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GABA mixed in water and swished in his mouth before a meal prevents esophageal spasms /choking/vomiting, and allows him to swallow

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gaba in water

GABA mixed in water and swished in the mouth of an adult male, before a meal, prevents his esophageal spasms, and stops his frequent choking and vomiting, and allows him to swallow his food. A colleague shared her husband’s swallowing issues after she read my blog post about using GABA powder inside the check for laryngospasms. 

This is what she shared:

That [blog] made me think that [GABA] might be useful for my husband‘s esophageal spasms. He frequently can’t get food down during a meal because of them.

So he started mixing 500 mg GABA in a little water and swishing it around his mouth and then swallowing it at the beginning of each meal. Since he started doing that he has not had one spasm, or vomiting episode.

It’s wonderful to hear about her husband’s success with GABA and this unique application of swishing around GABA powder (mixed in water) in his mouth before a meal (I’ll share more on this aspect below).

I asked if they know what the causes of his esophageal spasms are but they don’t yet know:

We can’t figure it out. It appears to be all food. I would expect there to be a trigger-food, but we can’t find it.

The GABA has completely stopped it. Last night we went out to dinner and he forgot to bring GABA with him and immediately started choking. So he went to the nearest vitamin store, (of which there is only one)! Fortunately it was open. As soon as he got back to the restaurant and took his GABA, he was fine.

GABA does work so well for him and offers him some relief while they continue to search for other underlying root cause/s. Until these are found, GABA is supporting overall low GABA levels, associated with physical tension-type anxiety, intrusive thoughts, stiff and tense muscles in other areas of the body and also stress-eating and self-medicating with alcohol in order to relax. More on low GABA symptoms here.

My input on his dosing and swishing

Regarding the dosing and swishing method I have this input:

  • 500 mg GABA is the ideal dose for his needs but this is considered a high dose to start. For low GABA tension-type anxiety, I have clients start with a trial of 125 mg GABA and go up from there. I’d recommend the same approach for someone with issues like this gentleman experiences.
  • GABA is most effective when used sublingually or by opening a capsule on to the tongue or by using GABA powder on the inside of a cheek, rather than swallowing a GABA capsule. For this reason, his method of swishing GABA mixed in water is excellent for achieving the spasm-reducing and relaxing benefits quickly. For some folks doing this 30 minutes before a meal may be more effective than doing it right before eating.

The diagnosis can vary from person to person

The diagnosis can vary from person to person. But as long as there are spasms that are affecting swallowing, doing a trial of GABA is worthwhile in order to determine if it will help.

One example is eosinophilic esophagitis where

Clinical manifestations in infants and toddlers generally include vomiting, food refusal, choking with meals and, less commonly, failure to thrive. Predominant symptoms in school-aged children and adolescents include dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), food impactions, and choking/gagging with meals, particularly when comprised of foods with coarse textures. Other symptoms in this patient population include abdominal/chest pain, vomiting, and regurgitation.

The predominant symptom in adults is dysphagia [difficulty swallowing]; however, intractable heartburn and food avoidance may also be present.

One paper, Esophageal microbiome in active eosinophilic esophagitis and changes induced by different therapies discusses the role of the microbiome and how “an increase in levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) …is known to exert a role in esophageal motor function.”

Finding the other root causes (other than low GABA)

Regarding finding the root causes, other than low GABA, this is an important aspect that does need to be pursued. Here are some of the many factors worth considering:

  • Finding food triggers. This can be challenging but an obvious one is gluten which can play a role in eosinophilic esophagitis. Dairy and environmental irritants can be issues too.
  • GERD/reflux needs to be ruled out or addressed. Food sensitivities are often a factor here too.
  • Vagus nerve issues can play a role in digestive issues like this. GABA and vagus nerve exercises helped my cough and voice issues. I recorded all my exercises on video and you can find these here. Fortunately I didn’t have any swallowing or choking episodes at that time but have had a choking episode more recently (GABA did help) so I know how scary this can be.
  • Pyroluria, a social anxiety condition needs to be ruled out or addressed too. This is because nausea, gagging and choking are common symptoms for some individuals.
  • I’d also consider a tongue tie. I just finished reading Tongue Tied: How a Tiny String Under the Tongue Impacts Nursing, Speech, Feeding, and More (my Amazon link) by Richard Baxter, DMD, MS. The focus on babies and children but adults can also benefit from addressing tongue tie issues later in life.
  • Addressing gut health and the microbiome may be one of the keys, as outlined in the paper above.

