asthma

Teen with anxiety, low self-esteem and insomnia: how to do a one-off trial of tryptophan to figure out if she has low serotonin

August 20, 2021 By Trudy Scott 23 Comments

A mom asks for advice for her teenage daughter who has anxiety, low self-esteem issues, insomnia, experiences negativity and has phobias. She wants to know if serotonin support may help and where to start. I share my feedback confirming that these are low serotonin symptoms and that I would do a trial of tryptophan. I go deeper in this blog and also go into detail about how I would do a one-off trial (or evaluation) of tryptophan if I was working with this family. I also share why I’d look into low GABA, seasonal allergies and the birth control pill. And I discuss the importance of being proactive given the increasing suicide and self-harm in this age-group, with the pandemic compounding the increase.

Here is the question that Maria asked about her daughter:

My 13-year-old teen has always suffered from insomnia, sometimes light, sometimes a bit heavier, depending on the period. She has suffered from asthma from a young age, even if this issue has improved enormously, it is sometimes present, specially during spring time as she is allergic to different plants. She would suffer from sugar cravings in the past as we were trying to change her diet. Things are going better in this respect as well; however, negativity, phobias, low self esteem and anxiety are always present for her.

Are these signs of low serotonin? How could we help her feel better? Should serotonin pills be applied directly? Would this make the system dependent on it? If amino acids should be supplemented, how should we do this, considering her age?

I responded that yes, negativity, phobias, low self esteem and anxiety (the worry type) are signs of low serotonin. Insomnia can also be caused by low serotonin especially if her daughter is lying awake, overthinking and worrying about things.

I shared that the body does not get dependent on the amino acids and I’d consider a trial of tryptophan to address her symptoms.

Doing a one-off trial/evaluation of tryptophan based on her symptoms

If I was working with this family, I would help this mom figure out for sure if her daughter has low serotonin by reviewing the low serotonin symptom list with her, and helping her rate them on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst.

This can often be challenging for a 13-year old: giving the symptoms a severity rating and being able to identify exactly how she feels. Her ratings may also be reflective of where she is in her cycle at the time and may fluctuate more in the month if her cycle is not yet regular. Working together with mom we can hopefully figure this out. If not, we do the best we can with the information we have.

The next step is picking one or two symptoms that are easy to measure the day we do the initial trial or evaluation. For this young girl I’d pick anxiety/worry and negativity and ask her some questions that would help us assess before and after results of the one-off trial /evaluation of tryptophan:

For anxiety and worry she may say it’s also a 9 and give me this example: “I’m really worried about performing in the concert – I keep thinking about it all day long and at night.”
For negativity she may say it’s a 9 and give me this example: “I really don’t think I’m good enough to be in the dance class.”

Both tryptophan and 5-HTP can raise serotonin but I like to start with tryptophan. I typically start with 100mg Lidtke chewable tryptophan in children/teens so I’d have her chew one tablet and then check back in the next 2 to 5 minutes (or maybe a little longer for some folks).

This is the kind of feedback I’m looking for:

With regards to anxiety and worry she may say: “Gosh, I completely stopped thinking about the concert. I’m not worrying about it at all. Now that you ask I’m thinking about it again but I think my worry/anxiety is about a 5 now.”
With regards to negativity she may say: “I think I feel better about being in the dance class. I think I can do it. My negativity feels like it’s a 5 or 6”

Since this teen responded so well, I’d have her start taking tryptophan midafternoon and evening (away from protein) and we’d increase if needed, each week, and based on her symptoms.

I have everyone keep a food mood and supplements log and mom could help her do this too.

GABA, seasonal allergies and the birth control pill

I also always assess low GABA when someone is anxious (especially if she also has physical anxiety, tension, stiff muscles) and has insomnia. We’d do the same one-off trial with a product like GABA Calm (or similar) once we’ve established a good dose of tryptophan for easing her symptoms.

This mom also mentioned Spring time allergies so I also shared this blog with her: 5-HTP and/or tryptophan to help with increased anxiety, panic attacks and depression caused by spring allergies. Depending on the season, her daughter may score higher on some of the low serotonin symptoms.

I’d also want to know if her daughter is on a birth control pill (often prescribed at this age for acne) because it can contribute to anxiety and depression.

