doses based on weight do not extrapolate to humans. I have adult clients start with 125 mg GABA and increase based on their unique needs.

Keep in mind I do not make amino acid recommendations based on weight but instead use the trial method to find the ideal amount.

Using a GABA/theanine combination lessens the rushing feeling and prevents waking multiple times during the night

Anu shares how a combination helps her:

My doctor has recommended I take GABA 500mg with L-Theanine 200mg three times a day to stop the rushing and flushing feeling of extremely high cortisol, high melatonin, and low serotonin. I cannot find much on what the negative effects of high doses of GABA and l-theanine can be on the body so am asking you if you know. I only know that low doses of GABA did not have any effect on me but that the higher doses seem to lessen the rushing feeling and help me to sleep (only waking once not 3-5x/night).

I have clients and those individuals in my program start low and increase based on their response. A dose of 500mg GABA is considered high but is fine to continue with if it’s not the starting dose and not causing any adverse effects.

Using GABA alone improves sleep and mood and ends carb cravings

I have found the combination of GABA and theanine to be extremely helpful for many of my clients but not everyone needs to use both to get results. Some folks do very well on GABA alone and some folks do really well on theanine alone.

Here’s one mom’s experience of using just GABA for her son with autism:

“Got some GABA for our ASD [autism spectrum disorder] child. He has not slept well for years. We had tried all kinds of stuff. I am a healthcare pro and have studied and read and tried so much. But this stuff is a true miracle. For the first time in years my child sleeps. He sang and was all smiles from ear to ear for the first three days.

He has also really noticed a difference in his carb cravings since doing GABA. He went to grandma’s and was not tempted by 6 pies, tons of cookies, sweet rolls etc. We were both shocked. This is a kid who would mow through tons of cookies, rolls and pastries.”

Here are some other blogs on the benefits of using oral GABA

The best way for you to figure out if you will benefit from the combination or either of them alone is to use the trial method. Do the low GABA questionnaire and do a trial of either GABA alone or theanine alone or a combination of both, until you find the right amount to improve your sleep and ease anxiety.

A good quality GABA/theanine product: GABA-T SAP

If you find the combination works well for you, GABA-T SAP by Nutritional Fundamentals, is a really nice combination product that I use with clients who have both anxiety and insomnia issues. I find that opening up the capsule onto the tongue is more effective than swallowing it. You can find this product and other GABA products I recommend on my supplements blog.

Additional resources when you are new to using GABA and other amino acids as supplements

As always, I use the symptoms questionnaire to figure out if low GABA or other neurotransmitter imbalances may be an issue.

If you suspect low levels of any of the neurotransmitters and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids on your own so you are knowledgeable. And be sure to share it with the practitioner/health team you or your loved one is working with.

There is an entire chapter on the amino acids and they are discussed throughout the book in the sections on gut health, gluten, blood sugar control (this is covered in an entire chapter too), sugar cravings, anxiety and mood issues.

The book doesn’t include product names (per the publisher’s request) so this blog, The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements, lists the amino acids that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.

If, after reading this blog and my book, you don’t feel comfortable figuring things out on your own (i.e. doing the symptoms questionnaire and respective amino acids trials), a good place to get help is the GABA QuickStart Program (if you have low GABA symptoms). This is a paid online/virtual group program where you get my guidance and community support.

If you are a practitioner, join us in The Balancing Neurotransmitters: the Fundamentals program. This is also a paid online/virtual program with an opportunity to interact with me and other practitioners who are also using the amino acids.

Wrapping up and your feedback

Now I’d love to hear from you – have you found GABA alone to help you with both sleep and anxiety or have you found that the combination of GABA and theanine is more helpful?

Feel free to ask your questions below.

RICE, arnica, GABA and DPA for my sprained ankle

August 9, 2019 By Trudy Scott 34 Comments

I’m in the USA for 2 conferences and I just spent 3 super days visiting my brother and his family in Las Vegas. We had a super hike in Red Rocks National Park.

We went early to avoid the heat and it was fabulous until I slipped on some sand when going down a steep section in the way out.

I twisted my ankle and at the time I thought this is bad! This is very bad!

