obesity

Transgenerational transmission of aspartame-induced anxiety and changes in glutamate-GABA signaling: a new study and solutions

January 13, 2023 By Trudy Scott 9 Comments

Do you drink diet sodas or use other sugar free products that contain aspartame? Or did you when you were younger? New research has found aspartame induces anxiety and fear via changes in glutamate-GABA signaling. What is even more concerning is that these effects are transgenerational, meaning you could be living with the anxiety-provoking effects of aspartame via the diet soda habits from your father and his father/your grandfather. This study found it impacts 2 generations via the paternal line but I suspect ongoing research may yet find impacts via your mother and grandmother too. Also, keep in mind, your current or prior use of aspartame is very likely going to impact your children and grandchildren. It’s an animal study but we don’t want to ignore yet another issue with artificial sweeteners.

The good news is that we can use the amino acid GABA to help counter the high glutamate and low GABA, and ease this physical anxiety this imbalance causes. And we can use GABA and glutamine and other amino acids to break the addiction to aspartame and other artificial sweeteners.

Here is the abstract of the paper – Transgenerational transmission of aspartame-induced anxiety and changes in glutamate-GABA signaling and gene expression in the amygdala

We report the effects of aspartame on anxiety-like behavior, neurotransmitter signaling and gene expression in the amygdala, a brain region associated with the regulation of anxiety and fear responses. C57BL/6 mice consumed drinking water containing 0.015% or 0.03% aspartame, a dose equivalent of 8 to 15% of the FDA recommended maximum human daily intake, or plain drinking water. Robust anxiety-like behavior (evaluated using open field test and elevated zero maze) was observed in male and female mice consuming the aspartame-containing water. Diazepam, an allosteric modulator of the GABA-A receptor, alleviated the anxiety-like behavior. RNA sequencing of the amygdala followed by KEGG biological pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes showed glutamatergic and GABAergic synapse pathways as significantly enriched. Quantitative PCR showed upregulation of mRNA for the glutamate NMDA receptor subunit 2D (Grin2d) and metabotropic receptor 4 (Grm4) and downregulation of the GABA-A receptor associated protein (Gabarap) mRNA. Thus, taken together, our diazepam and gene expression data show that aspartame consumption shifted the excitation-inhibition equilibrium in the amygdala toward excitation. Even more strikingly, the anxiety-like behavior, its response to diazepam, and changes in amygdala gene expression were transmitted to male and female offspring in two generations descending from the aspartame-exposed males. Extrapolation of the findings to humans suggests that aspartame consumption at doses below the FDA recommended maximum daily intake may produce neurobehavioral changes in aspartame-consuming individuals and their descendants. Thus, human population at risk of aspartame’s potential mental health effects may be larger than current expectations, which only include aspartame-consuming individuals.

A few notes to highlight:

Aspartame caused anxiety in both male and female mice but the intergenerational effects were along the paternal line i.e.“the anxiety phenotype, its response to diazepam, and changes in amygdala gene expression were transmitted from the aspartame-exposed male founders to their descendants.”
These effects were caused by the equivalent to 2–4 small /8 oz/ 240 ml cans of aspartame-sweetened diet soda.
The anxiety-inducing effects of aspartame in humans are potentially far more widespread than what is currently known

There is still no consensus on adverse effects

The paper also highlights a very concerning aspect: there is still no consensus on aspartame’s effects on brain monoamine content (serotonin and the catecholamines dopamine, adrenaline, and noradrenaline) or behaviors such as memory, depression and anxiety. Despite much research, consensus is also still lacking on aspartame’s carcinogenic or cancer-causing effects and the impacts on weight-gain and obesity, and the bad effects on the microbiome.

In fact, “the US government policy and publications indicate that aspartame is safe when consumed within FDA recommended maximum daily intake value of 50 mg/kg.” In this study it was much less than the maximum i.e. the equivalence of just “8 to 15% of the FDA recommended maximum human daily intake” caused the above anxiety and intergenerational effects.

This paper is adding to the body of knowledge but if you’re still consuming aspartame it is time to make your own decisions and quit. This is often easier said than done and I address this below.

GABA and other amino acids as a solution for your diet soda addiction

I address the addictive nature of diet soda in this blog: I need help with my Diet Coke addiction – when I stop, my fatigue, brain fog, anxiety/depression increase big time!