Being proactive is wise given the rise in suicide and self-harm in this age group

Being proactive about addressing low serotonin symptoms quickly is wise given the rise in suicide and self-harm in this age group. This 2021 Italian study discusses the role of emotional dysregulation when it comes to and self-injurious thoughts and behaviours in high-school students:

Overall, 11.1% of adolescents reported self-harming behaviours without suicide ideation or attempts, 6.4% declared having thought to suicide without acting a suicide attempt or self-harm, 1.4% declared having attempted suicide and really thought to take away their life.

Unfortunately, the pandemic has also made things worse for many adolescents. This study reports that Canadian adolescents appear to be experiencing “higher rates of self-harm thoughts and behaviours relative to before the pandemic.”

It’s important to keep in mind that pre-teens and teens may not be willing to admit that they are engaging in self-harm like cutting or burning, or thinking about taking their lives.

Resources if you are new to using the amino acids as supplements

If you are new to using the amino acids tryptophan/5-HTP or GABA as supplements and want to know more in case you need them in a future situation, here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution (you can see all the low serotonin and low GABA symptoms here) and a brief overview here, Anxiety and targeted individual amino acid supplements: a summary.

If you suspect low serotonin or low levels of any of the neurotransmitters and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids so you are knowledgeable.

It also covers all the basics of a healthy diet. It’s a comprehensive approach – amino acids AND diet. I’d also want to know what her diet is like right now – gluten-free, sugar-free, caffeine-free, eating protein at breakfast for blood sugar control, real whole foods, grass-fed red meat, wild fish, fermented foods etc?

The book doesn’t include product names (per the publisher’s request) so this blog, The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements, lists the amino acid products that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.

Thanks to this mom for asking the question and allowing me to use it as a teaching tool for my community. Let’s get her daughter and all teens feeling their best again.

Can you relate to the question this mom asked? Does it sound similar to what your daughter is experiencing right now or a client/patient?

Do you do a one-off trial /evaluation like this to find out if serotonin support is needed? Or have you done this in the past with your daughter, family member or yourself?

What are the before and after questions (and symptom ratings) and did tryptophan help?

Feel free to post any questions here too.

The Toxin Solution – an interview with author Dr. Joseph Pizzorno

May 24, 2019 By Trudy Scott 4 Comments

Toxin exposure is at an all-time high and very relevant when it comes to anxiety, ADHD, asthma, diabetes, cancer, dementia and all chronic diseases. I did this wonderful interview with Dr. Joseph Pizzorno in 2017 when his book – The Toxin Solution – was published and for some reason it didn’t make it onto the blog.

I’ve decided to share it now because Dr. Pizzorno is one of the speakers at the August IMMH/Integrative Medicine for Mental Health conference.

If you’re planning to attend this will give you a taste of what to expect. If you’re on the fence hopefully this will convince you, together with the fact that I’m presenting again this year (I’m doing a deep dive into GABA).

I look forward to meeting him in person at the conference and will hopefully see you there too! If you can’t make it or are not a practitioner enjoy this interview and do checkout his fabulous book.

Read on for notes from our interview, the video interview and resources for you related to our interview. Some highlights include these facts: about 90% of diabetes is just due to 6 toxins; PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) may account for half of all breast cancer; top 10% of those exposed to organophosphate pesticides saw a doubling of ADHD (just one pesticide); 20% of osteoporosis in women is due to cadmium; lentil soup in a can has 10 x more BPA than homemade and much more

Here is the book: The Toxin Solution: How Hidden Poisons in the Air, Water, Food, and Products We Use Are Destroying Our Health–AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO FIX IT (my Amazon link)

Here is our wonderful interview

And here is a summary from the video interview:

in mid to late-70s people were sick because of nutritional deficiencies, lack of exercise and lifestyle factors
we have polluted our air, water, food, health and beauty aids, household cleaning products, products in our yards – independent of what you do, toxins are coming in
he worked with big oil company in Canada – they wanted to improve the health of the staff and he ran tests to measure nutritional status and toxin levels ($1500 worth of lab tests of 4500 people) – saw a lot of toxicity
top 20% of those with body burden of toxins vs bottom 20% – what is disease risk? very big increase in disease risk
diabetes as example – when he was in medical school 50 years ago diabetes affected 1% of the population and now it’s 20-30x more common
looked at data on diabetes and toxins – looked at organochlorine pesticides – used widely in our food supply
top 10% of those with high body burden – 12 fold increase risk of diabetes
looked at many other diseases and all had high correlation of toxicity with higher risk
used his book advance to hire researchers (Bastyr grads) to determine what toxins contribute to what diseases
about 90% of diabetes is just due to 6 toxins
it’s why he wrote this book The Toxin Solution (my Amazon link) – here’s how toxins cause disease, here’s where the toxins are coming from, here’s how you avoid them and here’s how you prepare your body for a detox (do this first) and then do the detox
[I shared my exposure to lead when I worked in an oil refinery before I became a nutritionist]
oil field workers he tested were never exposed to the oil itself as it was underground – they were also farmers and spaying with pesticides, herbicides and insecticides
everyone can relate to how dangerous smoking is i.e. lung cancer is doubled by smoking and it affects 20-25% of the population, so bring it home for people asked if there are other toxins that increase the risk of certain diseases – answer is most certainly yes
asthma – Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from second-hand smoke, city living, diesel, barbecue smoke; 93% of the US population have enough PAH exposure to double their risk of asthma
breast cancer – PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) may account for half of all breast cancer
some data on toxins and anxiety, mental health but more on neurodegeneration and dementia; damage to the neurons will make you more prone to anxiety, stress and depression
anxiety and ADHD in children – top 10% of those exposed to organophosphate pesticides compared to bottom 10%, saw a doubling of ADHD (and this was just looking at one pesticide)
neurological system is really susceptible to these toxins
if you’re eating conventional foods you’re full of toxins
Seattle study on kids coming out of organic stores vs those coming out of conventional stores – the later had 10x higher levels of organophosphate pesticides
high phosphate fertilizers are contaminated with cadmium
osteoporosis study in women – thinner bones when exposed to cadmium from conventional soybeans; 20% of osteoporosis in women in the USA is due to cadmium
eat organically grown foods
foods will absorb BPA and phthalates from the cans they are in
study comparing homemade lentil soup vs lentil soup in a can – canned lentil soup had 10 x more BPA
BPA binds to insulin-receptor sites, pancreas burns out and you get diabetes
[I mention moms exposed to BPA when pregnant and their children have higher risk for ADHD and anxiety]
children born to moms in top 10% of exposure to organophosphate pesticides vs bottom 10% – children had a 7 point drop in IQ (even when followed for 7 years)
women who breastfeed have lower cancer risk and more breastfeeding leads to lower PCB levels (breast-feeding for 12 months decreased PCB levels by 40%)
great for the mom but no good for the children
what’s remarkable – PCBs were banned in the US 40 years ago – so hard to breakdown in our bodies and the environment so they accumulate
best plan – east organic, don’t use plastic storage containers, beauty products with no phthalates
check your water – in the USA 10% of public water has high enough arsenic levels to increase risk of diseases; at least use carbon filter to get out the chemicals
60-70% of out toxin exposure comes from food – we have control over this and the body can heal
[I say the book offers solutions: The Toxin Solution: How Hidden Poisons in the Air, Water, Food, and Products We Use Are Destroying Our Health–AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO FIX IT (my Amazon link)]
our bodies evolved to detoxify and there is a lot we can do
what to do – don’t let them in
increase your fiber intake – liver denatures toxins by binding them to another molecule and dumps them into the gut where they are bound to fiber and excreted but 90% of toxins get reabsorbed through enterohepatic circulation because we now only consume 15-20g of fiber a day. You need at least 40-50g of fiber a day to detox
if you do nothing more than consume more fiber you will get the toxins out – it’s very slow but you will get the toxins out
flax seeds, oats, alginate, pectin
not a fan of wheat fiber – most of his patients don’t tolerate wheat
any kind of fiber that mixes in water and gels – this is good
NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) – the cysteine promotes the production of glutathione (most important intracellular and intra-mitochondrial antioxidant
glutathione is also part of process in the liver where it binds chemical toxins in order to neutralize them and dump them into the gut to get rid of them
as little 500mg/day of NAC can help your body get rid of toxins
next is sweat – saunas and running, but not steam-baths as this recirculates stuff – your sweat is full of toxins
[I have a question about the toxin-filled sweat on the towels and in the sauna]
air out the sauna and wash the towels but it’s not ideal because then we’re putting those toxins back into the environment (can burn them or bury them but there is no good solution) – best to stop putting chemicals into environment
[I have a question about an indoor saunas and toxins going into the home]
valid question – his sauna has a window to the outside
tip for homemade cleaning products – water, vinegar and lavender oil (which is both calming and antibacterial)
no to fragrances which are solubilized to phthalates and 1/3 of all diabetes is linked to phthalate exposure
you get exposed to phthalates when hot water hits your plastic shower curtain
great-grandfather ate a Mediterranean diet lived to 95 and never saw a doctor, grandfather ate a mix of American diet and Mediterranean diet
dad ate 100% American diet, plus not worried about exposure to chemicals – lived to 88 but had dementia by 83, osteoporosis, arthritis, hip replacement surgery, cardiac surgery
final words of wisdom: good health is quite straight-forward – eat real food rich in nutrients and avoid toxins as much as you can and your wonderful body will take of just about everything else

