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The Anxiety Summit – Pyroluria, Amino Acids and Anxiety: Troubleshooting when you are not getting results

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Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution. presents during the Anxiety Summit Season 3.

Pyroluria, Amino Acids and Anxiety: Troubleshooting when you are not getting results

  • Pyroluria and the effects of leaky gut, oxalates and low oxytocin levels
  • CFS, ADHD, autism, alcoholism, Lyme disease: the pyroluria connection
  • Introversion and musician’s dystonia: an update on the pyroluria connection
  • Troubleshooting the pyroluria protocol and mistakes I see
  • Testing for pyroluria, zinc, vitamin B6 and fatty acids
  • The 8 factors that make the targeted individual amino acids more effective
  • What to do when the amino acids are not working
  • Concerns about quinolinic acid and tryptophan?

Pyroluria/social anxiety/introversion protocol: trouble-shooting

This is the blog I mentioned that summarizes a number of prior blog posts on the topic: Pyroluria, social anxiety, introversion: a summary

We discussed factors to consider when you are not getting results on the pyroluria protocol. Here is the blog with the 21 we talked about during the interview plus additional factors that I’ve added.

Pyroluria protocol: why aren’t I getting results – trouble-shooting checklist

Here are the oxytocin blogs that discuss social anxiety, testing, the oxytocin receptor gene and connections to autism and depression:

Oxytocin, social anxiety, pyroluria and autism

Dr. Woeller shares how helpful oxytocin is for social anxiety, facial recognition and voice recognition in individuals with autism and Asperger’s syndrome

Oxytocin and social anxiety, pyroluria and depression?

Genetic variation in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) has been implicated in anxiety, depression and related stress phenotypes

I mentioned my aminos and pyroluria interview with Sean Croxton on the upcoming Depression Sessions (an online video series) in June. He is an introvert and is fascinated with pyroluria-introversion connection. I said I’d share a link to the Depression Sessions but the site isn’t quite ready so please stay tuned. I’ll share it in a few days. This one is not to be missed.

 

Targeted individual amino acid supplements for anxiety: trouble-shooting

This is the blog I mentioned that summarizes a number of prior blog posts on the topic: Anxiety and targeted individual amino acid supplements: a summary

Here are the categories I discussed, together with the associated amino acid/s

  • low blood sugar: glutamine
  • low GABA: GABA (I prefer GABA to Phenibut or pharmaGABA)
  • low serotonin: tryptophan or 5-HTP
  • low endorphins: DPA (d-phenylalanine)
  • low catecholamines: tyrosine

Here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution. I encourage you to do and see which sections may be an issue for you (or see how much you’ve improved if you’ve been using amino acids)

I discussed why Urinary neurotransmitter testing falls short and why I use the above questionnaire instead

There are some precautions to be aware of when taking supplemental amino acids. Here are the Amino Acid Precautions

The 8 factors that make the amino acids more effective:

  1. addressing blood sugar issues and eating real whole food
  2. the brand and quality
  3. timing i.e. between meals and away from protein
  4. your unique amount for your own need
  5. addressing bipolar or bipolar-type symptoms
  6. using the pyroluria protocol at the same time (if needed)
  7. addressing thyroid health and hormonal health
  8. taking the amino acids opened up

Thanks to Dr. Josh Friedman, Integrative Psychotherapist, for the interview. As I mentioned, I interviewed him on season 1 of the Anxiety summit on: “Integrative Psychotherapy: My Journey from Psychoanalysis to Whole Person Mental Health.” If you missed it, I highly recommend it. Dr. Friedman is dear friend, colleague and integrative psychotherapist who uses amino acids and other nutritional approaches in his practice. During our season 1 interview I asked him if he uses GABA with his patients and I love his answer:

it is definitely something I use. I am not a biochemist, so I actually don’t really know whether it crosses the blood/brain barrier, nor do I care actually. the first question should be, is it harmful? Are any of these things going to cause harm? And the answer with all the amino acids are no, they’re not going to cause harm, especially when compared to psychiatric medicines. The second question is, does it work? Is it helpful for our patients that we see in our practice?

Here is a link to my book: The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings

As we mentioned, it has the amino acid questionnaire, pyroluria questionnaire and all the protocols BUT does not contain the 21+ pyroluria touble-shooting checklist (see the separate blog post for this)

trudy scott the antianxiety food solution

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, and Anxiety Summit Season 3.

