Antianxiety Food Solution

The Antianxiety Food Solution book index

November 6, 2015 By Trudy Scott 10 Comments

antianxiety-food-solution-index

I’m SO excited! I finally have an index in my book The Antianxiety Food Solution! The index is the first place I go to when I buy a book so this means a lot to me and I know it’s going to be a big help to you, my reader!

It’s crazy that it wasn’t in there in the first place (my publisher said it wasn’t in the budget) so I just kept asking and we finally added one in this latest printing.

It’s my birthday today and what a great birthday present for me! I also get to give you something on my birthday – a PDF copy of the index if you already have my book. You can download a copy of the index here.

If you don’t yet have a copy of my book (or would like to buy another one with an index) you can do so on Amazon here or via my website (this will be a signed copy).

If you do already have a copy of my book and have gotten value from it I would love to ask you a favor. Will you please write a review on Amazon? I’d so appreciate it.

Here is the very first review I received:

Dealing with Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Insomnia? This book is for you!

I cried my way thru this book ~ out of JOY~ for finally finding a very helpful book! I have been on a journey for 10 years trying to navigate issues with depression, stress, anxiety, insomnia and other fun things. I’ve been to doctors, psychologists and counselors. I’ve been put on medication which after many years of that left me suicidal, overweight, depressed and very angry. It is VERY frustrating trying to navigate doctors, testing and information out there that could help you. This summer I read several books that addressed depression from a dietary and nutrition standpoint. This one was the best in my opinion. It’s not too long, easy to read and understand, and well organized. And it agreed with several things I had read in other books ~ such as the use of amino acids, vitamins and issues with gluten and sugar to address depression, etc. There’s many good ‘life stories’ in it too which help you relate. Thanks Trudy Scott!

And here is one of the recent Amazon reviews (I edited out the Dr. Trudy Scott part!):

This book changed my life. I heard Trudy Scott during an interview on the Underground Wellness with Sean Croxton, and her revelations about the connection between what we ingest and how our minds work was riveting. I bought the book immediately, and it was the best $15 I ever spent. Not only have I been able to stop taking an antidepressant and sleep medication, but I now have hope I can truly balance my own biochemistry. It is really a shame most doctors do not study nutrition, for if they did I suspect we would have a much healthier population. Thank goodness Trudy has been successful in her research and her ability to disseminate her findings. If you have any issues with anxiety, depression or insomnia, I highly recommend you read this book.

You can watch a snippet of my Sean Croxton interview here – it was a great interview as was the entire Depression Sessions series of interviews.

I hope you find the index helpful! And I would love to hear back from you on how my book has helped you – either here in the comments or via an Amazon review. Feel free to post your questions too.

Western diet is associated with a smaller left hippocampus and anxiety

October 23, 2015 By Trudy Scott Leave a Comment

western-diet

A new food and mental health study has been published in the international BMC Medicine journal: Western diet is associated with a smaller hippocampus: a longitudinal investigation. The lead author is Associate Professor Felice Jacka from Deacon University in Australia.

Here is the conclusion of the study:

Lower intakes of nutrient-dense foods and higher intakes of unhealthy foods are each independently associated with smaller left hippocampal volume. To our knowledge, this is the first human study to demonstrate associations between diet and hippocampal volume concordant with data previously observed in animal models.

Study participants were Australian adults aged 60-64. The results of the study, show that an unhealthy “Western” diet is associated with a smaller left hippocampus and a healthier “prudent”, nutrient-dense diet is associated with a larger left hippocampus.

The unhealthy “Western” diet was:

characterized by the consumption of roast meat, sausages, hamburgers, steak, chips, crisps and soft drinks

and the healthy “prudent”, nutrient-dense diet was:

characterized by the consumption of fresh vegetables, salad, fruit and grilled fish

This study has importance for cognition and mental health, both depression and very possibly anxiety too:

extensive evidence from animal studies points to the importance of the hippocampus in the association between diet and mental and cognitive health

The hippocampus is a brain structure associated with both learning and memory, as well as mood regulation, and is specifically implicated in depression

The study does group high sugar and high saturated fat together, and unfortunately the healthy diet excludes good quality red meat which is surprising considering previous research and conversations with Dr. Jacka about the benefits of good quality red meat and mental health:

In our study, out of every single dietary food grouping that I looked at including vegetables, fruits, salads, beans, etc the strongest correlate of mental health was red meat intake [grass-fed red meat of course]
Consistently, women who have less than the recommended intake of red meat seem to be in an increased risk for common mental disorders [like anxiety and depression] and bipolar disorder.

