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IBS

GABA for bladder pain/interstitial cystitis and urgency, IBS pain and anxiety?

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gaba for pain

Is there a place for using the amino acid GABA as a supplement to help with bladder pain/interstitial cystitis and urgency and also help with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) pain – at the same time as easing physical anxiety caused by low GABA levels?

I’d like to share some quotes from this commentary, GABAB receptors in the bladder and bowel: therapeutic potential for positive allosteric modulators?

The bladder pain syndrome (or interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome) is a spectrum of urological symptoms characterized by frequency, urgency and pain on bladder filling.

Bladder pain syndrome is often present in those who have IBS and abdominal pain and the authors mention the role of GABA in both:

Of further note is the co-morbidity between bladder pain syndrome and other functional pain syndromes, in particular, irritable bowel syndrome, a functional gastrointestinal disorder associated with visceral abdominal pain and altered bowel habit.

… it is tempting to speculate that GABAB receptor positive allosteric modulators may display efficacy in not only functional pain disorders of the bladder, but also of the bowel, through modulation of either central and peripheral GABAB receptors, or both

Positive allosteric modulators increase the activity of the receptor so in this case they are referring to increasing the activity of the GABAB receptor, reducing both bladder pain and gut pain.

This commentary and the original paper refer to ADX71441, which has been shown in animal studies to be “a novel positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of the GABAB receptor that has shown encouraging results in pre-clinical models of anxiety, pain, overactive bladder and alcohol addiction.”

We know GABA eases anxiety and pain and is extremely beneficial when it comes to alcohol and other addictions. In a recent blog post I shared how PharmaGABA eases physical anxiety in a young man who has recently given up Adderall, alcohol and nicotine.

And given that depression, anxiety and stress is higher in women with urinary incontinence it makes sense that an amino acid such as GABA may also help ease some of the symptoms of bladder pain syndrome when low GABA is a factor.

Depending on the root cause/s it’s likely addressing low serotonin, low endorphins and low vitamin D may play a role too. Of course, a full functional medicine and nutritional work up and review of diet is key too. Bladder dysfunction is seen in up to one third of celiac patients. This can cause leaky gut and nutritional deficiencies leading to low levels of neurotransmitters such a GABA and serotonin. Dietary oxalates can often be a factor with bladder issues and pain.

Considering all of this in conjunction with learning from/working with a pelvic floor physical therapist is key.  I highly recommend someone like Isa Herrera, MSPT, CSCS who hosts online masterclass training sessions for those with pelvic health issues. Her next series airs online mid-February and you can learn more and register here.

Here are some related blog posts that you may find helpful:

In case you’re new to GABA you can read more about it here: GABA for the physical-tension and stiff-and-tense-muscles type of anxiety.

The supplements blog lists GABA products I use with clients and recommend to those in my community.

I’m proposing that there is a place for doing a trial of the amino acid GABA (as a supplement) to help with bladder pain/interstitial cystitis and urgency, especially when there are symptoms of low GABA. If GABA helps to ease the visceral pain caused by IBS/SIBO, it may also help with bladder pain.

Have you observed less bladder pain when using GABA for easing physical symptoms of low GABA anxiety (stiff and tense muscles, overwhelm, lying awake tensely at night, anxious and using alcohol to self-medicate in order to calm down)?

Have you noticed any reduction in bladder urgency when using GABA for anxiety?

Do you also have IBS pain or SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) pain that is eased by GABA?

Have the following helped: going gluten-free, lowering oxalates and/or working with a pelvic floor physical therapist?

If you’re a practitioner have you made any of these observations?

Please do share in the comments below and let me know if you found this helpful, what else has helped you or if you have questions.