This is not a comprehensive list and a full functional workup will help to identify all possible root causes.

Related blogs: young boy with choking episodes, lump-in-the throat sensation, anxiety and globus pharyngeus

Here are some related blogs that you may find useful

Resources if you are new to using GABA as a supplement

If you are new to using the the amino acid GABA as a supplement, here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution (you can see the low GABA and other low neurotransmitter symptoms).

If you suspect low levels of GABA or low serotonin 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 team you or your loved one is working with.

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 GABA products that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.

If you don’t feel comfortable reading my book, doing the low GABA symptoms questionnaire and doing trials of GABA on your own, you can get guidance from me in the GABA Quickstart Program (online/virtual).

If you are a practitioner, join us in The Balancing Neurotransmitters: the Fundamentals program. It’s an opportunity to interact with me and other practitioners who are also using the amino acids.

Have you experienced throat or esophageal spasms and difficulty swallowing with choking and/or vomiting.

And do you have the low GABA physical-tension-type-anxiety symptoms?  What else is a trigger for you and do you have a diagnosis?

If you’ve already been using GABA with success for easing your anxiety, have you noticed a reduction in your swallowing issues?

Have you ever used GABA in this way to help your swallowing issues?

If you’re a practitioner please share what you have seen?

Feel free to ask your questions here too.

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

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(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:

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.

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.

Integrative Medicine Approach to Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety

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pediatric-ocd-anxiety

Gluten was found to be the cause of a childhood case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In this case report, published in January this year: Integrative Medicine Approach to Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety, the authors state

This case study is the first reported case of OCD associated with non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

Pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is prevalent in 1% to 2% of the population. Emerging studies have correlated non-celiac gluten sensitivity with psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, depression, mania, and anxiety.

The 7-year-old boy was treated at an integrative medicine practice in the United States and experienced these results on a gluten-free diet together with other integrative medicine modalities:

marked reduction of OCD symptoms and anxiety along with marked improvement of social behavior and school work

The authors conclude the following and recommend further research:

The patient’s rapid response without side effects behooves the medical research community to further investigate the association of non-celiac gluten sensitivity and pediatric OCD.

These are truly amazing results and I always recommend that anyone with any mental health condition needs to consider the effects of gluten. I have all my clients go gluten-free for this very reason. Even if you don’t have a diagnosis of OCD, going gluten-free frequently helps with the obsessive thinking, ruminating thoughts, negative self-talk, anxiety and worry.

Of course, this approach or this approach alone, may not work with everyone with OCD (severe or mild) since the root cause can be multi-faceted.

Other approaches for OCD could also include (with or without a gluten-free diet, although I’d err on the side of caution and always remove gluten):

Please share if you’ve found benefits from any of the above approaches for OCD, obsessive thinking or anxiety.

No Grain, No Pain – audio interview with Dr. Peter Osborne

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no-grain-no-pain

In the tradition of Wheat Belly and Grain Brain, this new book No Grain, No Pain by Dr. Peter Osborne demonstrates the proven link between a gluten-heavy diet and chronic pain and discomfort and offers a groundbreaking, 30-day, grain-free diet plan to help you heal yourself from the inside out.

Dr. Peter Osborne, the leading authority on gluten sensitivity and food allergies (and one of the favorite speakers on The Anxiety Summit), shows how grains wreak havoc on the body by causing tissue inflammation, creating vitamin and/or mineral deficiencies, and triggering an autoimmune response that causes the body to attack itself.

I received an advance copy of this new book and read it cover to cover in a few hours. I could NOT put it down! This book is brilliant and everyone with any health issue, including anxiety and mood problems needs to read it, even if physical pain is not an issue!

