Cancer

MTHFR and methylation: mood, anxiety, depression, and resources

March 6, 2015 By Trudy Scott 27 Comments

Methylation polymorphisms (also called defects or mutations or SNPs) can impact mood. I’d like to share a few studies on some of the mood issues, other health conditions where we may see impacts and some resources for you to learn more.

If you have one of the MTHFR polymorphisms, the BH4 cycle may be affected and may impact how we make serotonin and dopamine. Here is some of the research:

There is much evidence on the methylation polymorphisms and these health conditions:

Resources for further learning

The two practitioners who I have learned the most from are Dr. Ben Lynch ND and Coleen Walsh, a nutritionist who has been dubbed the “methyl queen”.

Ben Lynch ND: his website http://mthfr.net/ and blog articles provide a wealth of information and he is very active on his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/drbenjaminlynch). I did his excellent 2 day professional training which he has available on this site. I also interviewed him on The Anxiety Summit and we talked about GAD, MOAO and COMT polymorphisms

Coleen Walsh, nutritionist, “methyl queen” offers a professional MTHFR and Methylation training for practitioners and a MTHFR workshop for the layperson and every day mutant. I highly recommend both of these.

Just remember this great quote from Coleen Walsh during our interview on the Anxiety Summit:

Our DNA is not set in stone! Diet and lifestyle can go a long way to change our health destiny

The good news is that we can change our health, our disease outcomes and how we feel by eating real whole good quality organic food, getting chemicals and toxins out of our diets and environment, reducing stress, supporting the liver and our natural detox processes.

Certain key nutrients can also be very help for many people with polymorphisms. I’ll share more on folate and other nutrients and other SNPs in a later blog post. I’ll also share more on genetic testing.

I’d love to hear if you’ve done genetic testing and how making changes (supplement, diet, lifestyle) have helped. Be sure to post questions too.

Breast Cancer Awareness: don’t be driven by fear

October 13, 2014 By Trudy Scott 13 Comments

DrNalini Chilkov’s new book — Dr. Nalini Chilkov’s new book

October is Breast Cancer awareness month so here are 7 resources to keep you informed, hopeful and inspired to take charge of your overall health and breast health – for prevention and healing – and no more fear!

#1 Reduce stress in your life. Here is a blog post I wrote in 2010 with information from my colleague Ellyn Hilliard: 10 Unique Ways to Support You During Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Reduce the stresses in your life. Calm the nervous system. Meditate, go on a walk…

Start to look at chemicals in your life. Find natural alternatives to cleaning products.

#2 Exercise to prevent cancer and have fun at the same time

up to a third of breast cancer cases in Western countries could be avoided with a nutritious diet and exercise

If exercise is a chore, find something fun to do and it will be a totally different experience

#3 Be aware that a lot of pinkwashing goes on – it’s quite awful how people are being taken advantage of. And know there is so much you can do that is healing and preventative. You can read more here: Pinkwashing for the cure (ridiculous!) or green for prevention?

Pinkwasher: (pink’-wah-sher) noun. A company or organization that claims to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribbon product, but at the same time produces, manufactures and/or sells products that are linked to the disease.

Helyane Waldman’s book “The Whole-Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors: A Nutritional Approach to Preventing Recurrence”

Rebecca Katz’s “The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery”

#4 Ann Louise Gittleman, author of The Fat Flush Diet and Get the Sugar Out, just posted a great blog on how to become a breast health warrior

Raise your daily Vitamin D intake (D is like a hormone rather than a vitamin) to at least 1,000 – 4,000 IU to reach a level of at least 52 ng/mL. Women with serum levels at

Get the Sugar Out! Plain and simple, cancer feeds on sugar which is known to immobilize white blood cells for up to five hours.

#5 Dr Nalini Chilkov is my cancer referral source and she has a new cancer booklet called 32 Ways to OutSmart Cancer. It has beautiful back-to-basics advice about eating nourishing nutrient-dense, antioxidant- and polyphenol-rich real whole food. I especially like the section on herbs and spices and love the chapter on gratitude. Here is a yummy salmon recipe from her blog.

#6 Be hopeful and optimistic. My colleague Fran Sussman shares her journey and story of recovery from breast cancer in this article called I am a breast cancer survivor: There is hope. Fran will be offering six-week support classes for women diagnosed with breast cancer starting in December.

I’ve come through it, with great resilience and rebounding health. I feel better than ever post-breast cancer, at age 60. I am healthy; my doctors concur.

What can you do for prevention? Support your body with optimal nutrition, exercise, sleep and hydration. Use nutrition to minimize inflammation and insulin resistance.