Spore-based Probiotics for Serotonin and GABA with Kiran Krishnan: The Anxiety Summit 5

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spore-based probiotics

Kiran Krishnan is one my guest experts on The Anxiety Summit 5: Gut-Brain Axis and our topic is: Spore-based Probiotics for Serotonin and GABA.  What you’ll learn

  • How are spore-based probiotics different
  • Bacillus coagulans for depression with IBS symptoms
  • How they increase carotenoids and serotonin, and reduce inflammation
  • and more

Kiran Krishnan AS5

Kiran starts by explaining what makes spore-based probiotics different from other probiotics:

in terms of what makes them different – to begin with these are organisms that have a unique capability of covering themselves in a thick calcified protein-like coating. So it’s armor, essentially, around the bacterial cell.

This allows the bacteria to, of course. exist indefinitely in the environment. In harsh conditions under UV, radiation and desiccation.These are typically conditions that would kill off a lot of the bacteria that live in your gut. Virtually most of the bacteria, 90% of them cannot exist in that type of environment.

But it also allows these bacteria to come in through the gastric system, through the oral route, and survive the gauntlet that bacteria have to go through just getting through the process of digestion.

He goes on to explain how they can survive the stomach acid, the bile salts and the pancreatic enzymes and how all this is “a very specialized function of these microbes” and how very few bacteria have this capability.

We talk about a number of specific strains of spore-based probiotics and how they directly impact mood, anxiety, your gut health and microbiome:

  • bacillus coagulans is associated with bringing down depression, clinical depression, and at the same time alleviating IBS. And when you look at the correlation there it’s really interesting because IBS is associated with having a high risk for clinical depression.
  • bacillus licheniformis…it tends to increase the growth of other beneficial bacteria. Because one of the characteristics about these spore formers is that they have the ability to do something called quorum sensing. They get into the gut and they breed the microbial environment. They can find the overgrown pathogens or opportunistic bacteria that are causing problems. They’ll sit next to them and they’ll produce up to twenty five different antibiotics in that little micro environment to bring down the growth of those pathogens.

I ask some pressing questions like:

  • what have we seen in the research in terms of seeing changes in the microbiome if you do a stool test?
  • how Megaspore is best used when someone starts out because there is a method of titrating up?
  • why do you say other probiotics aren’t working? We do see some research showing that they are working

I find all of this quite fascinating and we do geek out a fair bit. He shares this: “what’s important to know is that these microbes had been producing these neurotransmitters and compounds before humans ever existed.”

kiran krishnan and trudy scott as5

Be sure to listen to Kiran’s wonderful interview to get a complete understanding of spore-based probiotics and how to use them to improve gut health and help with anxiety and mood issues.

anxiety summit

Please join us and listen to this interview and all the others on The Anxiety Summit 5: Gut-Brain Axis.

When you register now you’ll get access to there 3 interviews right away:

  • Fix the Brain to Fix the Gut – Datis Kharrazian, DHSc, DC, MS, FACN, CNS
  • MTHFR, B12 Genes and Anxiety – Carolyn Ledowsky, ND
  • Why Bile is the Key to Anxiety & Hormone Havoc – Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

anxiety summit 5 speakers

If you have already signed up for the summit, I hope you enjoy these interview highlights.

If you have yet to sign up, please do come and join us and learn.

Register for the Anxiety Summit 5

 

If you’re considering purchasing the summit to keep for your learning library, you have a number of options that include:

  • Online only or flash drive or both
  • A PDF or printed transcripts of all the interviews
  • The Best of Anxiety-Gut interviews from previous Anxiety Summits
  • GABA Quickstart Program (a group program with me on how to actually use GABA for your physical anxiety, with a private Facebook group and live Q & A call)
Purchase options

 

If you’re already familiar with spore-based probiotics please share how they have 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 in to Kiran’s interview and the others.

 

EMFs from computers, phones, smart meters and circuit breakers: insomnia, anxiety, depression, IBS, numb hands and skin issues

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EMFs from computers, phones, smart meters and circuit breakers can cause insomnia, anxiety, depression, IBS, numb hands and skin issues, and even play a role in the severity of autism and other chronic health conditions.