As promised, here is the audio interview:

And here are some snippets from this great book:

  • The true definition of gluten is that it is a large family of storage proteins found in all forms of grain, including rice, corn, and many others. The bottom line is this: the majority of gluten-sensitive people who eliminate only wheat, barley, rye, and oats but continue to consume other grains don’t get better!
  • only one protein, gliadin, found in wheat, barley, and rye, has been extensively studied. Each grain has one or more types of gluten proteins. A recent study identified four hundred new forms of gluten, forty of which were more damaging than the form of gluten for which doctors most commonly test
  • Research shows that corn (and corn oil) also produces numerous intestinal and health problems for the gluten sensitive

Here is a great table from the book showing the primary form of gluten and how much gluten is found in different grains:

how-much-grain

We covered the fascinating topic of leaky brain on our interview and Dr. Osborne covers it in great detail in the book. Here is a snippet from the book:

Now that you are familiar with leaky gut and understand the interconnected relationship of your brain and your GI tract, let me introduce the concept of leaky brain. Research on gluten sensitivity has identified this syndrome and revealed a connection between gluten-induced leaky gut and leaky brain, confirming the far-reaching effects of gluten on many diseases. Leaky brain means that the blood-brain barrier is breached, just as the gut walls can be breached by damage inflicted by grain. The blood-brain barrier is designed to keep toxic compounds out of the brain’s blood supply, so its disruption could lead to a battery of different neurological and mental symptoms. In addition to schizophrenia, gluten-induced damage can create other neurological problems, including depression, bipolar disease, seizure disorders (epilepsy), facial palsies such as Bell’s palsy, ADD/ADHD, and autism and others [like anxiety – this is my addition]. You could be gluten sensitive and have leaky brain syndrome.

Details about the book and bonus (Leaky Gut Solutions Guide) here

Enjoy!

 

 

Nutritional testing for figuring out the root cause/s of your anxiety

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test

This blog covers the nutritional or functional testing I use with my clients, and what tests I’d run (and/or have my client’s doctor run) if everyone had unlimited funds.

Often it can be challenging to figure out the root cause/s of your anxiety, but that’s where questionnaires, nutritional/ functional/ testing, and a good practitioner (or team of practitioners like nutritionist, functional medicine doctor, nurse practitioner, therapist etc.) comes in – so you can put all the puzzle pieces together.

The following are what I have most of my clients do:

  • The basic blood work that I like to see is a lipid panel, a CBC (complete blood count), a metabolic panel, an iron panel that includes ferritin, and a thyroid panel that includes TSH, free T3, free T4, reverse T3, thyroid antibodies (antithyroglobulin and antithyroperoxidase), vitamin D, and CRP (C-Reactive Protein). There is much we can determine by looking at functional values: digestive status, possible gut dysbiosis, adrenal function, malabsorption, inflammation, as well as low iron, low vitamin D etc. I’ll share more about the markers on this panel of tests in a later blog post.  
  • I also like to see an adrenal saliva test, which measures four times cortisol. So it’d be a saliva collection first thing in the morning, noontime, 5:00 PM, and 10:00 PM. It also shows DHEA; Secretory IgA; and an anti-gliadin antibody (a marker of gluten sensitivity)
  • I rely on the Pyroluria Questionnaire and response to the supplements. The pyroluria urine test is a possibility. But I seldom have clients do it, because we can often see a false negative.
  • For neurotransmitter imbalances – low serotonin, low GABA, low catecholamines and low endorphins – I rely on the Amino Acid Questionnaire and response to amino acids. Vitamin Diagnostics offer a platelet serotonin/dopamine/norepinephrine and epinephrine panel, which is the most accurate way to measure neurotransmitters, if you really wanted to measure them. I don’t ever recommend urinary neurotransmitter testing. It just doesn’t seem to correlate with symptoms.
  • B12 levels. To determine a B12 deficiency, you would want to measure B12, methylmalonic acid (or MMA), and homocysteine.
  • The 23andme genetic testing. This will measure MTHFR, COMT, MAOA, CBS, GAD and many more polymorphisms.

Here is other testing that may be helpful for certain individuals:

