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Increasing tryptophan or 5-HTP temporarily when a winter dip in serotonin causes more severe anxiety, OCD and/or the winter blues

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tryptophan and 5htp during winter

Don’t forget that serotonin takes a dip in winter when the days are shorter and there is less light. If you’re currently using tryptophan or 5-HTP to boost low serotonin and ease low serotonin symptoms – worry-type anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, ruminations, PMS, irritability, negativity, perfectionism, obsessiveness, lack of confidence, anger/rage, afternoon/evening cravings – you may find you need to increase your dose for a few months.

This will especially be the case if you check off winter blues or more severe winter anxiety (yes it’s a thing and published in the research) on the low serotonin symptoms list.

I shared this on Facebook last week and the feedback ranged from surprised to curious to confirmatory.

In this blog I’m sharing some of the feedback and some of the supporting evidence, as well as other factors to consider.

The addition of 5-HTP in the morning and a light box

Kathy thanked me for the reminder and shared the changes she makes in the winter months:

Thanks for the reminder! I need to increase my dose this time of year… I can feel myself feeling “down”. I take 500 mg Tryptophan before bed and 100 mg 5-HTP in the morning before breakfast. I also use a light box in the morning while eating breakfast, which helps.

This is an increase from her typical dosing in the spring and summer when she only takes tryptophan at night before bed.

She also only uses her light box or SAD (seasonal affective disorder) lamp in winter. You can read more about SAD/full spectrum lamps here. They are also a wonderful way to boost serotonin and mood in the winter.

My daughter’s anxiety and OCD goes through the roof

Mark shared about his daughter’s anxiety and OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder):

Every year from October – March, my daughter’s anxiety and OCD goes through the roof. At first we thought it was the transition from summer to school, then the craziness of the winter holidays and suspected mold allergy. Now, based on this information, a winter/less light induced dip in serotonin may be an additional factor we hadn’t considered. We’ll try adjusting her 5-HTP dose and see if we gain some improvement. Thanks for the tip.

It’s really common for families to attribute the more severe anxiety and OCD to the stress and craziness of the winter holidays. And of course suspected mold issues do need to be looked into and addressed. But even then, the dip in serotonin can compound all these factors.

Planned tryptophan bump for Christmas sugar cravings and holiday family stress

Carol shared this about her plans to temporarily boost serotonin:

I am one of those light weights that was able to do one 500 mg pill a day of tryptophan. But I do think that it would help to bump it up to two a day to get me through the Christmas sugar cravings AND holiday family stressful get togethers! I’m all about taking the minimum effective dose but this is helpful to know that there could be a temporary boost just to get you through this time!

It’s wonderful that 500mg tryptophan is enough for her and I’m all for a minimum effective dose! However the winter dip in serotonin – and increased sugar cravings and family stress – is a common reason many folks bump up the dose for a month or more.

You may also find you made the change intuitively. Linda shared this: “I had made the adjustment. I just did not realize the reason why.”

A question about timing of 5-HTP and what to do in Spring

Suzanne shared that she uses a SAD light (also called a light box) and finds that it helps. She asks:

Can I just take the 5-HTP on days with no sun or is it better to have it build up in my system? When spring rolls around, do I taper off or can I just stop taking it?

This is my feedback: I haven’t had anyone just use 5-HTP on cloudy days but it’s worth a trial.  If you are noticing increased anxiety and mood changes only on cloudy days and using the SAD lamp on those days helps, then using 5-HTP on those days may be enough. If not, use 5-HTP consistently/daily through the winter months.

Amino acids do not need to be tapered but I find my clients do better when they are reduced over a few weeks. Some folks also choose to just stop taking them and do fine.

I appreciate all the feedback and the great questions. I’ll report back when I hear how Mark’s daughter does with the adjusted 5-HTP and how Carol does with the bump in tryptophan (and any other feedback I get from these folks).

