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SMILES diet depression trial: reduced depression and anxiety

By Trudy Scott 16 Comments

The SMILES trial, A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression was recently published BMC Medicine. It is the first randomized controlled trial to test whether dietary improvement can actually treat depression. Yes, we’re using dietary improvement and treat in the same sentence!

The objective was to determine if “structured dietary support, focusing on improving diet quality using a modified Mediterranean diet model” would have an impact on mood. The outcome is very exciting:

‘SMILES’ was a 12-week, parallel-group, single blind, randomised controlled trial of an adjunctive dietary intervention in the treatment of moderate to severe depression. The intervention consisted of seven individual nutritional consulting sessions delivered by a clinical dietician. The control condition comprised a social support protocol to the same visit schedule and length.

The results indicate that dietary improvement may provide an efficacious and accessible treatment strategy for the management of this highly prevalent mental disorder, the benefits of which could extend to the management of common co-morbidities.

These encouraging results were seen in participants who switched from a junk food diet to a real foods diet. Of the 67 who were enrolled in the study, the majority were using some form of therapy: psychotherapy and medications combined or psychotherapy only or medication only. There were 31 in the diet support group and 25 in the social support control group. Participants had to have been eating this diet in order to be accepted into the study:

a poor (low) intake of dietary fibre, lean proteins and fruit and vegetables, and a high intake of sweets, processed meats and salty snacks.

The dietary approach followed by participants in the study intervention group was the ‘ModiMedDiet’ which is based on the Australian Dietary guidelines and the Dietary Guidelines for Adults in Greece.

The primary focus was on increasing diet quality by supporting the consumption of the following 12 key food groups (recommended servings in brackets): whole grains (5–8 servings per day); vegetables (6 per day); fruit (3 per day), legumes (3–4 per week); low-fat and unsweetened dairy foods (2–3 per day); raw and unsalted nuts (1 per day); fish (at least 2 per week); lean red meats (3–4 per week), chicken (2–3 per week); eggs (up to 6 per week); and olive oil (3 tablespoons per day), whilst reducing intake of ‘extras’ foods, such as sweets, refined cereals, fried food, fast-food, processed meats and sugary drinks (no more than 3 per week). Red or white wine consumption beyond 2 standard drinks per day and all other alcohol (e.g. spirits, beer) were included within the ‘extras’ food group. Individuals were advised to select red wine preferably and only drink with meals.

The dietary composition of the ModiMedDiet was as follows: protein 18% of total energy; fat 40%; carbohydrates 37%; alcohol 2%; fibre/other 3%.

Here are the reasons I’m excited about this research:

  • It’s the first randomized controlled diet depression study and ONE THIRD of the dietary intervention group saw improvements in their depression symptoms.  This was just diet alone and switching from processed/junk food to real food with no specific dietary restrictions!
  • Participants also reported improvements in anxiety symptoms.
  • The authors even addressed the cost factor, stating it was more affordable to eat this way ($112 per week vs $138 per week).
  • The authors address the fact that the dietary intervention group was able to make these dietary changes “despite the fatigue and lack of motivation” that we so commonly see with depression.
  • I’m optimistic about it paving the way for making dietary approaches part of the standard of treatment for mental health conditions. The paper suggests the addition of “clinical dieticians to multidisciplinary mental health teams.”  I’d like to add that these dieticians, together with nutritionists and health coaches would need to be well versed in functional medicine approaches.
  • According to an article on ABC, one participant continued the Mediterranean diet after finishing the study and is now doing a diploma in health science. How inspiring is this? When we get results like this we want to share them with everyone!  

These are very encouraging results and we applaud the positive results of this SMILES study which are truly groundbreaking.

Let’s also be aware of where we are headed with future research and how we can improve on the trial diet.  The researchers conclude with this comment about future research:

The scaling up of interventions and identification of the pathways that mediate the impact of dietary improvement on depressive illness are also key imperatives

Professor Jacka recently shared this paper on how personalized dietary interventions successfully lower post-meal glucose i.e. how certain foods can affect two people quite differently because of our unique gut bacteria. She said that she wants to do a similar personalized nutrition study for depression if they are successful in obtaining NHMRC funding.

Here are some questions I’ve been asked about this SMILES trial (and I’m sharing here in case you have similar questions):

  • why did only one-third of the study intervention group see improvements?
  • why was wheat and other grains included?
  • why was low fat dairy and lean meats emphasized?
  • why was there no mention of grass-fed meat, wild fish, healthy fats like butter and coconut oil, pastured eggs or chickens or quality organic fruits and vegetables?

The ideal dietary approach for anxiety, depression and any health condition is always one that high quality, is personalized and takes into account biochemical individuality. With the removal of gluten, grains and the inclusion of the other dietary changes mentioned above, plus addressing all nutritional imbalances I expect we will see more than one-third of the dietary group experiencing improvements in depression in future trials.  