  • A sex hormone saliva test. This will measures progesterone, estriol, estrone, estradiol, and testosterone.   I have a wonderful nurse practitioner that I work with, and, if need be, will refer people out to the nurse practitioner if we need support when it comes to bioidentical hormones.
  • A food intolerance test that measures IgG antibodies to 60+ foods. This shows a delayed reaction to the foods.
  • A fatty acid test. This will measure omega-3s (EPA and DHA), omega-6s and omega-9s. And it’ll also measure trans fats. Doing this test is really helpful if you have pyroluria or think that you may have pyroluria.
  • A RBC (red blood cell) magnesium test. Dr. Carolyn Dean talked about the usefulness of this test season 2 of The Anxiety Summit: Take magnesium and melt your anxiety away
  • A stool test. Metametrix/Genova and Diagnostechs offers functional stool testing. It’ll show good bacteria, yeast, parasites, bad bacteria, and digestive markers.
  • A hydrogen breath test or SIBO test. Genova offers this or you can ask your conventional doctor to order this.
  • The H/pylori antigen test. Genova offers this or a conventional doctor can do this.
  • Intestinal permeability profile. Genova offers this.
  • A celiac panel. Genova offers this, or a conventional doctor can do this.
  • The Cyrex panels, which will show gluten and food cross-reactions, and various autoimmune markers.
  • The histamine whole blood is a useful test to see if you have high histamine/histadelia or low histamine/histapenia. This is offered by Vitamin Diagnostics and must be WHOLE blood.
  • Spectracell shows vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
  • A VAP test. If you have concerns about high cholesterol and heart disease, this is going to measure particle size, fibrinogen, Lp(a) and other cardio markers (since looking at only high total cholesterol is not particularly useful).
  • The OAT/Organic Acid Test. Great Plains offers this and it has markers of digestion, yeast overgrowth, infections, B vitamin status and neurotransmitter function.
  • A hair mineral analysis. This is a great way to look for toxic metals and mineral status. You want to look at ratios, not just levels. This is a good marker for copper toxicity as well. Analytical Research Lab offers this test.
  • If you think your copper is too high, or you’ve got low zinc, you can measure copper or ceruloplasmin. This is in serum.
  • Porphyrin testing. This is a measure of the effect of heavy metals such as lead and mecury. Kris Homme talked about this in Season 2 of the Anxiety Summit: Your hidden mercury burden – A likely root cause of the other root causes of anxiety – part 2
  • An amino acid profile, which is a plasma or blood spot test. It’s not something that I use very often, but I have seen people with this test.
  • You can also test candida antibodies in blood, which is not terribly accurate, but sometimes will show up.

I want to look into the following testing:

What functional/nutritional testing have you had done and have found to be helpful? Which of the above tests would you like more detailed information about?

60+ Nutritional & Biochemical Causes of Anxiety

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puzzle pieces

I shared these 60+ Nutritional & Biochemical Causes of Anxiety on my closing call  of the The Anxiety Summit season 3.   I hope they will help you put the puzzle pieces together to resolve your anxiety.

The Foundational Causes from The Antianxiety Food Solution :

  1. Food – real whole food, organic (pesticides may be problematic), quality protein (grass-fed, wild, pastured), healthy fats; avoid junk/processed food with additives/colors/trans fats/GMOs
  2. Sugar – depletes zinc and magnesium and fills us up. We should not feel the need for treats/fruit should satisfy our desire for sweet
  3. Low blood sugar – breakfast/protein/healthy snacks/no coffee
  4. Caffeine/Coffee – even decaf coffee may be an issue. Coffee has high-levels of pesticides, affects blood sugar and affects hormones
  5. Tobacco – depletes key nutrients like zinc, vitamin C      
  6. alcohol – depletes key nutrients like zinc, vitamin C
  7. Food sensitivities – gluten (plus glyphosates/roundup affect serotonin/zinc etc), dairy, GAPs, grains
  8. Digestive system – low HCl
  9. Digestive system – Low good bacteria/probiotics
  10. Digestive system – other enzymes are low
  11. Digestive system – candida
  12. Digestive system – parasites
  13. Digestive system – leaky gut
  14. Digestive system – liver/gallbladder issues
  15. Digestive system – SIBO
  16. Brain chemicals/neurotransmitters: low GABA (covered in detail in season 4 of the Anxiety Summit) 
  17. Brain chemicals/neurotransmitters: low serotonin
  18. Brain chemicals/neurotransmitters: low endorphins
  19. Brain chemicals/neurotransmitters: low catecholamines (need for coffee/sugar) or high catecholamines. Gut health, what you eat, coffee, gluten all affect the brain chemicals
  20. Pyroluria/social anxiety – zinc, vitamin B6 and EPO (addressing this improves brain chemical imbalances and hormone imbalances)
  21. A need for zinc
  22. A need for vitamin B6
  23. A need for EPO
  24. Toxins/pesticides/plastics/BPA
  25. Medication side-effects/withdrawal (benzos are the worst)
  26. Sex hormones imbalances (especially low progesterone)
  27. Thyroid problems – hyperthyroid/Hashimoto’s thyroiditis can cause anxiety symptoms; low thyroid symptoms – amino acids are not as effective
  28. Adrenals issues: cortisol imbalance can affect how you handle stress, digestion, inflammation; high cortisol can have direct impact on anxiety levels
  29. Low total cholesterol (<150)
  30. Low levels of vitamin D, magnesium, vitamin C
  31. Low levels of vitamin B12
  32. Low levels of folate
  33. Low levels of iron (test ferritin)
  34. Not getting exercise
  35. Not working on stress-reduction (tai chi, meditation, guided imagery, yoga)
  36. Not getting out in nature
  37. Not getting at least 8 hours of sleep
[the above are all covered in great detail in my book  The Antianxiety Food Solution ]

