unwanted thoughts

Her mum just passed away and although she is sad, GABA allows her to sit with a feeling of peace and calm most of the time

April 7, 2023 By Trudy Scott 33 Comments

Sandra shared this heartening feedback on how GABA helped right after the passing of her mum. She also voiced her surprise that it could have such a profound effect at a sad time like this, asking me if this was possible:

I recently started taking GABA Calm lozenges. I settled on a small dose of one lozenge at bedtime. Initially I took this for tense neck and shoulder muscles due to years of anxiety.

What I have noticed in the past month is that I seem quite calm although I do still have tense neck muscles.

Last week I experienced a profound bereavement with the passing of my mum who I have been caring for. I am genuinely surprised at how I have handled this stressful situation including the funeral. I have always been quite emotional and I have found myself, although sad, sitting in a feeling of peace and calm most of the time.

Is it possible that the GABA Calm is contributing to this? It was my understanding this product would assist with my tense muscles but I feel like it has helped me tremendously with my mindset, emotions and mood.

I look forward to your reply.

I offered my condolences for the loss of her mum and said how heartened I felt, hearing that she had a feeling of peace and calm most of the time. And the fact that GABA had helped with the stressful events of the funeral and her mindset, emotions and mood. I would expect the feeling of peace and calm, and helping reduce overall stress. The calming amino acid supplement, GABA, has long been recognized to help ease the more physical type of anxiety.

But because the amount of GABA she was taking didn’t help with her tense muscles, some of the benefits may have been as a result of GABA reducing the distressing unwanted thoughts. The emotions and mood are added benefits that we don’t always hear about with GABA but are not unheard of (more on this below).

I thanked Sandra for sharing this wonderful feedback, letting her know I’d share it as a separate blog, so we can offer support to others in similar situations. I’ll also be sharing this blog with her so she understands some of the mechanisms better too. In fact, I only made the unwanted thoughts connection after having responded to her.

GABA helps with inhibition of unwanted thoughts

In the past I’ve blogged about how Scientists identified a mechanism that helps us inhibit unwanted thoughts:

We are sometimes confronted with reminders of unwanted thoughts – thoughts about unpleasant memories, images or worries. When this happens, the thought may be retrieved, making us think about it again even though we prefer not to. While being reminded in this way may not be a problem when our thoughts are positive, if the topic was unpleasant or traumatic, our thoughts may be very negative, worrying or ruminating about what happened, taking us back to the event.

Scientists have identified a key chemical within the ‘memory’ region of the brain that allows us to suppress unwanted thoughts, helping explain why people who suffer from disorders such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and schizophrenia often experience persistent intrusive thoughts when these circuits go awry.

Professor Anderson, Dr. Schmitz and colleagues showed that the ability to inhibit unwanted thoughts relies on a neurotransmitter – a chemical within the brain that allows messages to pass between nerve cells – known as GABA.

GABA is the main ‘inhibitory’ neurotransmitter in the brain, and its release by one nerve cell can suppress activity in other cells to which it is connected.

Anderson and colleagues discovered that GABA concentrations within the hippocampus – a key area of the brain involved in memory – predict people’s ability to block the retrieval process and prevent thoughts and memories from returning.

You can read more on the blog post here: GABA helps with inhibition of unwanted thoughts

If you are using the GABA with success already and experience the loss of a loved one, you may find you need to increase your dose for a period of time.

There is individual variability in the capacity to cope with stress during bereavement

Research supports that there is “individual variability in the capacity to cope with stress” during bereavement and there are differences in symptoms and physiological changes. This paper, Long-term immune-endocrine effects of bereavement: relationships with anxiety levels and mood, identified changes in depression, anxiety, adrenocorticotropin and cortisol plasma concentrations, beta-endorphins, and reduced “functional activity of natural killer cells.” And the two different groups of people in the study had different symptoms and physiological changes.

GABA and glutamate, and the HPA axis in depression/bereavement

The above paper doesn’t mention GABA but growing evidence indicates that glutamate and GABA, and the HPA axis/corticotropin-releasing hormone, plays a role in depression and presumably bereavement too. This may be another mechanism that led to the feelings of calm that Sandra experienced.

