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The Anxiety Summit – Your hidden mercury burden: A likely root cause of the other root causes of anxiety – part 2

By Trudy Scott 43 Comments

Kris HommeQuote_Anxiety2

Kris Homme, MPH retired engineer turned science writer was interviewed by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.

Your hidden mercury burden: A likely root cause of the other root causes of anxiety – part 2

  • how to get rid of your mercury burden: dental amalgams, mercury in fish
  • how a special diet can help
  • important supplements to include: antioxidants; essential fatty acids; minerals
  • foods and supplements to avoid
  • concerns around chelation
  • chronic mercury poisoning resources

Here is a snippet from our interview:

I’d really like to emphasize the toxicity of mercury and just how insidious it is and how important prevention is because, once you have toxicity, it can be pretty hard to get rid of. The first thing to do is address your exposures, and one big one is dental amalgams. If you are inclined to think you may have a mercury burden, then consider safe dental amalgam removal. It’s not an emergency, but put it into your five-year plan. You can read about this on IAOMT/ International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology web site. They’re the pro-science dental association that has been working to fund and disseminate the science since 1983. They have developed a safe amalgam removal protocol. You can find a dentist who appreciates the toxicity of mercury and takes every precaution. Your old dentist may have an office full of mercury vapor, so you may want to find a new dentist and discuss the details of the procedure with the new dentist and decide for yourself whether the procedure is adequate. You got into trouble by trusting your old dentist to do what the old dentist thought was right, so it’s a good idea not to trust, but to figure out what you think is the right protocol for amalgam removal

Kris asked the following in the interview:

if you believe that your dental amalgams have affected your health, please report this to the FDA on the FDA MedWatch web site. They have a form to report adverse events, and dental amalgams are considered a medical device, so if you’ll use that form, it may help. In the last go-round against the FDA’s amalgam rule, the 2009 statement by the FDA said that they had received very few adverse event reports on amalgam, so let’s not let them say that again.

Here is the Environmental Working Group January 2014 report we mentioned: US Seafood Advice Flawed on Mercury, Omega-3s

Kris has some additional fish information here – Fish mercury: Some inconvenient truths

Here is short video of Kris talking about genetic susceptibility to mercury toxicity

This was a 2-part interview – here is the link to the blog for part 1

Here are links to the resources Kris shared:

Amalgam Illness by Andrew Cutler

Mercury Exposure

DAMS – Dental Amalgam Mercury Solutions

IAOMT/International Association of Oral Medicine and Toxicology

Kern 2012 article on brain pathology in mercury poisoning: Evidence of parallels between mercury intoxication and the brain pathology in autism

Kris’s website MercuryandMore

Kris’ paper published earlier this year: New science challenges old notion that mercury dental amalgam is safe

Here is a link to part 1 of this mercury discussion – chronic mercury poisoning effects at the molecular level, the cellular and organ level, effects on hormone imbalance and neurotransmitters and how to test.

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 Anxiety Summit – Your hidden mercury burden: A likely root cause of the other root causes of anxiety part 1

By Trudy Scott 39 Comments

Kris Homme

Kris Homme, MPH retired engineer turned science writer was interviewed by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.

Your hidden mercury burden: A likely root cause of the other root causes of anxiety – part 1

  • chronic mercury poisoning effects at the molecular level: blocks enzymes, displaces minerals
  • chronic mercury poisoning effects the cellular and organ level: mineral transport, destroys barriers like gut and brain, mitochondrial dysfunction
  • effects on hormone imbalance, blood sugar regulation, food sensitivities, GABA/serotonin levels, autoimmunity
  • why mercury toxicity is complicated and hard to test for
  • subjective signs of chronic mercury poisoning

Here are some snippets from our interview:

Mercury inhibits methylation, which is the biochemical process that affects the production of many hormones and neurotransmitters. It also causes a selective loss of Purkinje neurons in the brain which produce GABA.

Mercury is known to concentrate in glands, including the thyroid and blocks the enzyme that converts T4 to T3. Also, your mercury burden is a chronic stressor that seems to provoke symptoms of adrenal fatigue.

