Peter Bongiorno

GABA for anxiety, unwanted thoughts, sleep, gut pain, burning mouth (and the blood brain barrier theory and zinc-copper imbalance)

November 5, 2021 By Trudy Scott 10 Comments

In the lead up to The Anxiety Summit 5: Gut-Brain Axis, Nov 8-14, 2021, today I am going to highlight GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), so you can really connect the dots and understand how far-reaching an impact this calming neurotransmitter has, and how important GABA is as an amino acid supplement.

Here are a few of the many interviews on the summit that feature GABA. Some of these gems come from the experts and some are from me helping to make the connections.

The GABA challenge for a leaky blood brain barrier: a theory

In my interview with Dr. Datis Kharrazian, Fix the Brain to Fix the Gut, we take a deep dive into his GABA Challenge for a leaky blood brain barrier and he shares how it is a theory and agrees that we still have much to learn about GABA:

The GABA challenge test was based on the lactulose mannitol test which is a well-established test in gastroenterology for measuring leaky gut.
He used GABA because the S100 B and blood brain permeability tests were not readily available at the time.
The theory was that if GABA helped ease anxiety or improved sleep, the person had a leaky blood brain barrier because of the GABA particle size.

He is still always suspicious if someone takes GABA and they have a reaction and does always want to go and check the blood brain barrier too.

But Dr. Kharrazian agrees there may be other mechanisms at play: “there is actually the possibility of other pathways that can impact GABA, maybe directly to the gut itself, through the vagus, so I don’t discount those possibilities. The real answer is, we don’t know.”

I have deep respect for Dr. Kharrazian and appreciate having the opportunity to discuss this with him.

Estrogen dominance, low progesterone, zinc-copper balance, GABA and benzodiazepines

In my interview with Ann Louise Gittleman too, Bile: Key to Anxiety and Hormone Havoc, we talk about high estrogen, low progesterone, zinc-copper balance and GABA:

Part of the whole issue with estrogen dominance is that we don’t have enough zinc in our diet and we need the zinc to make progesterone. We know that when we have a copper/zinc imbalance, with high copper and low zinc, we’re going to feel more anxious.
And we need zinc in order to make GABA and other neurotransmitters like serotonin. We also need it to make progesterone.
Damage to the liver and thyroid that was caused by fluoride was reversed by using the amino acid GABA.

Ann Louise also shares how GABA was a savior for her personally. After suffering from a very bad concussion and a bout with post-traumatic stress she eventually ended up on a benzodiazepine and GABA helped her get off it. The benzo “was very very toxic for my system because I don’t have all the detox pathways functioning the way they should. GABA was my savior. So I’m a big believer in GABA. And to this day, I still take 750 mg at night and in the morning.”

Mimosa pudica seed kills parasites and the whole plant extract modulates GABA

In my interview with Dr. Jay Davidson, Parasites, Anxiety and TUDCA for Your Liver, we take a deep dive into the role of parasites in anxiety and a product he uses for doing a parasite cleanse. Dr. Jay shares these gems about mimosa pudica seed:

It is amazing for overall gut support: “So even if your goal isn’t a parasite cleanse, mimosa pudica seed is awesome to help support the digestive tract.”
It can help break up biofilm.
It’s really good against Candida
It helps to normalize microbial levels within the GI system

And I share a study where the whole plant extract of mimosa pudica was found to help modulate GABA receptors. The study reported the benefits were very similar to one of the common antianxiety medications.

I would love to know if the seed has an impact on GABA levels too and will be digging into the research. I’ll share what I find in a follow-up blog post.

Lactobacillus rhamnosus (a probiotic) increases in GABA levels

In my interview with Dr. Peter Bongiorno, Gut-Brain Axis and Mental Health, he shares a mouse study that found Lactobacillus rhamnosus (a probiotic) led to increases in the calming neurotransmitter GABA:

GABA is typically very low in people who have epilepsy and anxiety.
“This study is showing us that you can actually increase GABA by just getting a good microbiota and getting the right strains of probiotics into your body.”