I need help with my Diet Coke addiction. I have been using it for 35 years and I am too appalled to tell you how much I drink.

I have tried to quit many times and ended up in utter failure. When I stop, my fatigue, brain fog, anxiety/depression increase big time. I know this drink is literally killing my health and I am desperate for some answers, suggestions….or a miracle.

Kevin shares this in the comments: “I was VERY addicted to diet coke and Pepsi. I found oxycontin and morphine easier to quit.” And Karen shares this: “I can relate to a Coke/Pepsi (diet and/or regular) addiction because I drank 3 every day, Monday-Friday for years. For me, that first sip in the morning was my “hit” in the morning for this teetotaler.”

When it comes to using amino acids to help break the addiction, pretty much everything I write about in relation to sugar addiction or cravings would also apply to quitting Diet Coke or other diet sodas. You need to figure out what emotions are driving your addiction and use the respective amino acid supplement/s (one or more of them) to help break the addiction and improve your anxiety and mood symptoms at the same time.

This could be glutamine if you drink it when your blood sugar is low and crave the sweet taste, GABA if you drink it when stressed, tryptophan or 5-HTP if you drink it later in the day in order to feel happy, DPA if it’s your reward and tyrosine if it gives you a mood and energy boost. It’s all explained in the above blog post.

The amino acids ease alcohol withdrawal symptoms too. I share a study in this blog – An amino acid supplement with DLPA, glutamine and 5-HTP eases alcohol withdrawal symptoms at an inpatient detoxification program – and practical solutions using these amino acids. Read this and simply substitute alcohol with diet soda. And keep in mind it’s always an individualized approach based on each person’s needs, for endorphin and dopamine support (from the DLPA), blood sugar support (from glutamine) and serotonin support (from 5-HTP).

GABA as a solution for the physical anxiety symptoms

In this study the mice responded well to diazepam, a benzodiazepine prescribed for anxiety. However, given the many issues with long-term benzo use, the amino acid GABA, used as a supplement is a safer choice. It also addresses the root cause of low GABA and high glutamate.

The FDA approved aspartame as a nutritive sweetener in 1981 and for use in carbonated beverages in 1983 so I don’t have the intergenerational impacts. I drank Tab in my early 20s and it contained aspartame for a short time. It was very likely part of the perfect storm of factors that contributed to my anxiety. GABA was a life-saver for me.

Here are a few blog posts on using GABA for easing physical anxiety and fears:

Be sure to use the search feature to find other similar articles on the blog.

Resources if you are new to using 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.

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.

Did you drink diet sodas in the past or do you still consume them or other products that contain aspartame?

Do you suspect they may be one root cause of your anxiety? And has stopping helped?

Did GABA help ease your anxiety and fear? And help with breaking the addiction and quitting? What about other amino acids like tyrosine, glutamine, tryptophan/5-HTP or DPA (d-phenylalanine)?

What about suspected intergenerational impacts from your parents and grandparents?

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

GABA supplementation may offer a new approach for the prevention and treatment of asthma (and it helps anxiety, ADHD and insomnia)

December 16, 2022 By Trudy Scott 12 Comments

If you’re already taking the amino acid GABA for physical anxiety, have you noticed if it’s also helping to ease your asthma symptoms too? This may sound surprising but research shows GABA may reduce inflammation and spasms and help with asthma symptoms via these mechanisms. What’s encouraging is the fact that GABA supplementation also helps with anxiety, obesity, ADHD and insomnia which commonly occur with asthma and can be associated with inflammation too. It’s so important to be addressing the root causes of asthma because of the many neuropsychiatric side-effects of asthma medications. This blog addresses all of these topics.

We’ll start with the research first. In this study, Effect of gamma-aminobutyric acid treatment on plasma substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide levels in children with asthma, of 75 children with asthma, 36 children were in the GABA treatment group and received oral GABA (25-30 mg/kg per day) in addition to standard asthma medications.

The authors propose that airway inflammation may be a factor in asthma and GABA helps because it reduces SP (substance P) and CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide), easing neurogenic inflammation and tracheal spasms.

The conclusion of the study is that oral GABA:

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

It may offer a new approach for the prevention and treatment of asthma.

(this is my best translation from the Chinese paper).

