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Tulsi or holy basil: adaptogenic herb for adrenal support, anxiety and anti-stress effects

By Trudy Scott 16 Comments

One very effective approach for supporting the adrenals, reducing anxiety and providing general anti-stress support is using a herbal adaptogen. One of my favorite herbal adaptogens and one that I have found to be very effective and well tolerated by my clients is tulsi, also known as holy basil or the “Elixir of Life” in Ayurveda. I also really like rhodiola. ashwagandha and licorice root but we’ll cover these in another blog.

As stated in this 2017 paper, The Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Tulsi in Humans: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Tulsi, also known as holy basil, is indigenous to the Indian continent and highly revered for its medicinal uses within the Ayurvedic and Siddha medical systems. Many in vitro, animal and human studies attest to tulsi having multiple therapeutic actions including adaptogenic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, and immunomodulatory effects.

The above paper is a review of the literature and the 24 studies that were included, reported favorable therapeutic effects of tulsi for humans and no significant adverse effects. Only one clinical trial reported mild nausea that lasted a short while.

The authors conclude that the outcome of this review

reinforces traditional uses and suggests tulsi is an effective treatment for lifestyle-related chronic diseases including diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and psychological stress.

With regards to psychological stress, three of the clinical studies reviewed

reported significant reduction in anxiety and stress levels with higher doses of tulsi given over a longer time period.

The positive effect of tulsi on mood was demonstrated … with two studies reporting reductions of 31.6%–39% in overall stress-related symptoms in patients with psychosomatic problems compared to a control group.

In two of these stress studies the dosage ranged from 300mg to 400mg 3 x day and was taken either before or after a meal. In one stress study, 3g (3,000mg) twice a day was used. In all the stress/anxiety studies improvements were observed in 4-12 weeks.

The review also looked at studies on metabolic disorders i.e. type 2 diabetes with “measures of blood glucose, lipids, and blood pressure” and studies on immunity, all showing benefits. In one of the immunity studies, the participants were given 10g (10,000mg) /day for viral hepatitis and symptoms all improved within 2 weeks. I’m sharing this so you can see that the dosage varies depending on the condition and severity of symptoms.

Adrenal support, anxiety, depression and radiation-protection

Here are some additional animal studies that support the use of holy basil or tulsi for adrenal support, for easing anxiety and even depression, and for the anti-stress effect it offers:

found to be effective in the management of stress effects, and anti-stress activity could be due to inhibition of cortisol release

With all the WiFi we are exposed to and the fact that research is now showing that EMFs (electromagnetic frequencies) are likely playing a role in anxiety, depression and ADHD, I’m really pleased to see there are also some animal studies on tulsi being protective against radiation.

Consuming tulsi tea on a daily basis

The review paper above mentions

the Ayurvedic tradition of consuming tulsi on a daily basis

and an easy and delicious way to do this is to drink it as a herbal tea.

Next time you’re ordering your amino acids and pyroluria supplements from my online store with Fullscript, be sure to add a few boxes of Organic India tulsi tea to your shopping cart. This way you can enjoy the healing and anti-stress benefits of tulsi together with the many other herbs included in their teas.

The Lemon Ginger Tulsi has been a long-time favorite of mine and is wonderful when flying to counter motion sickness. Based on the radiation research I uncovered when writing this blog. I’m thrilled I’ll be getting those benefits when flying too. I also enjoy the Peppermint Tulsi early in the day and have recently found a new favorite, the Tumeric Ginger Tulsi (not pictured below). Just so you know, you can also find the herbal teas in most health shops and natural food markets.

The adaptogenic Tulsi-Holy Basil product

Organic India also carries the wonderful adaptogenic Tulsi-Holy Basil product which is taken as a supplement. This is an option if you’re not a herbal tea drinker and/or you need some additional support.

If you’re interested in purchasing the tea or Tulsi-Holy Basil product, you can go to my online store with Fullscript, and simply search for “tulsi”.

How do I use tulsi with my anxious clients?

Where does recommending the tulsi herbal teas and/or the Tulsi-Holy Basil supplements fit in with the dietary and nutritional protocols of my anxious clients?

  • If you have stress in your life (and who doesn’t?!), drinking the tulsi herbal tea on a daily basis is beneficial. You can mix-and-match with other naturally caffeine-free and healing herbal teas such as rooibos
  • If you have done adrenal testing and cortisol results are outside of the reference ranges (either high or low) drink the herbal tea and use an adaptogenic herbal supplement such as tulsi (or rhodiola, licorice or ashwagandha), together with a B-Complex, extra vitamin C and extra pantothenic acid
  • Assess for low serotonin and low GABA anxiety with the questionnaire and do trials of amino acids for the low GABA physical anxiety and/or tryptophan for the worry-in-the-head anxiety
  • If you are tapering from a benzodiazepine and are not able to initially tolerate high doses of GABA, tulsi is often gentle enough to provide some additional healing support. Research shows the immune modulating effects of tulsi may be mediated by GABAergic pathways).
  • Make all the dietary changes and address gut health, blood sugar control, low levels of various nutrients like low zinc, reduce stress etc.

Organic India’s ethic and mission

I really love that Organic India works “with thousands of small family farmers in India to cultivate tens of thousands of acres of sustainable organic farmland”, the fact that their “farmers and tribal wildcrafters are educated in organic and regenerative agricultural practices”, and that they have global wellness as part of their bigger mission.

