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Depression as a black dog that comes in and lays down beside you at night

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Trevor King’s interview about his journey with depression – on That Vitamin Summit – is not to be missed if you are depressed, have ever suffered with depression or if you have a loved one or friend with depression. He shares how he feels a sense of complete hopelessness at times:

It descends like a black cloud that makes me almost sort of retreat into myself. And my eyes will know and I don’t want to take the world in. I don’t want to get out of bed at times. Actually, that’s one of the things that … one of the only things that actually helps me, is going to bed and lying down.

Winston Churchill famously described it as this black dog who’d come in and lay beside him at night.

“From the moment my eyes opened in the morning, I am engaged in a battle. I must protect myself with armor against ongoing, negative, intrusive thoughts that flood into my brain, while sending my prefrontal cortex, which is the home of logical thought, the green light to make decisions and take charge of my brain’s limbic system. That is, before the fear center completely spazzes out. I spend more time and energy chasing and maintaining good health than I do in any other aspect of my life. My marriage, family or work. Because I know that everything meaningful and good around me depends on a stable base. And I hope and pray that one day, I don’t have to fight so hard for my sanity.”

He talks about how he is affected by sugar and low blood sugar, and how he’s found some benefits with niacin, chromium, magnesium and tryptophan (when he’s consistent with taking them!).

Trevor actually talks about the GABA interview I did with him a few days earlier and how he’s very interested in what he learned. He is planning to do a trial of GABA to see if it can help him further.

Here is a snippet from my interview on GABA (so do tune in to this interview if you’re new to my work and the targeted amino acids):

GABA is really quite profound. When I had my anxiety, GABA was my lifesaver. It completely turned my life around. Within three days of using GABA, the panic attacks stopped and the anxiety started to go down, and then I had to look for all the other root causes. It worked immediately so I’m a complete believer, just because I’ve experienced it myself. You’ll hear a lot of people say GABA won’t work. It doesn’t cross the blood/brain barrier so it’s not going to have an impact.

We’ve now got research showing that there may be ways that it crosses the blood/brain barrier. We’ve also got research showing that we have GABA receptors in various parts of our body. We’ve got a lot in our muscles, and with low GABA symptoms you’ll have physical tension.

The beautiful thing is it works. It works quickly, and if you have these low GABA symptoms, which is the physical anxiety, which could be panic attacks. It could be stress eating, it could be drinking to calm down. If you are the kind of person who needs wine to wind down at the end of the day, that’s a big sign that you may need GABA. You take the GABA and you just feel this physical tension release from you, you know you’re onto something good.

I just wish I’d known about his struggles with depression at the time of our interview – I would have talked more about tyrosine for dopamine support (for curl up in bed depression) and DPA for endorphin boosting (for low endorphins weepy depression). 

I did discuss gluten and would consider this especially since his daughter has issues with it. I talked about low serotonin and mentioned Lidtke tryptophan.  If someone doesn’t do well on another brand I’d have them trial the Lidtke brand.  I’d also look into SIBO – I have SIBO and rice and grains make me feel flat and low and I see this often with clients.  Finally I’d look into lithium orotate for keeping an even mood. 

Trevor shares these wise words at the end of his interview:

You do find that when you actually bite the bullet and share it with people,

people are very, very understanding. And actually, you’re amazed that many people have been there themselves.

I could not agree more which is why I’ve always shared my journey with anxiety. I appreciate him for being willing to share his story with depression!

If you’re not already registered here is the registration link for That Vitamin Summit

Feel free to post questions or feedback below – and share your story with anxiety or depression if you feel drawn to do so

The Evolution of Psychiatry: integrative psychiatry, anxiety and the thyroid

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James Maskell is the founder of The Functional Forum and this month the theme was The Evolution of Psychiatry. It was such a great episode so I’m sharing it with you here today.

The first presentation was by Janet Settle, MD and Will Van Derveer, MD. They took the stage and presented on the fundamentals of integrative psychiatry, covering root cause-based psychiatry. Together with Scott Shannon, MD, they are also now offering their “Psychiatry Masterclass” training program to other doctors.