I love his description of how he thinks about this: “when the brain gets over-excited it’s like a calm blanket that sort of covers the brain and makes everything feel okay.”

Everyone who has benefited from the calming effects of GABA can relate to this.

GABA for gut pain, throat spasms, burning mouth, and anxiety and sleep

And finally, in my interview, GABA & Tryptophan: Gut-Anxiety Connections, I take a deep dive into all things GABA, sharing how low GABA plays a role in poor gut health and digestion:

There is research that shows that low GABA may be a factor with the visceral pain we see with SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) i.e. the bowels are very sensitive to the distention or stretch caused by bloating. Using a GABA supplement can help ease the pain very quickly.
GABA supplementation also helps to relax throat spasms that we see with vagus nerve issues (I share my vagus nerve story and how GABA helped me).
GABA supplementation helps with easing burning mouth syndrome which is very common in menopausal women.

I also go into how low levels of GABA cause physical anxiety and how to do a trial of GABA in order to ease anxiety quickly. I also share the following:

Hippocampal GABA enables inhibitory control over unwanted thoughts
A combination of GABA and theanine helps improve sleep problems

And I also go into the harmful effects of phenibut, which is often used instead of GABA. It can cause physical dependence and withdrawal issues similar to benzodiazepines.

Of course, I also share some of the profound benefits we see with GABA supplementation. One mom shared this about her daughter whose teachers were concerned about her ADHD and anxiety at school: “Since giving her GABA she has had amazing behavior at school and at home. She’s almost like a different child. GABA has truly changed her life.”

This is what we should expect. We want to have this wow effect!

These interviews dove-tail well with this topic and all tie back to and mention GABA, and anxiety and gut health:

Achina P. Stein, DO, DFAPA, ABIHM, IFMCP – SSRI Impact on the Microbiome and Safe SSRI Tapering
Hyla Cass, MD – Endocannabinoid System and Your Gut
Magdalena Wszelaki – Herbs to Improve Digestion and Support GABA
Chandler Marrs, PhD – Thiamine Deficiency in Anxiety and Gut Health (Part 1 & 2)

If this is the first time you’re hearing about the Anxiety Summit 5: Gut-Brain Axis, I encourage you to register and tune in if you have:

Anxiety & feel overwhelmed & stressed by little things
Panic attacks &/or obsessive thoughts or behaviors
Social anxiety/pyroluria
Phobias or fears (flying, spiders or even driving on a highway)

And also if you suffer from…

Food sensitivities, IBS/SIBO, parasites or gallbladder issues
Constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas, pain & other digestive issues
Leaky gut, a leaky blood-brain barrier or vagus nerve issues

Join us if you are also an emotional eater with intense sugar cravings (and know you suffer from low blood sugar), experience insomnia, low mood, PMS, poor focus and/or low motivation.

This is THE online event to learn about the powerful individual amino acids – GABA, theanine, tryptophan, 5-HTP, glutamine, DPA and tyrosine – to quickly ease anxiety and help with gut symptoms while you are dealing with other root causes which take longer to address. (They also help with cravings as with this example, and sleep and immunity).

With research-based anxiety nutritional solutions and practical steps, you can determine your root causes, ease your anxiety and prevent it from coming back so you can feel on top of the world again!

If you are a practitioner, please join us too and find advanced solutions for your clients or patients too!

You’ve heard me say the Anxiety Summit has been called “a bouquet of hope!” My wish for you is that this summit is your bouquet of hope!

I hope you’ll join me and these incredible speakers, be enlightened and find YOUR solutions!

If you’d like to find all the GABA mentions throughout the summit (or something else like serotonin or zinc etc), using the searchable PDF transcript is the easiest way to do this. This PDF is included when you purchase the series. If you’re thinking of making a purchase I encourage you to do so now before the prices increase.

Purchase now

Here’s to no more anxiety and you feeling on top of the world again!