I would like to disclose that Organic India has sponsored me on a number of occasions, providing samples of herbal tea for me to share at conferences such as IMMH. I’ve blogged about this in the past thanking Organic India and other companies.

I do also want to mention that the review paper discloses that one of the authors, Professor Marc M. Cohen, “receives remuneration as a consultant and advisor to Organic India Pty. Ltd., which is a company that manufactures and distributes tulsi products. This article is the independent work of the authors and Organic India did not have input into the article’s content or the decision to publish it.” I appreciate this disclosure.

Do you drink tulsi tea on a regular basis and have you seen the anti-stress and calming benefits? If you drink Organic India tea, which one is your favorite one?

Have you used tulsi or holy basil in supplement form as an adaptogenic herb and what benefits have you observed? Have you used it while tapering from a benzodiazepine?

If you’re a practitioner do you use tulsi with clients/patients or recommend tulsi tea?

Feel free to post questions here too.

The Essential Oils Hormone Solution by Dr. Mariza Snyder – my book review

By Trudy Scott 15 Comments

Together with dietary changes and key nutrients like GABA, tryptophan, zinc and vitamin B6, using essential oils are a wonderful tool for helping to ease anxiety, reduce stress, improve sleep and focus and contribute to overall hormonal health for women. Now we have a new book that is a wonderful essential oil resource specifically for women, The Essential Oils Hormone Solution: Reclaim Your Energy and Focus and Lose Weight Naturally by Dr. Mariza Snyder.

She shares this about essential oils:

Essential oils are natural aromatic com­pounds found in the roots, seeds, stems, bark, leaves, and flowers of various plants. They are super-charged, fifty to seventy times more potent than their dried-herbal counterparts. They’re simply the best plant-based remedy that exists, and they have been success­fully used for thousands of years.

Dr. Mariza lists these top 5 must-have hormone-support essential oils for perimenopausal and menopausal women: clary sage, geranium, lavender, peppermint and rosemary. Lavender and peppermint have been long-time favorites of mine and I recently learned about clary sage and rosemary and love both.

She covers so many wonderful essential oils in the book but for the purposes of this review I’ll focus on clary sage since it was new to me until recently and may be new to you too.

In the chapter on sleep, she shares this about the benefits of clary sage and how to use this essential oil:

CLARY SAGE (Salvia sclarea)

  • Promotes relaxation of the body for a restful night’s sleep
  • Calms and soothes the mind and body
  • Supportive during menstrual distress

Aromatic Use 

  • Apply 1–2 drops directly to bedclothes or pillow.
  • Diffuse 3–4 drops before bedtime.

Topical Use

  • Dilute 1–2 drops with your favorite carrier oil and massage into abdomen.
  • Add 2–3 drops to a warm bath with ¼ cup Epsom salts dis­solved in the water.
  • Dilute 1–2 drops with your favorite carrier oil and massage into your soles before bedtime.

I had looked into clary sage about 6 months ago when I learned that it supports serotonin production and also lowers high cortisol.

Interestingly, I didn’t care for the aroma of clary sage when I first purchased it and I diffused it with lavender and rosemary to disguise the aroma. But I have grown to really like it and use a drop on a hanky each night and look forward to how much it helps me sleep and the fact that it eased the mild hot flashes I had started to experience again.

I love the combinations/blends Dr. Mariza recommends in the book and would have welcomed these ideas when I first started using clary sage myself. Here is one example of a rollerball blend with clary sage:

Tense-Away Rollerball Blend

10 drops Lavender essential oil

10 drops Clary Sage essential oil

10 drops Peppermint essential oil

Carrier oil of choice

I also really like that Dr. Mariza describes different ways to use the oils other than only diffusing – like using rollerballs, using them for massages and in baths, and applying the essential oils on various parts of the body for a more direct impact. One such example is the Hormone Synergy Rollerball Blend (which contains clary sage, lavender, geranium, bergamot and ylang ylang). She recommends applying this blend directly over your ovaries.

I learned this direct application tip from Dr. Mariza last year and started using lavender, peppermint and rosemary (in a carrier oil) topically on my belly before bed. It helps with digestion, occasional belly bloat from SIBO (if I’ve eaten something that triggers symptoms) and is relaxing too. I think I’ll add clary sage to this belly blend too for the added hormone benefits. This could be one way to use clary sage for the benefits if you find you don’t really like the aroma (because it will be further from your nose!)

Here are some of the benefits of the other top 5 hormone-support essential oils for perimenopausal and menopausal women that Dr. Mariza shares:

  • geranium – calming and soothing and “rejuvenates and revitalizes skin, complexion, and hair” (I haven’t been using this one and looking forward to trying this one)
  • lavender – “eases and calms feelings of anxiety, stress, and tension while rebalancing emotions” and “relieves discomfort associated with menstrual cycles” (I’ve been using lavender for years)
  • peppermint – “stimulates mental focus and energy by enlivening the senses” and supports your respiratory system (I also use this one all the time. It’s also great for headaches and neck pain)
  • and rosemary – “increases memory, concentration, and focus” (I also use it for EMF/electromagnetic radiation protection. Research shows rosemary could play a protective role against this harmful effect through its antioxidant activity)

Clary sage is also featured in the libido chapter: “Commonly used to stimulate sexual energy and boost libido.” This aspect was new to me, but it makes sense given that it lowers cortisol and supports serotonin production (and hence estrogen). Dr. Mariza also covers many other wonderful essential oils that boost libido too: jasmine, neroli, rose, sandalwood, ylang ylang and geranium.  In one study neroli, lavender, fennel, geranium, and rose significantly improved sexual function in menopausal women.