This presentation included:

  • The foundations of truly effective, root-cause focused mental health system
  • Typical unresolved physiological dysfunctions that manifest as mental illness
  • Concrete steps for creating the mental health centers of the future

Here is a sampling of what they covered. Isn’t it wonderful to see a slide titled “Integrative Psychiatry Model” and with physiologic root causes listed?

The section on child abuse, trauma and psychospiritual root causes was enlightening:

They cover MDMA- and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and I look forward to learning more from them about these approaches. However, until I learn more I’m wary of these approaches because of the side-effects. Based on the work I do with targeted individual amino acids I would use them before even considering MDMA or ketamine.

You can watch the entire video presentation here:

 

Next up was Thyroid Pharmacist, Dr. Izabella Wentz, returning to the Functional Forum stage for her first keynote. Dr. Izabella is a dear friend and one of my favorite thyroid experts and she covered the connections between thyroid health and depression and anxiety, looking at proven protocols to address the underlying causes.   Her presentation is titled “The Misdiagnosis Machine: How Thyroid Problems Mimic the Symptoms of Mental Illness.”

Dr. Izabella shares the symptoms of the autoimmune attack on the thyroid gland. As well as fatigue, weight gain, gut issues and apathy, you can experience mood symptoms such as anxiety, OCD-like symptoms and mood swings.

You can watch the entire video presentation here (and listen for a mention of my name and how commonly I see anxiety with clients with thyroid symptoms):

 

If you enjoyed Dr. Izabella’s presentation you don’t want to miss her upcoming documentary called The Thyroid Secret. I’m thrilled to have been invited to contribute on my expertise on anxiety and how this ties back to thyroid health. You can read more about it and find a few snippets from my interview here.

 

Dr. Izabella also has a new book that will be released next month: Hashimoto’s Protocol: A 90-Day Plan for Reversing Thyroid Symptoms and Getting Your Life Back. I have a review copy and it’s brilliant! I’ll be sharing more via a book review and interview with Dr. Izabella, taking a deep dive into infections and Hashimoto’s, so stay tuned for that.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these two presentations! For me, hearing presentations like these gives me so much optimism for the future of mental health!

I’d love to hear what has inspired you?

If you’re a practitioner and would like to attend a live Functional Forum meeting in the future or tune in online, you can register here to be notified. James and his team also offer excellent practice resources for functional medicine practitioners. We appreciate him for what he is doing for functional medicine via the Functional Forum!

 

 

Nutritional medicine in modern psychiatry: position statement by ISNPR

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world-psychiatry

A letter published this month in World Psychiatry, the official journal of the World Psychiatric Association, is titled: “International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research consensus position statement: nutritional medicine in modern psychiatry.”

You may recall my interview with Dr. Felice Jacka on season 1 of The Anxiety Summit: The Research – Food to prevent and treat anxiety and depression?  Dr. Jacka is one of the authors of this position statement and a co-founder of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research/ISNPR which was formed in 2013 with the aim to advance research and communication on nutritional medicine in the field of psychiatry.

Here is an excerpt from the position statement from ISNPR:

Although the growth in scientific research related to nutrition in psychiatry may be recent, it is now at a stage where it can no longer be ignored. In light of this, we aim to provide a platform to move towards a new integrated paradigm in psychiatry whereby nutritional considerations (both educational and prescriptive) can be considered “mainstream”. To this end, we present a consensus position statement from the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research (ISNPR).

They state that what we are doing now is not working, that little is being done about prevention, and that nutrition needs to be part of treatment and prevention:

Present treatment of mental disorders is achieving sub-optimal outcomes; in addition little attention is given to preventative efforts. Due to the immense burden of mental disorders, there is now an urgent need to identify modifiable targets to reduce the incidence of these disorders. Diet and nutrition offer key modifiable targets for the prevention of mental disorders and have a fundamental role in the promotion of mental health.

They state that diet and nutrient-based approached approaches need to be included for mental health treatment and for prevention:

In addition to dietary modification, we recognize that nutrient-based (nutraceutical) prescription has the potential to assist in the management of mental disorders at the individual and population level. Many of these nutrients have a clear link to brain health, including: omega-3s, B vitamins (particularly folate and B12), choline, iron, zinc, magnesium, S-adenosyl methionine (SAMe), vitamin D, and amino acids. While we advocate for these to be consumed in the diet where possible, additional select prescription of these as nutraceuticals may also be justified.

veggies

They call for ongoing research, changes in food policy, and better public and clinician education (based on all the new research in this field of nutritional psychiatry).