The Anxiety Summit – Serotonin and anxiety: tryptophan, 5-HTP, serotonin syndrome and medication tapers

June 12, 2016 By Trudy Scott 62 Comments

Dr. Peter Bongiorno, ND, author of Holistic Therapies for Anxiety and Depression, is interviewed on the Anxiety Summit by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.

Serotonin and anxiety: tryptophan, 5-HTP, serotonin syndrome and medication tapers

What is the serotonin hypothesis and serotonin syndrome
Concerns about tryptophan and kynurenine and neurotoxic quinolinic acid
When to use tryptophan and when to use 5-HTP
Working with a prescribing doctor to do a SSRI (and benzo) taper
John’s Wort, saffron and venetron for anxiety and depression
Hydrotherapy and hugs

Here are some snippets from our interview:

Here are some gems from our interview:

As far as St. John’s Wort I would honestly put that in a different category because St. John’s Wort is not just another type of serotonin enhancer or SSRI. It has many, many other activities. It supports the thyroid. It really helps digestion. It’s a good anti-inflammatory. It calms the nervous system. And it also supports other neurotransmitters too. So to me St. John’s Wort is more like a beautiful food that has these very pleiotropic effects and really helps the whole body kind of cope and gain resilience. Years ago St. John’s Wort was originally used to ward off evil spirits in olden times. And so it has a tremendous history of supporting people with mood and especially people who are very fatigued in the process and they can’t cope and they have no resilience. So I think St. John’s Wort is definitely more than just a serotonin enhancer.

We also cover carnitine:

One of the things I like to check is something called carnitine which is an amino acid which plays a role in how energy is carried in the body. And many women get much depleted in carnitine as they move through pregnancy through the trimesters. And that’s actually quite safe to take during pregnancy and I’ve seen that be very, very helpful in women with mood issues either during pregnancy or postpartum. And there are plenty of studies that show the safety of carnitine. So that’s one of the things I definitely like to look at along with taking some magnesium which is also safe during pregnancy.

We discuss medication tapers of SSRIs:

And the weaning process would have to be different for everyone. Some patients who have been on some of these mood altering medications for many years you can’t just wean off quickly. You have to go exceedingly slow. And depending on how they do then we can support their brain and their body with more nutrients to help that process go as easily as possible and minimize any kind of withdrawal effect. The body will tell us what to do as we go along. But again the most important thing is that we really establish all the basics and that they’re in the healthiest place possible. Because if those aren’t there, if a patient just gets off the medication and we haven’t really done anything to change the underlying reasons why they got to the place where they had the mood issue. In most cases they’re going to go back there again.

Here are two of Dr. Bongiorno’s books:

How Come They’re Happy and I’m Not – The Complete Natural Program for Healing Depression for Good

Holistic Solutions for Anxiety & Depression in Therapy: Combining Natural Remedies with Conventional Care

And his most recent book: Put Anxiety Behind You

Here is his digital gift: 10 Ways to Balance Serotonin Naturally http://www.drpeterbongiorno.com/serotonin/

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.

Anxiety Summit season 4: the top six reasons to attend

June 3, 2016 By Trudy Scott 7 Comments

anxiety-summit-hope

We’re getting ready for the Anxiety Summit! It starts next week June 6^th and runs through June 16^th and I can’t wait to share all the amazing speakers and resources with you.

If you’ve already signed up for the summit these top six reasons will inspire you even further. If you haven’t yet signed up I hope to motivate you to join us and learn nutritional tools to overcome anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks, OCD and even insomnia and stress eating.

(1) More and more children and adolescents have anxiety

Dr. Zendi Moldenhauer, integrative psychiatric NP, is one of the wonderful summit speakers. Her topic is Anxiety in children, adolescents and young adults: an integrative psychiatric approach, and she shares this:

Anxiety in children and adolescents is on the rise globally. The number of teens ages 13-18 who have been officially diagnosed with an anxiety disorder is only 8%, however our real-life experience shows it to be closer to 1 in 4 or 1 in 5.