Acknowledge and work with your fear, but don’t be driven by it.

#7 And my final piece of advice is stated so beautifully by Fran: “Acknowledge and work with your fear, but don’t be driven by it.” Anxiety and depression is very common in people who have been diagnosed with cancer. This is understandable, but I encourage you to look for and get support in this area too, so you are not driven by your fear.

You may need to address low GABA levels, keep your blood sugar stable with good quality protein at breakfast, support your adrenals, and drink calming carob instead of coffee. There is so much you can do.

If you’re looking for more great resources for your healing journey, I invite you to join us on The Anxiety Summit, Nov 3-16, and learn more about nutritional and natural solutions for anxiety. The topics our expert address will also lead to improved overall health, improved heart health and will help with cancer prevention too.

Pinkwashing for the cure (ridiculous!) or green for prevention?

October 21, 2013 By Trudy Scott 30 Comments

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and creating breast cancer awareness is great BUT this pinkwashing is ridiculous!

A California based organization shares what pinkwashing is:

Breast Cancer Action coined the term pinkwashing as part of our Think BeforeYou Pink® campaign. Pinkwasher: (pink’-wah-sher) noun. A company or organization that claims to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribbon product, but at the same time produces, manufactures and/or sells products that are linked to the disease.

Sarah Pope, the Healthy Home Economist doesn’t mince her words in her blog post “Komen (NOT) for the Cure: for the Cure: The Complete and Utter Pinkwashing of America” and nor should she. She says things like “pink propaganda”, “media stupidity”, “zombie like hypnosis that comes over people with regard to supporting the marketing bonanza” and “Breast Cancer Industry Month.” As far as I’m concerned she is spot on and this pinkwashing is ridiculous and totally out of hand! Do read her blog post above: she shares some shocking facts about Komen, saying they don’t want a cure because “Pinkwashing is far too lucrative.”

I am, quite frankly, flabbergasted by the whole commercialism of it. Also, so many of the products that have been “pinked” are part of the cancer problem in the first place.

Like sugary foods and fast food! You’re kidding me! Coke and cancer awareness!? What about cancer-causing toxins in makeup!?

The title of this paper says it all: Cancer is a Preventable Disease that Requires Major Lifestyle Changes

“Only 5–10% of all cancer cases can be attributed to genetic defects, whereas the remaining 90–95% have their roots in the environment and lifestyle. The lifestyle factors include cigarette smoking, diet (fried foods, red meat), alcohol, sun exposure, environmental pollutants, infections, stress, obesity, and physical inactivity.”

Here are some great resources that help with some of these lifestyle factors:

Helyane Waldman’s book “The Whole-Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors: A Nutritional Approach to Preventing Recurrence”
Rebecca Katz’s “The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery”
Mira Dessy’s book “The Pantry Principle: how to read the label and understand what’s really in your food”
Good quality grass-fed red meat from US Wellness Meats, instead of poor quality feed-lot meat
Good quality wild salmon and other healthy fish from Vital Choice, instead of farmed fish
Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Guide to Cosmetics and their guides to healthy cleaning products and GMOs, pesticides on produce and much more. As well as cancer, we know about the bad effects of pesticides on anxiety and depression. I also encourage you to take action: sign Breast Cancer Action’s petition to end pinkwashing once and for all via strong chemical regulations.

How about a green ribbon instead of a pink ribbon!? And please, let’s call it Breast Cancer Prevention and have a Race for Prevention instead of a Race for the Cure!

Which do you choose – pinkwashing for the cure or green for prevention?

Dark chocolate for Valentine’s Day and heart health!

February 13, 2012 By Trudy Scott 17 Comments

Dark CHOCOLATE! …I can see you smiling as you get an endorphin and serotonin boost at just the thought of chocolate! With Valentine’s Day around the corner and with February being American Heart Health month it’s time to talk about chocolate. Not just any chocolate, but good quality dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate that is at least 70-80 percent cocoa is the best choice because it has less sugar (and sugar is toxic and addicting) and more cocoa, which is rich in antioxidants and flavonols (a class of plant-based compounds that provide many of the same benefits as antioxidants).

Chocolate does improve mood and create feelings of joy – we can all relate to this! And dark chocolate certainly does have heart benefits. This is important because heart disease is still the number one cause of death in the United States.