Investigative health journalist, Nick Pineault, also known as “The EMF Guy” is on a mission to create awareness and provide practical and research-based resources for practitioners via his ElectrosmogRX training. He kindly offered to answer questions from some of you in my community. Thank you if you submitted a question and if you didn’t hopefully you get to learn from these great questions that were submitted.

Sarah ask about smart meters, cell phone in the bedroom and a CPAP machine, and depression, IBS, insomnia, pain and sinus problems

PART 1: I’d like to know Nick’s thoughts on what to do about a smart meter outside a bedroom wall almost directly behind my husband’s side of the bed. He suffers from many things… depression IBS, diarrhea during stressful events, painful joints and muscles, fatigue, insomnia at times, sinus problems.

Here is Nick’s feedback for Sarah:

Smart utility meters have often been linked with an increase in a slew of symptoms. One 2013 survey conducted in Maine has shown that 98% of respondents were “fairly sure” or “very sure” that their meter had made them sicker.

Depression, digestive issues, joint pain, fatigue, insomnia are all possible EMF-related symptoms.

The best thing you can do is to call your utility company and have your smart meter replaced by an analog meter. In certain states they will charge you a monthly penalty for that, and in other states the utility company won’t let you do it.

If you can’t remove the smart meter, then your next best choice is to shield it. A cheap solution to dampen the signal is to install a Smart Meter Guard, but in the case of your husband there’s a chance this would not be enough.

You could install special shielding materials between your bedroom wall and the meter, with the help of a certified Building Biologist (find one in your state)

PART 2: I’ve just put our WiFi on a timer to turn off at night. He still charges his phone next to him at night and sleeps with a CPAP machine. My main question is, in the whole scheme of EMF exposure where does the smart meter stand? And how serious is this compared to having the phone charging at night and the CPAP machine?  Thanks very much for all that you do!

Here is Nick’s additional feedback for Sarah H:

Turning off the wifi at night is an extremely important step. In the case of your husband, again I’m not sure that will be sufficient.

I would try the following for 3 nights:

  • Make sure the CPAP machine is 3 or more feet away.
  • Charge the phones in another room
  • No wireless device in the room whatsoever
  • Unplug everything from the walls — lamps, alarm clocks, etc. Phones in Airplane Mode can act as an alarm clock, but don’t charge it on the bed stand.

See how his symptoms change. If there are improvements in his sleep and reduction in symptoms, it’ll be easier for him to get on board too.

I’d like to add to this and suggest also getting a meter to get your husband on board – seeing is often believing.

Nicole is concerned about numb hands, hypersensitivity to smells and skin issues

Can EMFs cause numb hands, hypersensitivity to smells, skin issues?

Here is Nick’s feedback for Nicole:

Numb hands is a very common symptom. A lot of people feel itchy, tingling or other weird sensations when they hold a cell phone.

Hypersensitivity to smells might be linked with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), which often comes with his cousin electro hypersensitivity (EHS).

EMFs can definitely be linked with skin issues as well. For starters, EMF cause oxidative stress in cells, which will lead to premature aging of the skin.

Many EHS sufferers have reported skin-related symptoms. The work of Dr. Dominique Belpomme from France has shown that 40% of EHS people have high histamine levels in their blood, and the work of Olle Johansson has shown that exposure to screens and TV monitors (sources of magnetic and electrical fields) causes mast cells to migrate to the top dermis and release more histamine.

Basically, this means that a lot of us could be having a type of low-level allergic reaction on the skin when exposed to various types of EMFs.

Dilia is concerned about the circuit breaker and EMFs

How can I deal with EMF? I live in a small apartment where the breaker of the house is located. Is there something I can do about this?

Here is Nick’s feedback for Dilia:

Make sure that this circuit breaker panel is at least several feet away from an area where you spend a lot of time. It is unfortunately very hard to shield against the magnetic fields emitted by a breaker panel — I would suggest hiring a Building Biologist if the breaker panel was right next to your bed, for example.

