lavender

GABA and Silexan (an oral lavender product) for anxiety, panic attacks, agoraphobia, insomnia and stressful events like travel/social events

February 24, 2023 By Trudy Scott 29 Comments

When sharing a study on the benefits of Silexan, a proprietary formulation of oral lavender essential oil (used as a supplement), I received this feedback from Kat. She uses both Silexan and GABA with success, depending on the situation:

I used Silexan (CalmAid) here in the USA, for 7 weeks and had wonderful results!!

I was having daily constant panic attacks… agoraphobia and insomnia. They put me on several SSRIs to which I had severe reactions to. The Silexan saved me! I was able to get my life back. I used it nightly and it helped tremendously with sleep and anxiety. I heard about it through The Carlat Report Psych podcast and website after a desperate search to find something to help.

It’s a product that I highly recommend to everyone I know who suffers with anxiety. I now use it only as needed. There are no side effects except a perfume burp but that’s tolerable for me! It can be stopped without any withdrawal effects.

And this is how she responded when I asked if she had previously done a trial of GABA or tryptophan and how Silexan compared to the amino acids.

I use the GABA during times where the panic is increasing (GABA Calm 1/2 tablet, sublingually).

I use the Silexan when I have something stressful planned like travel, social events etc. Silexan works so well without any side effects and can be stopped without any withdrawal effects.

The GABA is an immediate effect vs the Silexan which is slower acting but lasts throughout the day.

What wonderful results for Kat. I thanked her for sharing and voiced my concern with CalmAid and some of the other products that contain Silexan: they contain canola oil. I just wish they stopped making this with canola oil! I share more about this below and another product option that doesn’t use canola oil.

GABA or Silexan? Kat’s sweet spot, serotonin and pyroluria

If you’re wondering where you should start – GABA or Silexan? If you’ve been following my work or even starting to use GABA, you’ll know I always start clients with GABA when they have low GABA symptoms of physical anxiety and tension.

I agree with Kat – it’s very typical for GABA to provide immediate results. I did also share with her that in order to get longer lasting effects GABA does need to be used 3-4 x day, between meals. This means that, for her, GABA may offer similar results to Silexan by slowly building up her GABA levels.

However, Kat has found the sweet spot she needs by using this combination so I would stick with this approach.

If she did decide to stop using Silexan in the future, tryptophan may be needed too – for low serotonin worry-type anxiety symptoms. She did mention that she doesn’t currently use tryptophan and Silexan also affects serotonin levels.

I do love that Kat plans for stressful events and uses Silexan in these situations. She does mention needing it for social events so I’d suggest looking into pyroluria too. More here on this social anxiety condition and how zinc, vitamin B6 and other key nutrients can help.

Kat’s dietary changes, no caffeine, no sugar and cravings?

I also asked if she has also made dietary changes and quit caffeine, alcohol and sugar. Kat shared that she doesn’t drink any caffeine and hasn’t since 2015. Good for her – caffeine is a major anxiety trigger. She does recognize that her anxiety gets worse when she’s eating a lot of processed foods/gluten/dairy/soy and she limits these.

I said it’s best to avoid these trigger foods altogether. This is often easier said than done! The amino acids help so much to break the addiction and eliminate the need to use willpower: GABA for stress-eating, tryptophan or 5-HTP if her cravings happen mostly in the afternoon and evening, and DPA if comfort foods are her reward. More on the amino acids and cravings here.

I thanked Kat for sharing her wonderful results and asked for permission to share as a blog. I always appreciate being able to do this so I can continue to educate and inspire. This also shows how there is no-one size fits all.

Silexan research on anxiety and insomnia

This is the study I shared on Facebook – Prescription of Silexan Is Associated with Less Frequent General Practitioner Repeat Consultations Due to Disturbed Sleep Compared to Benzodiazepine Receptor Agonists: A Retrospective Database Analysis

The prescription of Silexan to adult patients consulting general practitioners (GPs) for disturbed sleep results in less frequent repeat consultations than Z-drugs (including zolpidem, zopiclone, and zaleplon).

This may support Silexan’s role as an efficacious, self-enabling, well-tolerated, and sustained treatment option.

Because Silexan is a proven anxiolytic, its impact in improving undiagnosed anxiety disorders may have had a lasting effect for certain patients.