You’ll need to figure out your unique biochemical needs

When you experience the loss of a loved one, you’ll need to figure out your unique biochemical needs and address them one by one. You may need GABA support like Sandra and/or may find you need serotonin support (with tryptophan or 5-HTP) and/or may need endorphin support (with the amino acid DPA/d-phenylalanine).

Both GABA and serotonin support also helps to address sleep problems. DPA helps especially with the emotional pain and weepiness, and if you’re self-medicating with comfort foods while grieving.

If you have high cortisol you may benefit from Seriphos or Lactium.

Keep in mind that nutritional support is immensely helpful during caregiving too. Here is just one example: When using the amino acid DPA (d-phenylalanine) I have more resilience and more buffer in the caregiving work I do, and just the oops’s of life

Helping Sandra ease her still tense neck muscles

For her ongoing tense neck and shoulder muscles I suggested a higher amount of GABA may be needed. She reported back that taking it in the morning made her sleepy and a couple of times she noticed a headache.

When GABA in the day causes sleepiness I have clients use less GABA more frequently or to take more at night to carry over the next day. In this case probably a GABA-only product because of her headaches.

She did share that GABA was her starting point with the intention of including tryptophan for ruminating and fearful thoughts which do stop her from participating in various activities. Low serotonin does cause TMJ (temporomandibular joint) pain and it’s possible this is contributing to her ongoing tense neck and shoulder muscles, and tryptophan may be the solution.

We also address low magnesium if applicable. I’d also suggest looking into dietary oxalates too and getting checked for physical issues by a chiropractor and/or osteopath and/or physical therapist.

You can read our discussion on this blog.

Resources if you are new to using GABA or tryptophan or DPA as supplements

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

If you suspect low levels of any of the neurotransmitters and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids on your own so you are knowledgeable. And be sure to share it with the practitioner/health team you or your loved one is working with.

There is an entire chapter on the amino acids and they are discussed throughout the book in the sections on gut health, gluten, blood sugar control, sugar cravings, anxiety and mood issues (which include rage/anger/irritability/self-harm).

The book doesn’t include product names (per the publisher’s request) so this blog, The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements, lists the amino acids that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs. You can find them all in my online store. The above oral lavender products are available in my online store too.

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

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

Has GABA or tryptophan or DPA helped you after the loss of a loved one? How did each one help?

Were you surprised that they would help so much?

If you were using the aminos with success already did you find you needed to increase your dose for a period of time?

What else has helped you at a time of loss?

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

Intrusive thoughts are a thing with anxiety: low GABA, low serotonin, pyroluria (low zinc & vitamin B6) and hormone imbalances as possible causes

February 4, 2022 By Trudy Scott 56 Comments

Intrusive thoughts are a thing with anxiety even though they are not often talked about. It’s for this reason I shared a link to an article on Facebook recently – “The Debilitating Anxiety Symptom No One Ever Talks About” – and the response was overwhelming. I promised to do a blog to do a deeper dive into this topic and share actual real-life examples of uncomfortable and unwanted intrusive thoughts that seemingly appear out of no-where when you have anxiety. And of course, I’m using these real-life examples to highlight some of the many biochemical root causes and nutritional solutions: low GABA, low serotonin, low zinc, low vitamin B6 (and pyroluria) and hormone imbalances. These root cause solutions are all backed by research and clinical results.

You’ll also discover that intrusive thoughts are more common than you’d expect and it’s not just you who experiences them.

Katelyn, author of the above article, shared this about her intrusive thoughts (and this is part of what I shared on Facebook):

As I gained more life experiences, my intrusive thoughts developed into other fears. Now that I was older, these thoughts turned into new scenarios, ones that felt more real. For example, when I started driving, I’d see myself veering off the road, hitting a side rail, flying off a ledge, or running head-on into a semi. I didn’t really want to do any of these things. I just wanted to get to my destination, but these thoughts would keep running through my mind, and I couldn’t stop them.

I did not realize intrusive thoughts were a ‘thing,’ and I thought this was just me

The Facebook post and article quickly resonated with many women with someone saying “I have never identified with an article more…wow.”

One woman said “I did not realize intrusive thoughts were a ‘thing,’ a symptom of something” and someone else said “I thought this was just me.”

Someone else responded: “I thought it was only me as well. I’ve had thoughts like this nearly my entire life.”

(You can read the entire article here: The Debilitating Anxiety Symptom No One Ever Talks About)

The purpose of this blog is to share actual feedback so you can see how varied these intrusive thoughts can be. And recognize that they are a thing and that you are not alone if you experience them.