I truly appreciate the work of Professor Felice Jacka and her team and look forward to seeing more studies like the SMILES trial, using a personalized approach and quality foods that include grass-fed red meat and wild fish, plus pastured eggs or chickens, and healthy fats; and organic produce as a baseline. 

And then future trials that also look at the impacts of these dietary changes on anxiety and depression: gluten and/or grain removal;  removal of high histamine foods and high oxalate foods;  a low FODMAPs diet; the specific carbohydrate diet/SCD; a Paleo diet and so on – all based on biochemical individuality. We know these diets works in clinical practice and now we just need the research to back this up.  In part 2 of the blog, I share some incredibly inspiring diet-depression and diet-anxiety Paleo success stories.

In summary:

  • a simple change like switching from junk to real food can have a major impact on your depression and anxiety – ONE THIRD of the dietary intervention group saw improvements in their depression symptoms and many also saw reduced anxiety. This is profound! 
  • you may need to make additional dietary changes (gluten-free, grain-free, low FODMAPs i.e. avoiding or adding certain foods based on your biochemical individuality) and always add healthy fats and focus on quality
  • you may also need to address brain chemical imbalances with amino acids supplements, address gut health, adrenal issues, low zinc, low vitamin B6, low vitamin D etc. too

Are you encouraged by this research?

And have you made similar dietary changes to those done in the SMILES trial and seen a reduction in your anxiety and depression?

Have you removed gluten or grains and made additional dietary changes, and added supplements and seen even more benefits?

Note: to avoid confusion I’ve used the Australia spelling of “randomised” and “fibre” in the quoted sections and the US spelling “randomized” elsewhere in the blog.

Anxiety: when to use GABA and tryptophan and how much to use

By Trudy Scott 116 Comments

When you have anxiety it can be confusing trying to figure out the root cause. I like to start by assessing for low GABA and low serotonin because when you address these with targeted individual amino acids you typically see results right away and feel hopeful (and now have time to look for other root causes like gluten issues, high cortisol, gut issues, dietary changes etc).

But there may still be some confusion about when to use GABA and when to use tryptophan and how much of each of these amino acids to use.

I’d like to share a question I received on this blog: I am on 5-HTP for anxiety and I am wondering about trying tryptophan instead and my response so you have a clearer understanding of this:

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.

Today, 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 at bedtime.

It’s an excellent question and this is my feedback (with some additional information here for this blog post)

Firstly I’m so pleased to hear the GABA products has taken some of the anxiety edge away.

I would expect this when someone has the low GABA type of anxiety and hear this all the time despite the fact I continue to be asked the blood brain barrier question and does GABA really work as a supplement.

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 additional benefits are seen.

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. I’d do this until the low GABA symptoms are resolved or until no additional benefits are observed.

Remember when it comes to brain chemical imbalances and anxiety we have 3 anxiety types

  1. Low GABA anxiety type (physical anxiety, more stiff and tense muscles)
  2. Low serotonin anxiety type (mental anxiety, ruminations, negative self-talk, worry)
  3. Low blood sugar anxiety type (physical anxiety, but more shaky)

You need to figure out which type of anxiety you are experiencing and address that. It can be different for each person but it’s not uncommon to experience all of the above.

Once that has been done and we have the ideal amount of GABA and no more low GABA anxiety symptoms 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, we pick one or two symptoms 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 x 500mg mid-afternoon and evening. The bedtime dose also depends on how bad the insomnia is. We continue to increase as needed based on symptoms until she has no more low serotonin type symptoms or until no additional benefits are observed.

All the while we are starting to make other changes – like diet, eating for blood sugar balance (this and using glutamine helps with the low blood sugar anxiety type), no caffeine, no sugar, looking for high cortisol, no gluten, looking at gut health and for other nutritional deficiencies.

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

I’d love to hear your feedback – do you/did you have the low GABA type of anxiety or the low serotonin type of anxiety or the low blood sugar type of anxiety or all three?

And feel free to share the before rating (from 1 to 10) and the after rating (from 1 to 10) once you’re taking the corresponding amino acid.

Titanium dioxide: gut damage, anxiety and cancer

By Trudy Scott 36 Comments

Titanium dioxide, a common food additive found in candy, gum, bread, sunscreens, cosmetics and medications, has been shown in new research to alter digestive cell structure and function due to the damage it causes to the gut lining:

The ability of small intestine cells to absorb nutrients and act as a barrier to pathogens is ‘significantly decreased’ after chronic exposure to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide, a common food additive found in everything from chewing gum to bread.

Acute exposures did not have much effect, but chronic exposure diminished the absorptive projections on the surface of intestinal cells called microvilli. With fewer microvilli, the intestinal barrier was weakened, metabolism slowed and some nutrients — iron, zinc, and fatty acids, specifically — were more difficult to absorb. Enzyme functions were negatively affected, while inflammation signals increased.

