calming

Knitting to ease anxiety, depression and dementia and give to a good cause

March 16, 2018 By Trudy Scott 3 Comments

Knit for Peace, a UK based charity that “matches knitters with good causes” has published an extensive review of studies that reports the many physical and mental benefits of knitting, including easing anxiety and depression, benefiting those with dementia, helping with chronic pain, promoting a sense of community and improving sociability.

There is evidence-based research that shows that knitting does the following:

Lowers blood pressure
Reduces depression and anxiety
Slows the onset of dementia
Is as relaxing as yoga
Distracts from chronic pain
Provides an opportunity for creativity (at a time of reducing capacity)
Increases sense of wellbeing
Reduces loneliness and isolation
Increases sense of usefulness and inclusion in society

Knitting for those in need is a volunteering activity that can carry on into extreme old age and can be undertaken by those whose sight, hearing and mobility are severely limited. It provides an activity that gives a sense of purpose. Knitting for charity makes people feel more useful and worthwhile. Self-worth is important post retirement, especially with physical decline.

They also surveyed their members about their knitting experiences. Here is some of the feedback they received:

You can read a summary of that report here and request the entire digital report here.

You’ll be able to read some of the heartwarming backstory of Knit for Peace in the above summary… how they “started as an income generation project for Hutu and Tutsi widows, victims of the Rwandan genocide and civil war” and grew to a similar project in India “bringing together Hindu and Muslim women in the slums of Delhi” and then “Knit for Peace groups were set up in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan.” … And then “when people in the UK heard about this project they asked if they could knit for the children of Afghanistan.” “Through word of mouth the idea spread, and we were soon receiving a positive tsunami of knitted goods.”

Positive feedback about knitting

I asked my community on Facebook if they knit and how it makes them feel.

Diane shared this: I noticed that knitting lowers my blood pressure but interesting to note that crochet lowers it even more. Maybe because the crochet is an easier pattern?

Catriona shared this: I did some knitting when I had horrible anxiety and depressive symptoms. Really helped keep me focused on the present, which made it hard to ruminate and worry while doing it. Like mindfulness. And you end up with a nice gift at the end of it.

Maria shared this: I don’t knit but I crochet a lot. Very therapeutic

Knitting is not for everyone

Knitting certainly isn’t for everyone. Bonnie shared this: Knitting did not lower my stress level at all. First of all, I don’t like to sit or stand still that much, it bothered my wrists and was not easy to pick up. I think I was more stressed from doing it. Mountain biking is my stress reliever!

Aminda shared this: Knitting leads me to want to poke out eyes with knitting needles lol. I’ll stick to my crossword puzzles. I’m super tired of being told I just have to try it and being treated like something is wrong with me because I find crafts the opposite of de-stress. I’m glad people love knitting… I’m just not one of them and I only got happier when I stopped trying to fit onto the mold.

If knitting isn’t for you don’t worry about it, rather find something that you love to do.

Knitting is for kids too

I was very fortunate to have my granny teach me when I was about 8 years old. We had such fun time together, making scarves, gloves, baby clothes for my dolls and then my baby sister and eventually jerseys/jumpers for myself. It was a very special bonding time and it’s a skill I’ll always have. My granny was fearful of storms and I’d like to think knitting helped ease some of her anxieties.

I feel we should be encouraging kids to knit too. Many anxious kids could benefit from anxiety relief and contribute to a worthy cause by giving away their finished items.

Christina shared this on the Huffington Post blog: I’m an elementary teacher and I have a knitting group at lunch on Wednesday’s! The kids love it! It promotes patience, concentration and perseverance! I have about 25 students ages 10-12, both girls and boys!

Some of the research

In this Norwegian study, Knitters in a Day Center: The Significance of Social Participation for People With Mild to Moderate Dementia, the main activity of elderly women with mild dementia was knitting. It was found that

the social activity of knitting facilitated conversations about different topics, required various forms of memory and problem solving, and involved different participant statuses. Being part of the knitting group appeared to help the participants maintain their skills and facilitated sociability.

In this study, Managing anxiety in eating disorders with knitting, 38 women with anorexia reported these benefits of knitting:

it lessened the intensity of their fears and thoughts and cleared their minds of eating disorder preoccupations (74%)
it had a calming and therapeuticeffect (74%)
it provided satisfaction, pride and a sense of accomplishment (53%)

Where do you start if you don’t know how to knit?