Here is the official book blurb:

Have your hormones been hijacked? Do you feel energy-depleted and irritable, unable to sleep, stay focused, or lose weight? You may have attributed these symptoms to the natural hormonal fluctuations that occur with age. But behind the scenes, there are a host of pesky culprits wreaking havoc on your hormonal health: chronic stress, air pollution, chemical-laden foods and cleaning supplies, and the synthetic estrogens in personal care products. Women of all ages are left vulnerable to the consequences, suffering from unnecessary hormonal imbalance and frustrating symptoms that are often dismissed by their doctors.

Dr. Mariza Snyder is here to help put you back in control of your health. In The Essential Oils Hormone Solution, you will learn how to heal hormonal chaos and revitalize the body from the inside out with the support of high-quality essential oils. You’ll learn how essential oils work on a cellular level to mitigate the toxic loads we carry, and how to use essential oils to reduce cravings, get deep, restful sleep, ease stress, improve mood, banish the worst symptoms of PMS, regain focus and concentration, boost libido, and increase energy.

Featuring a 14-day plan to jumpstart your hormonal health, with over 100 essential oil blends, daily self-care rituals, and delicious, easy-to-prepare recipes, you’ll discover how to reset your body and pave the way for improved hormonal health, without taking hormones.

Grab your copy of The Essential Oils Hormone Solution here (my Amazon link).

I’d like to add my thoughts on what I have found to be safe use of essential oils, and what I share with my clients (I consider myself an essential oil user like you – I’m not an expert):

  • Always use a carrier oil, unless you are diffusing, and this includes using essential oils in the bath (I know there is some conflicting advice on this, but I like to err on the side of caution)
  • Don’t try to remove too much of an essential oil with water – it will only drive it deeper into the skin
  • Think low doses i.e. a little goes a long way
  • Be sure to rotate your essential oils
  • Don’t ingest the oils neat or even in a gelatin capsule. I would only consider doing so if I was working with an experienced practitioner and using an enteric coated capsule  (there is definitely conflicting advice on this one but again I like to err on the side of caution)

It’s a fun book with wonderful ideas for how to combine essential oils and use them to improve hormone imbalance. I love this quote from Dr. Mariza:

Inhaling them and applying them is like adorning yourself in something truly beautiful

What are your favorite essential oils and combinations for easing anxiety, reducing stress, improving sleep and balancing your hormones? How are you “adorning yourself” and what is your favorite way to use them – diffused, topically, via a rollerball, or via a massage or in the bath? Feel free to post questions here too.

Beyond the Pill by Dr. Jolene Brighten – my book review

By Trudy Scott 9 Comments

I really wish this book – Beyond the Pill A 30-Day Program to Balance Your Hormones, Reclaim Your Body, and Reverse the Dangerous Side Effects of the Birth Control Pill by Dr. Jolene Brighten – was available when I was in my 30s and on the pill.

Dr. Jolene mentions a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association which reports the following:

women who began the pill were more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant – which means it contributes to a bit more than moodiness.

This was not a small study and included over one million women.

Symptoms caused by the pill and the damage it does to your body

This book, Beyond the Pill, provides a comprehensive list of symptoms caused by the pill:

  • hormonal confusion: missing or irregular periods, light or heavy periods, short cycles, infertility, headaches
  • digestive problems: leaky gut, gut dysbiosis, inflammatory bowel disease
  • energy reduction: fatigue, adrenal and thyroid dysfunction
  • skin issues: hair loss, dry skin
  • mood disruption: depression, anxiety
  • lady part disturbance: low libido (Oh, hell no!), vaginal dryness, chronic infection, pain with sex
  • vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant depletion (such as folate, B12, and magnesium) (I’ll add vitamin B6 to this list too – it is mentioned elsewhere in the book)

The pill does further damage to your body and also:

  • intensifies the risk of blood clots, which lead to strokes
  • increases the risk of breast, cervical, and liver cancers
  • increases the risk of diabetes
  • raises the risk of heart attacks
  • triggers autoimmune disease

Truth-bombs about how the pill works

She shares plenty of truth-bombs about how the pill works – like these gems:

As long as you’re on the pill, your brain and ovaries aren’t talking, which can seriously affect all your hormones.

When you take that week of placebo pills, you’re not actually getting a period because you never ovulated. Instead, this is what is called a withdrawal bleed (I did not know this!)

Post–birth control syndrome (PBCS)

I first became aware of Dr. Jolene’s brilliance in this area when she started writing about Post–birth control syndrome (PBCS) a few years ago. PBCS is “is a constellation of symptoms women experience when they discontinue hormonal birth control.” She has found the symptoms of PBCS – hormonal irregularities like no period or heavy bleeding, acne, mood swings and anxiety, headaches, infertility, pill-induced PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), hypothyroidism, gut issues and even autoimmune symptoms – typically occur in the first 4-6 months after stopping the pill. To make it easy for you the PBCS symptoms are all laid out in a handy quiz in the book.