Some of the research and possible mechanisms

There are many studies that support serotonin changes and seasonal variations in mood. Here are just two of them:

  • Effect of sunlight and season on serotonin turnover in the brain “Alterations in monoaminergic neurotransmission in the brain are thought to underlie seasonal variations in mood, behaviour, and affective disorders… turnover of serotonin by the brain was lowest in winter. Moreover, the rate of production of serotonin by the brain was directly related to the prevailing duration of bright sunlight… Our findings are further evidence for the notion that changes in release of serotonin by the brain underlie mood seasonality and seasonal affective disorder.”
  • Sunshine, Serotonin, and Skin: A Partial Explanation for Seasonal Patterns in Psychopathology? “one contributory facet may be the role of sunshine on human skin. Human skin has an inherent serotonergic system that appears capable of generating serotonin.”

Other factors to consider: low vitamin D, sugar, pyroluria and phenols

There are other low-serotonin related factors to consider too:

  • Low vitamin D is common in the winter and sufficient levels are needed for making serotonin. This paper, Vitamin D and the omega-3 fatty acids control serotonin synthesis and action, part 2: relevance for ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and impulsive behavior describes how“Brain serotonin is synthesized from tryptophan by tryptophan hydroxylase 2, which is transcriptionally activated by vitamin D hormone. Inadequate levels of vitamin D (∼70% of the population) and omega-3 fatty acids are common, suggesting that brain serotonin synthesis is not optimal.”
  • The increased consumption of sugar at this time can lead to reduced zinc, magnesium and B vitamins (like vitamin B6 and thiamine) and this can further reduce serotonin levels, which relies on these nutrients as cofactors for production. By boosting serotonin with additional tryptophan or 5-HTP you can actually reduce some of the cravings.
  • If you have the social anxiety condition called pyroluria, the added stress of family and holiday gatherings can also contribute to zinc and vitamin B6 being dumped, and further impacting serotonin production.
  • Christmas tree phenols can be a trigger for anger, meltdowns, anxiety, hyperactivity, insomnia, aggression, self-injury and autistic symptoms in susceptible individuals

Resources if you are new to using tryptophan and 5-HTP as supplements

If you are new to using the amino acids as supplements, here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution (you can see the low serotonin symptoms here) and a brief overview here, Anxiety and targeted individual amino acid supplements: a summary.

If you suspect low serotonin or 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 so you are knowledgeable. And be sure to share it with the team you or your loved one is working with.

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 acid products that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.

Have you noticed this winter dip in serotonin and made adjustments to your 5-HTP or tryptophan? And do you feel less anxious, less obsessive, not as low and with fewer sugar cravings?

Do you find that using a SAD lamp/full spectrum light at this time helps even further?

Were you aware that serotonin dipped in winter and could be playing a role for you? Or did you think it was just the stress and overwhelm of the holidays (and /or some of the emotional upheaval some of us face at this time)?

If you’re a practitioner, have you seen this with clients or patients?

Have you also noticed you need to adjust your GABA and other amino acids at this time too (both GABA and dopamine show seasonality)?

Feel free to ask your questions here too.

Tryptophan for my teenager: she laughs and smiles, her OCD and anxiety has lessened, and she is more goal oriented and focused on school.

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tryptophan teenager

A mom posted wonderful feedback on a recent blog post on ADHD and 5-HTP, sharing how how tryptophan has helped her daughter in ways that didn’t even realize were an issue. She was shocked to see so many improvements and she called it a miracle experience. Here is the feedback Kathy shared:

We had a “miracle” experience with adding L-Tryptophan 300mg at bedtime for my teenager. I was shocked to see how much it improved my child, especially in ways that I didn’t even realize were an issue.

  • The results were like my teenager coming out of a fog, and also like my child was when she was younger.
  • She became more engaged with the family and did a lot less isolating.
  • She suddenly had interest in activities she had never pursued before. For instance, she wanted to start playing team sports after having played nothing for years. She wanted to do family game night! Before, we couldn’t force her to do it, and now it was her idea.
  • Her thoughts seemed to quiet down and were more organized.
  • Her OCD [obsessive compulsive disorder] and anxiety symptoms lessened.
  • She became more goal oriented and focused on school.
  • She laughs and smiles more!

We were most shocked because what we thought was normal teenage development was actually depression that we had no idea was there.