Resources for you

The Toxin Solution: How Hidden Poisons in the Air, Water, Food, and Products We Use Are Destroying Our Health–AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO FIX IT (my Amazon link). This is a wonderful book if you as a health-savvy consumer are looking to learn and protect yourself and your family. It’s aksi a great gift for someone who is new to the concept of how toxins affect our health. Finally, it’s a wonderful resource for practitioners to share with their patients and clients.
You can purchase NAC and lavender essential oil from my supplement store here.
As I mentioned, Dr. Pizzorno is one of the speakers at the August 2019 IMMH/Integrative Medicine for Mental Health. His presentation will be on day 2 – Neurotoxin Susceptibility by Age: The Impact of Metal and Non-Metal Toxins on the Brain. You can read more here.
We didn’t address how some of the amino acids can help with detox too. But you can learn more about how GABA protects against hypothyroidism caused by fluoride and reduces anxiety here. I’ll be discussing this and some other new GABA research in my presentation on day 3 – GABA for Anxiety, ADHD, Autism, Insomnia and Addictions: Research and Practical Applications. You can read more here.

Do let us know what steps you’ve made to reduce toxic exposure in your life and what you’ve done to detox, and what improvements you’ve observed.

Feel free to post questions in the comments too.

And let me know if you’ll be at IMMH. And be sure to stop by and say hi to both me and Dr. Pizzorno.

Acupuncture boosts GABA to reduce back pain and oral GABA further reduces the pain

August 18, 2017 By Trudy Scott 13 Comments

I fell and injured my back last week but I am doing much better already. I’m going to be sharing a series of articles on post what I’m doing to ease the pain and heal – acupuncture and cupping being two of the approaches. As well as heat (with a hot water bottle), I’m also using a long list of nutrients such as:

high-dose fish oil and curcumin (as anti-inflammatories)
relaxing magnesium
arnica for bruising
GABA for relaxing my muscles and helping with the acute pain, and for easing the fear and anxiety (initially I was very fearful I had a serious back injury) and
DPA (d-phenylalanine) for the endorphin-boosting pain-relief

Today I’m going to share some research on GABA and how it helps with pain reduction and muscle tension, and how the acupuncture actually boosts GABA (as well as endorphins) to reduce pain.

Based on the examination I have soft tissue bruising around the lumbar area (L3 to L5). Sitting had been impossible until 2 days ago and even now I have to alternate between sitting and standing. I also twisted my ankle in the fall so initially standing was even challenging!

I had one acupuncture and cupping session last Saturday and will be having another one this coming Saturday. I felt some immediate relief after this session and my back has been getting better and better each day.

Oral sublingual GABA for the acute pain and muscle relaxation

In the interim, between acupuncture/cupping sessions I felt I needed relaxing support for my stiff and spasming back muscles so I immediately started using high doses of GABA for the acute pain. And it’s been working amazingly well.

Right after the fall I was taking 1g of GABA powder every few hours (held in my mouth for 1-2 minutes) and now I only need to take it 2 or 3 times a day as needed. This is the dose I started with only because I know this dose works for me for the rectal spasms I sometimes experience. I always have clients do a trial and start low and increase slowly based on need and response. The starting dose is typically 125mg as found in GABA Calm but I suspect this is likely too low if you are someone needing pain relief.

With the oral sublingual GABA I feel relief from the pain within 5 minutes and it lasts a few hours.