Dr Zendi shares that many anxious children and adolescents actually have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and that by addressing gut health we can see anxiety symptoms disappear. The adrenals can be supported with theanine, an amino acid that promotes alert relaxation, and low GABA levels can be boosted with a calming amino acid such as GABA-Calm.

(2) American Psychiatric Association Lobbies FDA to Electroshock Children

This is the title of a recent article published on the CCHRINT website and here is what they are saying:

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is aggressively lobbying the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow it broader use of Electroshock (ECT) on patients, including children.

While the APA looks to seizure-inducing, brain-disabling, electricity as a form of ‘treatment,’ lobbying the FDA to make ECT available for children, no one in medicine, let alone psychiatry, has a clue how ECT machines ‘work’ or how passing large amounts of electricity into a child’s brain ‘treats’ the subjective mental disorder.

It’s unfathomable to me that with what we now know about nutritional psychiatry (see more on this below) that we could be considering something as awful as this.

(3) We can control the size of our hippocampus by what we eat

Dr. Drew Ramsey, M.D., psychiatrist, farmer and author of the new book Eat Complete, another wonderful summit speaker, covers Nutrients that Fuel Brain Power and Reduce Anxiety.

I love what Dr. Drew Ramsey says in our interview: “I eat for a bigger hippocampus.” The hippocampus is an area of your brain involved in emotional regulation and learning. Don’t you want a bigger hippocampus?

We talked about this in the context of the research published by Dr. Felice Jacka and her team: Western diet is associated with a smaller hippocampus: a longitudinal investigation. Here is the conclusion of the study:

Lower intakes of nutrient-dense foods and higher intakes of unhealthy foods are each independently associated with smaller left hippocampal volume. To our knowledge, this is the first human study to demonstrate associations between diet and hippocampal volume concordant with data previously observed in animal models.

The Anxiety Summit is “a bouquet of hope”

(4) Tryptophan and GABA give you hope and an immediate feeling of calm

The Anxiety Summit has been called a “bouquet of hope” and these calming and mood-boosting amino acids are my favorite nutrients for anxiety because they offer so much hope right away. They get much coverage this season.

Serotonin and anxiety: tryptophan, 5-HTP, serotonin syndrome and medication tapers, an interview with Dr. Peter Bongiorno, ND, author of Holistic Therapies for Anxiety and Depression:

Low levels of tryptophan contribute to generalized anxiety and panic attacks. Back in the early 1990s, a laboratory I was associated with at Yale University performed “tryptophan depletion studies” and which volunteers who were already prone to anxiety were put on a tryptophan-free diet. Within days, these people were extremely anxious, panicky and unstable – and they had lots of trouble staying asleep.

In my interview, GABA: Blood brain barrier controversy, concerns, best forms and how to do a trial for eliminating anxiety, I cover the research and practical steps on how to get the best results. But most importantly you’ll hear heartwarming success stories from people who use GABA, like this one:

It helps lower my overall anxious feeling all day (anxiety for no reason). I just started increasing the dose slightly and am beginning to take it a few times a day to help with social anxiety.

And this one:

It changed my life in minutes! Take it every day now. No more hopelessness!

If you have anxiety I want you to have hope that you will find an answer and I want to give you tools and resources to get there.

Tryptophan and GABA give you HOPE and relief right away while you are addressing some of the bigger underlying causes of your anxiety which may take longer to address. Some of these more complex causes may be leaky gut, mercury toxicity, gluten issues or Lyme disease and are also their own topics in the summit.

(5) Anxious individuals are actively looking for nutritional solutions

In a paper published earlier this year, Herbal medicine use behaviour in Australian adults who experience anxiety: a descriptive study, out of 400 anxious Australian adults in the study:

47% were diagnosed with an anxiety disorder
82% experienced anxiety symptoms in the previous 12 months
3% had used prescribed pharmaceuticals for anxiety
8% had used herbal medicines for anxiety

The authors of the study voice concerns about the dangers of self-prescribing saying this about the widespread use of herbal medicines:

Herbal medicines are being used by adults with anxiety and are commonly self-prescribed for anxiety symptoms. These behaviours are concerning as people may not be receiving the most suitable treatments, and their use of herbal medicines may even be dangerous. It is critical we develop a better understanding of why people are using these medicines.