Tryptophan has been the most effective supplement we have ever used, and we have used a lot. We experimented with the dose until we ended up on 3 at bedtime. The brand we used was the Lidtke L-Tryptophan.

This did not cure her ADD [attention deficit disorder], but definitely improved her executive functioning. We tried GABA and saw no improvement with that. We have tinkered with L-Tyrosine, but haven’t been able to get on a steady dose of it yet to see if it will also help.

Thank you for giving us the idea to try!

I thanked Kathy for sharing the wonderful results her daughter has experienced with the Lidtke Tryptophan and how happy I was for both of them! I love all the surprise benefits she saw and appreciate this feedback: “This has been the most effective supplement we have ever used, and we have used a lot.” I hear this a lot – tryptophan and GABA are game-changers for so many of my clients.

I have these questions I posed to this mom and hope to hear back as I feel these answers may be helpful for other parents and practitioners who work with children and teens:

  • Did she use 3 x chewable 100mg tryptophan or did they open the 500mg capsule
  • What did the trial look like for them to end up with 300mg at night?
  • What made her decide to trial tryptophan instead of 5-HTP?
  • What made you decide to even trial tryptophan – was it her daughter’s anxiety and OCD?
  • Was her daughter willing to trial tryptophan initially or was there resistance?

I’ll report back once I get Kathy’s feedback.

Updated Feb 26, 2021: Kathy’s additional feedback

I read all your blog articles and listened to some of your talks. I made a chart of symptoms and then decided to try GABA Calm first.

Since that didn’t help, the next logical choice for us was Tryptophan. My daughter has a lot of anxiety, intrusive thoughts and other OCD symptoms. The reason I didn’t trial the 5HTP first was because my daughter has some PTSD like startle responses, and since you said it isn’t good if you have high cortisol, I just made the guess that she might due to her startle response.

With the Lidtke brand, we used the [500mg] capsules and I did not open them up. My teen would not have gone for that because she already takes a lot of supplements and medication because she is being treated for Lyme and Bartonella. She is cooperative with taking all the supplements/medication. We started at 1 capsule a night for probably 5 days and saw no difference, then went to two for another 5 days, and then landed on 3 when we noticed the dramatic change.

Even her LLMD [Lyme literate MD] was shocked at how differently she interacted with her in our last appointment.

Normal teenage development or really depression?

I also have to wonder how many other parents would say this after addressing low serotonin levels in their daughters and/or sons: “We were most shocked because what we thought was normal teenage development was actually depression that we had no idea was there.” I suspect the number would be high, especially given the growing incidence of anxiety and depression in teens.

Also, according to the ADAA/Anxiety and Depression Association of America “80 percent of kids with a diagnosable anxiety disorder and 60 percent of kids with diagnosable depression are not getting treatment.”

Now that Kathy has seen these wonderful changes in her daughter, I’d love to know – if she could go back in time – what questions would she have asked her anxious and depressed daughter so she could help her with solutions sooner?

And what would she suggest to other parents to be looking out for in order to identify anxiety and depression in their children (who often cannot adequately articulate that they do feel anxious and/or depressed)?

If you’re new to tryptophan and low serotonin symptoms

In case you’re new to tryptophan, it is an amino acid that is used as a supplement to support low levels of serotonin. With low serotonin we the worry-in-your-head and ruminating type of anxiety, panic attacks and phobias, lack of confidence, depression, negativity, imposter syndrome, PMS, irritability, anger issues, insomnia and afternoon/evening cravings.

My thoughts on addressing the ADD/inattention issues

Here are my thoughts for her as a starting point for helping to address her daughter’s residual ADD/inattention symptoms:

  • When someone does well with tryptophan at night, we often trial 5-HTP in the day too. As I shared in a recent blog, this mom shared how 5-HTP melts helped with ADHD symptoms one of her adopted kids was experiencing. She also called it a miracle!
  • A tyrosine trial may also be worth considering because low catecholamines lead to poor focus and feelings of calm focus are reported with tyrosine. However we also see low energy, low motivation and depression with low catecholamines which no longer seem to be an issue – so I’m not sure if tyrosine would help.
  • L-theanine may work better than the GABA they tried. Research shows it helps with cognitive function specifically improvements in verbal fluency (especially letter fluency) and improvements in executive function (planning, multi-tasking etc).
  • With inattention issues it’s also key to look at low blood sugar, gluten and sugar consumption, low iron, low zinc and low omega-3s.
  • If there was hyperactivity with the inattention then we’d look at salicylates in the diet as they can cause behaviour issues. This doesn’t seem to be the issue but a big clue would be red cheeks and ears that are not from the heat.
  • Consider the Ayurvedic herb Bacopa monnieri which has been shown to improve “visual perception, impulsivity, and attention” in children and adults.
  • Consider the herb saffron (Crocus sativus) which has “memory-enhancing and antidepressant effects” and has been shown to be as effective as Methylphenidate/Ritalin.

I love hearing heartwarming stories like this and I am sharing it here to inspire and offer hope!

Please do share your success story on the blog so we can all learn from each other, as well as inspire and offer hope.

How has tryptophan helped you or your child? What has helped with inattention?

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

This Is Your Brain on Food by Uma Naidoo, MD (video interview and review)

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brain on food

Dr. Uma Naidoo has a wonderful new book called This Is Your Brain on Food: An Indispensable Guide to the Surprising Foods that Fight Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, and More (my Amazon link)

Her big bold message is this “Until we solve nutritional problems, no amount of medication and psychotherapy is going to be able to stem the tide of mental issues in our society.”  This is something I wholeheartedly agree with!

I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Dr. Naidoo and we talked about the benefits of fermented foods and social anxiety, vitamin D and anxiety, dietary sources of polyphenols for ADHD and much more:

51 women with type 2 diabetes and vitamin D deficiency were randomly allocated to receive one oral pearl of 50,000 IU vitamin D3 (26 women) or a placebo (25 women) fortnightly for 16 weeks

Anxiety score changes were significantly lower in vitamin D group than the controls

Dietary polyphenols… have antioxidant capacities as well as immunoregulatory effects and, therefore, appear appropriate in ADHD therapy.

  • Dr. Naidoo recommends these sources of polyphenols: berries and other fruit, vegetables, extra virgin olive oil.
  • I’m fascinated by the fact that polyphenols “act as a low-dose toxin that trains the body to mount an immune response in a process called hormesis” (there are many geeky gems like this in the book)
  • Dr. Naidoo shares the story of her 36 year old patient with severe anxiety. He was a binge eater and also had a history of alcohol abuse. Vitamin B1 (250mg) was every effective for him…“In animal studies, thiamine appears to reduce stress-like responses because it protects the hippocampus”
  • We talk about chamomile tea and how it helps with sleep. There are some cautions if you’re on a blood thinner prescription or going to have surgery. Pregnant women should also avoid it.
  • Dr. Naidoo shares a delicious Golden Milk recipe with tips on how to use turmeric (one her favorite spices and inspired by her grandmother’s cooking) with black pepper. You’ll find this in the recipes section.
  • Dr Naidoo also shares one of her favorite comfort foods – a yummy lentil soup recipe called dal in south Indian cuisines. It’s a great source of fiber, plant-based protein and is very affordable. And really healthy when cooked with vegetables and spices like mustard seeds, ginger, garlic and turmeric. She shares a tip to improve the flavors – making tadka (listen to the interview below, enjoy and be inspired!)

 

It’s a wonderful book that I highly recommend if:

  • you are new to nutritional psychiatry and the power of food
  • you are a seasoned foodie and want to geek out on mechanisms and the science
  • you want to learn about foods and nutrients (all science-based) specifically for depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, ADHD and insomnia
  • you are a practitioner and want to learn and share a wonderful book with your patients or clients

I read it cover to cover and picked up so many gems. I also loved reading about her memories of cooking with her Pinetown granny (Pinetown is just outside Durban where we both happened to grow up)!

