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Food, Mood and Women's Health – Be your healthiest, look and feel great!

Mindful Eating World Summit: Stop dieting and START LIVING

By Trudy Scott 12 Comments

This is just a reminder that the Mindful Eating World Summit: Stop dieting and START LIVING! online event runs March 16th – 26th for 11 days.

mindful-eating

I’m very excited to be a part of Dr. Kellee Rutley’s virtual event. She’s brought together over 28 amazing POWERHOUSE experts to help you remove the guilt, shame and confusion around weight issues and TRUE health, and disocver powerful ideas that work to EMPOWER you!

We are Doctors, Educators, Scientists, Zen Masters, Psychologists, Naturopaths and Holistic Chefs! New York Times and Hay House authors, World Renowned Master Trainers, Coaches and Nutritionists. Many of us have had our own issues with poor health, unhealthy weight rollercoasters, emotional eating, anxiety and depression – and our personal stories reflect that.   Had my own issues with anxiety and panic and at one stage was such a choco-holic!

Together, we’ll share ways to help you reach optimal health, vitality and happiness!

I was given a sneak peek at some of the interviews and would love to share some gems from the wonderful interview with Dr. Michael Finkelstein….

Dr. Michael Finkelstein, The Slow Medicine Doctor, has been featured in top media outlets including The New York Times and CNN; has presented at leading venues including GE Corporation and Omega Institute; and blogs on the topic of Slow Medicine for The Huffington Post.

  • Dr. Finkelstein opened with this powerful message: “The promise of science let us down…the reality was that it doesn’t work for everything. Procedures and medicines often cause side-effects and problems, and 80% of people going to the doctor these days have a chronic problem (often contributed in part by their treatments). My patients would say to me (after 15 years of writing prescriptions): ‘isn’t there something else?’   I didn’t have the answer. When my blood pressure started to rise, I went to my physician who said you said to me ‘you need to be on medication’ and I said: ‘isn’t there something else?’ I had to go back to school to study integrative medicine to find the answer and I learned about other tools to augment my tool box. Instead of a pen and a scalpel I had so much more”
  • He suggests putting flowers and candles on the table when we’re eating – to improve our mood and overall eating experience
  • I really love when he talked about how “activity with meaning” or “movement with purpose” and how it is way more than simply exercising (like being on a treadmill). He suggests things like building a community garden, hiking with friends and gardening. “Do something you love and then you’ll do it!”
  • He loves to garden, his office is located in a garden and he shared the importance of nature, air, natural light, rain, getting your hands in the dirt, and probiotics and the microbiome and how it changes when you garden. I loved hearing him say so many of us suffer from nature-deficit-disorder! It’s so true!
  • His best quick fix for your health is Slow Medicine…when you change how you are living, you’ll feel in alignment and your anxiety will go down because your expectations are reasonable.

Dr. Finkelstein also shared how if we aren’t living a life that’s meaningful with purpose, we’re going to be very hungry and our craving will lead us to food because it’s readily available. Sometimes our hunger is emotional and with food we are feeding our bodies, and our minds and spirits.  He talks about finding your purpose and finding the treasure in your pain (for example, your anxiety or emotional eating) and looking for one key to the treasure.   Beautiful!

If you haven’t already heard me speak on amino acids and emotional eating my topic is: 5 Powerful Amino Acids that Banish Emotional Eating and Balance Your Brain Chemistry – No Willpower Required!  

The amino acids may be one of the keys to finding your treasure i.e. the freedom from your anxiety and/or or emotional eating.  

I’ll be offering $50 off my homestudy 6-week digital delivery program called The Amazing Amino Acids for Ending Emotional Eating – No Willpower Required! Really!!

Mark the date and sign up here http://mindfuleatingworldsummit.com?affiliates=33

Enjoy all these great speakers and topics!

 

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

By Trudy Scott 27 Comments

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

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

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

Resources for further learning

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

MTHFR workshop for the layperson

By Trudy Scott 6 Comments

MTHFR lay person training

MTHFR is one hot topic and many of you are getting your MTHFR results, but do not know what to do with them.  Methylation cycle abnormalities can predispose you to disease. The MTHFR SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) is at a key position in the methylation cycle and if not working properly, can affect the whole pathway, creating symptoms and disease. The good news is that nutritional protocols and lifestyle modifications can help tremendously.  Most conventional doctors do not know about MTHFR, they have not studied the biochemical pathways and they don’t know how to support you on your journey to health.