Based on my practice and after interviewing over 100 experts on nutritional solutions for anxiety and seeing the research, this is my belief: more and more people who are not getting solutions from medications are being smart and are looking to address the root cause/s of their anxiety naturally and nutritionally. Are you one of them?

I’m all about self-empowerment and being informed and the summit delivers plenty of practical content and the research.

(6) Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric illness

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric illness affecting children and adults. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association Of America, it’s estimated that 40 million American adults suffer with an anxiety disorder. These numbers are much higher because you may never get a diagnosis and be counted (just look at the Australian herbal study below). You may not even identify with the term anxiety because you have felt like for so long and just think ‘this is me, this is just how I am.’

It doesn’t have to be like this. We can change these stats. You can feel on top of the world again!

The summit offers hope and solutions, research and success stories!

Discover 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.

Join us June 6-16^th online – register here www.theanxietysummit.com

And please share widely!

Tryptophan for anxiety, sleep and mood: in Put Anxiety Behind You

May 6, 2016 By Trudy Scott 92 Comments

Tryptophan is an amino acid I use with clients all the time. If you have the low serotonin symptoms of anxiety, worry, depression, insomnia, PMS, TMJ, anger issues, winter blues and afternoon/evening cravings, tryptophan can provide relief very quickly, provided you use a quality tryptophan product and find the right amount for your unique needs. I do a trial of each amino acid with my clients.

Dr. Peter Bongiorno, ND, a doctor of naturopathic medicine, also uses tryptophan with his patients. Here is an excerpt on tryptophan from his newest book Put Anxiety Behind You: The Complete Drug-Free Program:

Tryptophan (sometimes referred to as L-tryptophan) is a naturally derived amino acid that serves as a precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is needed to help you stay asleep. Low levels of tryptophan contribute to generalized anxiety and panic attacks. Back in the early 1990s, a laboratory I was associated with at Yale University performed “tryptophan depletion studies” and which volunteers who were already prone to anxiety were put on a tryptophan-free diet. Within days, these people were extremely anxious, panicky and unstable – and they had lots of trouble staying asleep.

I usually give people 500 – 1,000 mg of tryptophan at bedtime, but I may dose up to 2,500 mg. Take tryptophan at bedtime with a slice of simple carbohydrate (like an apple slice) – the carbohydrate will increase insulin levels and insulin will promote tryptophan absorption in the brain. In my clinic I use a supplement called Tryptophan Calmplete, which includes B vitamins.

Although most conventional psychiatrists are afraid to mix natural medicines like tryptophan with conventional medications studies suggest that they can be safely combined. One eight-week randomized controlled trial of thirty patients with major depression combined 20 mg of Prozac (an SSRI medication) with 2,000 mg of tryptophan as daily treatment for major depressive disorder. This study demonstrated that combining tryptophan and an SSRI improved mood and helped patients stay asleep.

If you look up tryptophan on websites like WebMD, they are going to tell you that tryptophan is unsafe. The reason for this is because in the early 1990s there was an incident of Eosinophilia Myalgia Syndrome, a condition contracted by thirty people who most unfortunately got sick (and some died) after ingesting tryptophan supplements. This tragic event occurred because the company making the supplement had no quality controls, and allowed the introduction of bacteria. These deaths had nothing to do with tryptophan itself. My sense is that the folks behind conventional websites WebMD, who should be doing their homework, let these ideas persist on purpose. The drug companies who advertise with these websites then benefit from continuing the misinformation. I have taken tryptophan myself, have used it with family members and countless patients with absolutely no problem save for the side benefit of better sleep and mood.