And then use these cases to illustrate the variety of root causes (and solutions) and show how some of them are very interconnected: like zinc and vitamin B6 for pyroluria, for making GABA and serotonin, and also for hormone balance (more on that below).

A definition from The Anxiety and Depression Association of America

In case you need a definition: “Unwanted intrusive thoughts are stuck thoughts that cause great distress. They seem to come from out of nowhere, arrive with a whoosh, and cause a great deal of anxiety.

The content of unwanted intrusive thoughts often focuses on sexual or violent or socially unacceptable images. People who experience unwanted intrusive thoughts are afraid that they might commit the acts they picture in their mind. They also fear that the thoughts mean something terrible about them….

Unwanted intrusive thoughts can be very explicit, and many people are ashamed and worried about them, and therefore keep them secret.” ~ The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA).

The ADAA offers an excellent overview that is worth reading, but unfortunately they do not offer any of the nutritional solutions that we know can eliminate these uncomfortable intrusive thoughts.

GABA support with the amino acid GABA

Assessing for and addressing low GABA levels is the first place I start because you get results so quickly if low GABA is one of the root causes.

Jacqueline shared this on the Facebook post about intrusive thoughts: “GABA definitely helped me with this! Also meditation has helped me to learn to stay present. The two combined are helpful.”

Tiffany shares how Source Naturals GABA Calm helps her: “I have definitely noticed that sublingual GABA Calm that you suggest helps calm my overactive brain.”

Elicia offered this input about GABA on the seasonality of GABA blog and needing more in winter:

I use GABA Calm and usually take 1 or 2 a day. The past two days I’ve taken 4 because I suspected that I needed an increase.

I take it for physical anxiety, insomnia and intrusive thoughts. My symptoms had been worsening recently. The increased GABA seems to be helping.

Intrusive thoughts is one of the symptoms on the low GABA section of the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire: “Have intrusive thoughts, perseverate or have an overactive brain or have unwanted thoughts – thoughts about unpleasant memories, images or worries.”

This is not in my book or on the original questionnaire but was added in 2017 based on new GABA research on intrusive thoughts. I blogged about this here: GABA helps with inhibition of unwanted thoughts (and have added more recent supporting research on the glutamate/GABA balance i.e. increased glutamatergic excitation and reduced GABAergic inhibition.)

Serotonin support with the amino acid 5-HTP (or tryptophan)

Assessing for and addressing low serotonin levels would be the next step for the same reason – you get results so quickly if low serotonin is one of the root causes.

Yosef shared this about his anxiety, panic and intrusive thoughts on the GABA blog on intrusive thoughts hoping low GABA might be his root cause, with GABA as a solution:

I have issues with intrusive thoughts that present daily challenges. On top of that, I have been living with anxiety and panic issues for so long that I have adjusted to the limitations (I work from home, order pretty much everything online and have a very tolerant wife). I’ve been trying mindfulness for the intrusive thoughts, but if GABA might help with that and the panic (and perhaps help me unlearn the agoraphobia) that would be awesome. Imagine being able to go on vacations with my wife!! I’m ordering some and will give it a shot.

About 6 weeks later he shared that he didn’t notice a drastic difference with GABA but that serotonin support did help. He used 5-HTP and shared these wonderful results after using it for only a week:

What did make a difference is 5-HTP (Now – 100mg). I’ve been using it for a week so far. It was recommended by Dr. Amen (the brain doctor) who says it is helpful with OCD, intrusive thoughts, and the like. You take it before going to sleep. It used to be that I had trouble falling asleep because of the “noise” in my head – random anxious thoughts, jumpiness. I would usually need to have something playing (podcast, music, anything) to help me fall asleep. So far, on 5-HTP I find it easier to fall asleep, I don’t have to search for the right podcast, etc. I just feel really tired and fall asleep.

He did a trial of GABA and then a trial of 5-HTP when GABA didn’t help. This is exactly what I would have done. Tryptophan is also an option when 5-HTP is not tolerated.

You’ll see intrusive thoughts listed as “Obsessive thoughts or behaviors” on the low serotonin section of the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire

5-HTP and tryptophan are listed in this paper: Nutraceuticals in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD): a review of mechanistic and clinical evidence.

