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Yoga increases brain GABA levels and reduces anxiety

By Trudy Scott 8 Comments

triangle-pose

In a 2007 study published by the Division of Psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine – Yoga Asana sessions increase brain GABA levels: a pilot study – researchers had 8 yoga practitioners complete a 60-minute yoga session and 11 comparison subjects complete a 60-minute reading session.

The study objective was to compare changes in brain levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) – our calming neurotransmitter – in those completing the 60-minute yoga session and in those reading.

These were the results that were reported:

There was a 27% increase in GABA levels in the yoga practitioner group after the yoga session but no change in the comparison subject group after the reading session.

And here is the conclusion the authors reached:

These findings demonstrate that in experienced yoga practitioners, brain GABA levels increase after a session of yoga. This suggests that the practice of yoga should be explored as a treatment for disorders with low GABA levels such as depression and anxiety disorders. Future studies should compare yoga to other forms of exercise to help determine whether yoga or exercise alone can alter GABA levels.

In this study, GABA levels were measured with magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRS/MRSI) before and after the yoga and reading sessions. If you really want to know how yoga improves your anxiety you could do the GABA section of the amino acid questionnaire and rate your before and after symptoms:  

  • Anxiety and feeling overwhelmed or stressed
  • Feeling worried or fearful
  • Panic attacks
  • Unable to relax or loosen up
  • Stiff or tense muscles
  • Feeling stressed and burned-out
  • Craving carbs, alcohol, or drugs for relaxation and calming

The above study looked at experienced yoga practitioners but there is so much research on the many benefits of yoga for everyone and for many conditions. Here is a small sampling of some other studies that include anxiety as well as depression, stress, hormonal imbalances and sleep issues:

If you’ve never done yoga or if you haven’t been doing it for a while this blog will hopefully give you the motivation to start a yoga practice or get back into it.

You may ask: how do I get started?

The important thing is to find the joy in doing it so I encourage you to try different classes until you find one you love. I love Iyengar yoga but it’s not for everyone (it can be seen as too slow for some people.) Here is a yoga DVD for more advanced Iyengar yoga students: Iyengar Yoga with Gabriella.

If you already do yoga this will confirm what you already likely know. Please share what yoga you enjoy, how often you practice and how it leaves you feeling.

If you’re a health practitioner, please share if yoga is something you recommend to your clients or patients.

GABA-consuming bacteria discovered: Evtepia gabavorous

By Trudy Scott 25 Comments

bacteria

New bacteria that consumes GABA, the main calming neurotransmitter, has been discovered. It has provisionally been named KLE1738 Evtepia gabavorous (vorous means “eating”).

This new discovery was presented at the recent American Society for Microbiology conference in Boston in the Microbial Mind Control session.

Here is the entire abstract: Gaba Modulating Bacteria of the Human Gut Microbiome:

The gut microbiome affects many different diseases, and has been recently linked to human mental health. The microbiome community is diverse, but 50-80% of its diversity remains uncultured. We previously reported that uncultured bacteria from the marine environment require growth factors from neighboring species, and by using co-culture, we could cultivate novel diversity. In the present study, we used a similar co-culture approach to grow bacteria from humans stool samples. KLE1738, a “Most-Wanted” member of the human gut microbiome only known by its 16S rDNA signature, was found to require the presence of Bacteroides fragilis KLE1758 for growth. Using bio-assay driven purification of B. fragilis KLE1758 supernatant, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the major inhibitory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system, was identified as the growth factor for KLE1738. We found no other tested compound but GABA supported the growth of KLE1738, and genomic analysis suggests an unusual metabolism focused on consuming GABA. Due to this unique growth requirement, we provisionally name KLE1738 Evtepia gabavorous. Using growth of E. gabalyticus as an indicator, we then identified novel GABA producing bacteria from the gut microbiome. Reduced levels of GABA are associated with depression, and we found fewer GABA producers in a human cohort of depressed individuals. By modulating the level of GABA, microbial producers and consumers of this neurotransmitter may be influencing host behavior.

If you’re anxious and especially if you have physical anxiety, it’s worth considering if low GABA is an issue and addressing your anxiety by trying to raise your GABA levels by taking GABA as a supplement, with lifestyle activities like yoga sessions, by eating a real whole foods traditional diet and by addressing gut health.

There is much research supporting the gut-brain connection and how imbalances of the microbiome i.e. intestinal dysbiosis, can contribute to:

Could Evtepia gabavorous be a factor in all of the above? It’s too soon to know but I expect we’ll know more as more research is completed.