As explained in this same paper, “Silexan is an active substance with an essential oil produced from Lavandula angustifolia flowers.” It’s a proprietary lavender oil that complies with and exceeds the European Pharmacopoeia quality definition for the monograph lavender oil. “Several studies have shown positive effects of Silexan on symptoms of subsyndromal/mild anxiety or GAD [generalized anxiety disorder] compared to conventional treatment or placebo groups.”

Silexan and other oral lavender products

The proprietary product of Silexan, with 80mg of Lavandula angustifolia essential oil, is found in a number of products:

Nature’s Way CalmAid ® (this is the product Kat used/uses)
Integrative Therapeutics Lavela ™
Seremind ® (in Australia)

This supplement, NFH Lavender SAP, does not use the proprietary Silexan but does contain 80mg of organic lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) essential oil. This product is my preference since it contains olive oil and not canola oil like the others mentioned above.

All of the above are available in my online supplement store (for US purchases only). Nature’s Way CalmAid ® is also available on iherb.

Dosing recommendations for adults is 1 softgel once or twice daily with a full glass of water. There is a caution not to use while pregnant, nursing, or for children under 12 years of age.

GABA for anxiety, insomnia, sugar cravings, sensorimotor skills and immunity

I share case studies and research about GABA all the time so I’ll just share links to some of the past GABA blogs in case you’re new to GABA (a calming amino acid and neurotransmitter):

Resources if you are new to using GABA and other amino acids as supplements

If you are new to using GABA or any of the other amino acids as supplements, here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution (you can see all the symptoms of neurotransmitter imbalances, including low GABA and low serotonin).

If you suspect 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 on your own so you are knowledgeable. And be sure to share it with the practitioner/health team you or your loved one is working with.

There is an entire chapter on the amino acids and they are discussed throughout the book in the sections on gut health, gluten, blood sugar control, sugar cravings, self-medicating with alcohol and more.

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 acids that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs. You can find them all in my online store. The above oral lavender products are available in my online store too.

If, after reading this blog and my book, you don’t feel comfortable figuring things out on your own (i.e. doing the symptoms questionnaire and respective amino acids trials), a good place to get help is the GABA QuickStart Program (if you have low GABA symptoms). This is a paid online/virtual group program where you get my guidance and community support.

If you are a practitioner, join us in The Balancing Neurotransmitters: the Fundamentals program. This is also a paid online/virtual program with an opportunity to interact with me and other practitioners who are also using the amino acids.

Have you found that an oral lavender product such as Silexan (used as a supplement) helps with your anxiety, panic attacks and/or sleep?

Have you used the NFH Lavender SAP product with similar success to other Silexan products?

Do you also use the amino acid GABA (sublingually) and in what situations do you use GABA vs oral lavender?

How much of each do you use?

If you have other questions and feedback please share them here too.

My spider bite and what I did to heal

August 2, 2019 By Trudy Scott 24 Comments

I’m writing this blog to share pictures of the spider bite on the middle finger of my right hand and what I did to heal. I am the first to admit that I am no expert in this area and I am simply sharing my personal story and what I decided was best for me and my body.

I did see a doctor and he said he suspected it was a bite from a white-tailed spider. A local naturopath and a pharmacist also said it looked like a bite from a white-tailed spider (independently of each other).

It got infected and then “grew” into two large new infections, possibly multiple spider bites? I don’t recall being bitten but did have a bad day where it felt like I had been “gluten-ed” – aching all over, stiff neck, wiped out and bad night’s sleep. Maybe it was the result of the bite?

There is also the possibility swimming and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef contributed to the infection. It was covered but water may have gotten inside the dressing. I was also away from home for a week and living in an environment with a fair bit of second-hand smoke and that may have lowered my immunity too.

I did end up having a tetanus shot per the doctor’s recommendation. I had to make a quick decision because the next day I was heading to a farm for 3 days. Upon reflection I doubt it would have made any difference. I hadn’t had a tetanus shot for over 30 years so now I am all set for the next 30 years.

I opted for no antibiotics but did have a prescription in case they grew bigger. I decided to use what I’ve used for boils in the past – cleaning them with tea-tree oil and lavender essential oil and using castor oil and manuka honey topically, together with tons of immune-boosting and natural anti-bacterial products. These included: oregano oil, garlic and colloidal silver as natural antibiotics; and all this for immune boosting: extra zinc, extra vitamin C, extra vitamin D, and Echinacea.

