After listening to most of the lectures from the anti-anxiety summit, I just wanted to add a few more pieces of information. I wanted to talk about spore producing bacteria as Microbiome Labs (Kiran Krishman) did a talk on these organisms. These are organisms that coat themselves with armor in the deeper intestines where they can function as a probiotic. They are able to make it through the digestive tract and colonize deep in the intestine. These are ubiquitous organisms in nature. These spore producing bacteria stimulate EC cells in the gut to produce serotonin. Bacillus coagulans spores produce serotonin which can be found in some strains which decreases depression and decreases IBS. Spore producing bacteria increase dopamine and decrease anxiety.

Foods that we bring into our body from the outside world can expose us to toxins. For instance, food that we eat can be contaminated by microbes such as campylobacter jejunum and this pathogen has been linked to anxiety and panic attacks. Medications that we take can harm our microbiome. For instance, common antibiotics (fluoroquinolones) have been linked with potentiation of side effects of benzodiazopenines. As, the gut produces 90% of your serotonin, it is important to understand that what you take in to your gut such as food or medication is influencing your state of brain health. Just having awareness of that and understanding that the state of your gut health has a major impact on brain health and neurotransmitters is key.  

In the gut microbiome, diversity is paramount to health. Spores increase the diversity of the microbiome. In 3 weeks you can start to change the diversity taking spore based probiotics. I am doing an experiment by taking Megaspore Microbiome labs probiotic which I ordered from Florida. It has the strains Bacillus indicus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus licheniformins, and Bacillus clausii which are strains I have not taken before. It is only 4 billion C.F.U. but that is all that is needed to go in and change the diversity because spores are so strong in their action. It is recommended to start at even 1/2 capsule a day because there can be a die off reaction as these spores kill other pathogens in the gut. Die off reactions may include cramping, bloating and a rash. I have not add any side effects so I have started taking one capsule every other day with food for the first week. Spore based organisms are universal colonizers. If I have positive results after the next month of taking these spore based organisms, I may start stocking some at Parallel Wellness. They are expensive but they have extensive research backing their use. For more information on spore based probiotics and how they can influence serotonin and GABA as well as produce anti-oxidants,  go to www.microbiomelabs.com

 

I wanted to comment on my short interview done on Mind/body/radio.com on November 5, 2019. I was super happy to be a guest on their program. This opportunity came to me out of the blue so I am grateful for the exposure. I will say they sent me some preparatory questions in advance and I sent in three pages of answers. The interview did not touch on any of these questions that I had prepared for so I wanted to make some comments about the questions I was asked. I was asked the difference between seeing a naturopathic doctor vs a conventional doctor and I said that we have a more holistic approach and look at the mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical cause of illness. I wanted to add more thoughts.

We can order blood work much like conventional doctors but unfortunately you will have to pay out of pocket for these tests. If I want you to have a test that you could get from your doctor, free of charge, I may send you back there to get that test. We look for root cause and can order functional medicine testing if needed for our patient; these tests look at how the body is functioning and give more clues about the body’s organs and systems. There are medical doctors that are able to order these tests too but they are functional medicine doctors and should have that in their title or on their website. We pride ourselves in educating our patients and empowering them to take care of their health. We ask a lot of questions so we understand our patients and can best choose the appropriate medicine or treatment for them, whether it be an allergy elimination diet or a particular diet that we have chosen for them based on their history, botanical medicine and the form (capsule, tea, or tincture), homeopathy (single remedy or combination remedy (Unda)) and recommendation of exercise, meditation, breathing exercise, or guided imagery depending on the particular problem. The  more I know my patient, the more I am guided to select an appropriate medicine or treatment for them. 

Other principles of naturopathic medicine, which help you understand how I work are Identify and treat the root cause which I spoke on a little on. We look at all the factors that can affect health and spend a much longer time to understand what is going on. We ask a lot of questions of our patients. I spend 90 minutes in a first visit asking these questions.

Another principle of naturopathic medicine is Do no harm. We choose therapies that are natural and noninvasive so our patients are safe. We recommend surgery as a last resort for a health problem typically and don’t want to resort to treating a particular problem with pharmaceutical drugs if it can be helped.

We believe in the healing power of nature. We believe the body has an inherent ability to heal itself given the right environment. We remove the obstacles to cure whether it be too much stress or toxins in the environment, emotional stress coming from relationship difficulties, or any other source of ill health that we can identify. The body is striving to maintain a state of homeostasis. We support that homeostasis so the body can heal itself. We don’t just treat symptoms. We treat the cause.

We look to the healing power of nature in the food that we ingest, the healing plants that grow on the planet that have medicine for our bodies, we utilize sunlight and Vitamin D to support our health. We use medicines derived from plants, animals, and minerals (homeopathy) to treat disease. All of these medicines are gentle and non-invasive. If we choose organic medicine, these inherently work better and support our physiology more appropriately with fewer side effects. 

Naturopathic doctors  believe in preventing disease and we educate our patients in essential foundations of health whether it be right diet, exercise, stress management and lifestyle practices that support optimal health. Prevention is much easier than treating a well rooted disease that is already established in the body.  