If you’re looking for more information on GABA and the gut:

We certainly appreciate Postdoctoral Research Associate, Phillip Strandwitz and his team for the work they are doing. Strandwitz shares this on his bio:

my work has led me to focus on the gut-microbe-brain axis, specifically microbes able to modulate levels of neurotransmitters

I reached out to I asked him why he is interested this area of research and he shared this with me:

I think mental health is an incredible burden to society and there is not nearly enough spotlight nor funding to understand and treat these issues. I believe the microbiome is involved (at least to some capacity), and I’m passionate about trying to understand this involvement to create novel therapies to help those in need. I’m also a strong supporter of diet/lifestyle changes for better cognition!

How wonderful is this!

It’s early days and right now we can only speculate but it may be worth to considering if the presence of Evtepia gabavorous may be a reason why some individuals continue to need to take GABA supplements long-term to keep anxiety at bay. It also gives us additional reasons to focus on addressing gut health and boosting good bacteria to help to reduce the need for ongoing GABA supplementation.

As soon as the paper is published, I’ll have more details to share. In the meantime, enjoy the fascination and wonderment of the human body and our microbiome.

Please share if you have signs of low GABA and have you been taking GABA supplements long-term? Do you also have gut issues and dysbiosis too (based on stool testing)?

PS. So many of you contacted me with a link to this preliminary research so I’d just like to say thanks!

World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day – say NO to Benzodiazepines for anxiety!

By Trudy Scott 17 Comments

world benzo awareness day july 11 2016

Today, July 11th, is  World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day

This date was designated in recognition of Prof. Heather Ashton’s significant contributions to the benzodiazepine cause over so many decades; together with all of the help she has given to so many people around the world.

In honor of World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day, also called W-BAD I’ve decided to re-release a webinar I did last year: Say NO to Benzodiazepines for anxiety  [CLICK THIS LINK TO FIND THE WEBINAR]

say no-to-benzo

Here is an excerpt of the overview from: Say NO to benzodiazepines for anxiety! 

Benzodiazepines are a class of psychoactive drugs that work by enhancing the effect of the calming neurotransmitter GABA, and are used to treat anxiety, insomnia, pain, muscle spasms and a range of other conditions. They are widely prescribed, particularly among elderly patients and may even be used off-label with children with autism.

Use of this medication is very controversial.  We know long term use leads to tolerance, dependence, and many adverse psychological effects and even physical effects. Short term use is generally considered safe but even using them for 2 – 4 weeks can lead to problems for certain individuals.

This presentation provides an overview of benzodiazepines; when they are used; who they are prescribed to; details about tolerance, dependence, and the many adverse effects; how to taper, including nutritional support during the taper; what to do instead of saying yes to a benzodiazepine prescription in the first place; and additional resources.

Here is one of the benzo stories I share in the webinar:

world benzo awareness day story

 

We know that some individuals are much more affected than others when it comes to tolerance and withdrawal.  Here are some other possible factors that may affect tolerance and withdrawal:

world benzo awareness day liver enzymes

During season 4 of the Anxiety Summit, Lisa Bloomquist talked about Antibiotic Induced Anxiety – How Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics Induce Psychiatric Illness Symptoms.   During this interview she shared how:

People who have gone through benzodiazepine withdrawal before should never take a fluoroquinolone because essentially it can throw people right back into the benzo withdrawal – because it has very similar effects on people’s GABA’s receptors as what happens when people go through benzodiazepine withdrawal. 

I would love to see a survey of people who have experienced adverse effects when using benzodiazepines as prescribed or when tapering. Could these be some of the contributing factors?

  • Taking Valium/ diazepam and have the CYP2C19 polymorphism (about 10-20% of Western populations are defective in genes of the CYP liver enzyme superfamily)
  • Taking Xanax/ alprazolam and have CYP3A5 polymorphism (about 10-20% of Western populations are defective in genes of the CYP liver enzyme superfamily)
  • Taking any benzodiazepine and also
    • Taking oral contraceptives
    • Taking a course of antibiotics
    • Taking a course of one of the fluoroquinolone antibiotics
    • On an SSRI prescription
    • Taking a course of antifungal medications
    • Drinking alcohol on a regular basis
    • On an opioid such as oxycodone
    • Drinking grapefruit juice on a regular basis

For withdrawal/tapering, the best resource I know of is Benzo.org.uk which contains the Ashton Manual. You will need to educate yourself and your doctor and/or find a doctor willing to help you with the adjusted prescription. It does need to be done very very very slowly.