Erethism: It’s the mercury personality, and that involves excessive timidity, diffidence, shyness, conflict avoidance, loss of self-confidence, anxiety, a desire to remain unobserved and unobtrusive, a pathological fear of ridicule and explosive loss of temper when criticized. There are different versions of this definition and they’re all fun and they really resonated with me, so that can be interesting to look that up on the internet.

Here is the link to Kris Homme’s publication in Biometals, published earlier this year: New science challenges old notion that mercury dental amalgam is safe

Kris has gathered some additional information into this document – Chronic mercury poisoning: A brief summary of the science

It was lovely to recently meet Kris. After enjoying a nice cup of herbal tea with her, she shared a few things about mercury toxicity in her pretty back garden. Here is one of the videos we did – enjoy!

Here is a link to part 2 of this discussion- what to do and additional resources.

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 Anxiety Summit – Our environmental toxin exposures promote anxiety

By Trudy Scott 3 Comments

Tom A. Malterre

Tom A. Malterre, MS, CN author of Nourishing Meals: Healthy Gluten-Free Recipes for the Whole Family was interviewed by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.

Our environmental toxin exposures promote anxiety

  • The drastic spike in ADD/ADHD and autism and increase in anxiety and depression
  • Air pollution as an environmental toxin: concerns and sources (mercury, the brown cloud)
  • Mercury in fish and fish meal for animals
  • EDCs/ Endocrine Disrupting Compounds: BPA, phthalates and anxiety
  • Pesticides and the effects on folates in the colon and the production of serotonin
  • TILT /Toxicant-induced  loss of tolerance
  • What to do: nutritional and lifestyle tips

Here are the quotes from The Journal of Environmental Health paper co-written by Dr. Steven Genuis:

Toxicity and nutritional deficiency states often receive insufficient attention as common source causes of chronic disease in the developed world

it’s evident that a reevaluation of conventional wisdom on the current construct of disease origins should be considered

Here are some snippets from our interview:

Now 74 billion pounds of chemicals are being imported or produced in the United States every single day, that doesn’t include pharmaceuticals, it doesn’t include fuels and food additives. It doesn’t include some of the primary things like pesticides that we’re exposed to on a daily basis so that number is conservative and still, to me, it’s completely and totally overwhelming

Excessive levels of chemicals like BPA can inactivate Vitamin D which is one of the key components for turning off inflammation in the central-nervous system. Excessive inflammation can lead to increased excitatory glutamate and anxiety.

Here is the 2012 study co-authored by Stephen Genuis: Human Excretion of Bisphenol A: Blood, Urine, and Sweat (BUS) Study

Biomonitoring of BPA through blood and/or urine testing may underestimate the total body burden of this potential toxicant. Sweat analysis should be considered as an additional method for monitoring bioaccumulation of BPA in humans. Induced sweating appears to be a potential method for elimination of BPA.

The Environmental Working Group SkinDeep site is a great resource for checking out safe cosmetics

Here is some of the research on Vitamin D and inflammation that is being conducted by Colleen Hayes and colleagues

If you are interested in learning more about broccoli’s superhero powers, watch Tom’s TED talk here on YouTube! “Broccoli – the DNA whisperer”

 

Cauliflower is also a good source of sulforaphane and here is a yummy Coconut lemon garlic cauliflower recipe from one of Tom’s books Nourishing Meals: Healthy Gluten-Free Recipes for the Whole Family.

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

Chilling out with cheetahs – using nature for stress relief, joy and pure awesomeness!

By Trudy Scott 8 Comments

0 skye

I was recently visiting family in South Africa and promised to share pictures from our incredible trip to the Kwa Cheetah Breeding Project. My sister Woo and I decided to do the early morning 50 minute bush walk with Skye, one of the male cheetahs. All I can say is wow! What an experience!

I’ve written about how nature and exercise can help to boost mood and reduce stress and this certainly did this and more. I hope you get to enjoy some of it via my photos.

 

1_meeting skye

Here I am getting to meet Skye before we head out. And what a meeting it was – he purrs just like a kitty cat only louder and deeper! Incredible first encounter!

 

2_skyes sister comes over to say hi

Skye’s sister comes over to say hi and can I come for a walk too.