This book is an excellent resource for anxiety, where addressing nutritional imbalances with a supplement such as tryptophan is part of the bigger picture of addressing sleep, doing thought work and mind-body work, balancing hormones and blood sugar, exercising, adopting a healthy real foods diet, and making sure you have a healthy digestive system.

He uses the analogy of a stool – when one of the legs or supports is weak, your health suffers.

put-anxiety-behind-you-fig1

I’m a research-geek and love to be able to look at the studies so my only negative comment about the book is that all the studies mentioned in the text are not listed in the references and studies that are listed in the references are not numbered so they can be easily found in the text.

His other book Holistic Solutions for Anxiety and Depression: Combining Natural Remedies with Conventional Care is also excellent and is geared to therapists and other practitioners. You can read my review of that book here.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Bongiorno on The Anxiety Summit (season 3) – our topic: Serotonin and Anxiety, Happiness, Digestion and our Hormones. And I’m excited to share that he’ll be speaking on Season 4 of the Anxiety Summit. We’ll be taking a deeper dive into serotonin and tryptophan.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Bongiorno in person and hearing him present at the New York City Integrative Healthcare Symposium earlier this year.

peter-trudy

Dr. Bongiorno is co-director of Inner Source Natural Health and Acupuncture in New York City. President of the New York Association of Naturopathic Physicians, he is a contributor to numerous blogs and online magazines, including DrOz.com and Sharecare.com, and is regularly interviewed as a natural medicine expert on national television and radio.

Dr. Bongiorno has been kind enough to offer a copy of Put Anxiety Behind You: The Complete Drug-Free Program as a giveaway. We’ll do a drawing and select one lucky reader and announce the winner next Friday. If you’d like to be entered in to the drawing simply comment below and share:

~~why you’d like to win the book~~
~~if you’ve used tryptophan and what results you saw/see~~
~~which section you’re most excited about reading and why (just go to the Amazon preview via this link and check out the table of contents and sections of the book)~~
~~which holistic approaches you already use personally or if you’re a practitioner, what you have used with your anxious patients/clients~~

5/12/16 UPDATE: Thanks for participating and commenting – the winner is Liz. We’ll contact you to get a mailing address and get a copy of the book to you! Enjoy it!

If you missed out I encourage you to still check out the table of contents (with the look inside Amazon feature) and get the book if it feels like a fit for you. Check out the comments below to be inspired further.

Please share your feedback (and questions you may have) in the comments section below.

My Anxiety Gift ideas for you!

December 15, 2015 By Trudy Scott Leave a Comment

giftboxes-pastel

I’ve got some great gift ideas for you for the anxious person in your life, and for you too because you deserve a gift (or two) too!

A national tradition of Iceland is called Jolabokaflod or the “Christmas Book Flood”. It involves giving books as presents on the night of the 24^th and people spend the night reading. I love books and just love this so I’m starting with some book ideas for you:

(1) A wonderful new book by my friend and colleague Susan Albers, PsyD: 50 More Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food: Mindfulness Strategies to Cope with Stress and End Emotional Eating. It is wonderful and includes many techniques that are new to me – like Skull-Shining Breath, Madras, Power-posing, Mala Bead Meditation (and more) and so many of my favorites like smiling, forest bathing, yoga, and thalassotherapy (the therapeutic use of seawater). There are 50 of them! I love it!