The study was done using an in vitro (i.e. “in glass” or test-tube) cell culture model of the small intestinal epithelium. You can read the actual January 2017 study here.

Since this was not a human study this could be some of the extrapolations we could possibly make because of how chronic exposure led to fewer microvilli:

  • The intestinal barrier was weakened and metabolism slowed. If you suspect you may have damage to the gut lining (as in leaky gut and malabsorption), glutamine is an amino acid that when taken as a supplement is very healing of the gut.
  • Malabsorption of iron, zinc, and fatty acids was a factor so it would be important to assess for low levels and address deficiencies if necessary, especially since low levels of all three can have a direct impact on increasing anxiety.
  • Enzyme functions were negatively affected so this would need to be addressed with a broad spectrum enzyme and possibly HCl.
  • Inflammation signals also increased so using something like curcumin and omega-3 fatty acids may be a good choice to reduce likely inflammation.
  • And it goes without saying, eating a nutrient-dense anti-inflammatory diet is key

As soon as I read this paper I thought of my good friend and colleague Mira Dessy, NE, known as The Ingredient Guru, and author of The Pantry Principle: how to read the label and understand what’s really in your food. She is an expert in all things ingredient and food labels related so I reached out to her and she shared that the titanium dioxide powder itself appears to be somewhat harmless (although there are reports of the dust causing causing respiratory irritation). Even this concerns me but it gets even more concerning. Mira goes on to say:  

The challenge, however, is that there is an increasing amount of titanium dioxide nanoparticles being used.  The microscopic size and their ability to penetrate into the blood stream and from there circulate throughout the body is very worrisome.  These titanium dioxide nanoparticles represent a significant challenge to nerve tissue and also impact brain health through oxidative stress.

Given the ability of the nanoparticles to go through the skin and into the blood stream I’m not surprised that there is growing evidence for gut disruption in addition to the nerve and brain health issues.  The damage to epithelial cells and impairment of micronutrient absorption is highly concerning.  

I love Mira’s book The Pantry Principle (and learned so much from it) and I asked her this week when I reached out for a quote from her why it didn’t make it into her book published just a few years ago in 2013. She shared that it did not really come up on her radar at the time:  

Sadly it turns out that this is because food producers can use up to 1% titanium dioxide (food grade) without declaring it on the label.  Unfortunately when I wrote the book I did not know that.   At the time it appeared to be primarily used in personal care products. Approved for use in cosmetics back in 1973 it is often found in bath powders, cosmetics, antiperspirants, nail polish, sunscreen, and lotions.  It seems to be growing in food usage, appearing in candies, gums, dairy products, condiments, processed meats, and snack foods.  

I’m sharing this because I want you to be aware how quickly things can change and how we really need to keep up with labeling! (be sure to check out Mira’s other work on additives and labeling and my review of her book The Pantry Principle for additional information.)

I was also shocked to find out that food producers can use up to 1% titanium dioxide (food grade) without declaring it on the label – what!? I suspect (and hope) this will be changing in the near future.

I would expect some radical changes from governments and companies using it especially with this IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) monograph (another resource Mira provided): 

Titanium dioxide is possible carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B) based on sufficient evidence in experimental animals and inadequate evidence from epidemiological studies.

and this conclusion they reach:

Given the increasing applications of nano titanium dioxide in consumer products (e.g., food or food packaging and skin care products), there is a need to develop better techniques to detect titanium dioxide in tissues and to examine possible carcinogenicity of nano titanium dioxide by other routes of exposure (oral, dermal).

Another recent study found that injected titanium dioxide nanoparticles increased anxiety in rats, increased inflammation and there was increased accumulation in the liver, lungs and brain:

The results suggest that TiO2 NPs [titanium dioxide nanoparticles] could alter the neurobehavioral performance of adult Wistar rats and promote alterations in hepatic [liver] tissues.

I plan to avoid this additive. The best way you can avoid it too is to do the following:

  • eat real food and avoid food that has been processed
  • if you do eat something processed make sure it’s organic because titanium dioxide is not approved for use in organic foods (also make sure it’s not organic “junk food” – there is plenty of that around these days!)
  • read cosmetic labels and avoid toothpastes, makeup, lotions and sunscreens that contain the titanium, especially when in nanoparticle form  

Just to be clear, not all titanium dioxide used in food products are nanoparticles (which are defined as smaller than 100 nanometers in diameter). However up to 36 percent of the titanium dioxide found in nearly 90 food products were nanoparticles, according to this 2012 article: Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Food and Personal Care Products.

I also reached out to my friend and colleague Lara Adler, Environmental Toxins Expert & Educator for her expert opinion:

The issue of nanoparticles in consumer products, whether it’s food, or personal care products like makeup or sunscreen can be confusing. The first issue is that there are no current labelling or disclosure requirements regarding nanoparticles, at least here in the US. Companies that are more keen to appeal to health-minded consumers will often disclose that they are not using nanoparticle sized ingredients, but there’s no legal requirement for anyone to do so, which means it’s totally possible for a product to contain nanoparticles of titanium dioxide and we won’t know. In the European Union, companies are required to disclose and fully label nano-ingredients.