It was a big relief that I was able to walk out. I walked very slowly and used my sister-in-law’s shoulder in the steep sections, always keeping my foot flat.

However when we got home I found I could not put any weight on it at all. The pain was really bad if I tried! How was I going to be able to navigate airports, hotels, conferences, speaking on stages and standing at my booth over the next 10 days?

At Mindshare, I’m thrilled to have been selected to present on The Future of Health, a 5 min TEDx type talk. My topic is: Why Social Anxiety, Introversion and Loneliness can be Lethal and a Simple Nutritional Solution. It will be videotaped and I’ll be sure to share with you.

[UPDATE: January 2020 – Here is the blog post with a link to the presentation and additional information on pyroluria]

I’ve also be nominated for a Rising Tide award at Mindshare.

And I’m presenting at the Integrative Medicine for Mental Health (IMMH) conference on “GABA for Anxiety, ADHD, Autism, Insomnia, and Addictions: Research and Practical Applications.”

I had to get it healed as quickly as possible!

I pampered my foot for the next 12 hours, keeping it elevated and alternating between ice and using a compression bandage.

The RICE – rest, ice, compression, elevate – technique really does work.

I was taken care of my my darling nieces and little Rascal, the taco-terrier came to check on me from time to time.

I could not stand on my foot at all that first day. When I did need to get up, I used the crutches. I was keeping well- hydrated so there were frequent bathroom breaks.

I also used arnica cream topically and arnica homeopathic pills orally 3 times a day.

It was pretty painful that first day so I also used DPA (d-phenylalanine), an amino acid which is great for physical pain. I also decided to use GABA, a calming amino acid – this helped me relax and feel calm, sleep better and I suspect it helped ease some of the muscle stiffness and the pain too.

By the next day I was able to walk very carefully and 2 days later I was walking with almost no limp. I did continue with all of the above RICE, arnica, GABA and DPA supplements too.

This is how my foot looks 4 days later. There is slight bruising and very little swelling. I can walk without a limp and can now wriggle my toes with no pain.

[UPDATE: July 2021]

I injured my knee last week (the diagnosis is patellofemoral pain syndrome) and I have been hobbling around (I had to use crutches for 2 days), doing physical therapy sessions, doing home exercises from the physical therapist, and using the RICE, arnica, GABA and DPA approach outlined above. It’s doing so much better in just a week but this injury got me thinking “why does this happen to me and how can I prevent it again?”

I have pyroluria and one of the classic set of symptoms with pyroluria is this: “Joints popping, cracking, or aching; pain or discomfort between the shoulder blades; or cartilage problems” (due to low zinc). That’s my first clue.

Because of the pandemic and being mostly home, I’m not taking the pyroluria supplements consistently. That’s my second clue.

I do have Lyme disease. There is a pyroluria-Lyme connection, and it’s well recognized that the Borrelia burgdorferi spirochete often affects the musculoskeletal system. That’s my third clue.

I also have dietary oxalate and pain issues and with the oxalate-vitamin B6 connection, I suspect this may be my fourth clue.

Now I plan to dig deeper into this particular set of pyroluria symptoms and look at the mechanisms at play that cause knee/ankle/hip/shoulder and other injuries to tendons, joints and cartilage (I’ve had many injuries over the years). It’s fascinating what I’m learning so far.

Stay tuned for an entire blog post on the topic. Until then please do share your experiences below if you have pyroluria and/or Lyme disease and/or dietary oxalate issues, and have or have had a lot of injuries. Keep in mind that just having pyroluria is enough to have these types of injuries and it’s the Lyme and oxalate issues that add to the problems. Having Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) adds to the complexity too.

If you’re new to pyroluria, this blog with my Mindshare video, Why social anxiety, introversion and loneliness can be lethal and a simple nutritional solution, has the following information:

A brief overview of pyroluria
A link to the Pyroluria Questionnaire from my book The Antianxiety Food Solution (which has an entire chapter on the topic).
A discussion on how I first discovered the pyroluria-introversion connection
And information on loneliness and the sociability/vagus nerve connections

Do you have pyroluria (social anxiety or introversion) or score high on the pyroluria questionnaire?

Have you noticed you are more injury prone when you are not on the pyroluria protocol or that your injuries stopped or became less frequent once you discovered you have pyroluria and started supplementing? And then got worse again when not supplementing?

