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Antianxiety Food Solution

GABA takes some of the anxiety edge away and now I want to add tryptophan: how do I do this?

January 13, 2017 By Trudy Scott 23 Comments

GABA and tryptophan are both calming amino acids with GABA helping more with physical anxiety, tension-in-the-body type of anxiety and tryptophan with anxiety-in-the-head, worrying and ruminations. Many of my clients do really well with both but I like to have them use one at a time to really make sure they are seeing all the benefits before adding the next one.

I recently received this excellent question on one of the blogs about serotonin support: she’s doing better on the GABA and now wants to add tryptophan:        

I have started with Source Naturals Gaba Calm 125 mg, 2 on awakening and two in mid afternoon, and 2 Gaba Relaxer at bedtime. It has taken some anxiety edge away from me, but I still feel some anxiety on and off, not so severe as before. I used to feel very anxious on awakening. I want to improve more. to-day, I ordered Lidtke L-trytophan 500mg and am expecting to receive it in a week. I plan to take 2 Gaba Calm on awakening and 2 in mid afternoon, then add one 500mg trytophan mid afternoon and one 500 mg trytophan at bed time. Is this a good plan? or shall I have 2 Gaba Calm on awakening, 2 trytophan mid afternoon and 2 trytophan bedtime?

I love getting questions on the blog and make sure each one gets answered. However I can’t ever offer specific advice via the blog – you have to be a client for me to be able to do that. But because this is an excellent question I’d like to share some of what I shared with her in the hope it will help you (or your patients/clients) too.

First off I am so pleased to hear the Source Naturals GABA Calm and Country Life GABA Relaxer (a very nice combination of GABA, glycine, taurine, inositol, niacinamide and vitamin B6) has taken some of the anxiety edge away for her!

Here is my answer for her – about what I’d do next if I was working with her one-on-one:

There is also no specific formula to be followed because each person is different and when I’m working with someone we’re figuring out what is working and why and adjusting accordingly. If something is working we continue with that until no more benefits are seen.

I would say this – ask yourself what low GABA anxiety symptoms (this is the physical anxiety) have improved with the GABA and how much (rate each one before – out of 10; and what are they now – out of 10). From your question it sounds like they could improve more – so if we were working together I’d continue to increase GABA before adding something new.

Then once that has been done and we have the ideal amount I’d then check what low serotonin symptoms my client has (these are the busy mind, ruminations type or worry anxiety). If she does have some of these symptoms, pick or two and do a trial with 1 x 500mg tryptophan opened on to the tongue (or less if she’s super sensitive). She rates the symptoms out of 10 before the tryptophan trial and then after the trial. Depending on how she responds on the trial, we’ll decide if she needs 1 or 2 each time. The bedtime dose also depends on how bad the insomnia is. We continue to increase as needed based on symptoms.

All the while we are starting to make other changes – like diet, eating for blood sugar balance, no caffeine, no sugar, looking for high cortisol, no gluten, looking at gut health and for other nutritional deficiencies.

I hope this helps you and makes sense. In summary these are the guidelines I use:

  • It’s best to do one amino acid at a time when starting out
  • Make sure you’ve increased an amino acid so you can experience it’s full benefits before adding another one
  • Start all amino acids based on your unique needs – the best way to determine this is to do a trial first
  • Adjust accordingly while keeping a log of symptoms (with before and after ratings) and supplement amounts

Here are some links to additional resources related to the above:

  • The amino acid questionnaire to help you figure out which anxiety type you have: low GABA or low serotonin
  • How to do an amino acid trial
  • Targeted individual amino acids: what do we really mean?
  • Anxiety and the amino acids: an overview
    • In this blog I make the following recommendation: if you do not have my book The Antianxiety Food Solution, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in to taking amino acids
  • Here are the supplements I use with my clients

I’d love to hear your feedback on your low GABA and/or low serotonin symptoms and the before rating (from 1 to 10) and the after rating (from 1 to 10) once you’re taking the related amino acid.

And please let me know if it’s helpful to read a real life question and my response.

Filed Under: Tryptophan Tagged With: amino acids, amino acids trial, Antianxiety Food Solution, GABA, tryptophan

The Anxiety Summit: Rooibos – A Functional Food in the Management of Stress

June 26, 2014 By Trudy Scott 28 Comments

amanda_swart rooibos

Amanda Swart, associate professor from the Department of Biochemistry at Stellenbosch University in South Africa was interviewed on the Anxiety Summit by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.