When it comes to topical use in say, sunscreen, research is showing that non-nano titanium dioxide is unlikely to penetrate the skin and enter the body, and is therefore a low risk. The bigger health risk, for nano, or non-nano are products that are aerosolized, like the spray sunscreens as these products are easily inhaled. Most of the research into the negative health effects of titanium dioxide are inhalation studies.

Her feedback supports what Mira and I have discovered from the research: there’s a growing body of research that’s indicating potential negative health effects of nanoparticles, including their ability to migrate throughout the body. She shared these papers with me (both about nanoparticles in general):

A rodent study found that inhaled nanoparticles ended up in the central nervous system, and another study found them ending up in the liver.

But most shocking is this study Lara shared with me about maternal exposure to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide:

It caused the changes in the expression of genes associated with brain development, cell death, response to oxidative stress, and mitochondria in the brain during the perinatal period.

Changes of the expression of genes associated with neurotransmitters and psychiatric diseases were found.

Here are some examples of what you may see on labels:

Titanium dioxide in Devitar sunscreen – this is the sunscreen I have been using and recommended by an integrative cancer doctor. This is a common ingredient in sunscreen since it reflects the sun. I’m on the look-out for a new sunscreen that is free from titanium dioxide because we just don’t know what research is going to find. Right now a product like this is better than some of the other sunscreens that contain endocrine-disrupting oxybenzone and should definitely be avoided at all costs.

A bag of Smarties (yes, I was prowling the candy aisle here in Australia looking for ingredients!). You’ll see it on this label as 171. Titanium dioxide or E171 is used by the food industry to whiten and brighten food. Children have been identified as having the highest exposures because titanium dioxide content of sweets is higher than other food products.

 

It’s very commonly found in toothpaste for it’s whitening and brightening properties. This is from a tube of Sensodyne toothpaste here in Australia.  

Have you got products in your home with titanium dioxide on the label? I’d love to hear where you see it labelled and if you’ll be avoiding it in the future?

Anxiety and the thyroid: how to make the amino acids more effective

By Trudy Scott 16 Comments

Did you know that thyroid disease can be a root cause of anxiety? In fact, most of my anxious clients have thyroid issues.

Having an excess amount of thyroid hormone can make us extremely anxious, irritable and on edge. This is one symptom that is commonly attributed to Graves’ disease but can also happen in Hashimoto’s.

In the early stages of Hashimoto’s, the thyroid is under attack by the immune system. Thyroid cells are broken down, and they release thyroid hormones into the bloodstream. This causes thyroid hormone surges or a transient hyperthyroidism.

I know how awful anxiety can feel, I had anxiety, panic attacks and pyroluria (social anxiety) in my late 30s, together with an underactive thyroid, adrenal issues, gluten sensitivity, heavy metals, low progesterone (I call it my perfect storm!).   

I’m excited to share that there is a way out and that you don’t have to feel this way forever. Everyone is different, but two of the things that worked wonders for me and now work for my clients are nutrition and targeted individual amino acids (like GABA and tryptophan).

But are you aware that the amino acids will be effective for addressing low GABA and low serotonin (in their typical quick manner, often providing relief in 5 to 10 minutes) ONLY when thyroid health is optimal (not many people know this!)

And by optimizing your thyroid health, I don’t just mean taking thyroid medications….

Dr. Izabella Wentz, the Thyroid Pharmacist, is a personal friend of mine – we’re both members of Mindshare, a collaboration of like-minded functional medicine practitioners. 

Magdalena Wzelaki, Niki Gratrix, Izabella Wentz, myself and Julie Matthews

I adore Izabella and love how she is connecting all the dots with the research and the feedback she receives from her community.  She is trailblazing and always focused on the why of how a condition develops.

She has found that thyroid disease is triggered by a combination of food sensitivities, nutrient depletions, intestinal permeability, chronic infections, toxins and also a faulty stress response.

The thing about thyroid disease, just like anxiety, is that it’s a sign of a bigger imbalance in your body – while thyroid medications and glandulars can certainly help, they do not get to the underlying root cause of the condition, and thyroid conditions, which are usually autoimmune in nature, may progress to other types of autoimmune disorders.

Hashimoto’s, a condition that affects up to 27% of the population in the United States has 5 stages to it. Out of the 90 million or so people that have it, close to 80 million don’t know that they have it. Often, they are in the earlier stages that are missed by conventional tests.

Hashimoto’s is the primary cause of hypothyroidism, accounting for 95% of cases of hypothyroid in the United States. This condition occurs when the immune system recognizes the thyroid gland as foreign invader and launches an attack against it, eventually destroying enough of the thyroid to produce hypothyroidism.