This picture (above) was taken July 6 and was the first picture I took because before then it looked like a slightly infected scratch. I started to clean it daily with lavender and tea tree essential oil and kept it covered with a nice big smear of raw Manuka honey and castor oil (castor oil on the gauze first with honey on top of it).

By July 9 the one bite had “morphed” into three and they were looking pretty nasty (as you can see in the above 2 pictures). I wouldn’t say I was overly anxious, but I did have a few moments of worry about whether what I was doing was going to be enough. I was watching and hoping it wasn’t going to spread beyond my finger.

By July 10 and 11 (these 2 pictures above) they were looking very red and I could tell I was really fighting an infection. I continued to watch carefully to make sure it stayed local.

And then a day later, July 12, the 3 bites were looking less inflamed and I could tell they were starting to heal nicely. I continued to clean them as above and use Manuka honey/castor oil daily, plus all the nutrients.

This is what they looked like by July 16 – the initial bite has healed, and the 2^nd and 3rd bites are starting to heal.

Around July 19 I did feet out of sorts for a good week. I had no pain but my finger was still swollen and I had low energy and a foggy brain.

I started to use this – Quin’s Healing Ointment – topically during this last week, always keeping the bites covered. It’s a formulation from a local herbalist Sue Quin and I like that it has manuka honey and calendula, together with zinc. Symphytum/comfrey also helps with wound healing.

Here you can see all 3 bites nicely healed with new pink skin underneath. This picture was taken yesterday. I’ll start using Helichrysum essential oil (for additional skin healing) together with lavender essential oil in a carrier like coconut oil. I’m going to use lavender because I’m not fond of the Helichrysum aroma and because lavender is healing too (and my favorite essential oil!).

As I mentioned, this is not my area of expertise, but I’ve had enough interest and many requests to share. Documenting it all also helps me if I ever have to go through something like this again – because I’ll hopefully know what to expect.

When I first shared about my spider bite in my newsletter, I was very touched by all the wonderful caring emails – thank you so much for your kind thoughts and tips for me. You are just wonderful!

If you did email me with your healing tips (I read all the emails) please feel free to post them here in the comments.

And even if you didn’t email me but have your own healing tips about what has worked for you do post them too. We can all learn from each other.

Stunning lavender labyrinth in Michigan: meditative benefits for anxiety

June 28, 2019 By Trudy Scott Leave a Comment

There is a stunning lavender labyrinth in Michigan – Lavender Labyrinth at Cherry Point Farm and Market, and just seeing the image with all the beautiful purple lavender makes me feel relaxed and smiling. Imagine being there and smelling all that lavender too!

We now know labyrinths have meditative benefits when it comes to anxiety and stress. They share this on their site:

The labyrinth is an ancient spiral pattern which, when walked, is thought to be a spiritual journey, and symbolic of one’s path in life. In recent years, labyrinths have undergone a dramatic revival as a meditation, relaxation, and spiritual tool. Unlike a maze, a labyrinth is a continuous circuit and you cannot get lost.

I recently shared a Facebook post of the above superb image. The post was so popular I want to share it here too for you to enjoy too.

Christine Fothergill shared this: “I’ve been there! It’s on cherry country near our house!!!! Tons of medicinal herbs in that garden too!”

Diane Lalomia, who lives nearby shared that “it is quite a magical place to get lost in.” She also offered these tips for visiting:

The lavender is usually in full bloom around the first week of July. The last week of June through the middle of July is the best time to visit.
It’s a very serene place
The lavender is usually in flower and has the strongest scent.
The nearest big city (for flying into the area) would be Grand Rapids. The lavender maze is in Shelby, MI which is just a little over an hour from Grand Rapids.
Nearby is also Silver Lake and if you plan on staying a day or two, Sleeping Bear Dunes is one of the 7 wonders of the world

She also shared these additional photos that she took and kindly gave me permission to post on this blog.

