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How women entrepreneurs can reduce business stress and anxiety with food

By Trudy Scott 5 Comments

It was wonderful being a guest on Spotlight on Success, hosted by Dr. Shannnon Reece and I was honored to share food-mood-stress-anxiety information with her viewers and readers. It’s so important for balance in our often hectic lives! Now I get to share it with my readers too! The topic was Food & Mood: Calm Your Anxious Mind and covered all aspects of how women entrepreneurs can reduce business stress and anxiety with proper nutrition. (It also applies to all women and men too).

Today I had a delicious and satisfying breakfast of boiled eggs on a bed of cooked spinach. What a difference a good breakfast makes to how we feel the rest of the day – mood, energy, anxiety and stress levels, and focus and mental clarity! I also often enjoy a fruit smoothie with whey protein and coconut milk so do whatever appeals to you. The important thing is to ALWAYS eat breakfast! This is just one of the many tips shared in this interview – enjoy…breakfast and the interview!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_e_aDNbW5g[/youtube]

 

Shannon shared before the interview: “Trudy believes (as do I) that life is meant to be spent feeling well, mentally and physically, and that stress and anxiety don’t have to be the status quo that we accept.”

Here is what we covered:

  • Do women really need to focus on doing something about their stress and anxiety?
  • What are the 3 biggest food-related factors that contribute to stress and anxiety?
  • What other dietary factors play a role?
  • And, what should you do if you’re eating a healthy diet but are still feeling anxious and stressed?

After the interview Shannon shared this “It was a pleasure to have you on the show to share your expertise with me and my audience. I always learn something new from each guest, and that makes each one so exciting. Women often don’t take their health needs seriously, so I am thrilled to have had you give us all a good “kick-in-the-butt” reminder. 🙂 Shannon”. This is your good “kick-in-the-butt” reminder!

Dr. Shannon Reece is an amazing business resource for women entrepreneurs and I thoroughly enjoy her blogs and interviews. This is from her website: “My background as a competitive athlete, sport psychologist, and a woman in the male-dominated business world taught me the importance of hard work, effective strategy, sound tactics and leveraging my strengths. If you want to succeed, conformity is not an option! After too many years “working for the man” I turned my life right side up becoming an entrepreneur and I’ve never looked back. With a global reach, I am helping like-minded women — just like you — through the start-up and launch of their entrepreneurial dreams and am having loads of fun in the process.”

I encourage you to check out her articles and other Spotlight on Success interviews! And to follow these tip to reduce business stress and anxiety!

You can also find out more in The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings, available in major books stores, at Amazon and via www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com.

Food, exercise, biofeedback and nutrients for anxiety at ADAA

By Trudy Scott 16 Comments

Trudy scott antianxiety adaa 2012

Great three days at the 2012 Annual Conference of Anxiety Disorders Association of America. I was accepted to do a poster presentation on Saturday night: Food and Mood: Case Study of Woman with Anxiety (using food changes and nutrients) and I had a lot of firsts – the first time attending this conference, my first poster presentation at a mainstream conference, first time meeting some of the excellent researchers in the field and first time exposure to some of the newest research on anxiety.

I thoroughly enjoyed it from the start… submitting my proposal, creating the poster, figuring out how big to make it so it could be read easily (it was 3ft high by 5 ft wide) and then standing with my poster answering questions for an hour and a half during the poster session. I am now I’m inspired to do some of my own food mood research.

My poster was a case study of a woman using real whole food, no gluten, no sugar, 5-HTP, GABA, zinc, vitamin B6 and other nutrients to end her anxiety and panic attacks. I was very pleased with the interest and was thrilled to share this important info about the food-mood connection!