My pain level was 10/10 and is now down to 2/10 most of the time with a few times during the day when it is 4/10. I’m walking, standing, able to turn over in bed and sleep through the night, and able to get off the bed without assistance. I can now also put on my yoga pants, socks and shoes myself – these were impossible tasks in the first 5 days after my fall!

Acupuncture boosts GABA and downregulates substance P and CGRP

I have not been able to find research on oral GABA for easing pain but do have some research to share. In this first paper, Effect of electroacupuncture on thermal pain threshold and expression of calcitonin-gene related peptide, substance P and γ-aminobutyric acid in the cervical dorsal root ganglion of rats with incisional neck pain the authors state that it is known that acupuncture therapy effectively reduces post-surgical pain, but its mechanism of action remains unclear. The aim of the study was to investigate:

whether expression of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and the neuropeptides substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the primary sensory neurons of cervical dorsal root ganglia (DRG) are involved in electroacupuncture (EA)-induced analgesia [pain reduction]in a rat model of incisional neck pain.

The conclusion is as follows: acupuncture increases the pain threshold i.e. it reduces pain and the mechanism is likely related to

downregulation of pronociceptive mediators SP/CGRP and upregulation of the inhibitory transmitter GABA in the primary sensory neurons of cervical DRGs

In case you’re not familiar with the terms substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) I’m going to explain what they are, how they are connected to pain and why downregulation helps with pain reduction.

What is substance P (SP)?

Founders and Directors of Neuroplastix, Marla Golden, DO and Michael Moskowitz, MD share this about substance-P (SP), the main pain neurotransmitter:

It has five basic functions in the body. They are pain, inflammation, anxiety, depression and nausea. Even though these seem like negative experiences, they are important for survival. Problems arise with excessive production and release of Substance-P.

They share a very descriptive video that:

depicts a nerve injury causing a massive release of Substance-P, up to 5 times greater than in acute pain. This diffuses out to three to five times more local area. This is a major way that the pain map expands in persistent pain and keeps the pain going.

Be sure to watch the video on this page.

What is calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)?

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is relatively new marker for pain as this recent review paper discusses – Calcitonin gene-related peptide and pain: a systematic review

The present review revealed the association between measured CGRP levels and somatic, visceral, neuropathic and inflammatory pain. These data suggest that CGRP may act as a neuromodulator in non-headache pain conditions. However, more studies are needed to fully understand the role of CGRP in nociceptive processing and therapy of chronic pain.

Oral GABA lowers substance P and CGRP in asthmatic children

As I mentioned there is no research on the effects of oral GABA on pain reduction so I’m going to extrapolate from this study on asthma – Effect of gamma-aminobutyric acid treatment on plasma substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide levels in children with asthma.

In this study of 75 children with asthma, 36 children were in the GABA treatment group and received oral GABA (25-30 mg/kg per day) in addition to standard asthma medications. For a 100 lb /45 kg child this would equate to 1125-1350mg of GABA per day.

The conclusion of the study is that oral GABA

can significantly decrease plasma levels of SP and CGRP in children suffering from acute asthma.

The authors propose that airway inflammation may be a factor in asthma and since GABA reduces SP and CGRP, eases neurogenic inflammation and tracheal spasms, it may offer a new approach for the prevention and treatment of asthma (this is my best translation from the Chinese paper).

In summary, oral GABA, used sublingually has helped me tremendously with the acute pain of my muscle injury, and it helped ease the anxiety and fear I felt right after the incident.

As you read above, I am using more than just the GABA, but because it works so quickly I saw benefits right away and had hope while all the other approaches are starting to slowly help too. I just love that I get to experience this first-hand and share it with you – although I would have preferred not falling and that initial severe pain!

I also have a good history of GABA helping me so this was a clue for me to try it now. It was my life-saver when I first experienced my terrible anxiety and panic attacks and helped me tremendously within a few days. I also did very well with GABA when I used it for throat spasms during my vagus nerve issue after that scary plane ride, and another incidence when I was getting terrible ice-pick type headaches that turned out to be a jammed neck issue. I really am a GABA girl aren’t I!?

I have used high doses of GABA like this with one client who had a back and neck injury after a construction accident. It also helped him tremendously.

Have you used high doses of GABA for muscle injuries and seen improvements like this? Or do you use this approach with your clients/patients?