She has found these symptoms won’t go away without taking the necessary steps that include detox, gut repair, healing the thyroid and adrenals, addressing metabolic health or blood sugar control, boosting mood, improving libido and addressing nutritional deficiencies that the pill has caused. This is all covered in the book as a 30-day program to balance your hormones, reclaim your body, and reverse the dangerous side effects of the birth control pill.

I really appreciate that Dr. Jolene shares this:

I want you to know I’m not anti-pill. Nope. I’m pro–informed consent, which means doctors giving you all the information you need to consent to taking birth control.

This book will help you understand what those hormonal symptoms mean, how the pill is affecting your body, and what to do if you either need to stay on it or are ready to get off it.

Addressing low vitamin B6, low serotonin and low GABA

Here are a few of the nutritional supporting approaches she covers (all supported by research) that are very applicable for support for anxiety specifically and relevant to what you’ve been learning from me: addressing low vitamin B6, low serotonin and low GABA.

Because the pill depletes vitamin B6, she recommends up to 100mg per day for PMS and mood-related symptoms, and symptoms of PBCS. (I know vitamin B6 is controversial and she does acknowledge this).

Dr Jolene identifies the concerning and far-reaching effects of the pill on serotonin: “studies have shown that women on the pill don’t metabolize tryptophan normally” affecting both serotonin and melatonin production, reducing kynurenic acid and raising high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), a marker of inflammation and immune system activation, and shifting the “tryptophan pathway… toward quinolinic acid production, which is inflammatory and harmful to the brain.”

I would have loved to see more about tryptophan and 5-HTP and even vitamin B6 (given that it is crucial for the conversion of tryptophan away from quinolinic acid) in this section of the book. Using tryptophan as a supplement is only briefly mentioned and 50-100mg 5-HTP is only recommended for serotonin-related cravings. As you may know from my work using targeted trials of the amino acid tryptophan and/or 5-HTP offers very quick anxiety relief and  support for PMS within 3 cycles. Fortunately, you can fill in the gaps and use what I teach about these amino acids in conjunction with everything else in the book.

I do love that she adds to our knowledge base with other tips, sharing that the botanicals “passionflower and skullcap support healthy serotonin production by reducing quinolinic acid production.” This was new to me and I’m intrigued.

I love what she writes about progesterone inducing “a sense of calm and a deep sense of love and connection by stimulating gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors.”  Theanine and taurine (a precursor of GABA) are recommended and taurine is also part of her detox and adrenal protocols which I love.

However, I use GABA itself extensively in my work and find it to be more effective than theanine or taurine for the anxiety symptoms – it’s a firm favorite for the majority of my anxious clients. Again, you can fill in the gaps and check out what I share about GABA for very quick anxiety relief and PMS support.

 

My other favorite sections: libido and orgasms, and liver detox

Some of my other favorite sections include the libido section and her wonderful information about orgasms – she shares the myriad of health benefits of orgasms and recommends once-weekly orgasms but need I say more than this comment from Dr. Jolene:

Women can have four different types of orgasm throughout the month because of the hormonal changes we experience. Dude, this is a serious reason to consider ending that pill pack.

I couldn’t resist including this advice for anxiety and insomnia:

Trouble with anxiety? Have sex. Trouble with insomnia? Have sex. When you have an orgasm and release oxytocin, it relaxes you, calms your mind, and enables you to get a good night’s sleep. Besides oxytocin, your body releases vasopressin during orgasm, a hormone that often accompanies the release of melatonin.

If you do have low libido Dr. Jolene has this covered.

I also love the liver detox chapter and so will you. You’ll learn that the pill can cause benign liver tumors and can contribute to gallstones and gallbladder disease. She also shares this about the synthetic estrogen in birth control pills and the liver/libido connection:

There is some concern that long-term exposure to the synthetic estrogen in birth control pills actually alters your liver genes to make higher levels of SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin) for the rest of your life. Unfortunately, SHBG also binds up your testosterone. The result is a libido that’s nonexistent.

She also has you covered on how to detox as part of this wonderfully comprehensive hormone balancing program.

The official book blurb

Out of the 100 million women – almost 11 million in the United States alone – who are on the pill, roughly 60 percent take it for non-contraceptive reasons like painful periods, endometriosis, PCOS, and acne. While the birth control pill is widely prescribed as a quick-fix solution to a variety of women’s health conditions, taking it can also result in other more serious and dangerous health consequences.

Did you know that women on the pill are more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant? That they are at significantly increased risk for autoimmune disease, heart attack, thyroid and adrenal disorders, and even breast and cervical cancer? That the pill can even cause vaginal dryness, unexplained hair loss, flagging libido, extreme fatigue, and chronic infection.

As if women didn’t have enough to worry about, that little pill we’re taking to manage our symptoms is only making things worse.

This book is perfect for you if

  • You’re a woman in your child-bearing years and are currently on the pill, considering the pill, have been on the pill in the past and had issues, and even did well on the pill in the past
  • You’re a woman like me and past the birth control age and yet are intrigued to get a better understanding of how you may have been affected by the pill in the past and also want a better understanding of your body and hormonal health going forward
  • You have a daughter or grand-daughter or niece or friend you can gift a copy to
  • You are a practitioner who works with women
  • You are a curious male with women in your life and would like to understand them better so you can continue to have the healthiest relationship possible.

