women

Women, alcohol and mental health; autism and propionic acid; toxic farmed salmon

July 19, 2019 By Trudy Scott Leave a Comment

Today I’m sharing some interesting and popular Facebook posts for you to either just read the article or come and join the Facebook discussion:

#1 Women who stop drinking alcohol improve mental health, study finds

Glad to see this research! I see way too much social drinking to de-stress, even by women who lead otherwise healthy lives

“Many women drink alcohol to relax, feel good and take the edge off life, but new evidence suggests skipping that daily glass of wine is a better way to boost their mental health.

Women who quit alcohol improved their mental well-being, researchers reported this week in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The study comes as many Americans are trying out an alcohol-free life as part of the “sober-curious” movement.”

Where are you with this? Do you “self-medicate” with alcohol in order to get through your week?

And there is no judging here…just educating and creating awareness.

Here is the Facebook discussion

#2 Spike In Autism May Be Linked To Preservative In Processed Foods, Study Suggests

Very interesting connection – if it’s a possible factor in autism then it’s very likely a possible factor in anxiety, depression and other mood and neurological disorders too. You can read more about propionic acid here and how it’s found in most baked goods! Here is the Facebook discussion

#3 Farmed Salmon = Most Toxic Food in the World

Farmed salmon is a big no-no!

Do you look for the “wild” label and ask about the source before buying salmon and other fish? This applies to canned fish too!

Unfortunately, there is often not any real awareness here in Australia. Labeling is deceptive here – “farmed” or “wild” never appears on any labels, instead you see “sustainable”

And you can’t tell if it’s farmed by just looking at it!

Here is the Facebook discussion

Feel free to comment and/or post questions directly on any of the above Facebook discussions or here on the blog.

The role of low serotonin, low vitamin B6 and low iron in anxiety and panic attacks

December 7, 2018 By Trudy Scott 7 Comments

Low serotonin can cause anxiety and panic attacks. Because vitamin B6 and iron are required raw materials for making serotonin, we know that low levels of these two nutrients often contribute to anxiety and panic attacks.

We have some pretty recent research supporting all this: Low serum concentrations of vitamin B6 and iron are related to panic attack and hyperventilation attack

Reduced serotonin level is known as one of the causes of panic attacks and hyperventilation attacks ….

In the serotonin synthesis system of the brain, vitamin B6 is a coenzyme for tryptophan hydroxylase, which is involved in the conversion of tryptophan into 5-hydroxytryptophan and iron serves as a cofactor for aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase involved in the formation of serotonin from 5-hydroxytryptophan. Therefore, a reduction in vitamin B6 and iron levels can suppress the progression of the serotonin synthesis.

The study authors measured serum levels of vitamins B2, B6, and B12 and iron in 21 premenopausal women who had been admitted to the emergency room with panic attacks.

The results were compared with lab values from 20 volunteers, also premenopausal women, and this is what they reported:

We found that both vitamin B6 and iron levels were significantly lower in the panic attack/hyperventilation attack group than in the volunteer group. There was no significant difference in the serum levels of vitamins B2 or B12.

These results suggest that low serum concentrations of vitamin B6 and iron are involved in panic attacks and hyperventilation attacks.

This certainly confirms what I see with my clients. When I’m working with someone with anxiety, we always assess for low serotonin, low iron and low vitamin B6 levels, and when we address low levels we almost always see improvements – both in the reduction of anxiety and panic attacks. We’ll often see a mood boost too, sleep improvements and a reduction in carb cravings.

Here are some additional factors to consider:

Vitamin B6 can be challenging to measure in serum so I like to also use the pyroluria questionnaire and poor dream recall as a clue. The authors mention that serum pyridoxal 5-phosphate (PLP) is often used as an indication of B6 status, however they opted to use pyridoxal (PAL) after conversion from PLP.
Supplementing with vitamin B6 can often lead to some improvements in a few weeks with many folks who have pyroluria reporting feeling less anxious and more social within a week.
There is the potential for vitamin B6 toxicity. I have yet to see any signs of toxicity in my clients, but I have also not ever recommended more than 500mg/day. However, there are some individuals who have issues with very small amounts of vitamin B6. Unfortunately, I do not know why this happens.
Testing ferritin levels are an excellent way to assess iron levels and iron should never be supplemented unless iron is low. Dr. Izabella Wentz, shares in her book Hashimoto’s Protocol and blog that the optimal ferritin level for thyroid function is between 90-110 ng/m. Addressing low iron levels can take awhile to see a shift in labs.
Because zinc and magnesium are also cofactors for making serotonin, low levels may also need to be addressed. I would have loved to see these included in this study,
As always, we assess for low serotonin levels using the amino acid questionnaire and start on tryptophan or 5-HTP right away, based on doing trials – so we can see anxiety reduction and relief from panic attacks right away, while the other changes are starting to provide the raw materials for serotonin production.