Coleen Walsh, Dubbed the “methyl queen” Created a Guide for the Everyday Mutant – A Training on The Basics – MTHFR and Methylation Pathways – Just for You – The Everyday Mutant!

This 3-hour presentation breaks down the biochemistry of these pathways and epigenetics to give you a big picture idea of what is happening inside your cells and why it is important. Coleen is a natural educator and has an innate ability to break down the scientific information into to layman terms, so you can easily understand these pathways.  She created motion graphics to help you get a visual of the biochemistry and what that could mean to your health when you have these SNPs (mutations).

MTHFR interview from the Anxiety Summit – for your listening pleasure

I had the pleasure of interviewing Coleen on season 1 of The Anxiety Summit. I’d like to share that interview with you here, so you can get a taste of her level of expertise. It’s yours to listen to whether or not you can attend the training. Enjoy!

Are Your Genes Depressing You? MTHFR and Your Mood: Trudy Scott interviews Coleen Walsh on The Anxiety Summit

  • The Methylation Cycle overview, MTHFR and B vitamins as cofactors
  • How MTHFR effects the BH4 cycle and serotonin and dopamine
  • Factors that disturb methylation, how to test and what to do
  • Epigenetics and how SNPs are not our destiny

Listen to the recording here.

 

Learn more and purchase

Here is the link to read more about Coleen’s online MTHFR/methylation workshop for the lay-person and every day mutant on March 7th, and to make your purchase:

http://www.easywebautomation.com/app/?Clk=5393325

PS. If you can’t make it live, you can still register and get the recordings/handouts later

PPS. This is a workshop for the lay-person. The 5 hour practitioner training was last week – if you’re a practitioner or would like to share this with your practitioner you’ll be able to get the recordings and handouts by signing up here for the MTHFR and Methylation Practitioner training. More information can be found on my blog here.

 

Menopause is a Trip: Travel First Class summit

By Trudy Scott Leave a Comment

Just a quick reminder – this online event starts TODAY – Menopause is a Trip: Travel First Class, hosted by my colleague, Holistic Health Coach Katherine Miller.

I am happy to invite you to this online event that will bring together 16 experts in women’s health and balancing hormones that will help you find relief from menopausal symptoms and enjoy a healthy, vital future.

Here is an excerpt from a recent article Katherine wrote:

Every woman goes through menopause, yet very few prepare for it. This natural shift of our biology, from reproductive potential to what I call the “self-creative” stage, is a potent time for women. So much of our energy is freed up for new ventures, including our own self-development.

Yet rather than enjoy menopause as a time of positive potential, most women find themselves struggling to cope with the hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, low libido, exhaustion and host of other symptoms for which “the change” is known. The problem is that rather than practicing good self-care, most of us have been pushing ourselves past our limits for years. We begin the 10+ year transition into menopause when our resources are at their lowest, which causes natural hormonal shifts to be unnaturally dramatic or even hellish.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way. “Lifestyle is so under-rated as a preventive measure in staying well–stress reduction, sleep, exercise, eating well,” says Dr. Mache Seibel, a professor at UMass Medical School, who focuses on perimenopause and menopause. “There has to be an awareness of ‘How can I take care of myself?’”

Even those whose symptoms of exaggerated hormonal imbalance have become impossible to ignore have more choices than they may realize. “It’s just quite incredible how food choices, lifestyle choices, good quality sleep, detoxifying our environment, taking care of the gut, and taking care of the liver can have some really profound impacts on our hormones,” says health coach Magdalena Wszelaki.

Dr. Mache Seibel and health coach Magdalena Wszelaki are speakers on the summit and I support everything they say!

My talk is today and the focus is anxiety …. “Your key nutrients to end anxiety and stress during menopause.” I talk about:

  • low GABA and low serotonin and the connection to low progesterone and estrogen
  • how important adrenal support is when you go into menopause
  • key nutrients like zinc and vitamin B6 – for anxiety, pyroluria and hormone balance
  • why grass-fed red meat is good (really!!) – zinc, iron, omega-3s and more
  • and why skipping the coffee is a good thing!