(2) An excellent new book edited by Dr. Kelly Brogan MD, Holistic Psychiatrist and Dr. James Greenblatt MD: Integrative Therapies for Depression: Redefining Models for Assessment, Treatment and Prevention. There are contributions from some of my other favorite integrative/holistic practitioners: Dr. Kat Toups MD, Julia Rucklidge PhD, Dr. William Shaw (Exposure to Toxic Chemicals as a Cause of Depression), Dr. Sara Gottfried MD (The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in Mood Disorders), and Dr. Peter Bongiorno ND (Stress, Fear, Trauma, and Distress: Underlying Factors in Depression). I have not yet read it but based on the table of contents I can’t wait and I’ve placed my preorder. Great for you as a practitioner or as a gift for your favorite practitioner! [you can also get it here – use promo code AMQ21 and SAVE 25% plus FREE Shipping Worldwide]

(3) A new book by Anxiety Summit speaker Dr. Peter Bongiorno ND: Put Anxiety Behind You – The Complete Drug-Free Program. I have a copy and it’s excellent! This blurb sums it up so well: “he offers his holistic approach to healing anxiety and avoiding relapse, with a toolkit that includes foods and plant-based medicines, plus anxiety-reducing yoga poses, massage techniques, and acupressure points you can try on your own for lasting relief.” He also “tackles how to safely wean from anti-anxiety medication.”

(4) Here is a new book that will be released in early January – Smart Fat: Eat More Fat. Lose More Weight. Get Healthy Now by Dr. Steven Masley MD and Jonny Bowden PhD. Here is some information from the summary blurb: “The innovative guide that reveals how eating more fat – the smart kind – is the key to health, longevity, and permanent weight loss” and they explain “the amazing properties of healthy fat, including its ability to balance hormones for increased energy and appetite control, and its incredible anti-inflammatory benefits” all of which is key for a good mood and reducing anxiety.

(5) And of course my book: The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings. It’s remarkable how much the foods we eat can impact our brain chemistry and emotions. What and when we eat can make the difference between feeling anxious and staying calm and in control. But most of us don’t realize how much our diets influence our moods, thoughts, and feelings until we make a change. It also contains whole chapters on brain chemicals and pyroluria, with detailed protocols.

(6) If you’re looking for a digital gift, the Anxiety Summit season 1, season 2 and season 3 is on sale for the holidays. Learn about nutritional and biochemical causes of anxiety: gut health and the microbiome, hormone imbalance, methylation issues, low neurotransmitter levels (amino acids are amazing for this), pyroluria (causing social anxiety), oxalates/gluten (special diets), pyschoneuroendocrinology, heavy metals, poor liver health, adrenal issues like high cortisol, mold, candida, parasites and much more. Note: We extended the holiday 54% off prices until Wednesday December 16^th at 12 midnight eastern time.

Check out your purchase options here: https://www.theanxietysummit.com/holiday2015/

(7) For the gadget-loving person check out the new Nima sensor, a portable device that tests liquid and solid foods for the presence of gluten in about two minutes. It’s an “easy, fast, chemistry test for your food that can be done at the table, discreetly.” They’re taking pre-orders for the Nima sensor and should start shipping sometime in Spring of 2016.

(8) This is one of my favorite tech tools for stress reduction: HeartMath. It’s cool meditation tool that “scientifically monitors your emotional and physical health – and helps you improve it.” There is the Inner Balance™ for iPhone & iPad (pictured below) or emWave2® in hand or at your computer (perfect for the busy person who is on the computer a lot). Heartmath is offering 25% off products through December 31, 2015.

(9) If you’re looking for a yummy edible gift, here are the highest quality organic spices from Primal Palate. This says it all: “These are the highest quality spices available. Period. Our spices are certified USDA-Organic, Whole30 Approved, Certified Gluten-Free, Kosher, Non-GMO, and Non-Irradiated. In other words, they are un-messed-around-with, and just as nature intended!” Beautiful! This one is our favorites – Meat & Potatoes Seasoning, their “signature blend for seasoning home fries and meatballs. It adds wonderful flavor to just about anything. Unsure how to season a certain dish? Try this!” Check out the ingredients: Pink Himalayan Salt, Paprika, Onion, Garlic, Black Pepper, Oregano.

primal-palate primal-palate2

(10) How about a gift card from a non-profit? KIVA is a wonderful non-profit that offers microfinancing that “helps to empower women, thus promoting gender-equity and improving household well-being.” My passion is educating women about how important real whole food is, so I choose to lend money to women who have businesses related to food and farming. You can read more about KIVA here and some of the women I have chosen to support here and get information about gift KIVA cards here.