Pyroluria, social anxiety, introversion: a summary

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 reading-on-beach

Pyroluria is a social anxiety condition that is not well recognized in the medical community. It responds really well to a few key nutrients. I cover this in this blog post: Pyroluria, high mauve, pyrrole disorder, malvaria, elevated kryptopyrroles and social anxiety

Low levels of the mineral zinc and vitamin B6 are frequently associated with a type of anxiety characterized by social anxiety, avoidance of crowds, a feeling of inner tension, and bouts of depression. People with this problem experience varying degrees of anxiety or fear, often starting in childhood, but they usually manage to cover it up and push through. They tend to build their life around one person, become more of a loner over time, have difficulty handling stress or change, and have heightened anxiety symptoms when under more stress.

This constellation of symptoms is often the result of a genetic condition called pyroluria, also known as high mauve, pyrrole disorder, pyrroluria, pyrolleuria, malvaria, and elevated kryptopyrroles.

If this sounds like you, here is a link to the Pyroluria Questionnaire from my book The Antianxiety Food Solution. I created this using the work of Carl Pfeiffer and Joan Mathews-Larson, modifying it based on feedback I received from my clients.

I encourage you to do this questionnaire and see how you score (before starting on the supplements and once you are on them).

This is a collection of past blog posts on the topic of pyroluria in preparation for my season 3 interview on the Anxiety Summit: “Pyroluria, Amino Acids and Anxiety: Troubleshooting when you are not getting results”

During the Anxiety Summit season 2 Dr Corey Schuler interviewed me on the topic: How zinc and vitamin B6 prevent pyroluria and social anxiety

I review the questionnaire, the protocol and discuss how I’ve discovered a pyroluria-introversion connection. Here is the blog post I wrote in response to the Huffington Post article, written by Carolyn Gregoire and called “23 Signs You’re Secretly An Introvert”: Am I an anxious introvert because of low zinc and vitamin B6? My response to Huffington Post blog

I encourage you to also do this questionnaire and see how you score and see if a high score correlates with a high score on the pyroluria questionnaire. Do this before starting on the supplements and then once you are on them. Many anxious introverts no longer feel anxious in social settings once they get on the pyroluria protocol. Many say they no longer see themselves as introverted!

In that season 2 interview I also share about the connection between Pyroluria and focal musician’s dystonia or musician’s cramp

Here are some more recent blogs on pyroluria and related conditions:

For most of my clients getting on the pyroluria protocol is life-changing! It certainly has been for me!

Unfortunately not everyone responds as expected. Some people:

  • Cannot get their zinc levels to increase
  • Feel too nauseas when taking any zinc
  • Never seem to remember their dreams
  • Continue to have social anxiety despite everything they do

My troubleshooting interview will be addressing the above scenarios and other related pyroluria questions that come up. PLEASE ASK YOUR QUESTIONS in the comments section below.

PS. If you’d like me to try and troubleshoot for you, please answer the questions I posed to Nancy below

If you’re not already signed up do join us here: season 3 of The Anxiety Summit

 

Oxytocin, social anxiety, pyroluria and autism

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autism-awareness

I recently blogged about the possible connection between oxytocin, social anxiety, pyroluria and depression and would like to share that there is also a connection between autism, low oxytocin and social anxiety, and possibly pyroluria too.

It’s Autism Awareness Month so I’d like to share a video from Dr. Kurt Woeller D.O., an integrative medicine physician and biomedical autism specialist. He is also a lecturer, educator, and experienced practicing clinician offering specialized diagnostic testing and treatment for individuals with complex medical conditions like autism, mental health disorders, multiple sclerosis, and other chronic health conditions.

Dr. Woeller shares how helpful oxytocin is for social anxiety, facial recognition and voice recognition in individuals with autism and Asperger’s syndrome

An interesting therapy for certain individuals on the autism spectrum is something called oxytocin. Oxytocin is a hormone that is produced in our bodies and it has a wide range of effects. When a woman is in labor, oxytocin helps with uterine contractions so it is useful for the delivery of the baby. When a mother is breastfeeding her newborn, oxytocin can be released and it is felt that oxytocin helps with mother to child bonding that occurs with breastfeeding.

This is important for human to human interaction. Oxytocin is also released during physical contact between two people, and we know it is released in large amounts particularly during sexual intercourse.