Dosing of GABA for asthma

The children in the study group received oral GABA of 25-30 mg/kg per day. For a 100 lb /45 kg child this would equate to 1125 mg -1350 mg of GABA per day.

As I always share, I don’t recommend using GABA based on the weight of the person and I consider this a high dose. For adults, 125 mg GABA is a good starting dose with 125 mg often used 2-4 times a day. For a child, ¼ to ⅓ this dose is typically good to start with. All that said, many adults and children with asthma and anxiety need higher doses than what they initially start with.

It’s also worth noting that the oral dose of GABA was swallowed so it’s possible (and very likely) that more was needed than if it was used sublingually or with the capsule opened or a powder or a liposomal form.

GABA is seldom recommended for asthma – more recent research supports this approach

This is not new research – the paper was published in 2013 – but I seldom see it discussed or hear about practitioners recommending GABA for asthma.

A more recent paper, Neuroimmune Pathophysiology in Asthma (published in 2021) supports this and discusses the role of neurotransmitters (including GABA and serotonin) and neuropeptides (including SP, CGRP and others) in asthma. The authors suggest “that regulating the effects of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides represents a potential novel approach for the treatment of asthma.”

Why we need to consider GABA – the neuropsychiatric side effects of asthma medications

Exploring the use of GABA and these approaches is especially important given the neuropsychiatric side effects of asthma medications. In this study (published in March this year), Neuropsychiatric adverse drug reactions induced by montelukast impair the quality of life in children with asthma

Neuropsychiatric ADRs (adverse drug reactions) were reported in 78 (62.4%) of 125 patients, who recovered when the drug was discontinued.

These were children of 3-18 years taking montelukast for the first time. The good news is that they recovered when the drug was stopped.

The bad news is there is no information on how many kids who have been prescribed this class of medication are subsequently prescribed psychiatric medications.

This concern needs to be considered for all asthma medications: there are similar adverse effects with antihistamine and inhaled corticosteroid medications.

GABA helps with other conditions where spasms are common

The study results are very encouraging and support what I see clinically with asthma and other conditions where spasms are common. These include

GABA helps with all of the above and the non-allergic comorbidities seen with asthma.

Asthma in children and non-allergic comorbidities (obesity, depression and anxiety, ADHD and insomnia)

As stated in this paper, Paediatric asthma and non-allergic comorbidities: A review of current risk and proposed mechanisms “It is increasingly recognized that children with asthma are at a higher risk of other non-allergic concurrent diseases than the non-asthma population.” These include obesity, depression and anxiety, neurodevelopmental disorders (such as ADHD), sleep disorders and autoimmune diseases.

This paper looks at mechanisms and inflammation is a common theme except when it comes to anxiety and depression. Given that this paper was published this year and all that we now know about nutritional psychiatry and neuroinflammation and anxiety, it’s clearly lacking in this aspect.

Clinically, we see how GABA can help with obesity (and cravings or stress-eating), depression and anxiety, ADHD and insomnia, as illustrated by these case studies:

I see similar comorbidities (the occurrence of more than one disorder at the same time) in adults and GABA can be used safely with adults and children.

Asthma from a functional medicine approach

There is clearly more to asthma than only GABA. This this article on natural remedies for asthma covers diet (eat real good quality food and avoid junk food), nutrients like vitamin D, zinc and others, and allergens – and all this needs to be investigated and addressed with a functional medicine approach.

Dr. Axe does mention stress and anxiety being a trigger: “It’s well-known that stress increases the severity and frequency of asthmatic attacks because it hinders immune function and raises inflammation.” He mentions stress-reduction techniques and breathing. I say let’s add GABA to the mix too.

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

Has GABA helped ease your physical anxiety and asthma symptoms too?

What about obesity/cravings, ADHD and insomnia as well?

Have you or one of your children been adversely impacted by asthma medications? If yes please share which medications and what symptoms were experienced.

What functional medicine and nutritional approaches have helped your asthma symptoms?

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

GABA eases anxiety and is protective against metabolic and reproductive disturbances in polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)?

January 8, 2021 By Trudy Scott 40 Comments

This question was recently asked in my online GABA Quickstart group program: What are your thoughts about using GABA with somebody who has polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)? Are there any contraindications? My approach is always the same regardless of your diagnosis – if you have the low GABA symptoms of physical anxiety then it’s worth doing a trial to determine if supplementing with the calming amino acid GABA will help.