We do have a few professional differences of opinion that I feel I should mention:

  • I am not in favor of canola oil and I’d switch out the recipes that call for canola oil with olive oil
  • I have a difficult time extrapolating high-fat diets in rat studies to concerns about saturated fat consumption in humans (given the nature of the rat chow in many of these studies)
  • I’m more concerned with portion-size of carbs than I am with portion-size of healthy fats (and typically recommend full-fat coconut milk, and chicken and turkey with skin-on)
  • I find grass-red meat to be beneficial for my clients with anxiety and mood issues
  • Many of my anxious clients cannot tolerate any caffeine and I consider 14 alcoholic drinks a week for men and 7 alcoholic drinks a week for women to be excessive
  • I prefer stove-top and oven cooking to using a microwave.

This is the official book blurb:

Did you know that blueberries can help you cope with the aftereffects of trauma? That salami can cause depression, or that boosting Vitamin D intake can help treat anxiety?

When it comes to diet, most people’s concerns involve weight loss, fitness, cardiac health, and longevity. But what we eat affects more than our bodies; it also affects our brains. And recent studies have shown that diet can have a profound impact on mental health conditions ranging from ADHD to depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, OCD, dementia and beyond.

A triple threat in the food space, Dr. Uma Naidoo is a board-certified psychiatrist, nutrition specialist, and professionally trained chef. In This Is Your Brain on Food, she draws on cutting-edge research to explain the many ways in which food contributes to our mental health, and shows how a sound diet can help treat and prevent a wide range of psychological and cognitive health issues.

Packed with fascinating science, actionable nutritional recommendations, and delicious, brain-healthy recipes, This Is Your Brain on Food is the go-to guide to optimizing your mental health with food.

Uma Naidoo, MD is board-certified psychiatrist (Harvard Medical School), professional chef (Cambridge School of Culinary Arts), and nutrition specialist (Cornell University). She is currently the Director of Nutritional and Lifestyle Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where she consults on nutritional interventions for the psychiatrically and medically ill; Director of Nutritional Psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital Academy; and has a private practice in Newton, MA. She also teaches at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.

Dr. Naidoo speaks frequently at conferences at Harvard, for Goop audiences, the New York City Jewish Community Center (JCC), and Ivy Boston. She blogs for Harvard Health and Psychology Today and completed a unique video cooking series for the MGH Academy which teaches Nutritional Psychiatry using culinary techniques in the kitchen.

You can get your copy of This Is Your Brain on Food here (my Amazon link) and find additional information about Dr. Naidoo here and the book here.

Let us know what you think in the comments below and be sure to leave Dr. Naidoo a review once you read your copy!

Feel free to post your questions here too.

The healing properties of camel’s milk for autism (and anxiety)

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Kaalya Daniel, PhD covers the very interesting topic of camel milk in her interview on The Nourishing Hope for Autism Summit

How You Can Use the Healing Properties of Camel’s Milk for Autism

Camel’s milk is like no other milk. You’ll learn the unique and powerful immune system properties and nutrient benefits of this milk, from an animal known to endure extreme conditions. And how it helps with autism, even when you can’t tolerate other milk.

I don’t have access to the interview transcript yet but since this is a new topic I haven’t yet blogged about I’ve decided to highlight this interview as one I’m really interested in exploring for mom’s in my community with children on the spectrum, with ADHD or other developmental disorders.

In case you’re new to camel’s milk, a paper published in 2015 – Nutritional and Therapeutic Characteristics of Camel Milk in Children: A Systematic Review, shares the following:

Camel milk is the closest to a human mother’s milk. Camel milk is different from other milks, however, having low sugar and cholesterol, high minerals (sodium, potassium, iron, copper, zinc and magnesium, and vitamin C). The milk is considered have medicinal characteristics as well.

The study concludes that there is evidence denoting the importance, usability and benefits of camel’s milk:

Camel milk as a supplemental treatment seems less invasive and costly than specialist care, medications, alternative treatments, and behavioral interventions. Based on our findings, camel milk is safer for children, effective in the treatment of autism, improves general well-being, promotes body natural defenses, is a good nutritional source, and can helps the daily nutritional needs of humans.

Given the many overlaps we see with autism/ASD and anxiety/depression, it’s clear that camel milk has wide applications given the benefits we see has for immunity, the gut and inflammation, as well as providing nourishment when dairy cannot be tolerated. As you can see in the above study below camel milk consumption has been shown to improve general well-being.