There are papers on the meditative benefits of labyrinth walking. This paper, Effects of Reflective Labyrinth Walking Assessed Using a Questionnaire, reports this background information:

Meditation as it is currently known is an ancient practice, which can be traced back to Asian traditions. With the proper technique, a state of physical relaxation and respiratory balance can be reached naturally and spontaneously. This paper considers meditative labyrinth walking to be a unique expression of Dr. Lauren Artress’ work, who studied and applied the image of the labyrinth on the floor of the Chartres Cathedral in France.

The conclusion of this cross-sectional non-randomized study with 30 participants is as follows:

This study showed that the practice of labyrinth walking is a physical, emotional, and sensory experience. On the clinical level, correlating this experience to the planning of care seems to be particularly relevant.

With all that lavender you also get the calming benefits from that too. In one study, Essential oil inhalation on blood pressure and salivary cortisol levels in prehypertensive and hypertensive subjects, 83 participants who were hypertensive (high blood pressure) or prehypertensive were asked to inhale an essential oil blend of lavender, ylang-ylang, marjoram, and neroli with the following ratio (20 : 15 : 10 : 2).

The study group experienced the relaxation effects of this particular blend of essential oils leading to:

significant decreases in the concentration of salivary cortisol
reduced blood pressure
and stress reduction.

You can read more about this study here.

Be sure to check out Cherry Point Farm and Market for more information and other lovely images. With appreciation to them for permission to share the image on my blog and to Diane for her images and tips. Here’s a link to her new photography website.

Have you experienced the meditative benefits of labyrinth walking? Have you been to this this lavender labyrinth? And did you find it calming?

We’d love to hear about your experiences.

DIY moisturizer recipes to lower inflammation and reduce anxiety, panic, PTSD, phobias and social anxiety?

May 3, 2019 By Trudy Scott 16 Comments

Could daily use of a good quality moisturizer help to reduce anxiety, panic, PTSD, phobias and social anxiety by reducing inflammation? Last week I blogged about a new pilot study on how a skin moisturizer reduced inflammation in older adults and extrapolated these results suggesting this may well be applicable for you if you suffer from anxiety because of the reduced inflammation. The benefits of touch, the oxytocin boost and slowing down for some self-care most likely play a role too. I promised to share some DIY home-made moisturizer recipes so here goes. You’ll see that many of these include ingredients that are helpful for anxiety when used stand-alone, so you get that benefit too.

Dr. Mariza shares Lavender-Cocoa Body Lotion Bars and a Soothing Skin Roller Blend

Dr. Mariza Snyder, author of The Essential Oils Hormone Solution (my Amazon link) and Smart Mom’s Guide to Essential Oils (my Amazon link), has a lovely recipe for DIY lotion bars on her site which she gave me permission to share here. She describes these bars as a “luxurious chocolaty-lavender post-shave moisturizer.” She adds that “Lavender and Geranium essential oils are the perfect combination when it comes to softening the skin while helping you to relax in the process.”

Lavender-Cocoa Body Lotion Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup beeswax pastilles
1 cup cocoa butter
1 cup coconut oil
2 teaspoons vitamin E
10 drops lavender essential oil
10 drops geranium essential oil

Directions: Combine all ingredients except essential oils in a double boiler or a glass bowl over a smaller sauce pan with 1 inch of water in it. Bring to a boil. Stir ingredients until they are completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat and then add essential oils and stir. Pour mixture into silicone bake cup molds for the lotion to solidify, allowing them to completely dry before removing them from the molds. Store lotion bars in a clean container and apply to body after a shower. The heat from your body will melt the lotion! Yield: 10-12 bars (depending on molds).

Check out her blog for other self-care recipes like a salt scrub, a cooling peppermint shaving cream and a razor burn serum (with versions for both women and men).

When I reached out to her for recipes, Dr. Mariza also shared a soothing skin healing blend recipe saying: “I’ve used this blend to reduce inflammation and redness on irritated skin with incredible success! I’ve treated a lot of acute eczema and psoriasis with this blend flare ups.”

Soothing Skin Roller Blend

Ingredients:

5 drops Melaleuca/Tea Tree essential oil
5 drops Geranium essential oil
6 drops Rose essential oil (optional)
6 drops Lavender essential oil
6 drops Frankincense essential oil
Fractionated Coconut Oil or Carrier Oil of choice

Directions: Add essential oils to 10ml roller bottle and top off with Fractionated Coconut oil, or carrier oil of your choice. Apply directly over the area of concern to reduce red, irritated skin. Use as needed.