I look forward to the outcome of the RCT dietary intervention for depression / “SMILES” trial later this year, additional dietary studies, and more studies on individual nutrients such as amino acids like GABA and tryptophan, minerals like zinc and others (which we know work so well for so many people). I’d also love to see trials that look at biochemical individuality and diets and nutrients customized to that uniqueness. I know we’re heading in this direction.    

The position statement ends with this:

It is the intention that this position statement and the ongoing work of ISNPR will assist in facilitating a transformation in psychiatry to better address the substantial global burden of mental illness, recognizing and embracing diet and nutrition as central determinants of both physical and mental health.

You can read the whole statement here in World Psychiatry

I say bravo to Dr. Jacka, ISNPR and the researchers who are at the forefront of this exciting research. I also say bravo to all the health practitioners who are already using this work with patients and clients. And finally, I say bravo to the anxious and depressed individuals who are implementing these powerful changes and seeing dramatic results.

It certainly is exciting to be part of this change!

 

Anna Clendening: Anxious Singer on America’s Got Talent 2014

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anna clendening agt

Anna is a very talented 20 year old young woman who recently performed on America’s Got Talent 2014. Her singing was just beautiful and you could hear the raw emotion in her voice.

Being on this big stage was quite something for her – she’s been suffering from anxiety and depression since she was 16. A few months ago she was bedridden and having panic attacks. She said: “my mind had given up on me. I didn’t see a future. I didn’t want to be here anymore and I felt so bad about myself.”

She was able to turn things around dramatically with therapy and music.

During her audition, judge Howie Mandel shared: “I also suffer from an anxiety disorder – I have OCD.” He also said: “There isn’t anyone alive who doesn’t need help at some time and the world is here for you.” After her song, Howie was very kind and went and hugged her. He also said this: “life is filled with peaks and valleys, you have experienced a lot of valleys. Tonight, young lady, you are on a peak.”

I would have to agree and I’d like to say “bravo Anna!”  Watch her performance here….

I’ve got three other comments on this: the stigma of mental health, the wonderful effects of music for mood and encouragement to look in to the powerful effects of food and nutrients.

The stigma of mental health

I commend her for being open about her anxiety and depression. There is a great deal of stigma around mental illness but I had no idea how bad it was. I was very surprised to see all the cruel and insensitive comments on the youtube video. Here is one example:

Couldn’t leave her bed?  What a joke.  You didn’t see this kind this stuff 50 years ago.  It was called responsibility and accountability.  She was obviously validated and enabled by her parents.  Society today substantiates this crap.  It’s called life, and everybody has challenges and feeling they need to overcome, get over it.  I bet she’s drawing a nice little social security disability check, too. Its pretty sad that she has such self pity.  She is very attractive, talented, not overweight, racially advantaged, has loving parents.  She needs to visit a children’s cancer ward or burn ward and get a grip as to how truly blessed she is.  

I say this to Anna: “Just ignore these naysayers. You did good and the more of us who talk about it the more awareness we’ll bring.”

The wonderful effects of music for mood

In a 2009 paper called The effect of group music therapy on quality of life for participants living with a severe and enduring mental illness

A 10-week group music therapy project was designed to determine whether music therapy influenced quality of life and social anxiety for people with a severe and enduring mental illness living in the community. Ten one-hour weekly sessions including song singing, song writing and improvisation, culminated in each group recording original song/s in a professional studio.

This is what they found:

music therapy gave joy and pleasure, working as a team was beneficial, participants were pleasantly surprised at their creativity, and they took pride in their song.

A 2014 study called Possible benefits of singing to the mental and physical condition of the elderly, reported that the study participants felt:

refreshed, comfortable, light-hearted, relieved, and relaxed, they felt less tense and confused and their mood improved.  The level of cortisol, a salivary stress marker, decreased after singing.  The same tendencies were shown regardless of whether or not the subjects liked singing !  (this is my exclamation point)

I say this to Anna: “Good for you for finding music! I wish you all the best in AGT 2014!”