It will be wonderful to see follow-up research looking at the effect of quality grass-fed red meat on hippocampus size.

Drew Ramsey, MD, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, described the study as “exciting” in an interview on Medscape Medical News:

It’s the first time that a dietary pattern has been linked to specific changes in the brain. We’ve known for a long time that there’s a correlation between dietary pattern and the risk of a number of brain illnesses, like depression and dementia, and the mechanism behind this, we believe, involves neuroplastic processes of how food affects brain growth. This is the first study that’s really shown that quite conclusively.

Dr. Ramsey is the author of The Happiness Diet, and co-founder of National Kale Day. His mission is to educate America on eating healthier and I’ll second what he said about this study:

nutrition should be incorporated into mental health clinical practice.

How wonderful is it to hear a statement like this from a psychiatrist!?

You can read the complete study here.

What does all this mean for you? Eat real whole nutrient-dense food and ditch the junk food and processed food. Your brain will be happy and so will you be!

If you’re a mental health practitioner, start talking to your clients and patients about what they’re eating, ask them what they had for breakfast and share this research.

Pyroluria/social anxiety protocol: why aren’t I getting results? (trouble-shooting checklist)

May 16, 2015 By Trudy Scott 118 Comments

How do you trouble-shoot when you score high on the Pyroluria Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution or even have a positive pyroluria urine test but you don’t seem to be getting the results you expect?

You still have social anxiety, that inner tension that you push through and deal with, and likely still feel uncomfortable when in large groups. You force yourself to put on the confident brave face. You may wish you could be more like your extrovert friends and actual enjoy socializing and speaking in public/on stage – without the fear and anxiety. You may still not be a big breakfast eater and have morning nausea. You may not yet be having pleasant dreams that you always remember.

(If pyroluria is new to you here is the Pyroluria Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution and here is a nice summary – Pyroluria, social anxiety, introversion: a summary )

This checklist is a starting point to try and figure out what may be the issue. These are the questions I work through with someone who is working with me one-on-one.

I discussed 21 of these in my interview on season 3 of the Anxiety Summit: Pyroluria, Amino Acids and Anxiety: Troubleshooting when you are not getting results

As you heard during the interview, I added MTHFR and I’ve even added a few more since then. I expect this list to continue to grow.