That being said, generally speaking, you can deal with EMFs by turning off your wireless devices when not in use.

This includes:

  • Hitting Airplane Mode on your phone unless you need it
  • Turning off the wifi at night when not in use and at night, or using wired ethernet (best)
  • “Unsmarting” the home by getting rid of cordless phones and other wireless gadgets if you can

Sarah J asks about EMF mitigating devices and harmonizers for anxiety, sleep issues and more

My family is experiencing a plethora of serious health issues including anxiety, major sleep issues, autism, multiple brain injuries, etc.

There are many EMF mitigating devices and harmonizers on the market.  Which products really make a difference? How can one know? Are there any specific brands you can recommend that really work?

How does one cut through the pretenders and find the products that really help? Thank you for the opportunity ask Nick!! I’ve struggling with these questions for a long time

Here is Nick’s feedback for Sarah J:

A lot of devices (chips you’d out on your cell phone or computer, pendants, etc.) claim to “harmonize” EMFs, but there is very little scientific validation to back up these claims.

I cannot deny that some of these devices have been shown to alleviate some symptoms: less frequent headaches, less blood clumping and better blood circulation, better HRV (a sign of lowered stress), etc.

That being said, there are a few problems with these devices:

a) They are often marketed as “protective” (prevents harm), but the manufacturers offer tests which demonstrate that they are “supportive” (reduces symptoms).

In other words, I have no seen a single manufacturer of these devices who could show me the scientific proof that if I installed one of these devices on my phone, my body would experience ZERO biological effects from it. No DNA damage, no oxidative stress.

b) As these devices reduce symptoms related to EMF exposure, some people use them as an excuse to increase their EMF exposure now that they don’t feel as sensitive to EMFs anymore.

If you keep all of the above in mind, using these pendant or “chips” isn’t a bad idea to reduce symptoms and support the body during times of inevitable exposure outside the home.

May I add that considering the plethora of symptoms that your family is experiencing — all of which have been linked in medical literature with EMF exposure — I suggest hiring a Building Biologist and having them do a thorough home survey in order to identify how you could minimize EMFs inside the home, and shield against outside exposures (cell phone towers, smart meters, etc.), if the need be.

I’d like to add that I am convinced my Qlink helps me, especially with sleep, but I also follow Nick’s advice and have no WiFi and very seldom use my smart phone. I also recently had someone share this with me: “I shut off my WiFi at night and wear a Qlink. I have tested the Qlink with looking at blood cells under a dark field microscope and when it’s removed there is definitely clumping of red blood cells. They move fine with it on.”

This question about EMF mitigating devices and harmonizers is the most common question I get related to EMFs so I’d like to reiterate Nick’s advice and share how Dr. Klinghardt supports his patients who have chronic health conditions – notice he makes no mention of devices or harmonizers.

The above slide is shared with permission from Nick Pineault’s ElectrosmogRX training (more details below).

Adriana asks this question about EMFs and sleep

My boyfriend cannot sleep for years now. We are in the outskirts of [a big city], close to the international airport. We lived in the city and there we had a lot of EMF (3 GSM antennas on the neighboring block, WiFi with every neighbor in the block – 10 stories high and 4 apartments/floor + intelligent meters for heating on every heater in the house. That was a lot for him and after we moved outside the city, to a house and in a low-density housing area, then it was better for him. But he sits at the laptop for 6-8 hours every day. You think that may be affecting him that much?

Here is Nick’s feedback for Adriana:

Your boyfriend might be feeling symptoms related to EMF exposure, and sleep disturbance is one of the most common ones.

If he exposes himself to a laptop connected via WiFi, then his symptoms might persist.

In his case, especially if he works at the computer all day, every day — I’d recommend cutting off the WiFi anytime it’s not in use and using his computer via an ethernet cable instead of WiFi.

Turn off the WiFi at night, unplug everything from the walls and even turn off the circuit breaker to the bedroom at night for at least 3 days and sees if this helps him.