The powerful effects of food and nutrients

I would also like to encourage Anna and anyone with anxiety and depression to look in to the powerful effects of food and nutrients. Here are just a few of the topics we covered on the recent Anxiety Summit:

I say this to Anna: “I’d like to encourage you explore these and other biochemical approaches – so you can have zero anxiety and depression.”

And I say this to Howie: “I’d like to encourage you to also explore these and other biochemical approaches for eliminating your OCD.”  In this blog post about Charlize Theron I talk about how GABA, tryptophan, 5-HTP and/or inositol can end OCD and obsessive thoughts and behaviors.

I am musically “challenged” and can’t sing to save my life so while this is all very interesting to me, it’s not something I have experienced first hand.  I’d love to hear from you.  

Do you sing or play a musical instrument? How does it make you feel?  Does it help with anxiety, depression, stress?

9 Steps to Calm the Anxious Mind: Nourishing Hope Support Club

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nourishing-hope-support-club

The Nourishing Hope Support Club is led by nutritionist Julie Matthews and created to help support families of children with autism and ADHD to understand how to apply food and nutrition choices based on each child’s individual biochemistry. She has extensive experience on how food compounds such as salicylates, oxalates, glutamates, and food proteins affect learning, mood and health.

Once a month, Julie discusses emerging research, shares her clinical experience, answers your questions, and interviews special guests. These monthly talks help parents learn to make the most of food and supplement choices, identify possible pitfalls, and stay on track toward improving the health and learning potential of their child. Each month brings content-specific learning topics about how various special diets (gluten-free, GAPS, Paleo), nutrition concepts, and supplements help children with ADHD, autism, sensory processing disorders, and learning and developmental delays.

I am pleased to announce that, this month, I will be the guest presenter on the Nourishing Hope Support Club with Julie Matthews. I will be speaking on “Food and Mood: 9 Steps to Calm the Anxious Mind.”

Guest Speaker: Trudy Scott, Certified Nutritionist
February 26th, 5:00 pm, PST

There is much recent evidence supporting the powerful food-mood connection and there are some very exciting recent studies that support this for both anxiety disorders, stress and other mood disorders. I use a comprehensive 9 step approach with my clients to help them overcome their anxiety, depression, emotional eating and sugar cravings. It is, of course, customized to their unique biochemistry, and includes:

  1. Real whole traditional food, including quality grass-fed red meat and 4 unique antianxiety food solutions
  2. Why and how to quit sugar with no willpower required and how to control blood sugar swings
  3. The effects of caffeine
  4. The importance of optimal digestion
  5. The bad-mood effects of gluten
  6. How to balance brain chemistry with individual amino acids to improve mood and stop cravings in their tracks
  7. How to correct social anxiety / pyroluria with zinc and vitamin B6
  8. The effects of other nutrients (such as low vitamin D), hormones and medications
  9. Simple lifestyle changes that include sleep, exercise and yoga

In preparation for the call, I shared some of the recent research with Julie:

There is a growing body of evidence supporting the very powerful connection between food and mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. Dr. Felice Jacka, is an Australian researcher who is one of the lead researchers on food and mental health.

In this 2010 study in The American Journal of Psychiatry, lead author Dr. Jacka, found that a “western” diet of processed or fried foods, refined grains, sugary products, and beer was associated with a higher risk of anxiety and depression in women. The “traditional” diet or real whole food diet was associated with a lower risk of anxiety and depression. This real whole food diet did include grass-fed red meat and she believes following the recommended weekly intake of red meat could boost our mental health.

Dr. Felice Jacka is also the lead author in a 2011 PLoS One paper that found that diet quality in adolescents was associated with a lower risk of mental health issues. They found that “improvements in diet quality were mirrored by improvements in mental health over the follow-up period, while deteriorating diet quality was associated with poorer psychological functioning.” The author stated that this “study highlights the importance of diet in adolescence and its potential role in modifying mental health over the life course.”

You can read the rest of the article here on the Nourishing Hope site.

I hope you can join us! I’ve known Julie for years and admire her immensely. She is truly a trailblazer in the world of nutrition for autism, ADHD, and other developmental delays.