What is very interesting is that this rat study, Protective effects of GABA against metabolic and reproductive disturbances in letrozole induced polycystic ovarian syndrome in rats, reports some very specific benefits of GABA being protective against metabolic and reproductive disturbances in PCOS.

Letrozole or Femara, a non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor (i.e. it lowers estrogen production) is used to treat breast cancer in postmenopausal women and it induced PCOS in the rats.

The following benefits were found when GABA was used in the rats with PCOS:

reduced body weight
reduced body mass index
reduced testosterone
a favourable lipid profile
normal glucose tolerance
a decreased number of cystic follicles in the ovaries

These results are profound. But wait for it …”the effects observed with GABA were comparable to that with metformin” with none of the side-effects (which can actually include anxiety, a racing heart, shakiness and depression).

The authors conclude as follows:

The results suggest that GABA treatment has shown protective effects in PCOS and provides beneficial effects either by reducing insulin resistance or by inducing antioxidant defence mechanisms.

The above paper didn’t measure anxiety levels but it’s very common with PCOS. According to this paper, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Review of Treatment Options With a Focus on Pharmacological Approaches

after PCOS is diagnosed, studies show that more than 50% of patients develop prediabetes or diabetes, and there is an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI), dyslipidemia, hypertension, anxiety, depression, endometrial cancer, and sleep apnea.

So it makes sense that using GABA will also help to ease any anxiety symptoms that are present. As always, look at the low GABA symptoms and if they exist rate them on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being most severe), do a trial with GABA, and rate your symptoms afterwards, adjusting up or down as needed based on symptom relief.

A quick recap if you are new to GABA, these are the symptoms of low GABA:

Unable to relax or loosen up
Stiff or tense muscles
Feeling stressed and burned-out
Feeling worried or fearful
Panic attacks
Craving carbs for relaxation and calming
Craving alcohol for relaxation and calming
Craving drugs for relaxation and calming
Insomnia *
Have intrusive thoughts, perseverate or have an overactive brain
Or have unwanted thoughts – thoughts about unpleasant memories, images or worries (Updated Nov 17, 2017: new GABA research on intrusive thoughts) *
Inability to prioritize planned actions *
Acrophobia (fear of heights) * – possibly other phobias too
Poor focus *
Rectal spasms *
Burning mouth *
Visceral pain/belly pain with IBS *

(* New additions that are not in my book “The Antianxiety Food Solution”)

Keep in mind that the above PCOS GABA paper was an animal study and GABA was not listed as a treatment option in the second paper above so my approach would be to use GABA for easing the physical anxiety symptoms. At the same time, share this blog and study with your prescribing physician and request if they will work with you to adjust your Metformin as they monitor your testosterone, lipids, glucose, insulin and cystic follicles in the ovaries, as well as weight and body mass index.

I look forward to human GABA PCOS studies in the near future. I also look forward to hearing back from you if you have PCOS and are using GABA for easing your anxiety symptoms AND are also seeing some of the above metabolic and reproductive improvements.

Given the prevalence of PCOS it’s important we use everything at our disposal to help:

Research suggests that 5% to 10% of females 18 to 44 years of age are affected by PCOS, making it the most common endocrine abnormality among women of reproductive age in the U.S. Women seeking help from health care professionals to resolve issues of obesity, acne, amenorrhea, excessive hair growth, and infertility often receive a diagnosis of PCOS.

We must always use a comprehensive approach and this book by my friend and colleague, Amy Medling is wonderful: Healing PCOS.

Do you have PCOS and anxiety and has GABA helped? Have you also observed some of the above metabolic and reproductive improvements?

If you’re a practitioner working with women with PCOS, have you made any of these observations?

I’d also be curious to hear if you see changes in acne severity, amenorrhea (missed periods), excessive hair growth or infertility?

Please do share in the comments below.

Food Fix by Dr. Mark Hyman – my review

February 27, 2020 By Trudy Scott 4 Comments

Dr. Mark Hyman has a brilliant new book called called Food Fix: How to Save Our Health, Our Economy, Our Communities, and Our Planet – One Bite at a Time and his big bold message is that: “We need to change the food system to change the world.” It is an issue that is seriously overlooked and he wants to change this.

Watch this short video clip to hear it from Dr. Hyman himself.