What form of zinc are you taking and is it free from copper? My favorite is Optizinc (zinc monomethionine) as it’s typically well-absorbed
Have you made sure that there is no copper in your multivitamin or other supplements? (this completes with zinc)
Have you been taking evening primrose oil and if yes, how much? (this enhances zinc absorption)
Did you test your fatty acid levels? What are the results? Did it show a need for GLA (I like evening primrose oil rather than borage oil) and no need for omega-3s (pyrolurics typically don’t need to supplement with omega-3s like fish oil)
What is your alkaline phosphatase (a blood test)? Less than 70 may indicate a need for zinc
Have you done the zinc tally/challenge with zinc sulfate and does it taste like water or does it taste really bad? If you zinc levels are good it should taste really bad
Did you test copper and ceruloplasmin, and if yes, what were the results?
Did you do the pyroluria urine test? What are the results?
What’s your score on the pyroluria questionnaire ? And which symptoms do you have?
What is your score on the introversion questionnaire?
What were your dreams like before starting the protocol and now? How high did you go on the vitamin B6? Did you switch to P5P and/or use a combination of both if needed?
On a scale of 1-10, what was your social anxiety before and now (10 is worst)
What is your stomach acid like? And have you trialed HCl supplements? Tested total protein (in blood)
Do you eat grass-fed red meat (a good source of zinc, iron and omega-3s)?
Do you eat sugar? Refined sugar and processed foods? Or even “healthy” sweeteners such as honey in large quantities? (sugar depletes zinc)
Do you eat large quantities of nuts or bake with nut flours? (the copper in the nuts may be affecting your zinc levels)
Do you have a copper IUD, copper pipes, copper pots? (this may also affect your zinc levels, keeping them low)
Have you done a hair analysis and found high copper or high hidden copper? (this may also affect your zinc levels, keeping them low)
How much and how often do you exercise? What about bikram/hot yoga? (sweating depletes us of zinc)
Have you used any of the amino acids? And seen good results? (this could be a clue that zinc and vitamin B6 are low since they are cofactors for making neurotransmitters such as serotonin, GABA, dopamine)
Do you eat gluten and have a gluten sensitivity? If yes, have you healed your gut? If not, you may have malabsorption issues
Are you completely grain-free? (this may be impacting your vitamin B6 levels)
Do you have amalgams/silver fillings? Did you have them removed and did a mercury detox? Were you tested for heavy metals? (zinc absorption can be blocked by heavy metals – we talked about this in season 2)
Do you have the MTHFR polymorphism? It’s common with pyroluria and this may mean you need higher amounts of the supplements
Do you have high histamine/hisadelia or low histamine/histapenia? Pyrolurics often have one or the other
Are you taking benzodiazapines or have recently quit benzodiazapines? Your unresolved anxiety may be due to this fact (we talked about this in season 1)
Do you have parasites, candida, dysbiosis, SIBO or other digestive issues? These can be considered stresses and pyroluria symptoms are worse under stress. Digestive issues also impact absorption
Do you have Lyme disease or another infection? These can be considered stresses and pyroluria symptoms are worse under stress. The immune system also uses up zinc.
Do you have food sensitivities? This may contribute to malabsorption. This can also be considered a stress and pyroluria symptoms are worse under stress
Do you have problems with histamine-containing foods? This can be considered a stress and pyroluria symptoms are worse under stress. Also, vitamin B6 is a co-factor needed for the DAO enzyme, which is responsible for the degradation of histamine.
Do you have issues with oxalates? This can be considered a stress and pyroluria symptoms are worse under stress. Oxalates can also bind to minerals and lower the levels. For some folks vitamin B6 helps with oxalate issues so the need may be higher.
Have you been/are you exposed to mold and other toxins? These can be considered stresses and pyroluria symptoms are worse under stress. The immune system also uses up zinc.
Do you have low oxytocin levels? Do you have a genetic variation in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR). Oxytocin has been implicated in anxiety, depression and related stress phenotypes
Is your life super-stressful or have you suffered from a recent trauma (or have old unresolved trauma)? Stress and trauma makes pyroluria worse
Do you have adrenal issues? We need good adrenal function for optimal digestion, being able to handle stress and being able to fight off infections/avoid getting parasites and dysbiosis
Do you have hormonal issues – PMS, perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms? The pyroluria protocol helps and this could be a clue that something is off
Are you on the birth control pill or have used one in the past? Oral contraceptives cause low vitamin B6 and zinc, reduce serotonin levels and increase anxiety.
Are you on any other prescription medications? Many medications deplete B vitamins and zinc.
Do you have vagus nerve issues? Good vagus nerve function is key for digestion, immunity, inflammation, neurotransmitter production and so much more. Also, forcing yourself to socialize when you have pyroluria is stressful and impacts the vagus nerve
Do you have inflammation and/or immunity issues? Vitamin B6 plays a role in reducing inflammation and immune modulation

[August 2021: the above list was updated extensively]

This list is NOT exhaustive and it’s NOT in my book The Antianxiety Food Solution because I gathered this information after the book was published. However, the pyroluria questionnaire, detailed protocol and testing information is in the book. There is an entire chapter on pyroluria.

Keep in mind that most folks do the pyroluria questionnaire, start on the recommended protocol of zinc, vitamin B6 and a copper-free multi and start to see improvements in a week. These can be dramatic improvements for many folks. And many folks see decent improvements in a few weeks and tweak things over the next few weeks before landing on the ideal doses.

This blog is for you if this doesn’t happen.

Did you miss this interview or want this and the other great interviews for your learning library? You can purchase the MP3s or MP3s + transcripts and listen/read when it suits you. You can find your purchasing options here: Anxiety Summit Season 1, Anxiety Summit Season 2, and Anxiety Summit Season 3.

Feel free to share your results in the blog comments and what you figured may be the issue/s for you.

If you tweak something and it helped do let us know too. That way we all help each other.

And feel free to ask questions in the comments too.

Pyroluria, high mauve, pyrrole disorder, malvaria, elevated kryptopyrroles and social anxiety

January 9, 2015 By Trudy Scott 107 Comments

coneflower

Low levels of the mineral zinc and vitamin B6 are frequently associated with a type of anxiety characterized by social anxiety, avoidance of crowds, a feeling of inner tension, and bouts of depression. People with this problem experience varying degrees of anxiety or fear, often starting in childhood, but they usually manage to cover it up and push through. They tend to build their life around one person, become more of a loner over time, have difficulty handling stress or change, and have heightened anxiety symptoms when under more stress.

This constellation of symptoms is often the result of a genetic condition called pyroluria, also known as high mauve, pyrrole disorder, pyrroluria, pyrolleuria, malvaria, and elevated kryptopyrroles.