Some other highlights from the conference (there were many!):

  • Keynote by Dr Spiegel on self-hypnotism – in one study, participants were able to increase their gastric acid secretion. We learned that hypnotism has much good research for anxiety but is not used that extensively.
  • Meeting and talking to Lindsey DeBoer, lead author of Dietary Supplements for Anxiety Disorders: A Systematic Review – to be included in a chapter in a new book called Psychobiological Approaches for Anxiety Disorders that I look forward to checking out
  • Great quote from a session on Exercise for Anxiety: “Do your exercise before a stressful event and you’ll do much better” ~ Michael W. Otto, Ph.D. At the same session Jasper Smits, PhD shared much of the evidence of the benefits of exercise for anxiety, OCD, panic attacks and social phobia. Otto and Smits have a new book Exercise for Mood and Anxiety that I look forward to checking out.
  • This short 2 min totally cool video!!! “Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator and feel better” is something we often hear or read in the Sunday papers. Few people actually follow that advice. Can we get more people to take the stairs over the escalator by making it fun to do? See the results here. http://www.thefuntheory.com/piano-staircase With thanks to Michael W. Otto, Ph.D and Jasper Smits, PhD for sharing this at the exercise presentation
  • Doing a biofeedback relaxation session
  • Meeting, listening to and learning from researchers, authors and editors of some of the major journals
  • Meeting new people and making new connections

(On a side note, the ADAA was previously Anxiety Disorders Association of America, and was just renamed this weekend to be Anxiety and Depression Association of America.)

More research and conference highlights will be shared in future blogs… and all this and more will be included in future editions of The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings, available in major books stores, at Amazon and via www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com.

Woman with Anxiety at ADAA 2012 conference: food is the answer

By Trudy Scott 2 Comments

I’m heading to the 32nd Annual Conference of Anxiety Disorders Association of America . It’s on from April 12 – 15, 2012 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, Virginia.

The theme is: Integrating Mind-Body Connections: Advancing Science, Informing Practice for Anxiety and Related Disorders and you can find conference details here

I’m thrilled that I’ve been accepted to do a poster presentation on food/nutrients and anxiety – Food and Mood: Case Study of Woman with Anxiety. It will cover real whole food, including grass-fed red meat; neurotransmitters and amino acids GABA and 5-HTP; the mineral zinc; the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids; vitamin D; the mood impacts of gluten and more.  All supporting research will be provided.

The amazing thing is that this woman, a client of mine, was able to completely eliminate her anxiety and panic attacks, PMS and carb cravings using dietary and lifestyle changes only.

I look forward to sharing this information and my book The Antianxiety Food Solution  with attendees.

One of the newest food mood studies I’ll be sharing is one by Davison and Kaplan, titled Nutrient Intakes Are Correlated With Overall Psychiatric Functioning in Adults With Mood Disorders. It was recently published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

They looked at Canadian adults with mood disorders. Intake of carbs, fiber, total fat, linoleic acid, riboflavin, niacin, folate, vitamin B6, B12, pantothenic acid, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, magnesium and zinc were measured and higher levels of nutrients equated to better mental health.

Dr Kaplan, PhD was quoted as saying: “Doctors should consider counseling their patients to eat unprocessed, natural, healthy foods and refer them to a nutrition professional if specialized dietary consultation is needed.”

Here are some other interesting poster sessions I plan to visit:

  • Evaluation of Oral Zinc Sulfate Effect on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A
    Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial
  • Dietary Supplements for Anxiety Disorders: A Systematic Review

There are also some very interesting sessions that I look forward to attending:

  •  Integrating Complementary and Alternative Medicine Into the Treatment of Anxiety and Related Disorders
  • Exercise for Mood and Anxiety
  • Adding Biofeedback to a Mental Health Practice
  • The Ethics of Psychology in the Media: Print, Internet, and TV
  • Anxiety and Gastrointestinal Distress Across the Lifespan
  • Benzodiazepine Use

All in all it should be a great three days of sharing, learning and networking at the ADAA 2012 conference and then a day of leisure in Washington DC before I head to Wisconsin for 3 days of Food-mood-anxiety workshops . I’m going to need that day of leisure!

I’ll be sharing what I learn on future blog posts and have plans to share my new beautiful 3ft x 5 ft poster too (created by my wonderful assistant Mika Howard) . And of course, I’ll take plenty of photos too.

Natural remedies for a cold, flu and sore throat

By Trudy Scott 21 Comments

On my recent food-mood trip to Boston, I was able to keep going for three days despite the fact that I had picked up a bug or two!  I had a slight sore throat before leaving and the long flight and time change didn’t help. It was also a pretty demanding 3 days of all-day presenting on Food and Mood: 9 Steps to Calm the Anxious Mind, Improve Mood & End Cravings.  Each day I lectured for about 7 hours and had about an hour of Q&A time answering questions. I really thought I might lose my voice by the end of day two but these natural remedies for colds, flu and sore throats really saved the day!