Here are some of the key messages from Food Fix

If we don’t change the food system, we’re going to spend $95 trillion dollars on chronic disease – heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and dementia – over the next 35 years.

Big food spends a lot of money in Washington to keep us fat and sick.

The food industry preys on our most vulnerable citizens – children.

According to the American Psychological Association, children under the age of 8 don’t instinctively recognize the difference between TV Commercials and programs, which makes them particularly vulnerable.

Big Food buys partnerships with public schools.

Minorities are also targeted by the food industry.

Researchers at the University of Connecticut found that junk food companies spend the most on ads that target African Americans and Spanish speakers. Guess which products were most heavily advertised toward minorities—Gatorade, Pop Tarts, Twix Candy Bar, Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal, and Tyson Frozen Entrees

The worse the nutritional profile the more heavily the products were promoted through advertising.

Where are the broccoli ads?

These findings, the researchers noted, “highlight important disparities in the food and beverage industry’s heavy marketing of unhealthy foods to Hispanic and black youth, and the corresponding lack of promotion of healthier options.”

Bad food is making us anxious, depressed, and is messing with our brains. I’m thrilled that Dr. Hyman highlights how nutritional medicine is a key to mental health and psychiatry. Here are some snippets :

Studies show that adults with many types of mental health issues and children with ADHD have very low levels of antioxidants (which come from fruits and vegetables), such as the fifty-six-year-old man with lifelong crippling depression who improved by cleaning up his diet and taking a cocktail of B vitamins. I remember one man who presented with severe panic attacks every afternoon. Turned out he was eating a diet very high in sugar and starch and had wild swings in his blood sugar, which triggered the anxiety. When he cut out sugar and starch, his anxiety and panic attacks vanished. These stories are not anomalies. They are predictable results from applying nutritional medicine.

In recent years, major medical journals have clearly shown the link between nutrition and mental health. The Lancet Psychiatry, a top medical journal, maps out just how nutritional medicine is a key to mental health and psychiatry. Overall diet quality, high sugar loads, and rampant nutritional deficiencies (including omega‑3 fats, zinc, magnesium, vitamin D, and B vitamins) all drive mental illness. In other words, the culprit is once again the American and increasingly global industrial diet. We have discussed the costs of obesity and chronic disease, but most don’t connect mental illness to the costs of chronic disease. In fact, the cost of mental illness to the economic burden is far greater than the costs of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Population studies have found that more fruits and vegetables and less french fries, fast food, and sugar are associated with a lower prevalence of mental illness, and that junk food creates moderate to severe psychological distress. The good news is that interventional studies have shown that treatment of mental illness with diet works well (especially since most medications for mental illness don’t work that well, despite being the second biggest category of drugs sold).

And here are a few of the many solutions proposed in the book:

Support regenerative agriculture and sustainable food.

Stop purchasing franken-foods:

Today 60% of our diet is ultra-processed food made from commodity crops—corn, soy, and wheat—that’s turned into various sizes, shapes, and colors from the raw materials—high fructose corn syrup, white flour, and refined soybean oil. When you vote with your dollars and your fork to stay away from these foods, you send a message to big food to stop subsidizing commodity crops and grow more fruits and vegetables!

End food waste:

Buy only what you need. If food may go bad soon, make a soup or stew. Get a compost bucket for your kitchen. Start a compost pile in your backyard, or buy an in-home composter. Use it in your garden or donate it to someone who has a garden.

Be an activist and teach your family why food matters.

Address food deserts and food swamps in African American communities, and recognize that this is:

“food apartheid,” an embedded social and political form of discrimination.

Here is the official book blurb:

Help to transform the planet in crisis with this indispensable guide to healthy, ethical, and economically sustainable food from #1 New York Times bestselling author Mark Hyman, MD.

Food is our most powerful tool to reverse the global epidemic of chronic disease, heal the environment, reform politics, and revive economies. What we eat has tremendous implications not just for our waistlines, but also for the planet, society, and the global economy. What we do to our bodies, we do to the planet; and what we do to the planet, we do to our bodies.

In Food Fix, Mark Hyman explains how our food and agriculture policies are corrupted by money and lobbies that drive our biggest global crises: the spread of obesity and food-related chronic disease, climate change, poverty, violence, educational achievement gaps, and more.