I’m not sure if anxiety and GABA is covered in the interview but I did find some interesting research reporting that both camel and goat milk have significantly more bioavailable GABA than cow and human milk – which may be another beneficial mechanism.

Here are just a few of the other speakers and topics I’m really looking forward to hearing:

  • James Adams, PhD: The Scientific Evidence Linking Nutrition and Autism Improvement
  • Dietrich Klinghardt: Understanding Lyme, Infections, Mold, and Heavy Metals and the Effects on Autism
  • Chef Pete Evans: Food is Medicine, Inspiration from a chef
  • Dominic D’Agostino, PhD: Is the Ketogenic Diet Right for an Autistic Child?
  • Susan Owens, MS: The Inflammasome, Oxalates, Autoimmunity and Autism
  • And of course, Julie Matthews, CNC: When GFCF Diets Don’t Work – BioIndividual Nutrition for Autism (I’m actually going to interview Julie on this topic)

In my interview we go into anxiety, OCD and aggression in great detail, discussing the amino acids GABA and tryptophan, plus gluten issues and when and how to use inositol.

This summit provides you with information and tools that address the root causes of autism, ADHD and many other conditions including anxiety.

The Summit runs July 30 to August 3 and is hosted by my dear friend and colleague Julie Matthews, whose work you’re probably very familiar with. In case Julie’s work is new to you, in my eyes, she is THE autism nutrition expert. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing her a number of times on the Anxiety Summit, I endorse her Bioindividual Nutrition training (special diets) for practitioners, I highly respect the work she does and I adore her!

Register here for The Nourishing Hope for Autism Summit to learn more! It airs online from July 30 to August 3, 2018. Hope to see you online!

I’d love to hear your camel’s milk experiences. If you have questions please post them in the comments below.

Little evidence for SSRI use in anxiety and compulsions in ASD: my interview on Nourishing Hope for Autism Summit

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One of the reasons I’m so passionate about participating on summits like The Nourishing Hope for Autism Summit and sharing the powerful nutritional interventions is due to the fact that medications such as antidepressants and benzodiazepines are frequently prescribed in ASD – and the research and clinical evidence shows that children and adolescents with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) are more vulnerable to the side effects.

This paper, Psychopharmacological interventions in autism spectrum disorder, makes the following conclusion:

Psychopharmacological treatment of core and associated symptoms in ASD is challenging, in large part because ASD presents in many different ways. Furthermore, children and adolescents with ASD are more vulnerable to the side effects of psychopharmacological intervention than their age-matched, typically developing counterparts.

This paper, Pharmacotherapy of emotional and behavioral symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorder in children and adolescents, supports this, stating there is little evidence to support the use of SSRIs in ASD:

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are often used in clinical practice to target anxiety and compulsions; however, there is little evidence to support its use in this population. There is a great need for further research on the safety and efficacy of existing psychotropic medications in youth with ASD.

And this paper published a few months ago, An update on pharmacotherapy of autism spectrum disorder in children and adolescents, concludes that

Overall, the evidence is limited for pharmacotherapy in children with ASD, and side-effects with long-term use can be burdensome.

Much of this also applies to adults with ASD and in my interview I talk about the psychiatric medicine concerns within the ASD community and the high incidence of anxiety, aggression, irritability and OCD in this population.

We also discuss the following nutritional solutions in my interview (appropriately titled: How to calm anxiety, and eliminate aggression and OCD) –

  • the role low serotonin plays in anxiety, aggression and OCD/obsessions and the use of tryptophan and when to avoid 5-HTP
  • the low GABA type of physical anxiety and how to effectively use GABA for results
  • how to use inositol for OCD and some wonderful success stories
  • lead toxicity and increased anxiety and the protective role of tryptophan and ascorbic acid
  • phenols and oxalates other special diets (and my story with oxalate issues)

Our interviews are always fun, science based and practical – and in this one we even shared some of our personal results (both good and bad) with some of these nutrients.