I’m already recommending this book and will continue to recommend it going forward!

This much-needed solution-based and heavily referenced book released January 29. It’s ground-breaking information and I’m thrilled to be sharing it with you!

Grab your copy of Beyond the Pill (my Amazon link) and find additional information here.

I now recognize that post–birth control syndrome (PBCS) was part the perfect storm that contributed to my anxiety and panic attacks in my late 30s (and a whole host of other symptoms). Personally, I found the entire book fascinating reading, and wish I’d had access to this material while I was in the midst of trying to figure things out.

Fortunately, GABA and tryptophan helped immensely with my anxiety and PMS (together with everything else I did) and I eventually discovered FAM (Fertility Awareness Method). But wish I’d know about this safer option when I was younger. Dr. Jolene is a big fan of FAM and covers it extensively in the book, sharing what I found to be true: it works even if it seems scary at first AND you get to learn so much about your body.

Please feel free to share your experiences with the birth control pill (both good and bad), why it was prescribed and what you learn from this book that can help others in your situation. Feel free to post questions here too.

Anxiety, stress and high cortisol: forest bathing to the rescue

By Trudy Scott 16 Comments

On the way home from a snorkelling trip to the beach earlier this week we stopped at Centennial Park in Sydney and were wowed by the magnificent trees. It inspired me to write this blog about forest bathing to inspire you to think about the power of nature as a simple way to give you joy and contribute to a wonderful sense of calm and peace. I was quite giddy with these feelings while there and still feel waves of awe days later when thinking about it and looking at these pictures of the Paperbark Grove and the massive Morton Bay fig trees.

We know being in nature has a psychological impact making us feel calm and relaxed, happy and joyful, and even playful. But what exactly is forest bathing and are there really physiological impacts i.e. does forest bathing simply help you feel good or does it actually lower your cortisol levels or blood pressure?

This paper, The physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing): evidence from field experiments in 24 forests across Japan, defines forest bathing:

The term Shinrin-yoku (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing) was coined by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in 1982. It can be defined as making contact with and taking in the atmosphere of the forest: a process intended to improve an individual’s state of mental and physical relaxation

The above study set out to measure and clarify the physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing with 12 young male university students who had no history of physical or psychiatric disorders:

12 subjects walked in and viewed a forest or city area. On the first day, six subjects were sent to a forest area, and the others to a city area. On the second day, each group was sent to the other area as a cross-check.

The participants sat and viewed the landscape for 12-16 minutes and then walked in the landscape for 14-18 minutes (in one of the 24 forests and then in one of the 24 city areas on the second day).

The subjects had the following markers measured before breakfast and both before and after the walking and viewing periods:

  • salivary cortisol
  • blood pressure
  • pulse rate and
  • heart rate variability

After this surprisingly short period of viewing and walking in the forests the following results were found:

forest bathing promotes lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, lower blood pressure, greater parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity

So, what we have, is more activity of the parasympathetic system i.e. more of the calming “rest and digest” activity and less activity of the sympathetic system i.e. what we term as “fight or flight” or stress activity.

The authors suggest that forest bathing “may be used as a strategy for preventive medicine” and I wholeheartedly agree.

Given that GABA can lower high pressure and calm down the “fight or flight” sympathetic system (see this animal study) I won’t be surprised when we see research showing us that forest bathing boosts GABA levels just in a similar way that yoga boosts GABA.

If you don’t have everyday access to parks, trees or forests be sure to go out of your way to make detours down nearby tree-lined streets to get some of these wonderful health benefits.

And because we know that simply looking at images of greenery and nature can have a calming and stress-reducing effect, here is a bigger version of the photo I took of the Paperbark Grove for you to enjoy looking at!

My picture of the Paperbark Grove in Centennial Park, Sydney

We were so excited to “discover” this gem and got home and googled it only to find out it’s a popular avenue for wedding parties! I’m sure you can see why!

Right next to the Paperbark Grove are three giant Moreton Bay fig trees. These trees are estimated to be older that the park, which was opened in 1888.

Here I am being “hugged” by one of them (doesn’t it take tree-hugging to another level!?)

If you’re local to Sydney or come for a visit one day, I highly recommend a trip to Centennial Park to see these magnificent trees and do your own Australian version of forest bathing. You may just see me there!

Until then, I encourage you to get outside into forests, get “hugged” by trees, hug trees and gaze up and enjoy every calming and joyous moment. It can help to lower your cortisol levels so you can be free of anxiety and it may even help to prevent anxiety!

Please do share your favorite forest bathing locations and how they make you feel.

Mycotoxin illness is real! Is mold the root cause of your mystery symptoms and unresolved anxiety?

By Trudy Scott 13 Comments

Do you suffer from mystery symptoms and unresolved anxiety? Toxic mold is one possible unrecognized root cause – it can create hormonal imbalances, brain disrepair and neurotransmitter imbalances, chronic gastrointestinal issues and multiple autoimmune conditions.

Almost 20 years ago, your host, Dr. Margaret Christensen, was a successful OB-Gyn with a booming practice. She began having debilitating fatigue, was unable to think clearly and she ached all over, to such an extent that she had to close her practice.