Rooibos: A Functional Food in the Management of Stress

  • The role rooibos plays in the maintenance of normal cortisol levels
  • The influence of rooibos on cytochrome P450 enzymes
  • The polyphenols and flavonoids found in rooibos
  • Other health benefits of rooibos

I am such a research nerd, and I like to keep up with the latest research on anxiety and stress and mood. I immediately contacted the author when I came across this study, “Rooibos Influences Glucocorticoid Levels and Steroid Ratios In Vivo and In Vitro: A Natural Approach in the Management of Stress and Metabolic Disorders.” For you research nerds out there, this was published in March this year, 2014, in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.

Here are some great gems from my interview with Amanda:

The plant world is amazing, that’s where our medication comes from usually. The drug companies base most of their drugs on what is available in nature, and they just change structures a little bit.

If you can remember… back in the seventies and eighties, people weren’t really that stressed out yet. Stress is a very modern disease.

In the human study, they drank rooibos for six weeks, and they had six cups and they soaked the teabag for ten minutes. We didn’t see that cortisol levels decreased significantly, but what we did see is that the ratio of active to inactive was vastly improved.

If the ratio active cortisol to inactive cortisol is high, this is normally associated with metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

Here is a link to the rooibos publications on Amanda’s ResearchGate site

Here is the prostate cancer study that Amanda discussed – how one of the adrenal androgens – 11 hydroxy androstenedione, may be implicated in castration resistant prostate cancer. (This in unrelated to rooibos consumption but Amanda’s rooibos cortisol work lead her to this work)

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

UPDATE: the summit concluded on Tues 6/24 – season 2 of The Anxiety Summit will be in November 2014. If you’d like to be on the notification list just sign up here www.theAnxietySummit.com

Missed this interview? Or want this and the other great interviews for your learning library? Purchase the MP3s or MP3s + transcripts + interview highlights and listen when it suits you

Filed Under: Antianxiety, Food and mood, Real whole food, Stress, The Anxiety Summit Tagged With: Amanda Swart, Antianxiety Food Solution, anxiety, rooibos, stress, the anxiety summit, Trudy Scott

The Anxiety Summit: BioIndividual Nutrition and Special Diets

June 22, 2014 By Trudy Scott 14 Comments

julie matthews 1

Julie Matthews, Certified Nutrition Consultant and author of award winning book, Nourishing Hope for Autism, is interviewed by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.

BioIndividual Nutrition for Anxiety: How special diets and avoiding certain foods can support individuals with anxiety

  • how the body and brain are connected
  • opiates, salicylates, amines, glutamates and oxalates
  • how special diets can help: GFCF, GAPS, low oxalate diet, FODMAPs
  • how to support biochemical pathways such as sulfation and methylation

Here are some great gems from my interview with Julie:

the brain is not this isolated island all by itself: it is connected to the body and all the biochemistry in the body affects what’s going on in the brain

different people might have similar biochemical pathways that are impaired, but they may manifest that differently – for some, with anxiety, some might have ADHD, some might have autism

gut flora is a really important factor in mood

I highly recommend Julie’s book Nourishing Hope for Autism: Nutrition and Diet Guide for Healing Our Children

And Julie shared this about her book and her work

My book is called Nourishing Hope for Autism, but a lot of people that have other conditions get my book, particularly because I call kids with autism the canaries in the coalmine. They’re the ones that are telling us that our world is too toxic, there’s too many stressors, it’s too deficient in nutrients, and we need to change our ways by adding more nutrition, more absorbable forms of supplements, getting supplements in general, eating good foods that are nutrient dense. These principles are principles that apply, in my experience, to almost all healing. So we learn a lot from the kids with autism on how it might apply to anxiety and other conditions.

We discussed the overlaps we see in autism and mood disorders: digestive issues, neurotransmitter deficiencies, gluten issues, low blood sugar, pyroluria etc.