Here are just a few of the speakers and topics I’m really looking forward to hearing:

  • James Adams, PhD: The Scientific Evidence Linking Nutrition and Autism Improvement
  • Dietrich Klinghardt: Understanding Lyme, Infections, Mold, and Heavy Metals and the Effects on Autism
  • Chef Pete Evans: Food is Medicine, Inspiration from a chef
  • Kaalya Daniel, PhD: How You Can Use the Healing Properties of Camel’s Milk for Autism
  • Dominic D’Agostino, PhD: Is the Ketogenic Diet Right for an Autistic Child?
  • Susan Owens, MS: The Inflammasome, Oxalates, Autoimmunity and Autism
  • And of course, Julie Matthews, CNC: When GFCF Diets Don’t Work – BioIndividual Nutrition for Autism

This summit provides you with information and tools that address the root causes so medications such as the above do not even have to come into the picture!

The Nourishing Hope for Autism Summit runs July 30 to August 3 and is hosted by my dear friend and colleague Julie Matthews, whose work you’re probably very familiar with. In case Julie’s work is new to you, in my eyes, she is THE autism nutrition expert. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing her a number of times on the Anxiety Summit, I endorse her Bioindividual Nutrition training (special diets) for practitioners, I highly respect the work she does and I adore her!

The focus of this summit is clearly autism and Julie is THE expert so you’ll learn a ton from the experts she has gathered.

But do keep in mind that those with autism or Asperger’s are often considered the canaries in the coalmine and even if you don’t have a loved one with ASD many of the interviews have wider applications for anxiety, ADHD and other developmental and learning disorders.

Register here for The Nourishing Hope for Autism Summit to learn more! It airs online from July 30 to August 3, 2018

The role of functional neurology, the cerebellum and brain balance exercises for anxiety, depression, social communication, ADHD and obsessions

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Here are some snippets from a fascinating interview sharing cutting edge information on functional neurology and the cerebellum on the Autism, ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder Summit

Dr. Peter Scire, DC covers: How to Induce Neuroplastic Change in Your Teenager and Make it Fun. He shares how brain hemisphere imbalances and misfiring can be assessed and corrected with very specific exercises to induce neuroplastic change (in both children and even adults). 

I want to bring attention to, really what Schmahmann calls the cerebellum cognitive affective syndrome, so CCAS. It’s been in the literature now for 20 years. And now he’s developed a way to actually do a checklist and to look at these different aspects. But ultimately what he’s saying is that the cerebellum networks have huge relationships to your cognition of executive functions: like working memory, linguistics (your ability to generate language and to actually comprehend language), your affect, so your mood and your emotional stability. Being able to not only generate emotions, but also be able to receive emotions.

These are things that we thought for a long time were at the higher center of the brain, more of the frontal lobe specifically….. But again, the more that we’re looking at the neuro anatomy through neuroimaging, we’re able to really say, guess what? There are certain pockets of the cerebellum that specifically drive these networks.

He talks about the 3 major parts of the cerebellum, 10 subparts and how 5 of these subparts actually deal with non-motor aspects (i.e. mood and emotions, ADHD etc.). It’s this latter aspect – the non-moto aspects – that is not recognized in mainstream neurology and that forms the some of the central aspects of functional neurology: 

What we know about the cerebellum is that we have three major parts to it, and then there’s actually like 10 sub parts to it. And these 10 sub parts to it have different connections and when you look at the 10 sub parts, the first 5 have to do with more sensory motor aspects of the cerebellum. And then really the other 10 or so, give or take, are really dealing with non-motor aspects.

We have areas from the cortex that speak back to the cerebellum. We call them cerebral cerebellum loops. And then we have cerebellum back to the cerebrum. It kind of makes this bio directional system. Now it’s a little bit more complicated than that. There are other parts of the motor center, the basal ganglia and these other parts in the limbic system and stuff like that. But from a simple standpoint, for most of our attendees that understand brain gut access, just think about it in that sense. Cerebellum … brain, cerebellum, cerebellum back to the brain, okay?

And so we can have dysfunction in those systems. But again, most of the clinical model has always been looking at brain to cerebellum, not cerebellum back to the brain. And I think in my experience over the last 15 plus years, most of the work in functional neurology has actually been centered around, even chiropractic per se has been centered around cerebellum to brain, but we now are even getting more specific with our therapeutic entities.