Pairing the latest developments in nutritional and environmental science with an unflinching look at the dark realities of the global food system and the policies that make it possible, Food Fix is a hard-hitting manifesto that will change the way you think about – and eat – food forever, and will provide solutions for citizens, businesses, and policy makers to create a healthier world, society, and planet.

I love that Dr. Hyman says he is left with a sense of hope and possibility after writing this book … “understanding the problems and challenges we face sets the foundations for the solutions.”

Wise words indeed! This book is much-needed, brilliant, eye-opening and shocking at times, but hopeful and solution-based.

You can get your copy of Food Fix here (my Amazon link) and find additional information and resources on the official book site here.

The Anxiety Summit – The leptin obesity anxiety connection

June 10, 2016 By Trudy Scott 23 Comments

Mike Mutzel, MS, author of Belly Fat Effect, was interviewed on the Anxiety Summit by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.

The leptin obesity anxiety connection

Leptin as an appetite-regulation hormone
How leptin effects on immunity, inflammation and cortisol
Leptin and the microbiome, LPS and leaky gut
How leptin plays a role in anxiety, stress, PTSD and depression
How to exercise, meditate and do yoga to decrease leptin levels

Here are some snippets from our interview:

So low leptin levels trigger the hypothalamus in the brain to signal the rest of the body to initiate hunger and to cause people to eat and so forth. And then as we eat calories throughout the day our leptin levels progressively rise. And once they’re rising, they peak around midnight or two in the morning, it just depends on someone’s biological rhythms. Everyone is different.

And so when they peak that signals to the rest of the body that there’s enough fuel on board and we can start burning fuel. So it’s actually a good process, right, because it’s going to stimulate all these mitochondrial pathways to be turning on basically cellular breakdown of the nutrients that we’ve ingested throughout the day and then the cycle repeats.

The problem though is that people get leptin resistant and this really actually refers to the hypothalamus. So that’s really the main region of the body where the receptors become resistant. And so the problem then because people – and let me just pause and share with you kind of how people get leptin resistant. It’s just leptin is released primarily from adipocytes, from fat tissue, okay. And so the more fat you have, the more body fat you have whether you’re a man or a woman, young or old, the more leptin you’re going to be releasing.

And then we cover leptin 2.0 and the stress, anxiety, PTSD connection:

Now let’s take a deep dive into what I like to call leptin 2.0. The cool part about leptin that not many people understand is that leptin affects the immune system. It also affects the HPA axis and the hormonal system, cortisol and even sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen in a really profound way.

When you become more overweight, more sedentary, you eat outside of your circadian rhythm, leptin levels get imbalanced and you become leptin resistant. Leptin doesn’t have that brake mechanism to suppress cortisol release. That’s why we see elevated levels of leptin in PTSD, in stress responses, in overweight people and so forth. And so it affects our body’s ability to adjust to our environment which is really what we’re trying to do.

We all have stress. We’re just trying to balance that better. The problem though is leptin, if we have excess levels of leptin that’s going to affect our body’s ability to cope with stressors and make life seem more challenging than it needs to be.

Here is the 2015 study I mentioned: The role of maternal obesity in the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders

Animals exposed to maternal obesity and a high fat diet consumption display hyperactivity, impairments in social behavior, increased anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors, substance addiction, food addiction, and diminished cognition. During development, these offspring are exposed to elevated levels of nutrients (fatty acids, glucose), hormones (leptin, insulin), and inflammatory factors (C-reactive protein, interleukin, and tumor necrosis factor). Such factors appear to permanently change neuroendocrine regulation and brain development in offspring. In addition, inflammation of the offspring brain during gestation impairs the development of neural pathways critical in the regulation of behavior, such as serotoninergic, dopaminergic, and melanocortinergic systems.

Here are some recent studies on leptin, obesity, serotonin and the HPA axis:

Mike is author of Belly Fat Effect: The Real Secret About How Your Diet, Intestinal Health, and Gut Bacteria Help You Burn Fat

If you enjoy geeky science and plenty of facts you will love this book!

We talked about the excellent Autism Intensive which Mike hosted earlier this year. You can register to watch 5 videos from the event.