Low zinc and low vitamin B6 (and pyroluria)

Low zinc and low vitamin B6 is common with the social anxiety condition called pyroluria. Kez shared how addressing pyroluria/pyrrole disorder resolved her intrusive or ruminating thoughts:

I noticed after being diagnosed with pyrolle disorder that when I had been taking zinc and vitamin B6 supps for a couple of years, the ruminating thoughts left me and my head was peaceful.

Before starting on the zinc and vitamin B6, she described her intrusive thoughts as follows:

Everything would go around and around in my head, it never stopped. And if my son was a few minutes late home, I would picture him in an accident dead on the side of the road. All really negative stuff. When I realised it had stopped it was such a relief.

She confirmed that she didn’t use 5-HTP/tryptophan or GABA. However the pyroluria protocol helps with the production of GABA and serotonin, and also helps to balance sex hormones (more on that below).

You’ll see “Neurotransmitter imbalances, especially low serotonin” on the Pyroluria Questionnnaire.

In one study, Alterations of serum zinc, copper, manganese, iron, calcium, and magnesium concentrations and the complexity of interelement relations in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder had low zinc, iron and magnesium.

In another study, Depressive Symptoms in Middle-Aged and Elderly Women Are Associated with a Low Intake of Vitamin B6: A Cross-Sectional Study, they looked at anxiety symptoms like “feeling tense, restless, or panicky; feeling something awful will happen; having worrying thoughts” and low vitamin B6.

Hormonal imbalances: more than 3 x the intrusive thoughts

In this study summary, Hormone levels may provide key to understanding psychological disorders in women, the authors share that “a common symptom of mood and anxiety problems is the tendency to experience repetitive and unwanted thoughts. These ‘intrusive thoughts’ often occur in the days and weeks after a stressful experience.” In this particular study the women watched a 14-minute stressful film containing death or injury and then salivary hormone levels were measured.

In this study “women in the ‘early luteal’ phase… had more than three times as many intrusive thoughts.” The luteal phase happens after ovulation i.e. about 16 to 20 days after the start of their period.

The authors conclude that “Women at a particular stage in their monthly menstrual cycle may be more vulnerable to some of the psychological side-effects associated with stressful experiences.”

If your intrusive thoughts ramp up in the luteal phase it’s important to consider the role of hormone imbalances.

But keep in mind that the pyroluria protocol also helps to balance sex hormones. And that tryptophan and GABA help to balance hormones too: Tryptophan for PMS: premenstrual dysphoria, mood swings, tension, and irritability.

As I mentioned above, I typically like to start with addressing low serotonin and/or low GABA because the amino acids offer quick relief, and they give you time to dig deeper into other causes like hormonal imbalances. I also always consider pyroluria with anyone who is anxious so that’s high on the list too. We can see results in a week when we figure out the correct doses.

In part 2, I share one woman’s story of how a lifetime of horrible and bizarre intrusive thoughts were eliminated by a low carb/high fat diet (not as strict as keto).

Stay tuned for part 3 of this blog where I’ll address other possible root causes of intrusive thoughts: low magnesium, low iron, gluten issues, discontinuation syndrome, Lyme disease, mold toxicity, heavy metals, toxins, infections, TBI and trauma.

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

If you are new to using the the amino acids GABA or 5-HTP/tryptophan as supplements, here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution (you can see the low GABA and other low neurotransmitter symptoms) and a brief overview here: Anxiety and targeted individual amino acid supplements: a summary.

If you suspect low levels of GABA or low serotonin 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 GABA products that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.

If you also need serotonin support, the Serotonin QuickStart Program is a good place to get help. This is also a paid online/virtual group program where you get my guidance on using tryptophan and 5-HTP safely, and community support during 5 LIVE Q&A calls. You can sign up to be notified when the next live launch of this program is happening.

We appreciate Katelyn for writing the article I shared and everyone for being willing to share their stories so we can all learn and feel better.

Let’s change this and talk about intrusive thoughts so we don’t have to feel alone and so we can find solutions. As Katelyn says: “If you struggle with intrusive thoughts, share them. The more we share these experiences, the better we can understand ourselves and others and the more we can help one another. Know you are not alone.”

I’ll add this: and share your success with nutritional solutions when something works for you. Share it with your friends and your health practitioner.