Her family also showed symptoms: learning difficulties, insomnia, severe mood swings, migraines, ADD, asthma and bronchitis, tremors, sinusitis. After 8 years of sickness, they finally found toxic mold in their water-damaged house.

You should suspect and look into mold toxicity if you are:

  • Enduring terrible mood swings, anxiety and/or depression
  • Suffering from sinus infections, bronchitis and migraines
  • Weakened by gut issues, brain fog, fatigue, neurologic symptoms
  • Constantly challenged with sleep issues
  • Reacting to chemicals, smells, foods, medications

You may have told mold toxicity isn’t a real issue or that it is a pseudo condition. I was digging through the recent research and it’s not surprising that many doctors say it’s not real especially with studies like this one: Toxic mold: phantom risk vs science:

Indoor mold growth is variable, and its discovery in a building does not necessarily mean occupants have been exposed. Human response to fungal antigens may induce IgE or IgG antibodies that connote prior exposure but not necessarily a symptomatic state.

When mold-related symptoms occur, they are likely the result of transient irritation, allergy, or infection. Building-related illness due to mycotoxicosis has never been proved in the medical literature. Prompt remediation of water-damaged material and infrastructure repair should be the primary response to fungal contamination in buildings. 

There are a rather large number of studies that reach the same conclusion (it’s not real) but the good news is that there is a 2013 paper – A review of the mechanism of injury and treatment approaches for illness resulting from exposure to water-damaged buildings, mold, and mycotoxins acknowledging that mycotoxins are an issue for many individuals:

Illness results from a combination of factors present in water-damaged indoor environments including, mold spores and hyphal fragments, mycotoxins, bacteria, bacterial endotoxins, and cell wall components as well as other factors. Mechanisms of illness include inflammation, oxidative stress, toxicity, infection, allergy, and irritant effects of exposure.

And ask anyone who has lived through mold toxicity and then healed and thrived, just how real and debilitating it is trying to figure out if it is in fact toxic mold that is the root cause and then what to do about it.

This same paper reviews commonly used treatments

such as glutathione, antioxidants, antifungals, and sequestering agents such as cholestyramine, charcoal, clay and chlorella, antioxidants, probiotics, and induced sweating.

All of the above will be covered in the summit (and much more).

Here are a few highlights and insights from me.

The interview with Dr. Ann Shippy – “Overview of the Journey to Recovery” – is just that, a very useful summary of all the mold connections and it highlights many of the other speakers and topics. She also shares this about Lyme disease, toxic mold and your total toxic load

Patients can have Lyme disease and not be sick but when they are sick it’s often because mold is suppressing the immune system and causing symptoms. It may not even be Lyme but mold instead.

Yuli Horesh covers: “Diffusing Probiotics to Defend Your Environment.” It is a fascinating interview I look forward to seeing some long-term research on the safety aspects. Other than this it makes so much sense and is a very exciting approach together with everything else. I also want to say that we don’t want to be thinking of this as a short-cut/quick-fix and not doing anything else.

Dr. Mary Ackerly’s interview is fabulous and is not to be missed– “Brain on Fire: The Role of Toxic Mold in Triggering Psychiatric Symptoms”. It’s very exciting to hear a psychiatrist who is so knowledgeable and passionate about this topic. I loved that she talked specific testing and about group 1, 2,3 and 3B in terms of how sick folks are and how quickly they respond to treatment and what needs to be done in terms of remediation.

I was also thrilled to learn about the International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness (ISEAI) and encourage you to check them out as a resource for both your own recovery and if you’re a practitioner, for learning. They are hosting their first conference in May: “Healing Complex patients in a Toxic World”.

I was hoping to learn more about the NeuroQuant Triage Brain Atrophy Report (from Cortech) from her and other speakers. I wanted to know if a contrast agent is needed during the MRI as many folks have issues with gadolinium toxicity when having MRIs and I’d be very concerned about adding to the toxic load. It seems the contrast isn’t needed.

In Dr. Jill Carnahan’s interview – “Metabolic Endotoxemia and the Gut-Brain Connection”, she recommends a provoked or challenged urinary myctoxin test with some glutathione or sauna because you can get false negatives if you don’t do this before testing. She also shares all her favorite binders: charcoal, clay, zeolite, glucommanan and citrus pectin.

They also talk about SIBO (small intestinal bacterial infection) and say that a lot of SIBO is really SIFO (small intestinal fungal infection), how toxic mold can impact gut motility and and how antifungals rather than anti-bacterials are the way to go in this instance.

Jeff Bookout’s interview on “Non-Toxic Remediation for Chemically Sensitive” is wonderful. They cover dry-fogging, using non-toxic citrus based oils, practical tips for travel and hotel rooms, keeping dorm rooms safe from toxic mold and how best to clean the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) system so you’re not dispersing toxic mold throughout the house. This is a very practical and common-sense interview.

If you didn’t register yet, I’m hoping this inspires you to register and tune in. It’s one of the most popular summits I’ve promoted and I feel it’s a topic we all need to learn about and ideally before it’s a problem because when you’re in the midst of it, it makes it that much more challenging to deal with. You just never know when you may need this information. Take for example all the people affected recently by the dreadful floods in Townsville in Australia, and elsewhere.