Make sure if you are going to see a naturopathic doctor, that they are registered. If they are registered, then they graduated from an accredited school for naturopathic medicine (at least four years of schooling after completing a Bachelor of Science degree first). That means the particular Doctor has passed board examinations (after our schooling finished), in order to prove we are competent to practice. Then, every year, we have to go through a renewal process for our association. This means we have to list all the courses that we took for continuing education credits during that year. we also have to assess ourselves in many different areas to maintain competency and have a learning plan for each year in place to be documented and completed during the year. I have been selected twice for an evaluation by our regulatory college to ensure I am practicing up to standard (and I have passed twice!). Our regulatory body in Alberta is the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta. Our national body is the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors.  I wanted to make that clear to anybody that is looking for a registered naturopathic doctor that this is the college that regulates us.

You can go to my website www.robinvinge.com to read about how I practice to understand how my practice might be different from another naturopathic doctor that is more “test heavy” in their approach. I have a more counseling based practice. I do offer testing though and have the Dutch Hormone test in stock which is a great way to measure hormones and their metabolites especially estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, adrenal hormones such as cortisol and DHEA, melatonin and can evaluate indirectly neurotransmitters and B vitamin levels from four simple urine strips. If you have any more questions about how I practice, please email me at health@parallelwellness.com attention: Robin in the meantime!

I have watched most of day 1 of the Anti-anxiety Summit talking about the Gut/Brain Axis and wanted to share some highlights of it. It is a free summit hosted by Trudy Scott. There are experts on the free summit talking about anxiety and how to manage it. Some review for me is always good and I will share things that I think are helpful for my patients.

A review of amino acids for treating anxiety- for addressing low serotonin which you might have if you are a worrying type, if you ruminate and obsess about your past; if you have trouble falling or staying asleep- 5- HTP or Tryptophan may help your anxiety. Other things that may help include a full spectrum light as Seasonal Affective Disorder is common at this type of year and will help the winter blues. I will add exercise will increase neurotransmitters favorably. If you can, exercise at least 30 minutes everyday to increase serotonin and dopamine. Exercise in the morning when the sun is out to favorably influence melatonin production at night, 

If you have low GABA, you may experience more physical types of anxiety such as muscle tension, butterflies in your gut or you might reach for wine to relax or even stress eat. In this case, GABA or theanine might be your best option to treat your anxiety. You might also notice more digestive distress with low GABA levels- you may experience IBS or SIBO. The Gut and Brain communicate all the time so working on gut function often improves mood and cognitive function also. Lactobacillus rhamnosus as a probiotic can help with GABA production. 

Tyrosine is often used to treat low dopamine. Low dopamine is synonymous with lack of motivation and low energy. If you have too much dopamine, you might suffer from irritability or anxiety. Higher levels of clostridia in the gut bacterial population may inhibit the breakdown of dopamine leading to higher levels (in autism specifically this can happen). In this case, you might want to look at whether there is a COMT snp as well or measure dopamine levels with an organic acid test. 

Neurons need plasticity to be activated by doing yoga, coordinated movements via exercise (what are you bad at if you have balance issues- do that!) As mentioned, regular exercise is as effective for treating depression and anxiety as pharmaceuticals in some cases.

In terms of diet- autoimmune paleo, anti-inflammatory diets or even ketogenic diets can work wonders on reducing anxiety. It is important to eliminate the usual suspects that can interfere with mood- gluten, dairy, sugar, corn, soy, eggs. High flavonoid foods such as curcumin (turmeric), green tea or resveratrol can go across the blood brain barrier and favorably influence brain function. These are important antioxidants that reduce inflammation in the brain. 

Butyrate dampens brain inflammation. A combination of psyllium husks, hemp seeds, and ground flax seeds (1/2 tsp in H20) to promote butyrate is a good addition to your daily breakfast. Adding ghee to your diet will also be a source of dietary butyrate. Ghee is a better tolerated butter for those of you who have a sensitivity to dairy. Short chain fatty acids formed from the breakdown of fibre (think Mediterranean diet) help the genes in the brain to optimally express. This will decrease inflammation in your brain and support proper biochemistry in the brain.

Short chain fatty acids help your gut make neurotransmitters such as serotonin. Your gut bacteria deconjugate serotonin to make it more utilizable.This helps with peristalsis and gut motility.

Meditation calms your anxiety down, It increases the vagus nerve tone and helps with bidirectional communication between the gut and brain. Increasing sociability also helps vagus nerve activity. The vagus nerve is a main connector between your gut and your brain. Gargling for 3 to 5 minutes will activate the motor nerve component of the vagus nerve. 

(People that have anorexia have been found to have lower levels of short chain fatty acids and lower serotonin, chromium and zinc. )

Herbs that help with anxiety include chamomile because it increases GABA along with hops. Oatstraw is a nutritive nervine. Skullcap is another good nervine for anxiety.

Probiotics may help with production of neurotransmitters. Enterococcocus species may help increase production of serotonin; bacillus species may increase dopamine; lactobacillus rhamnosus may increase GABA; saccharomyces may increase norepinephrine; latobacillus plantarum may increase acetylcholine.

For help with anxiety and more specific information on using specific amino acids to treat anxiety, come in for a consultation with me at Parallel Wellness 4032321283. Tune into the Anti-Anxiety Summit which is on this week online. Until next time, ohmmmmm….