If you didn’t learn to knit as a kid and want to learn now or possibly want your child or grandchild to learn, knitting is inexpensive and easily learned. Here are some resources for you:

The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Knitting (DVD). “Beautiful and clear demonstrations can get you started knitting in just 30 minutes.” You’ll learn all the basic stitches, get a booklet with scarf patterns and other bonus goodies.
A good starter yarn such as Lion Brand’s Wool Ease is recommended. Avoid dark colors when you are first learning to knit.
Wooden needles like Brittany 10-inch long Single Point Birch Knitting Needles are also suggested, US Size 10, 10.5 or 11. They say to avoid the more slippery metal needles (although I used these and they were fine), and the “grippy” plastics. (All these links are my Amazon affiliate links)

Knit as part of a group and give to someone in need

Whether or not you’re new to knitting, consider getting a knitting group together for that wonderful community aspect and once you’ve knitted enough goodies for family and friends, start to send knitted goods to a charity such as Knit for Peace or take them to a local shelter.

If you work in a nursing home or long-term care facility, in a school or after-school program, or are part of a church group, I encourage you to get a group knitting program together. Or you could even get together with friends and start knitting.

Notice the calmness you feel when you knit and the joy of giving your finished product to someone in need.

We’d love to hear if you knit and when you learned? And how do you feel when you knit? Are you part of a community knitting group and who do you knit for?

A ketogenic diet for energy, mood stability and an end to anxiety

September 21, 2017 By Trudy Scott 20 Comments

Dr. David Jockers, is interviewed on the topic of the ketogenic diet on the Mental Wellness Summit 2, which airs online September 25 – October 2, 2017. The title of his interview is “Ketogenesis for Energy Stability” but I feel it could be called “Ketogenesis for Energy, Mood Stability and an end to Anxiety.” It’s a brilliant interview and he starts by sharing how the brain can use ketones and not only sugar:

We know that about 2/3 of the brain energy can be produced by ketones. We used to think that basically the brain depended upon sugar as its only energy source. And it does need a small amount of sugar, and that’s why it’s so important we have to have a certain level of blood glucose. However, as we get keto-adapted, when we start to utilize ketones as an energy source, the brain gets much more effective and efficient, and it needs less of the sugar.

And that’s important because sugar produces a lot more metabolic waste. And so when the brain is using ketones, there is going to be less free radical damage and what we call oxidative stress in the brain, so less damage being associated with the various neurons in the brain therefore better connection, better communication.

He shares that ketones are epigenetic influencers and improve neuron sensitivity thereby improving neurotransmitter production:

Ketones act to induce healthy genetic expression. They’re epigenetic influencers where they actually influence the brain to promote more BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic growth factor), which helps grow more neurons and more synapses (little gaps between the neurons). They help produce more neurotransmitters and really optimize the expression of these neurotransmitters to where we get good sensitivity between the neurons.

So when the neurons secrete serotonin, the next neuron is able to actually connect with that very easily and realize “hey, this is the message that we need to get across.”

Dr. Jockers then goes into the relationship between GABA and glutamate and how the ketogenic diet improves the ability of glutamate converting into GABA:

There is a relationship between glutamate, which is an excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, and GABA, which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. Glutamate naturally converts into GABA when certain nutrients are present – like magnesium and vitamin B6 – along with a properly working GAD enzyme.

Now, when we have ketones present, they have been shown to improve the ability to convert glutamate into GABA.

Individuals with anxiety or obsessive compulsive [disorder] often have excessive amounts of glutamate, which can cause too much excitation in the brain and something called excitotoxicity that damages a whole bunch of different neurons, and causes massive neuronal death in parts of the brain. It can lead to symptoms like anxiety, headaches, migraines and seizures. The ketogenic diet has been shown in many studies to be a very powerful remedy for seizure disorders like epilepsy. That’s where this neuropharmacology of the ketogenic diet was analyzed in detail where they came up with the understanding that it impacts this glutamate to GABA conversion.

When we have adequate amounts of GABA and this proper relationship of glutamate to GABA, we feel very emotionally balanced and calm. We are able to fall asleep well. We have less pain in our body, and less susceptibility to headaches. In general, we just feel very emotionally balanced, and that’s what we’re going for.