Now I’d love to hear from you …

Did you know intrusive thoughts are a ‘thing,’ or did you think it was just you?

Has any of the above helped you: GABA, 5-HTP or tryptophan, zinc and/or vitamin B6?

And have you observed more intrusive thoughts after ovulation and before your next period?

Feel free to ask your questions here too.

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 13 Comments

In the lead up to The Anxiety Summit 5: Gut-Brain Axis, 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 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!

Learn more/purchase now

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

Dr. Datis Kharrazian’s GABA Challenge for a leaky blood brain barrier is a theory and we still have much to learn

May 29, 2020 By Trudy Scott 16 Comments

I highly respect Dr. Datis Kharrazian and his work and had the pleasure of interviewing him last November on the Anxiety Summit 5: Gut-Brain Axis. During our preparations I asked if we could talk about his GABA challenge for a leaky blood brain barrier and he graciously agreed.

I wanted to address this topic in our interview because two of the most common questions I get asked are these:

“How can GABA work if it can’t cross the blood brain barrier?” and
“If GABA works does this mean I have a leaky blood brain barrier?”

We had such a great conversation on the topic I’ve decided to pull this part of the transcript into a blog so I can share it here with you and use the blog link to share it more widely as I’m asked these questions on social media and elsewhere.

You will learn how Dr. Kharrazian came up with the GABA Challenge, what his thoughts are today, his reservations with GABA and my excellent results with low doses of sublingual GABA. I also share some links to success stories, some of the research and how to figure out if GABA is for you.

Here it is, word for word.

Trudy: So while we’re talking about the leaky blood brain barrier, I want to just talk briefly about GABA and the GABA challenge that you have proposed as a tool for testing for a leaky blood brain barrier. And as you know, I use GABA extensively with clients with the low GABA physical type of anxiety.

I’ve always been a huge fan of you and your work but we do have a professional difference of opinion in this area. And I’ve never actually been a proponent of using the GABA challenge, and I’ve been pretty vocal about it. So I’m really glad that we had a discussion about this in the Facebook group of your neuroinflammation training, and you shared some insights because I was asking some questions about this.

I’d love you to just share some of what we talked about in that discussion. Because if we don’t talk about it, my community is going to say, “Hey, why didn’t you talk to Dr. Kharrazian about this?”

Dr. Kharrazian: Sure, no problem. I don’t think we have this big a disagreement. I think we just have different ways of looking at what’s out there and what we are observing as people working with people, patients who have anxiety.

So ultimately, we have a bunch of theory right now and a bunch of potential models, but we don’t have any clear studies to show what’s really happening. So, one of the things that I proposed in my book before… you understand, I was working with brain patients for over 20 years now….before we had S100 B readily available for many years, it was only in research; you couldn’t get it from conventional labs, even though research was showing it. And the blood brain permeability test was not available either. These have really become more available the past five years and prior to that, we didn’t really have a great test to evaluate if the blood brain barrier was breached.

In an effort to work with what’s out there, what we could do, one of the things that I was doing was doing a test that we called the GABA challenge test. It was really based on the lactulose mannitol test. So the lactulose mannitol test is a well-established test in gastroenterology where they measure leaky gut. So, in that test what the person does is they consume a monosaccharide and a disaccharide, lactulose and mannitol. Lactulose is a disaccharide, it’s very large, and mannitol is very small. And if mannitol doesn’t get absorbed, then there’s a malabsorption issue. And if lactose, which is very large; that should not get through the tight junctions of the gut, gets absorbed in a post urine test, after they drink it, then it shows they have leaky gut. So the whole premise of when you find particle sizes too large to cross, can be a clue to an indication of permeability.

So the GABA challenge that I write about in my book, Why Isn’t My Brain Working? (my Amazon link) was really a way for us to have patients consume GABA. If you look at the molecular weight of GABA, the Dalton size, it’s several hundred Daltons. Several hundred Daltons cannot cross the blood brain barrier. So the concept was, well if someone is taking GABA and they have an effect, then there’s a potential for it to cross the blood brain barrier. And it was kind of following the theory of the lactulose mannitol test. So there’s patients out there who take GABA and nothing happens and some patients take it and go, “It was amazing. Best thing ever. It finally helped me sleep,” or, “Helped reduce anxiety for me.” So, one of the theories was that maybe for some of these people, their blood brain barrier is breached.