 

3_walking with woo

We took Skye for a 50 minute walk through the bush around Kwa Cheetah – or maybe he took us for a walk! At one stage he spotted his sister and bolted to say hello and I got kind of dragged behind him. Here is with the ranger and my sister Woo.

 

4 woo and skye

Woo getting to know Skye

 

4 trudy and skye

Skye has spotted a warthog in the far distance

 

6_woo and I with skye

Woo and I with Skye

 

niece and cheetah-1

After the early morning bushwalk we all got to spend the next two hours watching cheetahs being trained to run and hunt, and various other fun activities. This is my 7-year old niece in one enclosure – fearless!

 

7 kwa cheetch breeding

Of course we both highly recommend Kwa Cheetah Breeding Project: “The main goal behind the project is not to sell cheetahs to zoos or any other likewise place, but to release our cats back into the African wilderness.”

Here are some stats on why they do what they do: “The reason we are trying to do this is because there are only between seven and ten thousand cheetahs left worldwide. About two thousand cheetahs are dying every four years due to three main factors: natural predators (like lions and hyenas), humans (poaching is a big one, so is farming) and poor genetics. You can read all the stats here.

Next time you’re in South Africa, go and visit – you’ll be giving back and making a difference, and you’ll find you’ll get back so much more: joy, awe and an amazing sense of calmness!

 

Is Roundup toxic and a cause of anxiety, autism and celiac disease?

By Trudy Scott 18 Comments

Dr. Stephanie Seneff, Senior Research Scientist at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, kindly agreed to share her expertise on Roundup/glyphosate on The Anxiety Summit.

This is the title of our interview: “Aluminum and glyphosate (Roundup) collaborate to cause anxiety, depression, autism and celiac disease.”

Recently Dr. Seneff has become very concerned about the current autism epidemic and her research leads her to believe that glyphosate plays a critical role in this epidemic as well as in modern diseases like anxiety and depression

During our interview Dr. Seneff shared this:

“There are a group of us who are extremely concerned because the manufacturer of glyphosate has repeatedly claimed that it’s almost harmless to humans. So people are using it very carelessly and they are not monitoring it in their blood, in their urine, in their food or in their water. Everyone is assuming that it’s fine and so it is extremely insidious and dangerous for that reason”

We also talked about how widespread the use of Roundup has been, which is all rather disturbing considering what Dr. Seneff and other researchers are finding.

Dr. Seneff shared this:

“Wheat and sugar cane… farmers have been increasingly adopting the practice of spraying these crops right before the harvest (with Roundup)…These are not Roundup ready so the crops dies. And that’s the intention…to hasten the harvest… Nobody thinks it’s toxic…And we have the celiac disease epidemic…and all these gluten free sections showing up in the grocery stores. I think this is directly due to Roundup residue in the wheat.”

Dr. Seneff’s 2013 paper called Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance found that:

“Deficiencies in tryptophan, tyrosine, methionine and selenomethionine associated with celiac disease, match glyphosate’s known depletion of these amino acids”… contributing to anxiety and depression.

The paper ends with this plea:

“We conclude with a plea to governments to reconsider policies regarding the safety of glyphosate residues in foods.”

Join us on The Anxiety Summit to hear the whole interview (and hear 20+ other experts share research, nutritional pearls, food advice and protocols)

  • Why glyphosate is sprayed on wheat right before the harvest, and how this explains the epidemic in gluten intolerance
  • How glyphosate disrupts gut bacteria causing a deficiency in beneficial bacteria and an overgrowth of pathogenic forms
  • How glyphosate depletes minerals like cobalt, zinc, molybdenum, and manganese by caging them; and how it depletes serotonin and GABA levels
  • How glyphosate disrupts cytochrome P450 enzymes in the gut and liver, with devastating consequences

The Anxiety Summit is a free online virtual event that runs June 9 to June 22 and will be bringing together experts from all over the world – to share nutritional approaches to end anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks and OCD. Get access here www.theanxietysummit.com

UPDATE: the summit concluded on Tues 6/24 – season 2 of The Anxiety Summit will be in November 2014. If you’d like to be on the notification list just sign up here www.theAnxietySummit.com

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

By Trudy Scott 30 Comments

Pinkwashing

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!?

cancer sugary foods

cancer pinking coke

cancer pinking 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:

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?

cancer pinking asparagus