If you are in the midst of dealing with your own mold toxicity I know you’re getting great resources for remediation and recovery. Be sure to have a friend or loved one who has not been affected, listen in and read the transcripts so you’re not alone in figuring things out.

Even if you don’t currently have symptoms of mold toxicity, it’s an excellent resource so you can be prepared the next time you have water damage in your home, office or school. It will also allow you to make sure you don’t have a growing mold problem which may affect your health down the road.

The Toxic Mold Summit health experts, air quality experts and mold remediation specialists will help you identify if you have mold exposure and share the latest tools and techniques for dealing with toxic mold.

When you register be sure to check out the ebook, “Got Mold? Now What? Hope for Health and Home: Overview of Toxic Mold and Biotoxin Illness!” It covers why you get the following symptoms and the mechanisms, total toxic load, recommended testing for you and your moldy home (or work place or school etc.), resources to make you more resilient, basic treatment steps and dietary approaches to consider.

Here are symptoms and illnesses caused by toxic mold exposure. Dr. Christensen explains that mold/biotoxin illness may present in many ways, even within the same family who have been exposed to mold, and often with some kind of pain or inflammation, and in almost any area of the body:

  • Chronic recurrent upper respiratory and sinus infections
  • Chronic headaches/migraines
  • Severe chronic fatigue or ongoing flu-like symptoms
  • Fibromyalgia (tender, sore muscles)
  • Neurological issues (tremors, neuropathy, brain fog, ADD, learning issues, etc.)
  • Neuro-degenerative diseases (Parkinson’s, MS, ALS, Alzheimer’s and other dementias)
  • Severe gut symptoms (IBS, Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, SIBO/SIFO)
  • Autoimmune disorders (thyroid, Hashimoto’s, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, eczema, hives)
  • Multiple chemical sensitivities and histamine intolerance (rashes and hives)
  • Night sweats (common in men of all ages, as well as women)
  • Psychiatric symptoms (anxiety, depression, panic attacks, bipolar symptoms, psychosis)
  • Severe sleep disturbances
  • Recurrent interstitial cystitis, bladder infections and frequent urination
  • Hormonal imbalances (adrenal and thyroid hormones)
  • Infertility, heavy periods and cramps, endometriosis, PMS, PCOS
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Lyme and co-infections, including viral infections like EBV, HHV6
  • Cancer (especially hormonal, leukemias/lymphomas and bladder/kidney)
  • Children: chronic ear, throat and upper respiratory infections, asthma, allergies, ADD/ADHD, sleep, irritability, bedwetting

In the testing section she does state that “HLA genetics tests are not necessary but can be interesting” and I was intrigued to hear this because I considered this a gold standard test to have done.

Here are some of the excellent topics and speakers:

  • Chemical Sensitivity and Detoxing Your Home with Bridgit Danner, LAc, FDNP
  • Heavy Metals, Fatigue and Detox with Wendy Myers, FDN-P, NC, CHHC
  • Essentials Oils to Treat and Prevent Mold Toxicity with Jen Broyles, CHC
  • Mold Inspection and Detection with JW Biava
  • Mold, Mental Illness and Suicide Prevention with Jill Sheppard Davenport, MS, CNS, LN
  • Mold, Histamine and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity with Gail Clayton, RPh, MS, CNS
  • Brain on Fire: Mental Illness and Mold with Mary Beth Ackerley, MD, MD(H), ABIHM
  • Advanced Therapies for Mold Recovery with Mark Hyman, MD
  • Finding a Quality Mold Inspector and Remediator with Jason Earle, IEP

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UPDATE: March 28, 2021
This summit is being re-released for a third time on April 26 – May 2, 2021 due to the high demand and excellent content.

I was thrilled to be invited to speak on this summit AND my interview, Immediate Relief for Anxiety, also happens to be one of the registration gifts so you get access right away!

We initially cover some of the many connections between mold toxicity and anxiety and low mood. I share from this 2018 paper, Effects of Mycotoxins on Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Immune Processes:

  • the presence of mold and dampness was associated with the prevalence of depression and emotional distress
  • it’s unclear whether neuropsychological problems are due to the adverse effects of mycotoxins or the emotional and financial stress of keeping a house clean in the face of recurrent mold [it’s very likely both + the loss of treasured possessions for some folks too]
  • a low sense of control may lead to an elevated risk for anxiety and depression.

I also share how much I learned from Dr. Neil Nathan’s presentation at one of the IMMH conferences: “Mold Toxicity as an Unrecognized Cause of Mental Health issues.” He shares that “mold  toxicity may directly trigger anxiety, panic attacks, depression, depersonalization and hallucinations AND mast cell activation, multiple chemical sensitivities, secondary porphyrias, methylation dysfunction and pyroluria” … all of which plays a role in anxiety/depression.

I go on and cover the solutions for the anxiety and panic attacks (often directly triggered by mold toxicity) and the sense of loss while you are dealing with the mold toxicity and home remediation or move:

  • mold anxiety and how to use GABA and serotonin support to ease the anxiety, fears, insomnia, worry and panic attacks that are so common with mold toxicity (so there is not the added toxic burden of psychiatric meds)
  • how certain mycotoxins may actually lead to high serotonin and what to do in this instance
  • using DPA (an amino acid that boosts endorphins) to help comfort folks who may lose their homes and beloved contents/books/photos due to mycotoxins

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If you or a loved one suffers from mystery symptoms and/or unresolved anxiety I encourage you to tune in to learn more.