The five stages of Hashimoto’s are:

1) In the first stage, for all intents and purposes, you will just have the genetic predisposition

2) In the second stage, you start developing an autoimmune attack on the thyroid gland – at this stage, you will also have thyroid symptoms (the most common one is anxiety), but the TSH test will still be normal. Only the thyroid antibodies will be elevated at that point, and at this stage people are often misdiagnosed with anxiety or depression

3) The third stage is when the thyroid gland starts to have more damage than it can repair, and begins to fail. More symptoms are seen, but doctors often miss this stage as well because the TSH is only “slightly” elevated according to their reference ranges

4) The fourth stage, we see overt hypothyroidism. At this page a person has had a significant amount of thyroid damage, and their thyroid fully loses its ability to compensate and create thyroid hormone

5) The fifth stage is the scariest, this is when a thyroid condition progresses to another autoimmune condition. The immune system finds another target to attack, and person may end up with lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s or even multiple sclerosis.

The only treatment that is offered by conventional medicine is thyroid hormones, which is prescribed in stage 4. When that can help of course, it doesn’t address most people’s symptoms and doesn’t stop the progression of the condition and autoimmunity. There is no conventional treatment for stopping or reversing the progression, but luckily we have functional medicine and nutrition to the rescue!

A shocking thing that Izabella has shared, is that it takes people on average of 10 years to get diagnosed, and this is also the time it takes to get from stage 2 to stage 4 of Hashimoto’s! Izabella was actually misdiagnosed with anxiety and chronic fatigue for almost a decade before she got the Hashimoto’s diagnosis, and many people are told that they have intractable infertility, lifelong anxiety that they are told they will have to “manage” forever or even told they have treatment-resistant depression, or that they are simply overweight and lazy.

I know that many of my clients with anxiety are likely still in the earliest stages of Hashimoto’s, and there is hope that you can eliminate your symptoms, AND you can actually prevent the damage to the thyroid gland if you intervene at this point.

Izabella created the Thyroid Secret documentary series to help you connect the dots of your own thyroid condition, so that you can rebuild your health and eliminate your symptoms (and potentially your health conditions). She shares her latest research in overcoming thyroid disorders, and interviews the top experts who share their best strategies as well.

I was so excited when Izabella asked me to join the Thyroid Secret as an expert – in fact my interview was the very last thing I did in the United States, before I moved to Australia! This topic is so important to me (and so key for my clients and you to know about) that I did the interview in an empty house, with just a few chairs and our almost-packed suitcases, and just a few hours to spare before we got on the plane!

Here are a few pictures (I was ironing my clothes on a spare table in the mostly empty study!):

The Thyroid Secret covers not just the symptoms of thyroid disease (like anxiety) that can masquerade as mental illness, but also the triggers that can cause both conditions, and the solutions and protocols you need to recover your health.

When your thyroid is working as it should be, the amazing amino acids like GABA and tryptophan are truly effective in 5-10 minutes – so you really can say they are amazing!  You will see incredible results – anxiety relief right away – and a feeling of hope while you dig deeper for root causes that can take longer to address.

I wrote this blog for everyone using amino acids and not seeing results.  And also for everyone with a thyroid condition or if you have unresolved symptoms that could be related to your thyroid.

I do hope you’re already signed up and are enjoying watching, listening and learning as much as I am.

If you haven’t yet signed up you can still join as my guest to view the entire series at no cost (it started March 1). Just use this link to register.

We’ve come together in this Thyroid Secret documentary to give you this information because you deserve to feel on top of the world again!

Got questions or feedback? Your favorite speaker and some takeaways?

Did you find that GABA, tryptophan and other amino acids were more effective once you addressed your thyroid health? If you’re a practitioner do you see this with patients/clients?

Please share in the blog comments below.

 

Thyroid Secret documentary – wise words of wisdom!

By Trudy Scott 9 Comments

The Thyroid Secret documentary is just around the corner!  My colleague Dr. Izabella Wentz and her amazing team have produced this powerful 9-part documentary and it truly is groundbreaking! (It starts on March 1.)

Thyroid disease is one of the most overlooked diseases and is so often misdiagnosed. I see this all this time with my anxious clients (and I share more about this in the documentary!)

In case you’re not already signed up here is the link to sign up. And some wise words of wisdom from some of the experts that are part of the documentary

If you are already signed up enjoy these wise words too!

Dr. Izabella Wentz, host and producer of the documentary, and author of the forthcoming book, Hashimoto’s Protocol, sets the tone and I love it!

A person who has their health has 1,000 dreams. A person who does not has just one.

Allowing yourself to heal will allow you to do all these different things in your life that you maybe dreamed about but you never thought were possible. I have people within my community who’ve become like romance novelists or … they’ve gone back to horseback riding. They’ve done all of these things that they never thought will be possible and sometimes in their 40s, 50s, 60s, lucky ones in their 20s.