What kinds of injuries have you had or have now?

Do you also have Lyme disease and/or dietary oxalate issues?

Have you used a similar approach for an ankle or knee injury – RICE, arnica, GABA and DPA?

What other tips do you have for a sprained ankle or knee injury?

My spider bite and what I did to heal

August 2, 2019 By Trudy Scott 28 Comments

I’m writing this blog to share pictures of the spider bite on the middle finger of my right hand and what I did to heal. I am the first to admit that I am no expert in this area and I am simply sharing my personal story and what I decided was best for me and my body.

I did see a doctor and he said he suspected it was a bite from a white-tailed spider. A local naturopath and a pharmacist also said it looked like a bite from a white-tailed spider (independently of each other).

It got infected and then “grew” into two large new infections, possibly multiple spider bites? I don’t recall being bitten but did have a bad day where it felt like I had been “gluten-ed” – aching all over, stiff neck, wiped out and bad night’s sleep. Maybe it was the result of the bite?

There is also the possibility swimming and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef contributed to the infection. It was covered but water may have gotten inside the dressing. I was also away from home for a week and living in an environment with a fair bit of second-hand smoke and that may have lowered my immunity too.

I did end up having a tetanus shot per the doctor’s recommendation. I had to make a quick decision because the next day I was heading to a farm for 3 days. Upon reflection I doubt it would have made any difference. I hadn’t had a tetanus shot for over 30 years so now I am all set for the next 30 years.

I opted for no antibiotics but did have a prescription in case they grew bigger. I decided to use what I’ve used for boils in the past – cleaning them with tea-tree oil and lavender essential oil and using castor oil and manuka honey topically, together with tons of immune-boosting and natural anti-bacterial products. These included: oregano oil, garlic and colloidal silver as natural antibiotics; and all this for immune boosting: extra zinc, extra vitamin C, extra vitamin D, and Echinacea.

This picture (above) was taken July 6 and was the first picture I took because before then it looked like a slightly infected scratch. I started to clean it daily with lavender and tea tree essential oil and kept it covered with a nice big smear of raw Manuka honey and castor oil (castor oil on the gauze first with honey on top of it).

By July 9 the one bite had “morphed” into three and they were looking pretty nasty (as you can see in the above 2 pictures). I wouldn’t say I was overly anxious, but I did have a few moments of worry about whether what I was doing was going to be enough. I was watching and hoping it wasn’t going to spread beyond my finger.

By July 10 and 11 (these 2 pictures above) they were looking very red and I could tell I was really fighting an infection. I continued to watch carefully to make sure it stayed local.

And then a day later, July 12, the 3 bites were looking less inflamed and I could tell they were starting to heal nicely. I continued to clean them as above and use Manuka honey/castor oil daily, plus all the nutrients.

This is what they looked like by July 16 – the initial bite has healed, and the 2^nd and 3rd bites are starting to heal.

Around July 19 I did feet out of sorts for a good week. I had no pain but my finger was still swollen and I had low energy and a foggy brain.

I started to use this – Quin’s Healing Ointment – topically during this last week, always keeping the bites covered. It’s a formulation from a local herbalist Sue Quin and I like that it has manuka honey and calendula, together with zinc. Symphytum/comfrey also helps with wound healing.

Here you can see all 3 bites nicely healed with new pink skin underneath. This picture was taken yesterday. I’ll start using Helichrysum essential oil (for additional skin healing) together with lavender essential oil in a carrier like coconut oil. I’m going to use lavender because I’m not fond of the Helichrysum aroma and because lavender is healing too (and my favorite essential oil!).

As I mentioned, this is not my area of expertise, but I’ve had enough interest and many requests to share. Documenting it all also helps me if I ever have to go through something like this again – because I’ll hopefully know what to expect.

When I first shared about my spider bite in my newsletter, I was very touched by all the wonderful caring emails – thank you so much for your kind thoughts and tips for me. You are just wonderful!

If you did email me with your healing tips (I read all the emails) please feel free to post them here in the comments.

And even if you didn’t email me but have your own healing tips about what has worked for you do post them too. We can all learn from each other.