As a therapy, oxytocin has been very helpful particularly for social anxiety. There are a couple of other effects that are interesting with oxytocin. Oxytocin seems to help with facial cue recognition. That enables us to tell the difference between a happy face, sad face, inquisitive face, etc. It also helps with voice cue recognition as well.

They did a study with adults on the autism spectrum and who had Asperger’s as well and they gave them an IV infusion of oxytocin and then measured their response over a two week period of time. What they found was that the individuals that received the oxytocin did much better at looking at pictures of different facial expressions and picking out the differences as well as listening to recordings of different voice emotional cues: an angry voice, a happy voice, etc.

Oxytocin is a useful remedy to consider particularly if the child, teenager or adult that you know has social anxiety issues or lacks the recognition of facial and/or voice cues.

Oxytocin comes as a nasal spray and does need to be prepared by a compounding pharmacy.

Usually you dose oxytocin once a day, maybe twice a day or even as needed situationally. You can give oxytocin before going into a situation where your child has a problem with social anxiety.

Dr Woeller uses the Meridian Valley Lab 24-hr urinary oxytocin test which, according to them “is the best method to capture the pulsatile peaks and valleys of oxytocin production.” You can order the test (and interpretation) via his testing site Lab Tests Plus

There are a number of studies that support the use of oxytocin for improving eye-contact, facial recognition and social anxiety:

Here is a snippet from my book The Antianxiety Food Solution on the estimates of the prevalence of pyroluria (be aware that can vary depending on the type of clients/patients a practitioner works with):

Joan Mathews-Larson, considered an expert on the subject, reports the prevalence as follows: 11 percent of the healthy population, 40 percent of adults with psychiatric disorders, 25 percent of children with psychiatric disorders, 30 percent of people with schizophrenia, and 40 percent of alcoholics.

Abram Hoffer worked primarily with schizophrenic patients, but he found pyroluria was also present in 25 percent of his nonschizophrenic patients, including adults with anxiety, depression, and alcoholism, and children with learning disorders and behavioral disorders.

According to McGinnis, pyroluria is also present in about 46 percent of people with autism spectrum disorders and 71 percent of those with Down syndrome.

I work primarily with adult women who are anxious, depressed, or both and have found that at least 80 percent of my clients with moderate to severe anxiety have a large number of pyroluria symptoms.

Based on this and the research we’re seeing on autism, social anxiety and oxytocin, I would expect that if you have pyroluria you may also have low levels of oxytocin and may need to address this, especially if you not getting complete resolution with the zinc, vitamin B6 and evening primrose oil.

 

Oxytocin and social anxiety, pyroluria and depression?

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A 2014 paper published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research looked at how variations in the oxytocin receptor gene is associated with increased risk for anxiety, stress and depression in individuals with a history of exposure to early life stress. Here are some excerpts from this paper:

Oxytocin is a neuropeptide that is involved in the regulation of mood, anxiety and social biology.

Genetic variation in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) has been implicated in anxiety, depression and related stress phenotypes.

In this study, we examined genotypes in 653 individuals and tested whether SNP variation in OXTR correlates with severity of features of self-reported experience on the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS), and whether this correlation is enhanced when early life trauma is taken into account.

The study found a significant effect of several oxytocin receptor genes (OXTR genotypes) on anxiety, stress and depression scores. They concluded that:

These results support the hypothesis that the oxytocin system plays a role in the pathophysiology of mood and anxiety disorders.

In this 2015 paper published in Neuropsychopharmacology, they looked at “Oxytocin modulation of amygdala functional connectivity to fearful faces in generalized social anxiety disorder” and found that oxytocin lessened anxiety by dampening amygdala reactivity to threat in individuals with generalized social anxiety disorder.

Results indicated that in individuals with generalized social anxiety disorder:

Oxytocin enhanced functional connectivity between the amygdala and the bilateral insula and middle cingulate/dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus during the processing of fearful faces

These findings suggest that [oxytocin] may have broad pro-social implications such as enhancing the integration and modulation of social responses.

We know that low serotonin can cause anxiety, worry and depression and research shows there are interactions between oxytocin and serotonin levels. So if you don’t respond to serotonin support (tryptophan or 5-HTP or light therapy), maybe boosting oxytocin is a possible solution?  Or maybe supporting serotonin will boost oxytocin? 

What is also really interesting to me is that zinc is needed for binding oxytocin to its receptor so I wonder about the oxytocin connection to pyroluria, a social anxiety condition where higher amounts of zinc and vitamin B6 are needed. I wonder if adding oxytocin to the mix or boosting it would help even more?  Or if optimizing zinc use and absorption would help promote oxytocin?