(11) And finally how about fostering a baby elephant? I’m a born and bred African (born in Zimbabwe and grew up in South Africa) so I can’t resist adding this one: Foster an Orphan Elephant as a Christmas Gift – from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. As they say on the site it’s a “truly unique and novel gift that can be enjoyed throughout the year.” And contributes to the future of these magnificent creatures!

(credit: David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust)

I hope this has given you some ideas for gift-giving this holiday season! Happy shopping!

Holistic Solutions for Anxiety and Depression: review

June 12, 2015 By Trudy Scott 84 Comments

Although it is written for therapists I feel that Holistic Solutions for Anxiety and Depression: Combining Natural Remedies with Conventional Care, written by Dr. Peter Bongiorno, ND, is a great resource for anyone working with individuals with anxiety or depression, and this includes nutritionists.

As a nutritionist who works primarily with women with anxiety, I was so pleased to receive a physical review copy of this wonderful book. I did purchase the kindle but a real book is just so much nicer!

It’s also perfect for the anxious individual who taking charge of their own health and wants to become more empowered. It would also be a perfect book for the anxious person to share with their open-minded therapist or doctor.

Here are some of the reasons why I really enjoyed this book:

The extensive coverage of diet – Dr. Bongiorno favors a Mediterranean diet and cites research supporting this way of eating for mental health (I’d add more red meat and skip the grains, especially gluten)
The recommendation to eat crunchy vegetables based on the research about crunchy foods making us feel happier and calmer
The coverage of nutrients such as 5-HTP and tryptophan. Dr. Bongiorono will use 5-HTP first (he feels its “more effective at crossing the blood brain barrier) , whereas I tend to start with tryptophan. But he does say that “when dosed accordingly, tryptophan appears to be quite safe and effective.”
The coverage of GABA: “GABA supplementation helps open chloride channels in neurons, which hyperpolarizes them, so that the positive charges remain on one side of the membrane, which inactivates the nerve cell. This slows firing and calms the brain.”
The coverage of vitamin B3: one way it helps mood is “its ability to inhibit the liver enzyme tryptophan pyrrolase. This enzyme breaks down tryptophan making it less available to produce serotonin. Vitamin B3 is also responsible for activating the enzyme that converts tryptophan to 5-hydroxytryptophan.”
The coverage of lithium orotate: “It is suggested that lithium’s beneficial effects on mood may be due to its oxytocin-raising properties.” He suggests using it with an oxytocin-raising massage! Oxytocin also helps with social anxiety: Oxytocin and social anxiety, pyroluria and depression?
The fascinating discussion of the 5-HT1A receptor and oxytocin
The history of the discovery of serotonin (clams used it to keep their shells closed)
The coverage of light therapy, getting house-plants and a mind-body approach

As you can see, it includes plenty of geeky science, something I really love!

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Bongiorno on The Anxiety Summit – our topic: Serotonin and Anxiety, Happiness, Digestion and our Hormones. Dr. Bongiorno’s speaking is as eloquent, factual and caring as his writing.

Dr. Bongiorno has been kind enough to offer a copy of his book as a giveaway. We’ll do a drawing and select one lucky reader and announce the winner next Friday. If you’d like to be entered in to the drawing simply comment below and share:

~~why you’d like to win the book~~
~~which section you’re most excited about reading and why (just go to the Amazon preview and check out the table of contents)~~
~~which holistic approaches you already use with patients/clients or you’ve used yourself~~

~~This drawing is open to practitioners and non-practitioners alike.~~

Peter Bongiorno, ND, a doctor of naturopathic medicine, is co-director of InnerSource Natural Health and Acupuncture in New York City. President of the New York Association of Naturopathic Physicians, he is a contributor to numerous blogs and online magazines, including DrOz.com and Sharecare.com, and is regularly interviewed as a natural medicine expert on national television and radio.