Finding a good support group like Benzobuddies.org  is very helpful for many of my clients. Just be aware that this group and some of the other support groups say no to any supplements during the taper process. I find it to be very individualized and have many clients that see great benefit by using GABA, tryptophan, zinc, magnesium and other nutrients. (You can read more about this here: Anxiety and the amino acids overview)

That being said some people tapering can only tolerate very low amounts of the amino acids (like a dab or pinch from a capsule) and some can’t tolerate any supplements and do better with essential oils, yoga, light therapy and dietary changes.

You can find more information on World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day on Benzo Case: Raising Awareness about Benzodiazepine Drugs  (widely prescribed for anxiety, stress, sleep, pain and much more…) and additional stories on the World Benzo Awareness facebook page.

World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day was conceived by the acting Chair Barry Halsam, former Chair of Oldham TRANX, and jointly organized by Wayne Douglas, founder of benzo.case.com / benzo-case-japan.com

Please read share so your loved ones are informed and can say NO to benzos!  

If you have experienced adverse effects when taking or tapering from benzodiazepines I’d love some feedback on the above possible contributing factors.

 

Sleep improvement: Oral intake of GABA and Apocynum venetum leaf extract

By Trudy Scott 17 Comments

sleep-improvement

I’ve blogged about the Sleep promoting effects of combined GABA and 5-HTP. There is another combination of nutrients that has been shown to help with sleep: GABA and the herb Apocynum venetum leaf extract.

In this 2015 paper: The Improvement of Sleep by Oral Intake of GABA and Apocynum venetum Leaf Extract

The electroencephalogram (EEG) test revealed that oral administration of GABA (100 mg) and [Apocynum venetum Leaf Extract] AVLE (50 mg) had beneficial effects on sleep.

In this study they found that GABA helps people to fall asleep quickly and Apocynum venetum Leaf Extract induces deep sleep, and that they work well when taken together.

The authors conclude that both GABA and Apocynum venetum leaf extract:

can be regarded as safe and appropriate for daily intake in order to improve the quality of sleep.

Earlier this year I heard Dr. Peter Bongiorno present at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium and one of the herbs he covered was Apocynum venetum leaf extract for depression. Since this was new to me, I invited him to share about this herb on the recent Anxiety Summit: Serotonin and anxiety: tryptophan, 5-HTP, serotonin syndrome and medication tapers

I also briefly mentioned the above GABA/Apocynum venetum leaf extract study in my talk on the recent Anxiety Summit – GABA: Blood brain barrier controversy, concerns, best forms and how to do a trial for eliminating anxiety

I find that many of my clients with anxiety also have sleep problems and GABA is often helpful if their sleep issues are related to low GABA levels, often manifesting as physical tension.

One of the signs of low serotonin, in addition to anxiety and worry, is insomnia and I find tryptophan (and sometimes 5-HTP) to be very helpful for many clients too. I’ll often have someone use both GABA and tryptophan (or GABA and 5-HTP) and the combination seems to be a good one.

I have not yet used Apocynum venetum leaf extract alone with clients or in combination with GABA and look forward to learning more. Have you have tried it alone or in combination with GABA? Have you used it with clients?

Reminder – therapeutic/special diets webinar

By Trudy Scott 12 Comments

[SEE BELOW FOR REPLAY INFORMATION + MOM’S GROUP]

Here is a quick reminder about the webinar tomorrow July 6th at 1pm PDT: Customizing Therapeutic Diets to Improve Clinical Success with Anxiety, Autism and Beyond.

therapeutic-diets-1

We all agree that Food is Medicine, however, there is no one dietary strategy that is right for everyone. Diet recommendations must consider varied biochemical and physiological factors, so they are personalized to suite the individual needs of your client – can they tolerate phenols, salicylates, high histamine foods, amines, oxalates, and FODMAPS? Knowing about these special diets and customizing dietary recommendations can increase your success with complex cases, especially your clients with anxiety and those that seem to have food reactions to “everything.” Understanding these advanced diets and principles have been critical to furthering my success in working with clients with anxiety.