Have you had your oxytocin levels tested? Have you used oxytocin with good results and did it help your social anxiety/pyroluria and/or depression?  Have you done anything else to boost your oxytocin levels?

 

Quiet: introverts on the job – pyroluria, low blood sugar, gluten?

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In a recent blog post I discussed a possible connection between introversion and pyroluria, especially if you also have social anxiety, inner tension and a preference for interacting with a few people rather than a crowd.

This nice infographic gives us some of the useful facts and stats:

  • introverts make better one-on-one connections
  • introverts sometimes experience anxiety when speaking to large groups of people
  • introverts are prone to social anxiety disorder
  • the percentage of introverts in the U.S. is about 50%
  • the percentage of people in the U.S. who are estimated to have social anxiety disorder is 7%-8%
  • the percentage of adults in the U.S. who are estimated to have an anxiety disorder is 18% [I added this one]

I like that this infographic is suggesting more comfortable work environments and jobs that may suit introverts better. 

BUT …and this is a BIG BUT….I feel we can do better if you are one of those introverts who still feel anxious or nervous despite all the tips and tricks. 

It’s important for you to also address some of the possible biochemical and nutritional imbalances:

This is just a few factors that may be contributing to your anxiety.  I encourage you to investigate and address ALL the possible causes of your anxiety and/or social anxiety.  You don’t have to live with it, tolerate it and force or “extrovert” (a new verb!) yourself in social settings.  You can feel comfortable, relaxed, calm and be a “Social Butterfly” – really!

Do also check out my book for in-depth protocols and research:  The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings (New Harbinger, 2011).

Quiet: Introverts on the Job
Source: BestMastersPrograms.org

 

How to get a great night’s sleep

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“A 2009 poll by the National Sleep Foundation found that only 28 percent of those surveyed regularly got eight hours or more of sleep a night. The average was around six and a half hours on weekdays and seven on weekends. Those who slept less than eight hours a night typically had mood problems, including worry and anxiety, ate more sugar and unhealthy food and drank more caffeinated beverages!”

~ Trudy Scott, The Antianxiety Food Solution

It’s amazing how many people don’t get enough sleep and there is so much we can do from a nutritional point of view to change this.  Here are six things to consider:

  1. One of the first things I think about when a client can’t sleep is low serotonin.  Low serotonin symptoms include insomnia, depression, negativity, worry and anxiety, irritability, PMS and afternoon and evening cravings.  And low serotonin can be boosted with tryptophan, taken as a supplement and/or in food sources.
  2. Research has actually shown that a medical or functional food made with pumpkin seeds improved sleep, due to the good sources of tryptophan and zinc. In another study this same functional food was also shown to reduce anxiety and social phobia.Pumpkin seeds can be soaked in water overnight and then lightly roasted with olive oil, sea salt, pepper, turmeric and ginger.  Food-wise, pumpkin seeds are a favorite of mine for a healthy snack and my clients love them.  Here is an blog post that discusses the benefits of soaked nuts and a roasted pumpkin seed recipe
  3. When tryptophan is taken as a supplement, some is converted to serotonin and some to melatonin.  Melatonin is fabulous for resetting your circadian rhythm so your sleep cycle gets back to normal. If taking tryptophan doesn’t quite get you sleeping through the night then taking additional melatonin may help. Sublingual melatonin helps you fall asleep and the timed-release form helps you stay asleep.
  4. Other factors that should be considered when sleep is an issue: low blood sugar,  addressing low serotonin levels,  addressing low GABA levels, checking for parasites and dysbiosis, and making sure you don’t have high cortisol.
  5. Other nutrients that may be helpful:  vitamin B6 (which helps improve mood and reduce anxiety too), zinc (which is also important for skin health,  reducing anxiety, improving mood, helping with blood sugar balance and PMS), and magnesium (which is also calming).
  6. Of course, it also helps to use a comfortable soft eye patch to keep the room dark and to use earplugs to keep things quiet. Also, keep clock radios and cell phones away from your head and don’t use an electric blanket!  Having a warm bath with essential oil of lavender is also a great help to help you wind down at the end of a hectic day.

Try some of the above tips and get those eight hours of sleep and you’ll have less mood problems, experience less worry and anxiety, eat less (or no) sugar and unhealthy food and drink less (or no) caffeinated beverages!   Sweet dreams!