Ketones are a huge help when it comes to that. When you’re in a state of ketosis, your natural feeling should be that you just feel awesome. You feel like a high performer. You feel at peace and you feel calm. That’s a sign that you’re in ketosis. If you are on a low carb ketogenic diet but you’re noticing irritability, anxiety and headaches, you’re actually not using the ketones. Your body is not actually keto-adapted. Instead, you’re in a hypoglycemic mode where your blood sugar is too low. You’re not using the ketones, and you’re getting exitotoxicity in your brain.

He goes on to share what a ketogenic diet should look like:

Avocados, coconut oil, coconut butter, coconut flakes, coconut milk, grass-fed butter, so butter or ghee (which is clarified butter from grass-fed cows) olives, olive oil. You want at least one of those in every single meal and you want a lot of it in every single meal.

Dr. Jockers shares about how much protein to eat, what proteins to eat, what fruits and vegetables and how much to eat, how he cycles in and out of ketosis, how he uses intermittent fasting, his favorite supplements to support ketosis (magnesium threonate is one of them), his favorite adrenal adaptogens and much more.

I hope you can us join on The Mental Wellness Summit 2 summit to hear Dr. Jockers and other excellent speakers.

I know they are referring to medications but I find it quite funny that the hosts say the “magic pill” solution is not the answer. As you’ll hear in my interview, the dangers of benzodiazepines and why GABA is a more effective option for anxiety, I believe that GABA (and tryptophan and the other amino acids) are truly “magic pill” solutions that help so many seeking relief while they dig deeper for other contributing root causes and start to make dietary changes, whether it’s switching to real whole foods, quitting gluten, removing all grains or implementing a ketogenic diet.

Registration details are here

And let us know if you’d like to learn more about the ketogenic diet.

Also let us know how the ketogenic diet has helped you.

Glutamine for calming, intense sugar cravings, gut healing and low blood sugar

September 13, 2017 By Trudy Scott 10 Comments

Today I’m reviewing glutamine for the calming properties and to also share how glutamine helps reduce intense sugar cravings, helps with gut healing and prevents low blood sugar (which can actually cause anxiety and panic attacks).

I’m also sharing some additional resources for you on glutamine.

Here are all the symptoms we see with low blood sugar:

Crave sugar, starch or alcohol any time during the day
Irritable, shaky, headachey – especially if going too long between meals
Intense cravings for sweets
Lightheaded if meals are missed
Eating relieves fatigue
Agitated, easily upset
Nervous, anxious, panic attacks

Together with low serotonin and low GABA, addressing low blood sugar is one of the most effective approach I use with clients to help ease anxiety. We achieve this with the use of glutamine and by controlling blood sugar by starting the day with a breakfast that includes quality animal protein.

Glutamine also helps eliminate sugar cravings and the strong desire for something sweet when opened directly on to the tongue. This blog and video explains it all: Glutamine for low blood sugar and calming effects

watch this video to hear how powerful glutamine was for Nicole – she saw results in around 5 minutes. I really like to get testimonials like this because when I talk about the profound and quick effects of the amazing amino acids it almost sounds too good to be true! But in this case (and the majority of cases), it really is true!

Nicole says “I get irritable, I get shaky and I get to the point that if I don’t get food NOW I think I’m going to hurt something!”

She tried the glutamine and in under 5 minutes she went from that feeling to: “I’m ok. I feel happy, I feel calm, I feel I can make it longer without needing food right away.”

She finished up by saying “I’m impressed at how well that worked for me”

When I mentioned I was working on this blog (on facebook) I had plenty of questions about this sugar craving benefit we see with glutamine. Keep in mind that low blood sugar is just ONE of the root causes of sugar cravings and glutamine will only work if the cravings are driven by low blood sugar. The way to figure it out is to do the amino acid mood questionnaire

Here is a simple way to help you figure it out:

if you have to eat sugar when you haven’t eaten in awhile it’s likely low blood sugar and glutamine on the tongue stops the sugar desire on the spot
if you stress-eat your sugar cravings are likely due to low GABA, and GABA will stop the stress-eating and calm you down
if you eat sugar or carbs to feel happy (and especially from late afternoon onwards) then your sugar cravings are likely due to low serotonin, and tryptophan stops the cravings and boosts mood and reduces anxiety
if you eat sugar for an energy boost then it’s likely due to low catecholamines and tyrosine will stop those cravings and give you a mood and energy boost
if you are a comfort-eater then it’s likely due to low endorphins and DPA will stop that “I deserve-it-reward-eating” and also give you a hug-like mood boost

When I asked for feedback one person felt glutamine made her depressed. This was new to me but I never say never and suggested she look at what else was in the product she used. I had one client feel more anxious on glutamine and it was due to one of the fillers.