Also hear Dr. Tami Meraglia today. She is an integrative MD, and author of the soon-to-be-released book called The Hormone Secret (I have my advance review copy and it’s good!) and one of my favorite hormone docs (and a good friend who I adore)!

And do catch the rest of the excellent line-up through the week.

To entice you and give you a feel for what is to come, here are some tweets with quotes from many of the speakers.

Register here https://tz207.isrefer.com/go/menopuasesummit/TSsummit2015/

 

Winter blues or SAD: light therapy

By Trudy Scott 44 Comments

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or “winter blues” is a form of depression most often associated with the lack of light during the fall and winter months. It is very common and may be associated with low serotonin levels. We often associate low serotonin with depression, however low serotonin can also be associated with: anxiety, excessive worry and feeling overly stressed. There’s evidence of seasonality in anxiety and panic attacks, just as there is with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Another common sign of low serotonin is increased carbohydrate cravings, especially during the afternoon or evening.

One very effective approach for SAD is light therapy. I also find the use of targeted individual amino acids and a dietary approach to be very useful and share more about that below.

Winter Blues by Dr. Norman Rosenthal MD

I’ve just finished reading a really great book called Winter Blues: Everything You Need to Know to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder by Dr. Norman Rosenthal MD, and the research is fascinating. He is a fellow South African who moved to the USA and found he was depressed each winter. After 3 seasons of this, he started doing research on light therapy and was one of the original SAD researchers. He is internationally recognized for his pioneering contributions to understanding SAD and using light therapy to treat it.

Feedback from colleagues: desk lamp, desk panels, floor lamps and light boxes

I asked some colleagues what they have used and/or liked, and recommend and share some of these below (providing my Amazon links in most cases so you can find them easily). Due to models being discontinued/revamped, I’ve made some updates as of Jan 2024.

Donna Kelley, Certified Holistic Nutritionist

I have a Blue Max, full spectrum, 70 watt dimmable desk lamp. I have had it for 3 years and actually use it to work by. It was recommended by Julia Ross in her certification program. (The company that makes this one is Full Spectrum Solutions)

 

winter-lamp

UPDATE: Jan 2024 – the above model is no longer available but a very comparable one is the Verilux HappyLight Duo – 2-in-1 Light Therapy & Task Desk Lamp. Be sure to read some of the reviews. This is a really good one: “providing me with light therapy to lift my mood some during these dark times (literally since it’s winter…and figuratively…). I genuinely think I feel better/lighter/cheerier after I’ve been working by my HappyLight Duo for several hours.”

Christine Wokowsky, Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition

My office is the darkest room in the house and I have one sitting on my desk, especially helpful in the winter. This is the second Verilux Happy Light I have used and I really like it. Living in Nevada where there is sunshine over 330 days of the year I am so accustomed to light and brightness if I am in a dark room or space for too long it really affects me. This has been a great product for me and I can recommend it.

happy-light

Tracey Schuyler, Owner, Nutrition Counselor at Redefining Food 4 Health, LLC, also likes the Verilux

Like Christine, I personally use the Verilux Happy Light, which I purchased recently. It made a difference right away. I live in Boise, Idaho, and we are accustomed to winter inversions … sometimes days / weeks on end without any sunlight! I place it on my bathroom counter, turn it on in the morning before I shower, and turn it off as I’m leaving the bathroom, after drying my hair, etc. (about 25 minutes).

UPDATE: Jan 2024 – the above model, Verilux Happy Light, is no longer available but a very comparable one by the same company is the Verilux® HappyLight® Alba – New Round UV-Free LED Therapy Lamp. This one has a count-down timer and is portable so can be moved from room to room easily.

Shirley Pastore McCormack, Writer, Life/Wellness Coach, Registered Yoga Teacher

I use the Blue Max Lighting (BlueMax 70W dimmable) floor lamp. I use it 20 minutes each morning from the fall to spring equinoxes. I noticed a great level of improvement, but even more improvement when a doctor prescribed Vitamin D therapy. I was moderately to severely deficient, and needed 10,000 IU for 4-6 weeks under her care to bring my levels up. I do well with the light therapy as long as it is used in conjunction with regular daily doses of D3 (I’m now on 2000IU daily). The light therapy just seems to be “part of the whole solution.” (The company that makes this one is also Full Spectrum Solutions.)”

blue-max

UPDATE: Jan 2024 – the above model, Blue Max Lighting floor lamp, is no longer available but a very comparable one is the Verilux® HappyLight® Duo – 2-in-1 Light Therapy & Task Floor Lamp.