In order to alleviate EMF sensitivity, it’s critical that he takes extra step to reduce his exposure as much as possible.

If you’re a practitioner, are you looking at the impact EMFs have on the health of your clients/patients and do you feel comfortable answering questions like these ones? If not, Nick Pineault is on a mission to create awareness and provide practical and research-based resources for practitioners via his ElectrosmogRX training (it’s 33% off for a limited time).

Nick is also offering these non-cost resources so you can be as informed as possible:

This blog is strictly about EMFs – which cannot be ignored – but we must not forget how the amino acids like GABA and tryptophan can help with anxiety and depression, and even pain and IBS. They can both also help with insomnia as can melatonin which has been shown to be disrupted by EMF exposure. This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of nutritional support for EMF-related issues for both healing and resilience – Nick covers it all in the ElectrosmogRX training (which I’ve done and wholeheartedly endorse).

Are you seeing improvements in your health once you address EMFs? What changes have you made? Have nutritional changes helped too?

Lyme Disease: An Overlooked Underlying Cause of IBS & SIBO

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Lyme disease is an overlooked underlying cause of IBS & SIBO and Dr. Tom Messinger addresses this fascinating connection in his interview on the IBS & SIBO SOS Summit, happening September 3-10, 2018.

Summit host, Shivan Sarna, found out about this connection when she told Dr. Messinger that her feet really hurt. He responded with this:

You know, the spirochetes from Lyme do like the feet

Who knew!?

He also shared that an acute presentation of Lyme disease can manifest with GI symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea:

a common underlying cause of SIBO is what’s considered either a GI flu or food poisoning. Most times, clinically, you can’t tease out which of those two scenarios happened. The person just has the same symptoms—nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping.

However, there is research—and that’s published research—showing that one of the ways an acute presentation of Lyme disease can manifest is that those GI symptoms—nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.

So, a person that has that, and then years down the road is diagnosed with SIBO, it’s traced back to that as probably the onset, and thinking, “Well, it’s probably a GI flu,” you don’t get worked up for it, or it was a food poisoning, but it could’ve actually been a tick bite, Lyme disease, that caused that. And it was written off as it was just a GI flu. So an acute presentation, Borrelia can cause those symptoms that may lead down the road to SIBO.

And there is more:

  • We know that Borrelia does live in the intestinal lining cells
  • Borrelia has an affinity for nervous system tissue and that’s why there’s a lot of neurological symptoms in Lyme. But as we know, the GI system has a lot of nervous system tissue in it. It’s felt that Borrelia has an impact on the migrating motor complex and definitely has a profound impact on motility. It could either make motility hyperactive or hypoactive (diarrhea or constipation).
  • Borrelia has a great affinity for that and usually will impact the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is your main parasympathetic nerve in your body that helps to regulate all of your digestive function—hydrochloric acid secretion, pancreatic enzyme secretion, motility.

He reminds us to not discount the possibility of Lyme disease based on the following belief:

Well, I don’t live in the northeast. I don’t hike. I’ve never had a tick bite with a bulls eye rash. So there’s no way I could have Lyme disease

Dr. Messinger goes on to talk about the incidence of Lyme, how it can be transmitted, how it affects many body systems (digestion, neurological, hormones etc.), the challenges with Lyme testing, treatment and how overall toxicity may be playing a role in symptom severity.

I have chronic SIBO myself and I’m a speaker on the summit too. I cover how GABA reduces the visceral pain of IBS & SIBO, eases anxiety and helps with insomnia, plus some other protocols for easing the pain when the dreaded belly bloat occurs and you can’t sleep.

I’m also in the process of testing for Lyme disease. I wonder if this is one of the underlying causes of my SIBO? You’ll be sure to hear from me once I find out more.

Summit host, Shivan, asks the excellent questions YOU would ask if you were in the room with these experts. She draws on her own experience with painful digestive issues and years of failed treatments (alternative and conventional) to be YOUR champion for improved health…

…and she’s here to share her knowledge with you!