Dr. Mark Hyman, author of The Blood Sugar Solution, discusses the prevalence of thyroid disease in this part of his interview:

Thyroid disease is extremely prevalent, one in five women and one in ten men have low thyroid function. That’s an enormous number of people and half of them they don’t know it. They’re not even diagnosed and the ones that are diagnosed and treated most of those are inadequately treated.

You’ve got an epidemic or thyroid dysfunction that is really driving a lot of suffering and it’s subtle. People don’t know, they think it’s something else. Oh I’m a little tired, oh I have trouble getting up in the morning, my skin’s a little dry, my nails are cracking, I’m a little constipated, I have a little fluid retention. Can’t remember things as well, I feel little depressed, I might not be sleeping as well, I might get muscle cramps, my sex drive’s a little low… You add all these things up, oh my hair’s falling out a little bit.

 

Dr. Hyla Cass, integrative psychiatrist, talks about antidepressant side-effects in this part of her interview:

I think people have to be their own medical detectives in partnership with Functional Medicine docs like me because they know themselves better than I do.

 I think the way conventional medicine is treating depression is really a disaster and that’s simply writing prescriptions for antidepressants. I get a lot of these women and women outnumbering men with thyroid issues coming to me, that have been failures. ‘Failures’ at antidepressant therapy, they’re still depressed and they’re not only still depressed but they now have side effects from being on antidepressants. They can’t sleep or they’re sleeping too much, weight gain, huge weight gain (with thyroid issues you’re already gaining weight). Then there is dizziness, nausea, lack of libido… I mean really? So many problems with the antidepressants and it’s not directed to the cause.

 

Dr. Alan Christianson, author of The Adrenal Reset Diet, covers our genes and environmental toxins in this part of his interview:

Thyroid cancer, thyroid autoimmunity are much more common among women. We’re seeing about a eight to one female to male risk difference.

So, we think that it’s really a perfect storm of three, three large factors; we’ve got the, the genes, you know. So, the first step is you got to be cautious about choosing your parents (laughter), however that works out, I don’t know. So, there’s some genetic susceptibility and then, and there’s some foreign substances. So, your thyroid like, there’s the shows about the hoarders you know, like those that like never let go of things. So, your thyroid is kind of a hoarder (laughter). It needs iodine, but the amount that it needs is way above what your blood carries, so it concentrates it and pulls it in.

We have a lot of weird chemicals nowadays that confuse that concentrator, that your concentrator thinks, “Well, that looks like iodine,” but it’s not. So, we have uh, Perchlorate for example in the soils in the southwest area, where we had someone just the other day who is working in aviation, in managing the airplanes out in the tarmac and what not and exposed to jet fuel, and they get Perchlorate from that as well.

Dr. Amy Myers, author of The Autoimmune Solution, covers diagnosis, root causes and supplemental thyroid hormone in this part of her interview:

Your thyroid is a vital organ. It is your engine, so to speak, and every cell in your body has receptors for thyroid hormone on it.

The average is 6 to 10 doctors in five years to get any kind of autoimmune diagnosis. It may be less for thyroid because that’s a little more common and people do screen at least with a TSH, but if that damage has been going on or you are just now becoming aware of it and you’ve had Hashimoto’s for 20 years, if you’ve had enough damage and destruction to your thyroid, I and no one can grow your thyroid back. We can optimize the function through, and I’m sure we’ll talk about that through this interview, we can optimize the function, we can prevent you hopefully from getting another autoimmune disease, we can get to the root cause of why you got it, but I can’t regrow thyroid tissue for you. You may still need to be on some supplemental thyroid hormone, and that’s okay. I just want people to know that there are people, and I have them in my clinic as well, that we get it early enough and we’re able to do all the things that we’ll talk about in the interview, and they don’t need to go on supplemental thyroid hormone, or they’ve gone on it and we’ve been able to get them off.

Dr. Tom O’Bryan, author of The Autoimmune Fix, discusses the key role the gut and microbiome play:

If you have an autoimmune disease, there’s no question that you’ve got intestinal damage.

It’s a shift. The first shift is recognizing that there’s no magic pill for thyroid autoimmune disease. There’s no magic pill. The second shift is recognizing that it’s going to take time to reverse the damage that’s accrued. If you can accept that and look for the small wins regularly, and the third is … My recommendation to people, one hour a week. Can you give one hour a week to just doing some research on this topic that you have? Just one hour a week.

The most important thing as we’re learning now in this last ten to twelve year period is if there’s one organ that is more impactful on the rest of the body than any other organ, it’s the microbiome. The microbiome controls our brain function. For every one message coming from the brain down to the gut, there are nine messages from the gut to the brain. It’s the exhaust, if you will, the chemicals that are secreted by the microbiome that go up to the brain to tell the brain what to do. It’s a nine to one ratio. For your heart, the microbiome sends direction to the heart. For your thyroid, the microbiome sends direction to the thyroid.