Other possible nutritional/biochemical/physical causes of anxiety/depression

  1. Drug-induced nutrient deficiencies (for example: the birth control pill depletes vitamin B6, folate, magnesium)
  2. MVP (mitral valve prolapse) – it feel like the “heart is skipping a beat” (magnesium may help)
  3. Infections – strep can cause OCD/PANDAS/PANS. Also consider: H/Pylori, Lyme disease, clostridia
  4. Heavy metals like mercury or lead.  We covered mercury in season 2 – Your hidden mercury burden: A likely root cause of the other root causes of anxiety and mercury/lead detox in season 4 with Dr. John Dempster
  5. Anything that increases inflammation in the body (high CRP is a good clue)
  6. Herbicide/Roundup use in the home/garden
  7. Genetic polymorphisms – MTHFR, COMT, MAOA, GAD – Dr. Ben Lynch is an excellent resource and has shared his expertise on season 2 – Anxiety: Biochemical and genetic predispositionsand season 3 – How Methylfolate can make you Feel Worse and even Cause Anxiety
  8. Apolipoprotein E ?4 (ApoE ?4) gene polymorphism
  9. Other possible hormone issues: high prolactin, low oxytocin
  10. Histamine reaction to certain foods (Yasmina covers this in her interview in season 3: Histamine-containing Foods: their Role in Anxiety, Depression and Schizophrenia )
  11. Oxalates reaction (berries, leafy greens, nuts). A good resource is lowoxalateinfo
  12. SIBO and FODMAPs/fructose malabsorption (affects serotonin levels)
  13. Too much of some nutrients: fish oil, a B complex, tyrosine, folate
  14. Low lithium (impacts GABA levels)
  15. Copper toxicity i.e. high copper and low zinc
  16. EMFs, air pollution, noise pollution, cell phone use, smart meters
  17. Marijuana use – used recreationally or as medical marijuana (Dr. Hyla Cass covers this in season 4 of the Anxiety Summit – cognitive issues, anxiety, psychosis, schizophrenia, social anxiety)
  18. Toxic mold exposure (Dr. Jill Carnahan covers this in season 3)
  19. Fluoride exposure
  20. Poor mouth health
  21. Toxoplasma gondii
  22. Metals/chemicals/drugs in the tap water
  23. Low leptin (signals satiety/fullness) and high ghrelin
  24. Over-the counter drugs, inner ear issues/cochlear damage, light sensitivity (Sharon Heller shared Hidden Causes of Anxiety on season 2) 
  25. Physical pain (from an injury)
  26. Gas leaks
  27. Plastics/BPA
  28. Accutane, the acne drug can lead to psychiatric disorders in some people

May 14, 2016 updates after Season 4 of the Anxiety Summit:

   66. Leptin resistance, obesity, skinny-fat and high body fat % (Mike Mutzel covers this in season 4 – anxiety, inflammation, microbiome, PTSD, cortisol and HPA axis)

   67. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics (Lisa Bloomquist covers this in season 4 – anxiety, psychosis, connective tissue damage, mitochondrial impacts)

   68. Low histamine/histapenia/overmethylation or high histamine/histadelia/undermethylation – read more here and the season 4 interview with Dr. William Walsh

   69. Lack of community and social connection (James Maskell covers this in season 4)

Note: these causes do not include psychological or physical trauma or abuse (both past and current).

If the idea of 60+ causes feels too overwhelming and scary for you start with the basic food changes and look at the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution. GABA and serotonin support benefits most of my clients.  You can see how to do a trial here  and find the products I use with my clients here – such as tryptophan and GABA.

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

Missed this interview or can’t listen live? Or want this and the other great interviews for your learning library? Purchase the MP3s or MP3s + transcripts and listen when it suits you.

You can find your purchasing options here: Anxiety Summit Season 1, Anxiety Summit Season 2, and Anxiety Summit Season 3.