Keep in mind that low serotonin and low iron and/or low vitamin B6 – although very common with anxiety and panic attacks – are not the only root cause and many other factors may also need to be addressed.

We’d love to hear if addressing low iron and/or low vitamin B6 levels have helped you? Did you use tryptophan and/or 5-HTP at the same time?

If you’re a practitioner, are often do you see low iron and/or low vitamin B6 in your anxious clients/patients?

The pill and other hormonal contraception: depression, anxiety and FAM

October 21, 2016 By Trudy Scott 9 Comments

homonal-contraception

Women taking the contraceptive pill and other hormonal contraception are more likely to be depressed. These are the findings from a Danish study published in JAMA Psychiatry and reported in an article on PubMed Health.

This was a large prospective cohort study which aimed to investigate whether using hormonal contraception is associated with the future use of antidepressants and a diagnosis of depression.

More than 1 million women aged 15 to 34, with no prior history of depression, were included in the study [and followed for 13 years].

The researchers compared users of hormonal contraception with non-users and found users were more likely to be prescribed antidepressants and diagnosed with depression.

This study found that those women who used the pill were 23% more likely to use antidepressants.

And here are the connections between antidepressant use and these other birth control methods (categorized by estrogen type and dose, progesterone type and the method of contraception):

progestogen-only pill – 34% more likely to use antidepressants
levonorgestrel intrauterine system (IUS) – 40% more likely to use antidepressants
vaginal ring (etonogestrel) – 60% more likely to use antidepressants
contraceptive patch (norgestrolmin) – 100% more likely to use antidepressants

The study authors state this:

it’s important to note this study is not able to prove that the contraceptive methods are responsible for the depression, only to find possible links to investigate further.

The researchers don’t advise that women should stop using their contraception, just that further studies are needed. If this association is found to be true, depression may have to be added as a possible side effect of hormonal contraception.

My fellow nutritionist Karla Maree says this: ‘we’re going to need black box warnings on these medications” and I agree. It’s disappointing that the researchers say further studies are needed.

Dr. Daniel Amen sees the association in his practice and shared this about birth control pills when I interviewed him during season 3 of the Anxiety Summit.

Unfortunately, they drop serotonin levels. You’ve got to ask yourself why are 23 percent of women between the ages of 20 and 60 taking antidepressants. In large part, it’s the birth-control pills that are changing the hormones in their brain, the neurotransmitters in their brain. All of a sudden, they’re more anxious and they’re more depressed.

Birth control pills also can drop magnesium. Magnesium is a natural calmer to nerve cells. They literally can change things.

We know the pill can also deplete vitamin B6 and folate, and can raise copper levels so these are likely some of the additional reasons we see mood changes in women taking them.

You may have noticed that Dr. Amen mentions 23 percent in our interview – which was actually done in May 2015. He is referring to a 2011 report released by the National Center for Health Statistics:

the rate of antidepressant use in this country among teens and adults (people ages 12 and older) increased by almost 400% between 1988–1994 and 2005–2008.
23% of women in their 40s and 50s take antidepressants, a higher percentage than any other group (by age or sex)
women are 2½ times more likely to be taking an antidepressant than men

Is this related to hormonal birth control? Very likely! I’m not in favor of any of these hormonal birth control methods and know from experience that they often cause both depression and anxiety in my clients but seeing these percentages is still shocking!

It’s quite strange how many of my clients don’t think of birth control as having side-effects or being as “bad” as other medications. This was certainly the case for me. I’ve very seldom taken medications in my life but I did use the pill and then an IUD for a short while, and initially I didn’t give either a second thought. But I’m sure they were part of the perfect storm that contributed to my anxiety and panic attacks in my late 30s. I was prescribed an antidepressant at this time but chose not to take it, instead searching for nutritional solutions.

During my search for answers, I read tons of books and one book has had a huge impact on me: Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. It offered a powerful non-hormonal option for birth control: the Fertility Awareness Method or FAM and gave me so much insight about my body and hormones. It’s also something I now share with my clients. It deserves an entire review so stay tuned. For now, you can check out an overview on her website.