Moderate consumption of dark chocolate has been shown to be beneficial for heart health by:

lowering blood pressure
decreasing levels of lipids in the blood (this 2011 meta-analysis in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that dark chocolate actually decreased total and LDL cholesterol and had no major effects on HDL and triglycerides.
being anti-inflammatory
improving insulin resistance (a condition characterized by decreased sensitivity to insulin and associated with diabetes)

And interestingly, dark chocolate may offer protection against cancer due to the “high concentration of catechins and procyanidins”

But here are a few questions to ask yourself as you indulge:

Do you devour the whole bar of chocolate rather than a small piece? (the key here is moderate consumption!)
Do you binge on chocolate and then feel awful afterwards – physically (really icky!?) and emotionally (the guilt-trip deal?)
Does it make you anxious or more stressed or keep you awake? Caffeine is found in all forms of chocolate and cacao (other than white chocolate); the darker the chocolate, the more caffeine it contains!
Do you suffer from migraines (sadly, chocolate gives me a terrible headache two days later!)
Do you experience breast tenderness leading up to your period?

If you answer yes to any of the above then you really should reconsider if chocolate is for you this Valentine’s Day! And give delicious carob a trial instead.

In Finland Valentine’s Day is called “Friend’s day” and is more about remembering all your friends, not only your loved ones. I wish you, your loved ones and your friends a happy and wonderful Valentine’s Day and a happy healthy heart – both physically and emotionally!

Cabbage Caraway recipe: simple and yet so nutritious

November 11, 2011 By Trudy Scott 11 Comments

Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable that is delicious, is easy to prepare and very versatile and has some incredible health benefits – and is just beautiful to look at! So here is a simple and yet nutritious cabbage recipe and some reasons why you may want to eat some today. Enjoy!

Tasty caraway cabbage

1 cabbage finely sliced
Butter (about half a stick)
Caraway seeds (2 to 4 tablespoons)
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Steam the chopped cabbage in a large soup pot with colander – steam for about 5-7 minutes until the cabbage is soft but not too soggy. Tip into a large serving casserole dish and add butter and spices. Mix to cover the cabbage and serve warm. Enjoy!

I always make extra when I cook, so left-over can be used for lunch the next day. Lightly steam (not microwave!) left-overs for a minute or two or serve cold with a nice salad dressing.

Cabbage is on the Environmental Working Group’s Clean 15 list https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/ewg-2011-dirty-dozen-apples-celery-strawberries/ meaning it is low in pesticides so buying cabbage organic is not imperative if you can’t find organic.

And here are some of the reasons to inspire you to make cabbage (other than the delicious taste of course!)

Cabbage is well-known for their powerful role in cancer prevention. In a study from Poland, 4 cabbage servings per week showed reduced breast cancer risk
Cabbage is a great source of antioxidants such as vitamin C and beta-carotene
Cabbage is anti-inflammatory
Cabbage is important for digestive health (cabbage juice actually heals ulcers)
Cabbage is great source of fiber
Cabbage, as sauerkraut, is a great source of probiotics

And caraway seeds have a delicious anise-like flavor (you may recognize the taste from rye bread) and they too contain antioxidants, are a source of fiber, support the digestive system and are actually calming.

I personally love cabbage and love it with caraway seeds! It’s one of my favorite veggies – cabbage and Brussel sprouts which are in the same family. Of course cabbage is mentioned in my book The Antianxiety Food Solution www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com, as part of a real whole foods diet. And sauerkraut, which is made from cabbage, is just one of the many great mood foods I talk about on my Fox40 interview https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/foods-for-your-moods-fox-40-anxiety/ Time for some cabbage and caraway seeds!? Enjoy!

Have fun exercising and prevent cancer

March 26, 2010 By Trudy Scott 20 Comments

It’s all over the news today – up to a third of breast cancer cases in Western countries could be avoided with a nutritious diet and exercise. (This was announced at a conference in Spain this week – http://tinyurl.com/yalf9s7 for the full story.)

Wow that is so powerful! We do have control over our own health.

How much time do you make for exercise?

Do you get too busy to go to the gym?

Do you find that you force yourself to go because you know you should?

Do you watch the clock and wish away the time when you’re at the gym?

If exercise is a chore, find something fun to do and it will be a totally different experience I promise. You’ll get so much more out of it and will want to keep going back for more. Take up ballroom dancing, do belly-dancing lessons (maybe not if you’re a guy!), start playing tennis again or try something fun and new. This last summer we took windsurfing lessons and it was a total blast.

The windy season is just starting again and we were out on the local lake on Saturday and I could have stayed out all day. Exercise, healthy, laughter, fresh air, sunshine, companionship and most of all – pure fun! Now that is what exercise should be! Get out here and have fun ok?