Join us at The IBS & SIBO SOS Summit to learn more about:

  • Identifying the root cause of your digestive struggles
  • Saving money from wasted doctor visits and ineffective treatments
  • Identifying which foods cause your flares
  • Naturopathic and conventional principles important to gut healing
  • Strategies for food reintroduction
  • Treatments, protocols and diets for IBS and/or SIBO
  • And more!

The IBS & SIBO SOS Summit is online and complimentary from September 3-10, 2018!

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

GABA reduces the visceral pain of IBS & SIBO, eases anxiety and helps with insomnia

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I have chronic SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) and shared some insights – during an interview on the IBS & SIBO SOS Summit – on what helps me when I’m trying a new protocol or new food and get that awful and painful belly bloat.

It’s so bad that I’m in pain all night, tossing and turning and can’t sleep…. and Iberogast, enzymes and peppermint and lavender essential oil on my bloated belly help so much:

Because of the cellulose in one of the Candibactin products, I was getting the bloating. And the Iberogast taken at night just before I went to bed (together with a few other things) definitely helped with some of the bloating.

For me, the problem with the bloating is the pain (obviously), but worse than that is the lack of sleep. If I’m bloated, it just feels like I’m tossing and turning the whole night. And if I don’t get eight hours of sleep, I’m a mess. So, the biggest issue for me is the impact on my sleep.

But if I’ve got this huge, bloated belly which was happening a lot, I take enzymes that help with carb digestion. I will also rub peppermint essential oil on my belly. So I’ve got a little bowl of coconut oil with a dab of lavender (it’s calming and it helps you sleep as well) and a little bit of peppermint oil.

There’s a number of studies showing that essential oil or peppermint ingested in a capsule can help with IBS. And I’ve found that, topically, it can help too. So that works for me to help with some of the bloating.

I also share about my 2 favorite amino acids – you guessed it – GABA and tryptophan. They just have so many applications! In this instance of painful belly bloating they help with pain and sleep and improve motility:

The other thing that helps is GABA which is one of the amino acids. There is research discussing the role of GABA in stress-induced visceral hypersensitivity. GABA helps with reducing the visceral pain that is seen with IBS/SIBO because we have GABA receptors in various parts of the body, including the digestive system. GABA is amazing for physical tension/anxiety and it can ease that. I’m thinking that this easing of physical tension may be one of the mechanisms as to how it works for some of the pain issues.

I do want to mention something about GABA – it works most effectively when taken sublingually. I just chew a capsule and get the results. And it works within five minutes.

And then, the other one that I use at night is tryptophan. This really helps with the sleep as well by boosting serotonin levels. It actually helps with motility too – there’s research showing this.

If your SIBO causes increased anxiety, these two amino acids would help ease those symptoms too – GABA for the physical anxiety and tryptophan for the worry in the head anxiety:

And then, it helps with anxiety as well if that’s an issue – for many people with IBS and SIBO, anxiety is an issue.

Summit host, Shivan Sarna, shares how LDN (low dose naltrexone) has helped her tremendously (she also has chronic SIBO) and we discuss how too much can increase anxiety and impact your sleep. Since doing this interview I’ve had feedback from two people who successfully used GABA Calm to reduce their anxiety from too high a dose of LDN.

We also touch on some of the possible mechanisms of LDN, I share some of the benefits of berberine, and we discuss benzodiazepines which are so often prescribed for IBS/SIBO (for the anxiety, the insomnia and the pain) and why nutritional approaches are a safer option.

Have topical peppermint/lavender essential oils helped with belly bloat?

Has GABA or tryptophan helped you with the pain, poor motility or anxiety associated with SIBO?

Feel free to post your feedback and questions in the comments below.

Histamine issues: IBS, fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, depression, migraines

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Dr. Ben Lynch is hosting the Dirty Genes Summit Jan 22-39 and he shares this about you and your genes:

You are not a victim of circumstance… born with bad genes, destined to die of whatever your family tree has genetically bequeathed you.