Glutamine converts to GABA in most people and this is another way it helps calm you. For some people it converts to too much glutamate and can be a bit too stimulating. I’ll have these people use less or only use it during the day or not use it all. As with all nutrients used as supplements there is no one size fits all.

Dr. Josh Axe shares that glutamine is critical for any program designed to heal leaky gut and I write about this in this blog: Glutamine for healing a leaky gut

as a functional amino acid with multiple key physiological roles, glutamine holds great promise in protecting the gut from atrophy and injury under various stress conditions in mammals and other animals.

Here are some of the actual glutamine products I recommend and use with clients:

Pure Encapsulations L-Glutamine 500mg: L-glutamine (free-form) 500 mg, vitamin C (as ascorbyl palmitate) 5 mg. The capsules can be swallowed or the capsule can be opened on to the tongue
Designs for Health Glutamine Powder: This is a powdered glutamine that you can use right on your tongue or even mixed in water. The taste is quite pleasant.

As with all the amino acids, when using glutamine:

Start low (500mg is a typical starting dose) and increase as needed.
Do a trial to determine if the anxiety and sugar cravings are in fact due to low blood sugar. I always do this with clients before starting any amino acid. Be sure to read how to do an amino acid trial. It has the amino acid questionnaire, the precautions and information on how to use targeted individual amino acids.
Take between meals and away from protein for the best effects

The blog has many other posts on glutamine – simply use the “search” function to find them.

This blog post is part of the series of amino acid product reviews:

The resources in this blog and my other articles are intended to be used in conjunction with my book: The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings. If you do not have my book I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and taking the amino acid supplements:

There is a complete chapter on the amino acids and one for pyroluria, plus information on real whole food, sugar and blood sugar, gluten, digestion and much more.

You can find the glutamine products and the others I recommend here on this blog: The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements

I’d love to hear if glutamine has worked for you and how it’s helped? With low blood sugar symptoms and anxiety? For intense sugar cravings? For gut healing?

If you have questions please post them below or on the supplements blog

GABA is calming for me, doesn’t work for my daughter’s anxiety and makes my son sleepy

June 23, 2017 By Trudy Scott 10 Comments

I’m sharing this question I received on my GABA Calm blog to illustrate how different people respond to GABA and how some people may not even have the low GABA type of anxiety. Here is the question this mom posted:

I have used GABA (several brands, just open capsule and sprinkle small amount under tongue) for years now, with calming results within minutes. It was recommended to me by 2 family members, both bi-polar, who were tested by Dr. Amen. I have also used it with my children (now adults); my daughter says it doesn’t work for her. (She has anxiety issues and occasional panic attacks, and Rescue Remedy helps her.) It does work to calm my 3 sons, but one says it makes him sleepy, and lasts into the next day, so he won’t take it. Trudy, have you heard of this reaction? It seems extreme for such a small amount used. He is a college student and ‘medicates’ with caffeine, if that makes a difference.

She shared that she uses 500mg or 750mg capsules of GABA, and get several doses from a single cap (so maybe 100mg per dose).

This is what I shared with her: we are all biochemically different and one form of GABA (or GABA combined with other amino acids/nutrients such as GABA Calm) may work for one person and not another. Also one person may need more and another may do fine with much much less. Also anxiety has many underlying causes, with low GABA only being one of them.

If I was working with your daughter I’d have her trial higher amounts of GABA for the anxiety and panic attacks. I’d also look into low serotonin and a trial of tryptophan too especially if her anxiety is the worry, ruminating anxiety with insomnia and the blues, with increased afternoon and evening cravings for carbs and chocolates.

If I was working with your son, because it does work to calm him, I’d start by having him trial just 25mg of GABA and increase slowly from there, monitoring how he feels. His anxiety may also be related to his caffeine consumption – which can also affect sleep and the fatigue he feels in the morning could be related to that.

Note: She did ask this question on the GABA Calm blog and was planning to have them trial this form of GABA. I typically don’t have clients use GABA Calm at night (because of the tyrosine) but it’s certainly worth a trial especially with her son.

If you’re completely new to the amino acids for anxiety here is an overview with questionnaire, precautions and how to do a trial.