My version of the book was published in 1995 and Toni now has a new revised 2015 edition: Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 20th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health.

What about you? Do you consider birth control more acceptable than other medications? Are you or were you on birth control and an antidepressant? And do you/did you feel that the birth control affected your mood and contributed to your depression or anxiety?

Or did it improve your symptoms (some women do report a better mood)?

Have you considered or used FAM as an alternative method of birth control? (or pregnancy achievement?)

Have you been offered birth control because of heavy periods or PMS? There are better ways to deal with this and one approach would be to address low serotonin levels with tryptophan.

If you’re in menopause and have no need for this information, please pass it on to your daughters and grand-daughters, nieces, sisters and girlfriends.

Low zinc and low GABA contributing to anxiety in children and women

October 7, 2016 By Trudy Scott 18 Comments

low-zinc-gaba-video

Dr. Nicole Beurkens and I sit down together at the end of the recent Integrative Medicine for Mental Health conference to talk about anxiety and the impact of both low zinc and low GABA. Nicole shares her perspectives on working with children and I share what I see with the adult women I work with. We don’t specifically talk about older adults or men but it’s applicable to everyone.

Dr. Nicole Beurkens PhD, a special educator, clinical psychologist and nutritionist, is author of the new book Life Will Get Better: Simple Solutions for Parents of Children with Attention, Anxiety, Mood and Behavior Challenges

In case you’re new to my community, this is my book: The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings

Here are some of the highlights from our conversation about zinc:

Zinc is a very common deficiency and can be a contributing factor in both anxiety and ADHD
Zinc is depleted by sugar consumption, stress and exercise
Zinc sulfate used as a zinc challenge is one way to determine your zinc status
Nicole’s response to the zinc challenge: fuzzy, strong yukky taste – which means good zinc levels
Most people coming to the booth had very little reaction to the zinc challenge – which means low zinc levels
Level 1, 2, 3 and 4 are used to figure out your zinc status (you can read about the zinc taste test here)
My response to the zinc challenge: metallic, gross, horrible and I got goosebumps – – which means good zinc levels
Nicole shares that most of kids and young adults at her clinic have level 1 or level 2 zinc status, and it’s an easy test to do with kids
Many people at the conference were on zinc and were surprised they were not tasting the zinc sulfate. Other than sugar consumption, stress and exercise, low HCl (stomach acid) can affect your absorption. I also found that many of these folks were on a gluten-free or Paleo or GAPs diet and eating a lot of nuts or using nut flours. Nuts are high in copper and this can counteract the zinc.
We talk about the importance of good quality zinc supplements and finding a zinc product and multi that is copper-free. Here are the products I recommend.

Then we talk about GABA Calm, a calming amino acid that we both love! Here are some of the highlights from this section:

It’s a lozenge/sublingual, is easy to take and helps in situations where the anxiety can quickly escalate into panic attacks. Nicole likes the peppermint flavor and finds many of the children and young adults she works with prefer the orange flavor. Personally I also prefer the orange flavor.
For adults, if you use wine at the end of the day to de-stress, you may be low in GABA and self-medicating, and using something like GABA-Calm often helps.
Moms will take their GABA Calm with them and use as needed and give to their kids if needed too.
I share how effective it is for Lyme anxiety and how it can be used instead of benzodiazepines (I interviewed Trish about this on the recent Anxiety Summit)
GABA Calm can help when you’re on a benzodiazepine and even very severe anxiety or depression can be alleviated with diet and nutrients.
Nicole shares how common benzodiazepine prescriptions are in teens and young adults; and the issues with dependence and wanting to quit but not being able to. It can sometimes take years to reduce the medications.
I share about the first World Benzo Awareness Day on July 11 – so many people are in trouble and are not cautioned.

We were both so encouraged being at this conference and seeing so many physicians, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, psychiatric nurse practitioners and others practitioners who are really interested in learning more about these approaches. They are seeing the same issues we see with some of the medications (and not getting to the root cause of anxiety) and they are excited to expand their knowledge base. It’s just so exciting to see the pendulum swinging!

We both really appreciate the Integrative Medicine for Mental Health conference. If you’re a practitioner and haven’t attended it’s a must-attend event. If you were there you know what I mean. It was also super to meet so many of you after my talk and at my booth. If you’re not a practitioner do tell your doctor about it. Save the date for 2017: September 28 – October 1 in Orange County, California.

We did this as a live video feed on Facebook hence the references to posting questions and Facebook. It was also the end of the event and the people next to us were packing boxes and using a lot of tape so apologies for the weird noises.