Now I know we talked and 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 because we still don’t know. I mean, ultimately, there’d have to be a study designed where they look at it. And it would have to be an animal study, there’s no way you can get an IRB for human studies to check if it’s crossing the brain. It’s some really advanced isotope tracing techniques and I just don’t think the level of dyes they would have to consume to look at the gut and the brain is peripheral and separate… it wouldn’t be possible. So the real answer is, we don’t know.

For me, I still am always suspicious if someone takes GABA and they have a reaction. I always want to go and check the blood brain barrier. And it’s not 100%, I mean, I can tell you without question, there’s people who take GABA, you do a blood brain barrier test, they feel benefit from it, but their blood brain barrier doesn’t have any markers to show permeability.

So it’s not hard for me to consider the possibility that there’s some exogenous pathways too. But at the same time, it’s also really hard to look at the molecular weight of GABA and look at what can cross a healthy blood brain barrier. This Dalton size, we’re talking nanoparticles to a huge, huge particle. So I don’t know but I think we’ll just have to see what happens. And ultimately, if you feel better with GABA, that’s great. If it’s not harmful to you, and if you feel like taking it, that’s great.

I like to also use things like Valerian root, passion flower, and hops because those compounds cross the blood brain barrier. They cross the blood brain barrier and they bind to GABA receptors.

So, the other thing too with actually using GABA you always have the potential for your neurotransmitter receptor sites to down regulate. And this is seen all the time too, patients take GABA and they feel great and then they have to increase their dose and they don’t get the effect as they first did. And they increase the dose and finally, they just don’t get much of an effect from it. And that’s potentially due to receptor site down regulation, which is not as common if you take agonists like Valerian root or passion flower, or hops. These things bind to GABA receptors. So I did a review in my book, where I went over all the literature of the different GABA compounds, which have been published in the literature.

But I’m not going to deny the possibility that there is a potential exogenous source but I also can’t let go the possibility that the blood brain barrier is permeable. So I’m still waiting.

Trudy: Yes, I think it’s great because the fact that you write about that and you taught about that, and you teach about it. It got me looking into the research further and it got me more curious; and it’s good, it’s good to have a healthy discussion and a healthy debate, and be open to possibilities. I’m very open to having my mind changed if something comes up.

I just see GABA works so well with my clients and we use very, very small amounts. I know with your GABA challenge, it’s… what is the amount, its 1,500 milligrams, I think or 1,500 to 2,000? So I’ll start my clients on 125 milligrams of GABA sublingually and get results. I have not noticed the effect that they need more and more, and more. So that’s interesting that you say that. But yeah, it’s good, I’m glad that we’ve had this discussion.

And the other thing that you did say in the online discussion, you said, if someone has a response to taking oral GABA, in other words, taking a GABA supplement does help them, you would want to test for the blood brain barrier permeability, just to see what’s going on. And I like that you say we can track. I’ve actually been in discussions with Cyrex and said, “Hey, why don’t we monitor people who are doing the Cyrex test and have a response to GABA, either therapeutically for the anxiety or with your challenge?” We may start to see some patterns, which I think would be very interesting.

Dr. Kharrazian: Yes, the best we can do with the data in that scenario is just the correlation statistical analysis. But it still wouldn’t answer it.

Trudy: No, I know. But maybe that will trigger someone to want to do a study. So, the good news is we’re seeing more and more research on GABA in the literature. So, it’s exciting. Well, thank you for discussing that with me.

You can read more from our very enlightening interview here: Fix the Brain to Fix the Gut. Dr Kharrazian covers the impact of brain injury and impaired vagal activity (as well as motility and breakdown of the blood brain barrier), how to activate your neurons, using polyphenols for neuroinflammation and butyrate for leaky gut/brain.

These blogs have additional information on GABA and some of the many possible mechanisms:

Here are some blogs with feedback from folks who have benefited from using sublingual GABA for dental anxiety, ADHD/focus issues and Lyme anxiety:

The best way for you to figure out if you will benefit from GABA is to use the trial method. Do the low GABA questionnaire and do a trial of GABA (used sublingually), starting low and increasing until you find the right amount to ease anxiety and improve sleep. You can find the GABA products I recommend on my supplements blog.

Please do share if you’ve benefited from using GABA or if you use it with success with your clients or patients.