Here is an article on Dr MacFabe’s work on gut bacteria: Spotlight on the Gut Bacteria-Brain Connection in Autism

Get your free gifts from Julie:

Using Food and Nutrition to Improve Autism and ADHD (includes info on some of the special diets even though title is about autism/ADHD)

Two hour oxalate interview and transcript (for Practitioners)

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

UPDATE: Season 1 of The Anxiety Summit concluded on Tues 6/24/14. If you’d like to be on the notification list for the next summit just sign up here www.theAnxietySummit.com

Missed this interview and want this and the other great interviews for your learning library? Purchase the MP3s or MP3s + transcripts + interview highlights and listen when it suits you

Filed Under: Antianxiety, Food and mood, Special diets, The Anxiety Summit Tagged With: Antianxiety Food Solution, anxiety, autism, bioindividual, Julie Matthews, special diets, the anxiety summit, Trudy Scott

The Anxiety Summit: The Addicted Brain and How to Break Free

June 22, 2014 By Trudy Scott 4 Comments

HylaCass2

[REPLAY on Monday 6/23 – ENJOY!]

This is day 6 of the Anxiety Summit.  Dr. Hyla Cass, M.D. board-certified in psychiatry and integrative medicine and the author of Natural Highs and The Addicted Brain and How to Break Free, is interviewed by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.

The Addicted Brain and How to Break Free

  • how to recognize the signs of addiction
  • why do we become addicted and what is the connection to anxiety
  • food/carbs/sugar, caffeine, alcohol and drug addictions
  • how can we end addiction without suffering/withdrawal

Here are some great gems from my interview with Hyla:

in order to make neurotransmitters/brain chemicals that send messages around in our brain, we need the right raw materials

I think the personality becomes addictive because of this imbalanced neurochemistry

I’ve had people sent to me, for example, with anxiety, and it turned out that what was really going on was they were consuming aspartame in their soft drinks

If someone has anxiety, it’s not a Valium or a Xanax deficiency. It could be a GABA deficiency

Low serotonin leads to increased appetite, really craving carbs, feeling depressed, anxious and irritable, and having trouble sleeping

the food industry feeds off us as we’re feeding off of all that junk

This whole idea of a pill for every pill is just wrong

Hyla shared how Dr. Davidson, a conventional psychiatrist from Duke University, discovered that with atypical depression, there were people who were totally unresponsive to the drugs i.e. – nothing worked. He found that those patients did really well with chromium. Here is an article on the Psychology Today blog on chromium for depression.

And here is Hyla’s Huffpo blog post on Is it drugs not guns

Here are two of Hyla’s great books:

Natural Highs: Supplements, Nutrition, and Mind-Body Techniques to Help You Feel Good All the Time

Eight Weeks to Vibrant Health: A Take Charge Plan for Women to Correct Imbalances, Reclaim Energy and Restore Well-Being

Get your free gifts from Dr. Hyla Cass: “Outsmart Your Addiction Quiz” and “Reclaim Your Brain” e-report

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

UPDATE: the summit concluded on Tues 6/24 – season 2 of The Anxiety Summit will be in November 2014. If you’d like to be on the notification list just sign up 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 + interview highlights and listen when it suits you

Filed Under: Addiction, Amino Acids, Anxiety and panic, Sugar addiction, The Anxiety Summit Tagged With: addiction, amino acids, Antianxiety Food Solution, anxiety, GABA, Hyla Cass, the anxiety summit, Trudy Scott

The Anxiety Summit: coffee, chocolate, fish, water and more

June 21, 2014 By Trudy Scott 41 Comments

trudy quote feel your best

This is day 14 of the Anxiety Summit and the final wrap up call by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.

Anxiety: coffee, chocolate, fish, water and more – and where to go next

  • the anxiety-provoking effects of coffee! and what about chocolate?
  • the bad-mood effects of gluten
  • wild fish, water, pumpkin seeds and laughter to boost your mood and calm you down
  • questions answered ( a few from the blog and facebook page)
  • what you can get out of the summit, resources and where to go next

This is the great quote by Jamie Oliver (I saw it on Josh Friedman’s super Facebook page):

Homicide is 0.8% of deaths. Diet-related disease is over 60%. But no-one talks about it

We’re talking about it! And we’re being heard! There obviously a big need for this information – as of the end of the 13th day of the summit we have officially reached just over 10,000 people!

jamie oliver quote

This is the cover of Time magazine: Eat Butter. Scientists labeled fat the enemy. Why they were wrong.  About time ! (no pun intended) 

For decades, it has been the most vilified nutrient in the American diet. But new science reveals fat isn’t what’s hurting our health”

time magazine

 