And here are some snippets from The Autism Intensive and a snippet of Dr. Usman’s interview: Zinc/copper balance in autism/pyroluria

Here is the gift from Mike: The Leptin Blueprint

If you are not already registered for the Anxiety Summit you can get live access to the speakers of the day here: www.theAnxietySummit.com

Missed this interview or can’t listen live? Or want this and the other great interviews for your learning library? Purchase the MP3s or MP3s + transcripts and listen when it suits you.

You can find your purchasing options here.: Anxiety Summit Season 1, Anxiety Summit Season 2, Anxiety Summit Season 3, and Anxiety Summit Season 4.

End anxiety/fears/social anxiety…The Anxiety Summit starts next week!

June 2, 2016 By Trudy Scott Leave a Comment

The Anxiety Summit Season 4 (a virtual/online event) kicks off on Monday June 6 at 9am PDT. It will run thru June 16 with 2 – 3 speakers per day available for viewing at no charge. AND WE HAVE NEW SPEAKERS and some FAVORITE RETURNING SPEAKERS WITH NEW TOPICS!

Topics include the connections between anxiety and brain food, why healthy fats and turmeric feed our brains, how grass-fed red meat helps with anxiety, the impact of coffee and gluten, the best gluten testing, GABA and the blood brain barrier, serotonin and tryptophan, best forms of GABA and tryptophan, anxiety in autism, MS and anxiety, Lyme disease and anxiety, mercury and lead detox, leaky gut and the SCD diet, low cholesterol and low oxytocin, the microbiome, stomach acid and zinc, fluroquinolones, methylation, pyroluria, the importance of community and much more.

Here is a snippet from one of the excellent interviews to get you excited if you are already signed up and to get you inspired if you are not already signed up!

Mike Mutzel, MS, author of The Belly Fat Effect
The leptin obesity anxiety connection

So low leptin levels trigger the hypothalamus in the brain to signal the rest of the body to initiate hunger and to cause people to eat and so forth. And then as we eat calories throughout the day our leptin levels progressively rise. And once they’re rising, they peak around midnight or two in the morning, it just depends on someone’s biological rhythms. Everyone is different.

And so when they peak that signals to the rest of the body that there’s enough fuel on board and we can start burning fuel. So it’s actually a good process, right, because it’s going to stimulate all these mitochondrial pathways to be turning on basically cellular breakdown of the nutrients that we’ve ingested throughout the day and then the cycle repeats.

The problem though is that people get leptin resistant and this really actually refers to the hypothalamus. So that’s really the main region of the body where the receptors become resistant. And so the problem then because people – and let me just pause and share with you kind of how people get leptin resistant. It’s just leptin is released primarily from adipocytes, from fat tissue, okay. And so the more fat you have, the more body fat you have whether you’re a man or a woman, young or old, the more leptin you’re going to be releasing.

And…

Now let’s take a deep dive into what I like to call leptin 2.0. The cool part about leptin that not many people understand is that leptin affects the immune system. It also affects the HPA axis and the hormonal system, cortisol and even sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen in a really profound way.

We all have stress. We’re just trying to balance that better. The problem though is leptin, if we have excess levels of leptin that’s going to affect our body’s ability to cope with stressors and make life seem more challenging than it needs to be.

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If you are already signed up….
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You can now see all the incredible speakers and topics at www.theAnxietySummit.com. This will be over 25 hours of top-notch anxiety nutritional solutions from people I have hand-picked! Plus 3 talks I will be doing on benzos, electroshock, blueberries, sauerkraut, the vagus nerve, GABA, neurotransmitter testing, amino acid questions, hyperflexibility/EDS, and pet anxiety. ALL NEW TOPICS!
You will, of course, have the option to upgrade and purchase digital audios, digital audios/transcripts, and data CDs with audios/transcripts.
PLUS we are also offering past season products at the current summit prices!
If you signed up for any of the past Anxiety Summits, or pre-registered for season 4, there is no need to sign up again – you will get the season 4 daily emails announcing speakers, gifts, and special offers. If you’re not sure if you are signed up, you can sign up again at www.theAnxietySummit.com, no problem. If you use the same email address you won’t get duplicate emails.

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If you haven’t yet signed up
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Join us NOW by signing up here www.theAnxietySummit.com you will get the season 4 daily emails announcing speakers, gifts, and special offers
You will be blown away by the content
And you’ll have a chance to ask questions and find solutions for your anxiety

If you have any questions about how any of this works feel free to ask in the comment box below.