Dr. Scire discusses the under-recognized relationships between the cerebellum networks and ADHD, social communication, mood, and emotional aspects, relationships, obsessions, compulsions, anxiety and depression: 

Again, when you look at the different phases of his work, you want to look at executive function – the whole ADHD population. You look at the linguistic processing. Obviously, we know language and social communication for autism spectrum disorders. Looking at spatial cognition so visual spatial information, visual memory aspects. Then you can begin to look at not only mood, and emotional aspects, but also relationships, obsessions, compulsions, anxiety and depression.

All this continuum of symptomatology can be traced back to the cerebellum. I agree with Doctor Melillo on this hemisphere communication model. But at the same time, in my opinion, I think that we can take it one step further and even get into the specifics of starting with these networks in the cerebellum. It starts out with this very specific examination to say okay, I want to look at motor functions of the cerebellum and I also want to look at non-motor functions of the cerebellum. And then my therapeutic entity is going to be based on that.

You can watch the video snippet of the above here

Dr. Scire shares the research published by Dr. Schmahmann. In this paper, The neuropsychiatry of the cerebellum – insights from the clinic they discuss the behaviors that they witnessed and that were described by patients and families:

distractibility and hyperactivity, impulsiveness, disinhibition, anxiety, ritualistic and stereotypical behaviors, illogical thought and lack of empathy, as well as aggression and irritability. Ruminative and obsessive behaviors, dysphoria and depression, tactile defensiveness and sensory overload, apathy, childlike behavior, and inability to appreciate social boundaries and assign ulterior motives were also evident.

He also recommends Dr. Robert Melillo’s book: Disconnected Kids: The Groundbreaking Brain Balance Program for Children with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Other Neurological Disorders (my Amazon link). I’ve skimmed it and will be doing a review –the functional neurology information is brilliant. I’d love to see the dietary information expanded upon.

In this interview you will learn…

  • What the latest research says about the role of the cerebellum in cognition and motor planning [and the role it also plays in anxiety, depression and ADHD]
  • What to look for when assessing cerebellar function.
  • How the cerebellum impacts executive function.
  • How to rehabilitate the brain and the importance of movement.
  • How to treat young adults with neurological disorders.
  • How what may seem to be “simple” exercises you can do at home with your child can have a major impact on their cognitive function.

I also had the pleasure of speaking on a panel with Dr. Scire and Dr. Leila Masson last week – you can watch this here. We discuss some of the above and a great deal more

Facebook Live Panel with Tara Hunkin, Dr Leila Masson, Dr. Peter Scire DC, and Trudy Scott.

I learned so much from his interview and our panel discussion and will be delving into this aspect of functional neurology in order to add this element for clients who need this support beyond nutrition and functional medicine.

If you’re new to my work and the targeted individual amino acids be sure to catch my interview: Self-care strategies for parents that are stressed out, anxious and depressed – without using medications.

Using the targeted individual amino acids (such as tryptophan, GABA and DPA) provides quick relief from anxiety and overwhelm, giving my clients hope from day one.  And then we start to dig deeper for other root causes which can often take some time.

In this interview my focus was for stress and overwhelm support for parents but the use of amino acids is very applicable to children (and was the topic I covered in my interview in the first season).

You can watch a video snippet of me sharing more about the amino acids here

As I learn more I expect to find that the amino acids used in conjunction with functional neurology is going to provide more comprehensive results for many individuals who also have cerebellum dysfunctions.

This event brings together 30+ of the leading doctors, nutritionists, and researchers working to help parents by sharing the latest information and strategies for achieving recovery for children with Autism, ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder.

If you have (or a loved one has) anxiety, depression, OCD,  social anxiety, anger issues and other behavioral symptoms this event is one I highly recommend. Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and Parkinson’s disease are also covered in Dr. Scire’s interview.  This information has a wider application than autism, Asperger’s syndrome, ADHD and SPD and you will learn a great deal.

If you’ve benefited from functional neurology and these brain balancing exercises please do share in the comments. Feel free to post questions too.