Feel free to share your results with zinc and GABA Calm and any questions you may have.

Kiva is for always and not just during the season of giving!

December 23, 2013 By Trudy Scott 1 Comment

Margaret lives in Kenya and she sells groceries, a business she ventured into 13 years ago

As stated on their site “Kiva is the world’s first online lending platform connecting online lenders to entrepreneurs.” Their tag line is this: “Kiva – Loans that change lives.”

Kiva is all about microfinancing i.e.

“microfinance is a general term to describe financial services to low-income individuals or to those who do not have access to typical banking services.”

“By supporting women’s economic participation, microfinance helps to empower women, thus promoting gender-equity and improving household well-being.”

This is how it works: make a loan, get updates, get paid back, repeat! You can make ‎micro-loans to entrepreneurs across the globe for as little as $25. Read more about microfinance on the kiva site.

“100% of every dollar you lend on Kiva goes directly towards funding loans; Kiva does not take a cut. Furthermore, Kiva does not charge interest to our Field Partners, who administer the loans.” Wow, this is quite something!

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. In the past I’ve given loans to Marilyn, who lives in the Philippines and sells fish; Consolata who has a grocery store in Kenya; Mirian who lives in El Salvador and has a small farm; and Nubar who sells fruits and vegetables in Armenia.

One of my current loans is to 48 year old Margaret who comes from Kenya. According to the Kiva site she “is married to Wilson, and they are blessed with four children. She sells groceries, a business she ventured into 13 years ago” and “wants to purchase cereals, fruits, and vegetables.” “Margaret dreams of owning a personal vehicle in the near future.”

It’s so rewarding knowing that I can affect the lives of four entrepreneurial women who are in turn improving their lives, the lives of their families and the lives of those in their communities with real whole food!

If you are looking for an organization to give to, Kiva is a 4-star charity on Charity Navigator and if you’re looking for a last minute gift, they offer gift cards. But, best of all, you get to give all year round!

How women entrepreneurs can reduce business stress and anxiety with food

April 30, 2012 By Trudy Scott 5 Comments

It was wonderful being a guest on Spotlight on Success, hosted by Dr. Shannnon Reece and I was honored to share food-mood-stress-anxiety information with her viewers and readers. It’s so important for balance in our often hectic lives! Now I get to share it with my readers too! The topic was Food & Mood: Calm Your Anxious Mind and covered all aspects of how women entrepreneurs can reduce business stress and anxiety with proper nutrition. (It also applies to all women and men too).

Today I had a delicious and satisfying breakfast of boiled eggs on a bed of cooked spinach. What a difference a good breakfast makes to how we feel the rest of the day – mood, energy, anxiety and stress levels, and focus and mental clarity! I also often enjoy a fruit smoothie with whey protein and coconut milk so do whatever appeals to you. The important thing is to ALWAYS eat breakfast! This is just one of the many tips shared in this interview – enjoy…breakfast and the interview!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_e_aDNbW5g[/youtube]

Shannon shared before the interview: “Trudy believes (as do I) that life is meant to be spent feeling well, mentally and physically, and that stress and anxiety don’t have to be the status quo that we accept.”

Here is what we covered:

Do women really need to focus on doing something about their stress and anxiety?
What are the 3 biggest food-related factors that contribute to stress and anxiety?
What other dietary factors play a role?
And, what should you do if you’re eating a healthy diet but are still feeling anxious and stressed?

After the interview Shannon shared this “It was a pleasure to have you on the show to share your expertise with me and my audience. I always learn something new from each guest, and that makes each one so exciting. Women often don’t take their health needs seriously, so I am thrilled to have had you give us all a good “kick-in-the-butt” reminder. 🙂 Shannon”. This is your good “kick-in-the-butt” reminder!

Dr. Shannon Reece is an amazing business resource for women entrepreneurs and I thoroughly enjoy her blogs and interviews. This is from her website: “My background as a competitive athlete, sport psychologist, and a woman in the male-dominated business world taught me the importance of hard work, effective strategy, sound tactics and leveraging my strengths. If you want to succeed, conformity is not an option! After too many years “working for the man” I turned my life right side up becoming an entrepreneur and I’ve never looked back. With a global reach, I am helping like-minded women — just like you — through the start-up and launch of their entrepreneurial dreams and am having loads of fun in the process.”

I encourage you to check out her articles and other Spotlight on Success interviews! And to follow these tip to reduce business stress and anxiety!

You can also find out more in The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings, available in major books stores, at Amazon and via www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com.