Dr Josh Friedman, PHD, Integrative Psychotherapy of Omaha

I follow the guidelines of Columbia University’s Center for Environmental Therapeutics. They have done research on a variety of light boxes and the one on this page is inexpensive and effective [and is 10,000 lux]  You can find it on Amazon here: Carex Day-Light Classic Plus Bright Light Therapy Lamp

daylight-simulator

This is what the Center for Environmental Therapeutics has to say about this newer light therapy device:

This handsome new bright light therapy unit ― the Carex Day-light “Classic” Plus Model supersedes our former Daylight “Classic” Model, presenting the same benefits at lower cost and with enhanced design. The required parameters for 10,000 lux light therapy have been thoroughly clinically tested at major university centers, and have been established as the international standard for treatment of winter depression, milder “winter doldrums,” and other chronobiological, circadian rhythm sleep and mood disturbances.

Using light therapy with amino acids or adjusting up the amino acids or doing both

Additional Jan 2024 updates:

I often recommend the use of light therapy in conjunction with amino acids. We may just add light therapy and keep amino acid dosing the same or we may  use higher doses of amino acids like tryptophan, 5-HTP and GABA during the winter months. We may also do both depending on the person’s unique needs.

Here are some blog posts where I address adjusting up/increasing the amino acids during winter:

There may even be a seasonal aspect to PMDD/PMS with an increase in hormonal binge eating, wine drinking and anxiety – with symptoms ramping up from October (click here to read that blog post).

More binge eating, emotional eating and carb cravings in Winter

This paper, The Role of Diet, Eating Behavior, and Nutrition Intervention in Seasonal Affective Disorder: A Systematic Review discusses the eating and drinking habits of individuals with SAD (seasonal affective disorder):

Compared with non-clinical subjects, SAD patients tended to consume significantly larger dinners and more evening snacks during weekdays and weekends and exhibit a higher frequency of binge eating, external eating, and emotional eating. Additionally, compared to healthy controls, SAD patients presented more cravings for starch-rich food and food with high fiber.

This paper also mentions vegetarianism being associated with higher SAD prevalence. As outlined in my book (link below) and various blogs, I am an advocate of quality animal protein as it provides amino acids, zinc, iron, omega-3s and vitamin B12 – all needed for neurotransmitter production.

It also mentions that alcoholism is “associated with higher SAD prevalence.”

Amino acids and light therapy help emotional eating and excessive drinking

The authors don’t offer a solution but I can share that the amino acids mentioned above help with sugar/carb  cravings and emotional eating and alcohol addiction.

Using light therapy is going to help too, with research suggesting that bright light therapy is potentially effective at improving both disordered-eating behavior and mood.

Seasonality to anxiety and panic disorder and how to use bright light therapy

There is a seasonality to anxiety and panic disorder just as there are seasonal variations in mood for certain susceptible individuals. You can read more about this and some of the basics like how to use bright light, and for how long, possible adverse effects and who should not use bright light therapy.

The blog is: How to use bright light therapy for increased anxiety, increased panic and SAD during the cold dark winter months

This information about bright light and mood disorders can be applied to anxiety and panic attacks, in addition to SAD.

Additional resources when you are new to using tryptophan and the other amino acids as supplements

We use the symptoms questionnaire to figure out if low serotonin or other neurotransmitter imbalances may be an issue for you.

If you suspect low levels of any of the neurotransmitters 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 practitioner/health team you or your loved one is working with.

There is an entire chapter on the amino acids and they are discussed throughout the book in the sections on gut health, gluten, blood sugar control, sugar cravings, anxiety and mood issues. The importance of quality animal protein is also covered.

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 amino acids that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.