Here is her bio: Julie Matthews is a Certified Nutrition Consultant specializing in autism spectrum disorders. She provides dietary guidance backed by scientific research and applied clinical experience. Her award winning book, Nourishing Hope for Autism, has helped people around the world to make food and nutrition choices that aid the health, learning, and behavior of those with autism, ADHD, and other developmental delays. She presents at leading autism conferences in the US and abroad, and is the Nutrition Editor of the Autism File magazine. She is on the advisory boards of the US Autism & Asperger Association and Autism Nutrition Research Center. Julie has a private nutrition practice in San Francisco, California, and supports families and clinicians from around the world. Visit http://NourishingHope.com

To learn more about the Nourishing Hope Support Club and join the call, visit: http://nourishinghope.com/support-club/

The Virgin Diet by JJ Virgin: book review and webinar

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virgin-diet-book-NYT

Food intolerance is a big factor and something I look at with all my clients. Other than weight gain it can cause a host of other issues ranging from inflammation to aches and pains to fatigue and even anxiety and depression. In fact, over 80% of my anxious clients do better mood-wise on a gluten-free diet.

I’m a little behind the times because JJ Virgin wrote this NY Times bestseller book late in 2012:  The Virgin Diet: Drop 7 Foods, Lose 7 Pounds, Just 7 Days (Why Food Intolerance is the Real Cause of Weight Gain).

With her new recipe book coming out I decided it’s time to do a review!

These are the 7 foods JJ wants you to drop: corn, eggs, peanuts, dairy, gluten, soy, and sugar (including artificial sweeteners).

I have to admit I was skeptical about eggs because they are such a wonderful protein source, such a great start to the day  and so handy for a snack. I used to eat a lot of eggs until I recently discovered that I have an egg intolerance! I’m hoping it’s going to be a short-term problem and that I can eventually reintroduce them because I LOVE my soft-boiled pastured eggs.  [UPDATE 2015: I am now able to eat eggs again!] The message is this: even a healthy food like eggs may be an issue for you.

You eliminate the above 7 foods and see how you do and then add them back and see how they affect you (sugar and artificial sweeteners stay out for good, and possibly gluten too). There are 3 cycles that the book walks you through:

  • Cycle 1: Elimination
  • Cycle 2: Reintroduction
  • Cycle 3: The Virgin Diet for Life

The book goes into a great more detail about the following:

  • what food intolerances are
  • insulin resistance – a condition in which the body produces insulin but does not use it effectively leading to weight-gain and blood sugar issues
  • leptin resistance – leptin is the hormone that signals satiety or fullness and when you have resistance you feel hungrier and have more cravings
  • zonulin – a protein that is affected by gluten and loosens the tight junctions in the gut contributing to leaky gut and more food intolerances
  • the dangers of GMOs and soy
  • the autoimmune connection – and much more

The book has great sections on healthy proteins and fats, quality produce, sugar and artificial sweeteners, exercising, meal planning, eating out and recipes. I’m looking forward to her follow-up book which launches on Feb 18th – her recipe book The Virgin Diet Cookbook: 150 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Lose Weight and Feel Better Fast 

We do have a few differences of opinion. 🙂

  • I’m not a big fan of coffee and JJ admits that she fights her fellow-nutritionists on this one!
  • I find that my clients with adrenal issues need to eat more frequently than every 4 to 6 hours
  • Pea-rice protein is the protein powder recommended and would not be suitable if you need to eat grain free or have issues with peas so adjust accordingly
  • I’m not terribly fond of the 3-bite rule where you get to splurge on desserts. JJ has a great sense of humor and says “share your dessert with someone who has a faster fork!” But I think you can get to the point where you no longer have a sweet tooth.

I’d also like to add that these 7 food intolerances are obviously not the only factor when it comes to weight-loss resistance – it’s one of many factors, including thyroid health, environmental toxins, dysbiosis, brain chemical imbalances, poor eating choices, stress (this is a big one!), lack of sleep and not exercising enough or incorrectly. JJ is the pro when it comes to exercise and she is a big proponent of restorative sleep.  There are also many  other foods that could potentially be an issue for you.

I do love that this book has brought the concept of food intolerances to the masses, bringing awareness of something that had not even been considered before. I commend JJ for this and her big mission to help millions of people lose weight and get healthy! So many people have had such incredible results with her program!

PS. In preparation of the new book launch JJ is hosting a webinar on what you need to know about The Virgin Diet. You can sign up here to get the most up-to-date information. Sign up and get to hear her share her words of wisdom.