I’ll see you online at this educational summit when you register here.

Can you relate to any of this? Have you been ill as a result of toxic mold exposure? Or do you suspect mold is one of your root causes?

Have you remediated a moldy home and healed your self with a functional medicine approach?

Green tree-lined streets reduce anxiety, making you feel more positive and calm, improving your attention and help with recovery from stressful situations.

By Trudy Scott 8 Comments

I’m a nature-lover and don’t need to be told that seeing trees or walking under them or driving along a tree-lined street has research supporting their benefits. I just feel the sense of wonderment, the calming effects and a heightened sense of joy and pleasure as soon as I’m in amongst trees in a street like the one above.

This is a quiet side street in the small town of Richmond in NSW, Australia. It runs perpendicular to a really busy road that heads up to North Richmond and beyond. Now the traffic doesn’t come close to comparing with Los Angeles traffic but for a small town it can be rather hectic from 4pm. If we happen to be heading towards North Richmond, we always take a detour along this wonderful tree-lined road and other similar tree-lined roads to get to where we’re going. As well as avoiding the bumper to bumper traffic we get this sense of ahhhhh!

I mentioned that I don’t need to be told there is research supporting the calming effects of tree lined-roads. But you know me: I’m always curious about the science so when I heard there was research I was of course intrigued about it and wanted to understand why they make us feel so good.

Here is some of the research I found: In Benefits of nature: what we are learning about why people respond to nature we discover that in general we respond in a positive way to nature and to trees in particular, especially “trees with spreading forms” reminiscent of trees on the African savanna. I was born in Africa and spent 32 years there so I find this so interesting! This paper also reports that

all colors were calming, but bright green trees were more calming than other tree colors, including less bright greens and oranges

and that

Adult responses to plants are also influenced by their childhood interactions with nature. We have shown that the more interaction people have with nature as children, the more positive are their attitudes towards nature as adults.

In this study: Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments, the 120 participants were exposed to “color/sound videotapes of one of six different natural and urban settings” after watching a stressful movie. Watching the natural settings had a measurable impact on parasympathetic measures such as heart rate and muscle tension and they felt more positive, experienced improved attention and had better stress recovery.

In another study The View From the Road: Implications for Stress Recovery and Immunization, drivers were presented with a stress-causing stimulus and their reactions measured as they recovered from the stress. The Safe Streets report from the University of Washington summarizes the outcome:

Those viewing built-up, strip-mall-style roadside environments in a simulated drive after the stressful experience showed a slower and physiologically incomplete recovery and reported more negative feelings. Study participants seeing more natural roadside scenes (forests or golf courses) returned to normal baseline measures faster. An “immunization effect” was also detected, as initial exposure to a natural roadside setting decreased the magnitude of response to a subsequent stressful task.

And finally, the research about forest-bathing (known as Shinrin-yoku), although not directly related to stress-reduction from driving along tree-lined streets is worth mentioning. Just the word “forest-bathing” makes me smile.

Research on forest-bathing shows how spending time in forests can lower high blood pressure, and help ease modern-day “stress-state” and “technostress”. In one study, Effects of Short Forest Bathing Program on Autonomic Nervous System Activity and Mood States in Middle-Aged and Elderly Individuals:

The Profile of Mood States negative mood subscale scores of “tension-anxiety”, “anger-hostility”, “fatigue-inertia”, “depression-dejection”, and “confusion-bewilderment” were significantly lower, whereas the positive mood subscale score of “vigor-activity” was higher.

In summary, in this study, the 128 middle-aged and elderly individuals spent only 2 hours in a forest setting and felt less tense, had reduced anxiety, experienced less anger and hostility, felt less fatigued, were not depressed or dejected, felt less confused/bewildered and had more vigor and energy. This was after only 2 hours of forest-bathing!

Here are some ways you can get the most out of this information for your own sense of calm:

  • Take a detour like we do if at all possible and enjoy the calming effects of driving along a tree-lined street. Better yet, take a moment to get out the car and soak in the beauty while walking down the road. And best of all, take a full-day hike on a weekend or go camping for 2 days.
  • Plant a tree (or more than one) outside your home or get involved with a tree-planting committee at your child’s or your grand-child’s school or place of work to do the same
  • Talk to your local mayor and council members to make tree planting in your community a priority
  • If you live in a built-up city and can’t do any of the above, make an effort to spend quiet time in a nearby park
  • Find a tree-planting charity that is a good fit and make a donation in the name of a loved one in lieu of a gift or just do it for yourself
  • If you’re housebound (with agoraphobia for some other reason), find some pictures or a poster of green trees or dig out some old photos. Just looking at pictures of nature and greenery have a stress reducing effect.

On that note here is the bigger version of my Richmond tree-lined street image so you can enjoy looking at it while reading this blog AND get some of the stress-reducing benefits…until you’re in your own tree-lined street or out in nature.

Tree-lined street stress-reducing

 

I hope this motivates and inspires you to drive down more tree-lined streets and to do something tree-related in your life in addition to all the nutritional changes you’re making to eliminate your anxiety!

We’d love to hear how much you love trees and the outdoors. Do you have a favorite tree-planting charity? Feel free to share your feedback and questions too.