If, after reading this blog and my book, you don’t feel comfortable figuring things out on your own (i.e. doing the symptoms questionnaire and respective amino acids trials), a good place to get help is the GABA QuickStart Program (if you have low GABA symptoms too). This is a paid online/virtual group program where you get my guidance and community support.

If you are a practitioner, join us in The Balancing Neurotransmitters: the Fundamentals program. This is also a paid online/virtual program with an opportunity to interact with me and other practitioners who are also using the amino acids.

Do you get the winter blues and increased anxiety in the winter months? Have you had success with light therapy?

If yes, which full spectrum lamp have you found to be the most useful? What time of the day do you use it, how often do you use it and for what duration?

Have you used a combination of amino acids and light therapy, and adjusted up your amino acids during the colder and darker winter months?

If you’re a practitioner do you recommend light therapy to your clients/patients?

Feel free to share and ask your questions below.

MTHFR and Methylation practitioner training by Coleen Walsh

By Trudy Scott 25 Comments

mthfr

Confused about Methylation and MTHFR?

MTHFR is one hot topic and many clients are getting their MTHFR results, but do not know what to do.

Methylation cycle abnormalities can predispose you to disease. The MTHFR SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) is at a key position in the methylation cycle and if not working properly, can affect the whole pathway, creating symptoms and disease, including mood issues like anxiety and depression. The good news is that nutritional protocols and lifestyle modifications can help tremendously.

Online Practitioner Training

My friend and colleague, Coleen Walsh, dubbed the “methyl queen” is doing an online Practitioner Training (for Nutritionists and Healthcare Practitioners) on MTHFR and Methylation on February 28, 2015 from 10am MST – 3pm MST, so you may get a better understanding of Methylation Pathways and how to better help your clients with these SNPs

This 5-hour presentation breaks down the biochemistry of these pathways, and discusses epigenetics and holistic protocols to give you a solid understanding of the subject. 

Plus, when you purchase the event, you also will receive the recordings and 3 hours of bonus material! If you can’t make it at this day/time, you can still register and will get the materials a few days after the event.

A Bit About Coleen:

Coleen Walsh is a holistic and functional nutritionist that specializes in MTHFR and Methylation education and one on one client consultations.  She is author of the forthcoming book, “Thriving with MTHFR: A guide for the everyday mutant!”, dubbed the “Methyl Queen” by colleagues and winner of the 2014 NANP Impact Award based on her research & education on MTHFR & Methylation.  She trains and consults MDs, NDs, L.ACs, DOs and Nutritionists all over the United States and in Japan on the topic of MTHFR and Methylation and has completed hundreds of hours of additional research and education on these pathways.  Coleen suffered from many degenerative and autoimmune diseases and helped heal herself after finding out about her MTHFR status, her passion is to educate and help support others along their journey towards health.

coleen info

We met at the NANP/National Association of Nutrition Professionals conference last year and hit it off right away. I was so impressed with the work she was doing that I invited her to speak on season 1 of the Anxiety Summit.

methylation pathways

MTHFR interview from the Anxiety Summit – for your listening pleasure

I’d like to share that interview with you here, so you can get a taste of her level of expertise and for what she will be offering in the training. It’s yours to listen to whether or not you can attend the training and whether or not you’re a practitioner. Enjoy!

Are Your Genes Depressing You? MTHFR and Your Mood: Trudy Scott interviews Coleen Walsh on The Anxiety Summit

  • The Methylation Cycle overview, MTHFR and B vitamins as cofactors
  • How MTHFR effects the BH4 cycle and serotonin and dopamine
  • Factors that disturb methylation, how to test and what to do
  • Epigenetics and how SNPs are not our destiny

Listen to the recording here:

 

Learn more and purchase

Here is the link to read more about Coleen’s online MTHFR/methylation practitioner training on February 28th and to make your purchase:

http://www.easywebautomation.com/app/?Clk=5393326

Hope to “see” you there – I plan on attending this new training too!

PS. If you do purchase Coleen’s training do let us know by sending a copy of your receipt to support [at] everywomanover29.com and we’ll send you a copy of the transcript of the above audio interview as a nice little added bonus to help solidify your learning!

PPS. Coleen will also be giving a 3 hour training for the general public on March 7th, starting at noon MST. This event will break down the science even more, so that even an “everyday mutant” can follow the information. Details coming soon!