You can read my review of her book here): The Essential Oils Hormone Solution.

Dr. Z and Mama Z share their most used recipe: DIY Healing Skin Serum

Dr. Eric Zielinski, author of The Healing Power of Essential Oils (my Amazon link), and known affectionately as Dr. Z, and his wonderful wife, Mama Z, gave me permission to share this DIY Healing Skin Serum recipe. They run the Natural Living Family site.

Mama Z’s DIY Healing Skin Serum

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cold fresh frozen aloe, or aloe vera gel
1 tablespoon organic coconut oil (softened or melted)
5 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops frankincense essential oil

Directions:

Blend the aloe gel, coconut oil and essential oils in a Magic Bullet or food processor until smooth.
Once well mixed, store in a class jar or glass salve container in a cool place so the coconut oil remains hardened.
Store in fridge or cool place and enjoy at least once per day. Make fresh each week.

Notes: No matter what allergies you may have, there’s a carrier oil that’s right for you. You can use any, or a combination of these: Avocado, Fractionated Coconut, Grapeseed, Jojoba, Sweet Almond.

Be sure to read the entire blog post to get the back story on how Mama Z used this to heal her face after experiencing some chemical burns from store bought facial cleansers and creams when she was a teen, how it helped her dad with some skin cancer on his hands, some tips on aloe and some recipe variations.

Dr. Z gives it this glowing endorsement: “This is by far the most proven and most used DIY recipe that we have. It helps people with everything with skin cancer to sun burn, eczema to acne to psoriasis to you name it.”

Here is my review of Dr. Z’s book: The Healing Power of Essential Oils. You’ll find additional recipes here.

If you’re looking to learn how to use essential oils, I highly recommend their Essential Oils for Abundant Living 10-Part Video Masterclass.

Rachael, herbal skincare formulator, shares a lovely Skin Repair Souffle recipe

Rachael Pontillo, Licensed Aesthetician, herbal skincare formulator, educator and author of Love Your Skin, Love Yourself (my Amazon link) shares this lovely Skin Repair Souffle recipe.

Skin Repair Souffle Recipe

Supplies needed:

A glass jar–4 oz is preferred
A small double boiler/bain marie
Heat element (stove, cooktop, hot plate)
Kitchen scale
A small whisk
Small hand mixer, milk frother, or immersion blender

Ingredients:

30 g shea butter
30 g jojoba oil
15 drops total essential oils (Frankincense, Helichrysum, Geranium, and Lavender are the essential oils Rachael likes best for barrier support. She says either choose one or create a blend).

Instructions:

Heat your double boiler until the water is boiling, then reduce to a simmer.
Add the shea and jojoba and whisk gently until completely melted.
Remove the vessel from the heat (careful not to get water into the mixture), and cool to room temperature in an ice bath while stirring gently.
Add your essential oils, one by one, stirring gently.
Blend gently with your milk frother or blender until the mixture begins to rise with a meringue-like texture (usually about 60 seconds)
Pour into your jar. Close the jar immediately. Refrigerate overnight.

Dr. Keira, The Skin Whisperer, shares Lavender Bath Oil and Rejuvenating Serum

Dr. Keira L. Barr, MD, Founder and Chief Wellness Officer of Resilient Health Institute and author of The Skin Whisperer: A Dermatologist Reveals How to Look Younger, Radiate Beauty and Create the Life you Crave (my Amazon link), shares two wonderful recipes.

Lavender Bath Oil

Ingredients:

30 ml Almond Oil (or other carrier oil)
3 drops lavender essential oil
1 drop jasmine essential oil
1 drop myrrh essential oil

Instructions:

Mix all oils together in a bottle and shake well. This oil can be applied to skin in the shower, added to bath water or used after bathing or showering (while skin is damp but not completely dry to aid in absorption). Note: essential oil is 1% dilution.

Rejuvenating Serum

Ingredients:

4ml Rosehip Seed Oil
3 ml Argan Oil
1 ml Pomegranate seed Oil
1 ml Sea Buckthorn Oil
1 drop carrot seed essential oil
Pour into 10 ml amber or dark colored glass bottle and label

Instructions:

Blend all the oils together adding the carrot seed essential oil last. Shake thoroughly and store in the refrigerator. Apply 3 to 5 drops after cleansing the skin nightly. Can be used on the face, neck and back of hands.