The way your genes express is unique – and it can change throughout your life. 

Knowing how to create that change is vitally important and you’ll see how clear this is in his wonderful histamine interview with Yasmina Ykelenstam of Healing Histamine.

I love the bucket analogy where Yasmina shares about histamine and inflammation:

Imagine the body as a giant bucket and there is only so much inflammation you can put into it before our inflammation causing behaviors that you can fill it up with before you spill over symptoms. So let’s say you fill it with a few high histamine foods; then you feel it up with stress; then you fill it up to being exposed to animal hair (dander); then pollen season starts; and woah, we’re right, right, right at the top; and then we eat an apple which is not high histamine, it doesn’t cause inflammation, in fact, it’s anti-inflammatory; and suddenly we spill over because the active digestion itself is an inflammatory process.

We blame the poor little apple and not the hamburger we ate the week ago that started the inflammation bucket filling up. We don’t blame the puppy because we love the doggy so much. We certainly don’t blame our stress because we don’t want to take too hard a look at our lives and how difficult it would be for us to make changes, steps to take real steps to handle our stress and to start meditating or to remove stressful processes from our life because that’s just too much for us to handle

She shares how you can combat some of this by adding foods with

anti-properties: anti-histamine and anti-inflammatory properties…I just stopped eating the wrong high histamine foods, the processed ones, the sugary ones, the ones that added nothing to my life beyond the two seconds in my mouth.

Dr. Lynch asks Yasmina to list symptoms she experienced in this midst of her histamine issues (many of which are commonly seen in individuals with histamine issues)

IBS, which is mostly loose stools or being totally bound up so you can’t go to the bathroom for 8 days and they tend to go back and forth… severe swelling of the stomach – what I call basketball stomach… At my worse, it was projectile vomiting and constant nausea, and constant until it went away… chronic migraines. I once had migraines every day for six months before they went away. Common symptoms include dizziness, brain fog, low blood pressure, feeling dizzy when you stand up… really, inability to think straight is a really, really big one. It’s kind of like somebody almost puts a wet blanket over your brain. It tends to happen after you eat.

She also shares how fatigue after eating is often an issue. And how intolerance to alcohol is a factor, specifically red wine:

Most people do better with tequila, vodka, rum and gin, although alcohol paralyzes the thiamine oxidase, histamine degrading enzyme.

There is also a mental health impact from histamine issues – histamine is a neurotransmitter – and Yasmina shares how this may impact you:

…it affects dopamine, GABA, serotonin, and it can make us depressed. It can also make us manic as I discovered in my teens. It can mimic the symptoms of bipolar disorder and also schizophrenia. There’s been a few interesting studies where certain types of antihistamines that are not available on the market were able to reverse schizophrenia symptoms better than antipsychotic medications.

Anxiety is also a very, very big histamine symptom and whenever I see somebody who has a histamine problem, they do tend to be quite stressed out and kind of the chicken or the egg, which came first. But definitely histamine causes more stress and anxiety and that again is in the medical research.

This statement about symptoms rotating was new to me and may be new to you too:

It has to be consistent and then it goes away and then it comes back again. That’s what’s really confusing about histamine because: 1. It mimics many disorders, and 2. The symptoms rotate

All in all, this is a fascinating interview and well worth listening to!

Join the summit and you will learn that your genes can be turned off or on and this event will teach:

  • How Do Your Genes Impact You?
  • How to Clean Your Genes With Food
  • About Your Genes and Your Mental Health
  • How to Alter Your Genetic Expression
  • The Building Blocks of Healthy Families (and generations!)
  • An Understanding of How Your Genes Work
  • Genetic Testing and How to Clean Up Your Genes for the Long Term

Register for the Dirty Genes Summit here – to hear this entire interview and learn from Dr. Ben Lynch and the other experts he interviews.

Hope you can join!