Dr. Eric Zielinski, host of the Essential Oils Summit, covers the dangers of conventional body care products and why use essential oils instead:

We need to work on preventing disease before they happen and I hope to God, that the researchers will come together, that the funding will be available so we could start testing how certain essential oils and chemical constituencies in these oils affect thyroid conditions. Until we do have that, I’m telling you one thing.

If you want to save your thyroid, if you want to save your health, stop these conventional body care products. I’m talking throw them away.

The lowest hanging fruit that anyone can do today, so easy, is literally to throw away all hand sanitizer. I’m telling you, it’s like the worst stuff for you. Conventional hand sanitizer, throw it away. To replace it, super simple. You get a one to two ounce glass spritzer bottle, you put a few drops of witch hazel in it, a couple drops of aloe, vitamin E, and seven drops of essential oils per every ounce that the bottle is.

Suzy Cohen, RPh covers low ferritin and low manganese:

The ferritin, which is a storage form of iron, that’s the one that came up low. It was dangerously low. I don’t know how I was walking, it was eight, and it was eight for years. It was eight when I measured it, so it was probably lower, but eight is a very bad number. We shoot to have it above 50, sometimes even closer to 70.

I’m often asked, “What did I do to raise that ferritin, how did I get my iron up?” You would think the answer is that I took iron supplements, but that didn’t work. I did try them. I tried them for six months, they tore me apart. I took the best forms. I’m a pharmacist, I know what the best forms are. Iron doesn’t really help you if you’re iron deficient. That’s a huge secret.

The things that I did were I bought a cast iron pot. I bought two, a little one and a bigger one, and I cooked everything in my cast iron pot because the iron leaches just a little teeny bit. It’s just a little bit, but cooking all of your food in a cast iron pot helped. I drank a little Dixie cup full of orange juice every day. I took betaine with pepsin. This was huge for me. You’ve written articles about this, where you have to titrate up with the betaine. You can’t just take five all at once, but I was so low in acid that at one point I was taking six with my meals. Isn’t that a lot? Today I don’t take any, but there was a point where I worked my way up from one capsule with a meal to six.

The final piece of this was manganese. If your iron is low, manganese is lower, count on it. Having your iron and your manganese in the correct ratio is very huge. I took one capsule of manganese every day and that worked for me. It allows you to better absorb your iron, you need less iron, and you maintain the manganese-iron ratio, and that was a very big piece of it. I took one manganese capsule every day for about a year.

Magdalena Wszelaki, creator of Eating for Hormone Balance, talks about raw cruciferous vegetables and oxalates in this part of her interview:

I cannot find a single study that shows raw cruciferous vegetables are causing thyroid failure or binding to the receptors, or whatever. It’s the stuff that I feel like the bloggers have copied and pasted the same information and just created fear. Having said that, I have come across people …This is anecdotal, but when you have people coming to you over and over again telling these stories of going on a health binge, on a health kick I should say, and they will do juicing or they would start blending smoothies that are full of kale, and beets, and almonds. Then three months into that health protocol, they start having a lot of issues with fatigue. They start putting on weight. They go and get a test that turns out it’s the thyroid.

I think that what is happening is that there’s an issue with oxalates with a lot of the vegetables. Kale has got some oxalates, but spinach is super high in oxalates. Almonds are super high in oxalates, so are hemp seeds, all the seeds and nuts. That has been well-documented that oxalates can deposit on the thyroid gland and be causing an issue. I suspect that could be a problem for a lot of people. With the cruciferous vegetables, I love them because they are so rich in … Nutritionally they’re so much richer than all the other vegetables. They’re also full of diindolylmethane, DIM also named, which binds estrogen and that really supports the thyroid function. I’m definitely for them.

Trudy Scott, yours truly (!), and author of The Antianxiety Food Solution:

A lot of people go to the doctor and get a diagnosis, you’ve got anxiety, or you’ve got depression, and they’ll be given a medication, benzodiazepine or an SSRI. It may be the thyroid that’s causing the problems. It’s common knowledge that thyroid problems can cause depression. It’s less well recognized that thyroid problems can actually contribute to anxiety.

I actually looked at a study that was published in 2010, and they found that there was three times the higher incidence of anxiety in women who have underactive thyroid. It’s more common than a lot of people realize.

Certainly in my practice, working with anxious women, most of the people that I work with are women, I work with men as well, but most of the women that I work with, with anxiety, have thyroid issues. They either have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, they have hypothyroid, or they may have had Graves’ in the past. It’s very, very common that I see this.

One of the things that we want to think about from a biochemical and a nutritional aspect when it comes to anxiety is, junk food. We want to eat real whole food. The additives, the colors, the pesticides, the trans fats, all of those can be problematic when it comes to anxiety, because we don’t have the raw materials to make our brain chemicals. GABA is a wonderful calming neurotransmitter, and serotonin is also calming, and if we don’t have enough of the raw materials to make those neurotransmitters, we can be more prone to anxiety.