Calming essential oils and the original blog

As I mentioned above many of these recipes include ingredients that are calming and helpful for anxiety when used stand-alone, so you get that benefit too:

If you missed the original blog with the research or would like a recap here it is: Could a daily moisturizer help to lower markers of inflammation and reduce anxiety, panic, PTSD, phobias and social anxiety?

You can learn more about the study; why poor skin health leads to inflammation; the role of inflammation on anxiety and other mental health conditions; the many nutritional approaches for reducing cytokines and inflammation; some studies on the benefit of touch and a boost of oxytocin; and tips for adding skin moisturizing to your daily self-care routine.

Skin moisturizing, diet and calming nutrients

As I said in the original blog, I feel very comfortable saying you now have a new tool – daily skin moisturizing – to add to your toolbox to help lower inflammation and reduce anxiety, panic, PTSD, phobias and social anxiety. Let’s use this – together with dietary changes and key calming nutrients – to eliminate anxiety and feel your absolute best.

These recipes provide safe and fun options for you to try. Have fun with these recipes and be sure to share which ones you try and like or if you have your own favorite. Also share what your moisturizing self-care routine is like.

I have more to share – all the feedback from a recent Facebook post on favorite home-made and store-bought moisturizers and will share this in the next installment. Do let me know what else you’d like me to cover.

The Essential Oils Hormone Solution by Dr. Mariza Snyder – my book review

February 22, 2019 By Trudy Scott 15 Comments

Together with dietary changes and key nutrients like GABA, tryptophan, zinc and vitamin B6, using essential oils are a wonderful tool for helping to ease anxiety, reduce stress, improve sleep and focus and contribute to overall hormonal health for women. Now we have a new book that is a wonderful essential oil resource specifically for women, The Essential Oils Hormone Solution: Reclaim Your Energy and Focus and Lose Weight Naturally by Dr. Mariza Snyder.

She shares this about essential oils:

Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in the roots, seeds, stems, bark, leaves, and flowers of various plants. They are super-charged, fifty to seventy times more potent than their dried-herbal counterparts. They’re simply the best plant-based remedy that exists, and they have been successfully used for thousands of years.

Dr. Mariza lists these top 5 must-have hormone-support essential oils for perimenopausal and menopausal women: clary sage, geranium, lavender, peppermint and rosemary. Lavender and peppermint have been long-time favorites of mine and I recently learned about clary sage and rosemary and love both.

She covers so many wonderful essential oils in the book but for the purposes of this review I’ll focus on clary sage since it was new to me until recently and may be new to you too.

In the chapter on sleep, she shares this about the benefits of clary sage and how to use this essential oil:

CLARY SAGE (Salvia sclarea)

Promotes relaxation of the body for a restful night’s sleep
Calms and soothes the mind and body
Supportive during menstrual distress

Aromatic Use

Apply 1–2 drops directly to bedclothes or pillow.
Diffuse 3–4 drops before bedtime.

Topical Use

Dilute 1–2 drops with your favorite carrier oil and massage into abdomen.
Add 2–3 drops to a warm bath with ¼ cup Epsom salts dissolved in the water.
Dilute 1–2 drops with your favorite carrier oil and massage into your soles before bedtime.

I had looked into clary sage about 6 months ago when I learned that it supports serotonin production and also lowers high cortisol.

Interestingly, I didn’t care for the aroma of clary sage when I first purchased it and I diffused it with lavender and rosemary to disguise the aroma. But I have grown to really like it and use a drop on a hanky each night and look forward to how much it helps me sleep and the fact that it eased the mild hot flashes I had started to experience again.

I love the combinations/blends Dr. Mariza recommends in the book and would have welcomed these ideas when I first started using clary sage myself. Here is one example of a rollerball blend with clary sage:

Tense-Away Rollerball Blend

10 drops Lavender essential oil

10 drops Clary Sage essential oil

10 drops Peppermint essential oil

Carrier oil of choice

I also really like that Dr. Mariza describes different ways to use the oils other than only diffusing – like using rollerballs, using them for massages and in baths, and applying the essential oils on various parts of the body for a more direct impact. One such example is the Hormone Synergy Rollerball Blend (which contains clary sage, lavender, geranium, bergamot and ylang ylang). She recommends applying this blend directly over your ovaries.