  • Vitamin D (5000IU), which has important antimicrobial properties
  • Vitamin C (1000mg 4 x day) and Zinc (30mg), both of which help with the common cold
  • Boiron Cold Calm, a homeopathic product that is amazing for cold symptoms
  • Boiron Oscillococcinum, a homeopathic product that is amazing for flu symptoms
  • Boiron Roxalia, a homeopathic product for hoarseness/voice strain. I love Boiron Cold Calm and Oscillococcinum and always have some on hand, especially when travelling. The Roxalia product was new to me but worked wonders for all the talking and I think should be a standard for speakers and singers! You can check out all the Boiron products here. Another favorite is the Arnica cream which I used on my aching feet (all that standing!)
  • I drank warm herbal tea all day. I had a jug of hot water up near the podium and enjoyed sipping on Throat Coat!
  • I also gargled twice a day with a few drops of tea tree oil diluted in warm water
  • And another new one for me was Manuka lozenges – lozenges made from pure manuka New Zealand honey, very soothing on the throat and with great anti-bacterial properties. This is a keeper too!

I did of course also make sure to eat well, drink plenty of filtered water and get a good night’s sleep. I hope you can benefit from some of these wonderful natural remedies too.

Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup

By Trudy Scott 8 Comments

Lentils are a good source of protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates, and they are packed with nutrients. They provide folic acid and tryptophan, and are also an important source of iron, especially for menstruating women, whose iron needs are greater. Eating lentils with foods rich in vitamin C, such as tomatoes, green peppers, broccoli and citrus fruits helps the body absorb iron more efficiently. The soluble fiber found in lentils is good for the digestive system, lowers cholesterol and decreases insulin requirements for people with diabetes. It will also help keep blood sugar levels stable if you are prone to low blood sugar (and low blood sugar can leave you feeling anxious and stressed with poor focus).

Lentils are also quick and easy to prepare since they don’t require soaking. They are also versatile and can be made into a soup or stew or loaf, and can even be sprouted.

Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup

1T butter or coconut oil 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
5 cups vegetable stock 2 sweet potatoes or yams
2 chopped onions 1 chopped green pepper
2 chopped garlic cloves 2 T apple cider vinegar
1 t ground coriander 1 t ground cumin
½ t chilli powder (optional) 1T chopped fresh ginger
Chopped cilantro 2 tomatoes or 1 can tomatoes

Heat the butter and sauté the garlic, ginger and onion. Add the spices (coriander, chilli, cumin). Stir in stock and lentils, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and bring to boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Blend in a food processor until smooth. Add vinegar and stir well. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve. Enjoy!

Food and Mood: 9 Steps to Calm the Anxious Mind in Boston

By Trudy Scott 4 Comments

Please join me for a full 1 day seminar to learn about the powerful connection between food and mental health, and anxiety specifically.

“Food and Mood: 9 Steps to Calm the Anxious Mind, Improve Mood & End Cravings”

I’ll be doing 3 talks in the Boston, MA area in these locations and on these dates:

Tuesday, March 06, 2012 at 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM in Woburn, MA

Wednesday, March 07, 2012 at 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM in Waltham, MA

Thursday, March 08, 2012 at 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM in Dedham, MA

These are PESI seminars and are geared towards mental health professionals and are also open to the public. They are delivered as a live event with Q & A at various times during the presentation. I’ll be covering all the latest research on food and mental health, as well as practical steps for implementing changes.

[Update after the event: go to the PESI site and at the Title, enter Trudy Scott, and hit SEARCH to see all the future events, plus DVD/CDs that are available for purchase.]

Recent 2011 food mood research by Dr Felice Jacka,  looked at the eating habits of 5731 Norwegian adult men and women. They  found that “those with better quality diets were less likely to be depressed” and that a “higher intake of processed and unhealthy foods was associated with increased anxiety.”

The fee of $79.99 includes course materials.

The 9 steps are covered in great detail in The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings, now available in major books stores, at Amazon and via www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com

Here are book reviews by Dr Winston Chung, child psychiatrist and Mira Dessy, Certified Nutrition Educator