Here is the blog post that has the video of Angie trying the DPA/Endorphigen for low endorphins.  She calls it a miracle, no longer desired chocolate and felt euphoric! 

amazing nutrient DPA (d-phenylalanine) or Endorphigen. It is SO effective if you’re low in endorphins! Just watch Angie’s reaction when she sampled some….she actually called it a miracle! – See more at: https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/end-emotional-eating-no-willpower/#sthash.ocYcUhhQ.dpuf
amazing nutrient DPA (d-phenylalanine) or Endorphigen. It is SO effective if you’re low in endorphins! Just watch Angie’s reaction when she sampled some….she actually called it a miracle! – See more at: https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/end-emotional-eating-no-willpower/#sthash.ocYcUhhQ.dpuf

This is the blog post that mentions the research on how water affects serotonin and dopamine levels, thereby affecting your anxiety levels.

Based on the food mood research done by Dr. Felice Jacka and the results I see when my female clients add back red meat into their diets I am a proponent of grass-fed red meat.  You can read some of Dr Jacka’s findings and information about our interview here.  Be sure to check out the comments in this blog – I mention other research on grass-fed red meat and mood,

In line with this we have the new Anxiety Summit quote:

Sugar is the most abused anxiety drug

Grass-fed red meat is the most underutilized antianxiety food

~ Trudy Scott, host of The Anxiety Summit and author of The Antianxiety Food Solution

trudy scott sugar abused red meat not used

This is from the editorial called Nutrition and Psychiatry in the American Journal of Psychiatry. It was published when Dr. Jacka’s Western diet/traditional diet study was published in 2010.

It is both compelling and daunting to consider that dietary intervention at an individual or population level could reduce rates of psychiatric disorders. There are exciting implications for clinical care, public health, and research”

I always say “yes compelling but not daunting with what we know” and with we’ve learned on the Anxiety Summit.

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

UPDATE: the summit concluded on Tues 6/24 – season 2 of The Anxiety Summit will be in November 2014. If you’d like to be on the notification list just sign up 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 + interview highlights and listen when it suits you

Filed Under: Antianxiety, Anxiety and panic, Food and mood, Gluten, Real whole food, The Anxiety Summit Tagged With: Antianxiety Food Solution, anxiety, chocolate, coffee, fish, pumpkin seeds, the anxiety summit, Trudy Scott, water

The Anxiety Summit: Comfort food or sweet misery? How sugar controls your mood

June 20, 2014 By Trudy Scott 2 Comments

margaret floyd 1

[REPLAY on Saturday 6/21 – ENJOY!]

This is day 5 of the Anxiety Summit. Margaret Floyd, nutritional therapist, writer, real food advocate and author of Eat Naked, is interviewed by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.

Comfort food or sweet misery? How sugar controls your mood and how to get it out of your diet 

  • why sugar is so harmful to our mood, where it hides in the diet and how to get it out
  • why protein is so important and why we shouldn’t be afraid of fat
  • the challenges of gluten, soy, and other food toxins
  • other important aspects of real whole food eating

Here is some great gems from my interview with Margaret

a little sugary treat puts your body into an emergency

historically sugar was very scarce in our diets, and so our bodies are not adapted to having lots of it

a blood sugar crash is actually as much of a state of emergency for your body as running from that wooly mammoth

I highly recommend Margaret’s books:

Eat Naked: Unprocessed, Unpolluted, and Undressed Eating for a Healthier, Sexier You published by New Harbinger Publications in 2011. Here is my book review of Eat Naked.

She is also the coauthor with Chef James Barry of the follow-up cookbook, The Naked Foods Cookbook: The Whole-Foods, Healthy-Fats, Gluten-Free Guide to Losing Weight and Feeling Great

Get your free gift from Margaret: Get Naked with the 10 week Dietary Program

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

UPDATE: the summit concluded on Tues 6/24 – season 2 of The Anxiety Summit will be in November 2014. If you’d like to be on the notification list just sign up 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 + interview highlights and listen when it suits you

Filed Under: Antianxiety, Emotional Eating, Food and mood, Sugar addiction, Sugar and mood, The Anxiety Summit Tagged With: Antianxiety Food Solution, anxiety, Margaret Floyd, sugar, the anxiety summit, Trudy Scott

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