Dr. Christine Schaffner is one of my guest experts on The Anxiety Summit 6: Toxins/Meds/Infections!
and our topic is: The Glymphatic System for Brain Detox
- The astrocyte as the brain pacman for lead and mercury
- Tonsils, aquaporins, lymph drainage, PANDAS, anxiety and OCD
- GABA, sleep, anxiety and high-dose neuroprotective melatonin
and much more.
Here is a snippet from our discussion on the glymphatic system, lead, astrocytes, GABA and aquaporin channels (paraphrased as I don’t yet have transcripts).
In case you’re new to the glymphatic system it is
a recently discovered macroscopic waste clearance system that utilizes a unique system of perivascular tunnels, formed by astroglial cells, to promote efficient elimination of soluble proteins and metabolites from the central nervous system.
Besides waste elimination, the glymphatic system also facilitates brain-wide distribution of several compounds, including glucose, lipids, amino acids, growth factors, and neuromodulators. Intriguingly, the glymphatic system functions mainly during sleep and is largely disengaged during wakefulness.
I’ve been dying to interview Dr. Schaffner since I first heard her present on this topic AND because it’s a relatively new discovery.
During the interview I ask her this question: We know lead (one of the heavy metals) can increase anxiety and cause panic attacks. How does lead adversely impact the glymphatic system?
Dr. Schaffner shares this:
Yes, lead is a neurotoxin and loves fat tissue. Because of this it impacts the health of the astrocytes (a sub-type of glial cells) and the flow of lymph around neurons. Lead can also compromise the blood brain barrier. The astrocytes act like a pacman to take up lead in the brain but they are also impaired by lead. This has an effect on GABA which is calming. GABA also helps the aquaporin channels work better which improves flow of lymph in the brain and helps with detox.
How incredible is this – I share how big a fan I am of GABA:
I’m a big fan of GABA.. .GABA used as a supplement helps to raise GABA levels (of the brain chemical GABA) so it’s calming and helps with sleep. And now we know it helps keep the aquaporin channels open and helps with detoxification of toxins like lead!
This is one of the registration gifts so you can listen to it right away as soon as you register (there will also be a complimentary transcript made available as soon as it’s completed.)
Here is a little about the summit… as you know, anxiety can be related to your daily life experiences BUT it can also be triggered by:
- foods you eat and what you drink (like wheat, oxalates, alcohol and more)
- environmental toxins (like lead, plastics, fragrances, insecticides, fluoride and more)
- many types of medications (like the birth control pill, acne medication, fluoroquinolone antibiotics and more) and/or
- chronic infections (like Lyme disease, PANDAS, parasites, candida and more).
Once you identify the root causes and understand anxiety’s mechanisms you can support the liver/gallbladder, detox, address infections, implement targeted and supportive solutions, and get relief!
WHY ATTEND?
This is my 6th Anxiety Summit, featuring all new topics and the latest research related to anxiety and toxins, medications and infections.
I’ve also experienced many of these health challenges myself – lead and mercury toxicity, gluten issues and candida – and I’m currently dealing with chronic Lyme disease and dietary oxalate issues. You’ll hear some of my healing journey and my solutions in a few interviews too.
WHAT SETS THIS ONLINE EVENT APART?
What sets this apart from other events on toxins and infections is being able to make the many connections to GABA (the main calming neurotransmitter) and serotonin (a happy and calming neurotransmitter) AND how to use the amino acids GABA and tryptophan to ease your anxiety right away while you are dealing with the other underlying root causes – which take longer to address.
You will see this woven into each of the expert interviews (just like this one with Dr. Schaffner) and also addressed in detail in my 3 interviews where I do a deep dive into specific applications.
For example, in my toxins interview, I share how GABA reverses fluoride-induced anxiety and hypothyroidism, and how tryptophan and vitamin C ease anxiety symptoms associated with lead toxicity (I’ll be sharing more about this in the future so stay tuned….)
Over the course of the next 6 weeks you’ll be seeing frequent emails from me with snippets and highlights from various interviews – like this one. I do hope you continue to enjoy them and get excited about the summit! Please do share if you know someone who has anxiety!
It’s been wonderful to get all the emails saying how excited you are and seeing so many of you signing up. These last few months have been full-time on research and interviews and I’ll shortly get to share it all with you!
You’ve heard me say the Anxiety Summit has been called “a bouquet of hope!” My wish for you is that this summit is your bouquet of hope!
I hope you’ll join me and these incredible speakers, be enlightened and find YOUR solutions!
Here’s to no more anxiety and you feeling on top of the world again!
If you’re already familiar with some of this information and practice some of this already please share how it’s helped you. That way we can all learn.
If you’d like to ask a question, please post in the comments below.
I’d also love to hear from you once you’ve listened to this interview. Please do come back and comment about some of the highlights of this interview and what changes you plan to make.