I’d like to end with a perfect quote from Mary Shomon, thyroid advocate: Be your own CEO of your healthcare!

Watching this Thyroid Secret documentary will empower you, provide you with vital thyroid knowledge you and will truly allow you to be the CEO of your own healthcare when it comes to your thyroid health!

Here is the link to register for the 9-part online documentary The Thyroid Secret, which runs March 1-9.

I do hope you can join us online for this amazing 9-part documentary that I’m so honored to have been a part of!

Diabetes, anxiety and GABA

By Trudy Scott 21 Comments

 

Anxiety and depression are common in patients with diabetes. In this 2016 paper: Prevalence and predictors of depression and anxiety in patients of diabetes mellitus in a tertiary care center, it was found that a significantly larger proportion of diabetic patients had

  • Anxiety: 27.6% vs. 12.7% as compared to healthy controls and
  • Depression: 26.3% vs. 11.2% as compared to healthy controls
  • Both depression andanxiety: 21.0% vs. 7.3% as compared to healthy controls

The paper also reports that diabetic women had higher rates of anxiety than men (17.6% vs. 10.0%) and higher rates of depression than men (17.1% vs. 9.3%).

GABA is one of the calming amino acids I used with much success with my clients who have the physical type of anxiety (with stiff and tense muscles). As well as addressing this type of anxiety it also helps them to end their sugar addiction, reducing cravings dramatically. Melissa shares her results after using GABA on this blog: GABA for ending sugar cravings (and anxiety and insomnia)

I was cool as a cucumber at the airport and was much calmer when visiting family and friends compared to last year! The true test of its efficacy will be in two weeks when the semester starts. For now, I notice a general calmness and am sleeping well.

An unexpected result was that I stopped craving sweets after about a week of taking it! I didn’t even realize this until I was grocery shopping and out of habit walked towards the ice cream – I stopped and realized I didn’t want ice cream. So I walked toward the chocolate – same reaction. For once in my life, I was not craving sweets.

Now there is some interesting recent research showing how GABA may play a role in diabetes treatment too.

This February 2015 paper, GABAergic system in the endocrine pancreas: a new target for diabetes treatment explains the role of GABA in regulating islet-cell secretion and that it exerts β-cell regenerative effects:

Excessive loss of functional pancreatic β-cell mass, mainly due to apoptosis, is a major factor in the development of hyperglycemia in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes (T1D and T2D).

In T1D, β-cells are destroyed by immunological mechanisms. In T2D, while metabolic factors are known to contribute to β-cell failure and subsequent apoptosis, mounting evidence suggests that islet inflammation also plays an important role in the loss of β-cell mass. Therefore, it is of great importance for clinical intervention to develop new therapies.

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), a major neurotransmitter, is also produced by islet β-cells, where it functions as an important intraislet transmitter in regulating islet-cell secretion and function. Importantly, recent studies performed in rodents, including in vivo studies of xenotransplanted human islets, reveal that GABA exerts β-cell regenerative effects. Moreover, it protects β-cells against apoptosis induced by cytokines, drugs, and other stresses, and has anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory activities. It ameliorates the manifestations of diabetes in preclinical models, suggesting potential applications for the treatment of diabetic patients.

This paper published in November 2015: Study of GABA in Healthy Volunteers: Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics also reports potential therapeutic benefits for those with diabetes:

Our data show that GABA is rapidly absorbed and tolerated in human beings; its endocrine effects, exemplified by increasing islet hormonal secretion, suggest potential therapeutic benefits for diabetes.

You can read more about this in the blog post: GABA rapidly absorbed and tolerated – benefits for anxiety and diabetes

A paper published in December 2016 on GABA and diabetes: Long-Term GABA Administration Induces Alpha Cell-Mediated Beta-like Cell Neogenesis states that

This newly discovered GABA-induced α cell-mediated β-like cell neogenesis [or the regeneration of tissue] could therefore represent an unprecedented hope toward improved therapies for diabetes.

So here we have the amino amazing acid GABA that when used as a targeted supplement:

  • we know reduces and often eliminates sugar cravings completely
  • calms the anxious mind and reduces physical tension and stress within 5 to 30 minutes
  • has much potential in offering therapeutic benefits for diabetes

I’m proposing oral GABA as a much better option for diabetic patients with anxiety – better than benzodiazepines which have been shown to contribute to cognitive impairment. Using GABA sublingually seems to be most effective.

Do you have diabetes and has GABA helped you with your cravings and anxiety? And enabled you to reduce your diabetes medication?

If you’re a practitioner I’m curious if you commonly see anxiety and depression in your diabetes patients/clients? And do you currently use GABA (and other amino acids like tryptophan and glutamine) to help reduce their anxiety and sugar cravings? And reduce their diabetes medication?