I learned this direct application tip from Dr. Mariza last year and started using lavender, peppermint and rosemary (in a carrier oil) topically on my belly before bed. It helps with digestion, occasional belly bloat from SIBO (if I’ve eaten something that triggers symptoms) and is relaxing too. I think I’ll add clary sage to this belly blend too for the added hormone benefits. This could be one way to use clary sage for the benefits if you find you don’t really like the aroma (because it will be further from your nose!)

Here are some of the benefits of the other top 5 hormone-support essential oils for perimenopausal and menopausal women that Dr. Mariza shares:

geranium – calming and soothing and “rejuvenates and revitalizes skin, complexion, and hair” (I haven’t been using this one and looking forward to trying this one)
lavender – “eases and calms feelings of anxiety, stress, and tension while rebalancing emotions” and “relieves discomfort associated with menstrual cycles” (I’ve been using lavender for years)
peppermint – “stimulates mental focus and energy by enlivening the senses” and supports your respiratory system (I also use this one all the time. It’s also great for headaches and neck pain)
and rosemary – “increases memory, concentration, and focus” (I also use it for EMF/electromagnetic radiation protection. Research shows rosemary could play a protective role against this harmful effect through its antioxidant activity)

Clary sage is also featured in the libido chapter: “Commonly used to stimulate sexual energy and boost libido.” This aspect was new to me, but it makes sense given that it lowers cortisol and supports serotonin production (and hence estrogen). Dr. Mariza also covers many other wonderful essential oils that boost libido too: jasmine, neroli, rose, sandalwood, ylang ylang and geranium. In one study neroli, lavender, fennel, geranium, and rose significantly improved sexual function in menopausal women.

Here is the official book blurb:

Have your hormones been hijacked? Do you feel energy-depleted and irritable, unable to sleep, stay focused, or lose weight? You may have attributed these symptoms to the natural hormonal fluctuations that occur with age. But behind the scenes, there are a host of pesky culprits wreaking havoc on your hormonal health: chronic stress, air pollution, chemical-laden foods and cleaning supplies, and the synthetic estrogens in personal care products. Women of all ages are left vulnerable to the consequences, suffering from unnecessary hormonal imbalance and frustrating symptoms that are often dismissed by their doctors.

Dr. Mariza Snyder is here to help put you back in control of your health. In The Essential Oils Hormone Solution, you will learn how to heal hormonal chaos and revitalize the body from the inside out with the support of high-quality essential oils. You’ll learn how essential oils work on a cellular level to mitigate the toxic loads we carry, and how to use essential oils to reduce cravings, get deep, restful sleep, ease stress, improve mood, banish the worst symptoms of PMS, regain focus and concentration, boost libido, and increase energy.

Featuring a 14-day plan to jumpstart your hormonal health, with over 100 essential oil blends, daily self-care rituals, and delicious, easy-to-prepare recipes, you’ll discover how to reset your body and pave the way for improved hormonal health, without taking hormones.

Grab your copy of The Essential Oils Hormone Solution here (my Amazon link).

I’d like to add my thoughts on what I have found to be safe use of essential oils, and what I share with my clients (I consider myself an essential oil user like you – I’m not an expert):

Always use a carrier oil, unless you are diffusing, and this includes using essential oils in the bath (I know there is some conflicting advice on this, but I like to err on the side of caution)
Don’t try to remove too much of an essential oil with water – it will only drive it deeper into the skin
Think low doses i.e. a little goes a long way
Be sure to rotate your essential oils
Don’t ingest the oils neat or even in a gelatin capsule. I would only consider doing so if I was working with an experienced practitioner and using an enteric coated capsule (there is definitely conflicting advice on this one but again I like to err on the side of caution)

It’s a fun book with wonderful ideas for how to combine essential oils and use them to improve hormone imbalance. I love this quote from Dr. Mariza:

Inhaling them and applying them is like adorning yourself in something truly beautiful

What are your favorite essential oils and combinations for easing anxiety, reducing stress, improving sleep and balancing your hormones? How are you “adorning yourself” and what is your favorite way to use them – diffused, topically, via a rollerball, or via a massage or in the bath? Feel free to post questions here too.

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

August 23, 2018 By Trudy Scott 6 Comments

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.