In Nutrition and Mental Illness, wonderful book written by Carl Pfeiffer in 1987, pyroluria is described as faulty synthesis of heme (a component of hemoglobin, in the blood), resulting in elevated levels of kryptopyrroles (KP) or by-products of hemoglobin synthesis that have no known role in the body. To get quite technical, it turns out that what’s elevated is actually levels of another molecule: hydroxyhemopyrrolin-2-one (HPL). This molecule attaches to zinc and vitamin B6 in the body, which are then excreted in greater amounts than normal in the urine, resulting in deficiencies. Since the body makes 2 million red blood cells per second, you can see how deficiencies can rapidly develop.

Supplementing with zinc and vitamin B6 (and a few other key nutrients) improves the many signs and symptoms of pyroluria. HPL also inhibits synthesis of heme explaining why people with pyroluria often also have low levels of iron or ferritin (the body’s storage form of iron and the first indicator of decreased iron levels) and need to supplement with iron as well.

I cover this in great detail in my book The Antianxiety Food Solution. I devote a whole chapter to it and for simplicity I use the term “pyroluria” in the book, in my blog posts, articles and presentations.

I first learned of pyroluria when I worked with Julia Ross and discovered that I have it. Joan Mathews-Larson covers it in detail in her great book Depression-Free Naturally and I consider her to be a true expert on pyroluria.

It’s not well-recognized in the mental health and medical community. This is the most recent published information on the topic: Discerning the Mauve Factor, Part 1 and Discerning the Mauve Factor, Part 2.

If this sounds like you, here is a link to the Pyroluria Questionnaire from my book. I created this using the work of Carl Pfeiffer and Joan Mathews-Larson, modifying it based on feedback I received from my clients.

Many people are surprised to discover that they now have an answer to something that has plagued them their whole lives. This was certainly the case with me. Here are Madonna’s results, posted on the pyroluria blog post for the Anxiety Summit season 2: How zinc and vitamin B6 prevent pyroluria and social anxiety

I am 55 and have suffered with panic disorder since age 14. My anxiety has gotten so bad I can hardly leave the house at times. I am a woman of faith but had to even give up church, as I could not handle the people. It has been a rough road. I had already given up gluten and sugar. Somehow I stumbled on the word pyroluria. I did start zinc and b6. Also started primrose oil today. I can tell a difference in my mood and anxiety. I am ready to start living again.

I’d love to see your comments/questions if you can relate to any of this. Also, please do share in the comments if you know you have pyroluria and find the nutrients have eliminated your social anxiety and inner tension symptoms.

The Anxiety Summit – Targeted individual amino acids for eliminating anxiety: practical applications

November 10, 2014 By Trudy Scott 126 Comments

Host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution. was interviewed by Dr Lauren Noel, host of Dr Lo radio.

Targeted individual amino acids for eliminating anxiety: practical applications

Glutamine: how it’s calming and helps with blood sugar balancing
GABA: how it eases physical tension
Tryptophan: how it eases anxiety in the head/busy ruminations (and when not to use 5-HTP)
DPA and tyrosine: how they help you quit the comfort-eating and coffee
Precautions when using individual amino acids
Factors that make them more effective and factors that make them less effective

Here are some snippets from our interview:

You’ll hear some practitioners say GABA molecules are too large to cross the blood brain barrier so GABA won’t work or if it does work you must have a leaky blood brain barrier

Some practitioners are talking about and using a “test” for leaky brain called the GABA Challenge which recommends taking1000- 2000 mg of GABA at night. If the blood brain barrier is intact, you supposedly won’t feel any effect from the GABA. If you do feel a change (drowsiness /feeling drunk or even jittery) then you will need to repair your leaky blood brain barrier.

I have not used the GABA Challenge and only recently learned about it but I am concerned with the very high dose of 2000mg of GABA. That is a lot of GABA for most people and I would expect severe drowsiness for most people or even a reverse effect. I find 125mg (in GABA Calm) is a good starting dose for my anxious clients.

I have also seen research indicating that GABA’s relaxing effect may be due to peripheral effects rather than the effect on/in the brain

Here are some of the papers about there being GABA-receptors in peripheral tissues (these are older papers and I’d love to see some newer research).