Tomorrow I will be conducting a webinar with Julie Matthews on this topic. She is a good friend and nutrition colleague and we’ll be sharing valuable tips and clinical advice from our combined 25 years in practice. Julie is the founder of the Bioindividual Nutrition Institute and will cover:

  • How personalizing food and nutrition strategy helps improve patient/client outcomes
  • Which foods may negatively affect mood and anxiety, as well as co-morbid conditions
  • How to make your preferred diet strategy even more effective by individualizing over a dozen additional dietary factors
  • The most advantageous special diets for healing: including: GFCF, SCD, GAPS Diet, Paleo diet, low phenol diets, low oxalate, and low FODMAPs

We’ll discuss some clinical case studies from both of our practices and Julie will share more about the study group forming for the BioIndividual Nutrition Institute practitioner training program.

If diet and nutrition is a strong part of your practice, be sure to join us.

Here is a sampling of what we’ll cover:

therapeutic-diets-2

therapeutic-diets-3

Hope you can join us!

PS. This is webinar is for practitioners but anyone can tune in and listen and learn. Register at:
https://az184.isrefer.com/go/ctdaa/TrudyScott/

PPS. I’m actually camping at Tahoe this week so we recorded this before I left! But Julie will be live on the call after the recording so if you have questions join live to get them answered. If you can’t make it live sign up and you’ll get the recording + the questions she addressed

UPDATE July 8, 2016 – REPLAY INFORMATION + MOM’S GROUP

In order to listen to the replay of the webinar simply register at the same link and you’ll receive an email with the replay
https://az184.isrefer.com/go/ctdaa/TrudyScott/

Also, because many of you that are not clinicians expressed interest in the BioIndividual Nutrition training, Julie has re-opened the Nourishing Hope Moms program and scholarship to TEN new individuals. Inquire and apply here https://az184.isrefer.com/go/nhmoms/TrudyScott/

 

 

Tryptophan for PMS: premenstrual dysphoria, mood swings, tension, and irritability

By Trudy Scott 69 Comments

tryptophan for pms

In a study published in 1999, A placebo-controlled clinical trial of L-tryptophan in premenstrual dysphoria, tryptophan was found to reduce symptoms of PMS when used in the luteal phase or second half of the cycle (i.e. after ovulation):

37 patients with premenstrual dysphoric disorder were treated with L-tryptophan 6 g per day, and 34 were given placebo. The treatments were administered under double-blind conditions for 17 days, from the time of ovulation to the third day of menstruation, during three consecutive menstrual cycles.

They looked at dysphoria, which is defined as a state of unease or generalized dissatisfaction with life, plus mood swings, tension (and anxiety), and irritability and they found a 34.5% reduction of symptoms with tryptophan compared to 10.4% with placebo.

The paper concludes:

that these results suggest that increasing serotonin synthesis during the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle has a beneficial effect in patients with premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Let me share what I see with the women with PMS that I work with:

  • This is very typical when I’m working with someone with PMS and anxiety and other mood symptoms. It typically takes 2 to 3 cycles for an amino acid like tryptophan to have an impact on PMS itself. But it does typically start to work right away on the less severe anxiety and mood symptoms that may also be a factor during the rest of the month.
  • I don’t start with 6g per day of the tryptophan but rather have each person do the amino acid questionnaire, review the precautions and do a trial of tryptophan, increasing as needed to find the optimal amount for their needs (you can read more about this here on anxiety and the amino acid overview
  • We often find that adding GABA helps too, as this supports progesterone production
  • Many anxious women I work with also have pyroluria or signs of low zinc and low vitamin B6 and adding these nutrients, together with evening primrose oil, provide additional hormonal support (and help with the social anxiety).
  • Other factors to consider with PMS: low total cholesterol (as cholesterol is needed to make hormones), gluten issues, adrenal function and blood sugar control, gut health and the microbiome, and liver support
  • And finally, we can’t forget diet and need to switch to eating a real whole foods diet free from sugar, gluten and caffeine. Coffee and chocolate in the second half of the cycle can be especially problematic for many women

Together with the tryptophan and the above approaches (if needed as we are all so different), it’s not unreasonable to get the reduction of symptoms from 34.5% (as seen with the tryptophan) down to 100%. It breaks my heart when I hear women think they have to live with PMS symptoms when they don’t have to!

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

As always, I use the symptoms questionnaire to figure out if low serotonin or low GABA or other neurotransmitter imbalances may be an issue.

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 (this is covered in an entire chapter too), sugar cravings, anxiety and mood issues.

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). 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.

Wrapping up and your feedback

Have you used tryptophan for PMS? Do you take it all month or just in the 2nd half of your cycle? What about other changes that have helped: GABA or liver support or quitting caffeine? Or something else?  Please share.