Niacin for anxiety and insomnia: Andrew W. Saul on That Vitamin Summit

May 16, 2017 By Trudy Scott 46 Comments

If you have trouble calming down or maybe difficulty sleeping at night, niacin may be worth investigating and trialing. Andrew W. Saul addresses this B vitamin on That Vitamin Summit which starts later this week and runs May 18 – 24 2017. (Note that it starts on a Thursday and not the usual Monday)

He covers the four types of niacin:

Niacin or plain old niacin, niacinamide, a no flush form that works just right for all mental and emotional issues but does not work for cholesterol issues. Inositol hexanicotinate which works well for everything but you have to use more it costs a little more money and it doesn’t work as well and then sustained release niacin which is prescription, expensive and has the most side effects.

Andrew discusses how to experiment and what you can expect in the way of flushing:

First of all you personally can experiment by trying some niacin and seeing how you feel. An example of this would be a healthy person who has a little trouble calming down maybe difficulty sleeping at night. Maybe they’re a little more anxious than they think they should be and perhaps taking some niacin would be a good thing to try. You could open up with 500 milligrams of niacin, breakfast lunch and dinner.

Now you’re probably going to flush and by the way if you have it with a meal you don’t flush as much. You don’t flush as quickly as you do if you take it on an empty stomach but you are still going to flush. The weird thing is you’re not going to flush for a couple of hours because you’re going to have the niacin with all that food and if you take the niacin in the middle of the meal or at the end of the meal there could be quite a delay before you have your flush.

Andrew does share what he calls “my wimpy way of taking niacin” where you slowly but surely increase from a low dose to avoid the flush.

He laughs about how Dr. Abram Hoffer was so fond of using niacin that he would tell people look just tough it out: “Tolerate the flush, it’s going to take a couple of weeks.”

And he also shares that Dr. Hoffer was his mentor and how Dr. Hoffer saw dramatic results with schizophrenia patients:

Now Dr. Abram Hoffer the world’s expert on niacin who started studying niacin in the early 1950’s and he was my personal mentor many decades later. Dr. Hoffer was a psychiatrist, a PhD as well as an MD and he treated over five thousand patients with niacin in his medical career.

The amount of niacin that you need for schizophrenia tends to be very high. Dr. Hoffer’s standard prescription was three thousand milligrams a day, divided into three doses of one thousand milligrams each.

It’s a fascinating interview and the most detailed one I’ve yet to hear on the topic of niacin. It’s not to be missed!

He goes on to cover the following

niacin for the treatment of alcoholic depression
other B vitamins like thiamine, vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and folate
plus multivitamins and whole food vitamins

I hope you can join us on That Vitamin Summit brought to you by makers of That Vitamin Movie which has been watched online by over one million people since its release in January 2016.

There are over 80 years of documented evidence that show how humble vitamins, minerals and other nutrients (such as amino acids – the topic of my interview) can prevent, and even cure major diseases like diabetes, arthritis heart disease and anxiety and depression. That Vitamin Summit 2 has assembled over 20 top experts to show YOU how to use these nutrients to increase your health and well-being almost immediately.

Here is the registration link for the summit which starts later this week on Thursday May 18 (note the Thursday start date)

Why green spaces in cities are good for grey matter, stress and anxiety

April 12, 2017 By Trudy Scott 2 Comments

I love all research that support green space and nature for anxiety and stress reduction. And I’m thrilled to see this taking a front seat in cities where people often have less access to greenery! A great example is the beautiful Central Park in New York City.

New research is reviewed in this report in Science Daily: Why green spaces in cities are good for grey matter

Walking between busy urban environments and green spaces triggers changes in levels of excitement, engagement and frustration in the brain, a study of older people has found.

Researchers at the Universities of York and Edinburgh say the findings have important implications for architects, planners and health professionals as we deal with an aging population.

The volunteers experienced beneficial effects of green space and preferred it, as it was calming and quieter, the study revealed.

Dr Chris Neale, Research Fellow, from the University of York’s Stockholm Environment Institute, said: “There are concerns about mental wellbeing as the global population becomes older and more urbanised.”

“Urban green space has a role to play in contributing to a supportive city environment for older people through mediating the stress induced by built up settings.”

You can read the study abstract here – Older People’s Experiences of Mobility and Mood in an Urban Environment: A Mixed Methods Approach Using Electroencephalography (EEG) and Interviews.

Personally I need greenery and nature and thrive on it!

How important is greenery for you? Especially if you’re a city person?