“GABA and its receptors are found in a wide range of peripheral tissues, including parts of the peripheral nervous system, endocrine, and non-neural tissues such as smooth muscle and the female reproductive system” (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2162457)
“GABA is widely distributed in endocrine tissues including the pituitary, pancreas, adrenal glands, uterus, ovaries, placenta and testis” (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16338174)

Here is the research on oral GABA being a natural relaxant for 13 subjects who crossed a suspended bridge as a stressful stimulus

GABA could work effectively as a natural relaxant and its effects could be seen within 1 hour of its administration to induce relaxation and diminish anxiety.

Here is the research on the stress-reducing effect of chocolate enriched with gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in humans

the participants performed an arithmetic task and those that were given the GABA choc made a quick recovery to the normal state from the stressful state.

It has been reported that ordinary doses of GABA by oral ingestion do not permeate the blood brain barrier. Therefore, it has been considered that GABA may act on the peripheral nervous system of the digestive organs and not the central nervous system

Here is the blog post that discusses why I don’t use urinary neurotransmitter testing.

There are some precautions to be aware of when taking supplemental amino acids. Here are the Amino Acid Precautions.

Meme Grant shared her success story with the amazing amino acids (and the pyroluria protocol) in season 1. She had anxiety, had panic attacks, didn’t enjoy speaking in public, had insomnia and was an emotional eater.

glutamine allowed her to walk past the gluten and dairy free junk foods

tyrosine helped her flutterby mind, gave her energy, focus and a desire to do things again
DPA stopped her comfort eating for too much of the “healthy” sweeteners
Tryptophan stopped her mind talk, got her sleeping through the night for the first time in 11 years and helped reduce the frequency of her panic attacks
GABA was the best amino acid and how the panic attacks disappeared
zinc, vitamin B6 and evening primrose oil helped her pyroluria symptoms

Enjoy the bonus audio of my interview with Meme. You’ll be able to hear first-hand from someone who experienced amazing results.

Here is a video of Nicole trying some glutamine for low blood sugar

The questionnaires are also on the blog – amino acid questionnaire and pyroluria questionnaire. Both have many comments that are invaluable.

If you are not already registered for the Anxiety Summit you can get live access to the speakers of the day here www.theAnxietySummit.com

The Natural Cures Movement with Dr. Josh Axe

October 8, 2014 By Trudy Scott 26 Comments

I love to bring you valuable content so I’m so pleased to be sharing this online event with you!

Learn secret cures to naturally heal your body from 30 unique presentations! The Natural Cures Movement includes natural remedies and treatment protocols for specific conditions like hypothyroidism, anxiety and depression, autoimmune disease, arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. The home remedies and natural cures you will discover could help you begin a path to better health and disease prevention! Plus, it’s FREE and online from October 6-13. 2014.

Take your health to the next level when you join Dr. Josh Axe, founder of one of the top 25 natural health websites in the world, DrAxe.com, and author of The Real Food Diet Cookbook. It’s his mission to educate millions around the world in order to help them transform their health.

Here are a few of the incredible presenters:

Dr. Joseph Mercola, Take Control of Your Health & Insulin
Dr. Josh Axe, Natural Cures for Leaky Gut
Sayer Ji, 10 Food Medicines That Could Save Your Life
Suzy Cohen, RPh, Natural Remedies for Thyroid & Autoimmune Disease
Vani Hari, How to Cure Yourself Despite Food Companies and Your Doctor

If you haven’t yet hear me present or want to hear me again, my food-mood-anxiety interview aired today (day 3) together with Marc David, Katie Wellness Mama and Lauren Geersten.

Here are a few gems from my food-mood-anxiety interview:

To raise low serotonin:

5-HTP or tryptophan (amino acid supplements) taken between meals
Exercise, sunshine or a full spectrum lamp, and diet (quality real food and wild fish and grass-fed red meat and healthy fats!)
Pumpkin seeds – research shows that a functional food rich in tryptophan and zinc (made of pumpkin seeds) reduced social anxiety and helps sleep!

We didn’t get to talk about all the amino acids and brain chemical imbalances so here is a high level summary:

glutamine for low blood sugar
GABA for stress-eating/low GABA
tyrosine when you need a sugar or caffeine pickup/low catecholamines
DPA for comfort/emotional eating and low endorphins.

I love and highly recommend the eating psychology work of Marc David and I really enjoyed Katie’s talk on beautiful healthy coconut!

Here are some gems from her interview:

anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties and high in antioxidants
high in MCTs and easily digested so you don’t need bile to digest them, plus they help boost metabolism
she combines it with oregano oil for oil pulling/swishing in mouth
use it for cooking, as a body lotion, to help prevent diaper rash, as a hair detangler, as a massage oil