Amino Acids

60+ Nutritional & Biochemical Causes of Anxiety

May 19, 2015 By Trudy Scott 50 Comments

nutritional causes of anxiety

I shared these 60+ Nutritional & Biochemical Causes of Anxiety on my closing call of the The Anxiety Summit season 3. Since then I’ve kept this list updated as I find additional research, connections and case studies. In conjunction with my book “The Antianxiety Food Solution”, interviews and other blogs, I hope this list will help you put the puzzle pieces together to resolve your anxiety.

Keep in mind it’s not uncommon to have many root causes so if it feels too overwhelming, addressing low serotonin and/or low GABA first, really does help with the overwhelm, fear, anxiety and negativity.

The Foundational Causes from The Antianxiety Food Solution :

Food – real whole food, organic (pesticides may be problematic), quality protein (grass-fed, wild, pastured), healthy fats; avoid junk/processed food with additives/colors/trans fats/GMOs
Sugar – depletes zinc and magnesium and fills us up. We should not feel the need for treats/fruit should satisfy our desire for sweet
Low blood sugar – breakfast/protein/healthy snacks/no coffee
Caffeine/Coffee – even decaf coffee may be an issue. Coffee has high-levels of pesticides, affects blood sugar and affects hormones
Tobacco – depletes key nutrients like zinc, vitamin C
alcohol – depletes key nutrients like zinc, vitamin C
Food sensitivities – gluten (plus glyphosates/roundup affect serotonin/zinc etc), dairy, GAPs, grains
Digestive system – low HCl
Digestive system – Low good bacteria/probiotics
Digestive system – other enzymes are low
Digestive system – candida
Digestive system – parasites
Digestive system – leaky gut
Digestive system – liver/gallbladder issues
Digestive system – SIBO
Brain chemicals/neurotransmitters: low GABA (covered in detail in season 4 of the Anxiety Summit)
Brain chemicals/neurotransmitters: low serotonin
Brain chemicals/neurotransmitters: low endorphins
Brain chemicals/neurotransmitters: low catecholamines (need for coffee/sugar) or high catecholamines. Gut health, what you eat, coffee, gluten all affect the brain chemicals
Pyroluria/social anxiety – zinc, vitamin B6 and EPO (addressing this improves brain chemical imbalances and hormone imbalances)
A need for zinc
A need for vitamin B6
A need for EPO
Toxins/pesticides/plastics/BPA
Medication side-effects/withdrawal (benzos are the worst)
Sex hormones imbalances (especially low progesterone)
Thyroid problems – hyperthyroid/Hashimoto’s thyroiditis can cause anxiety symptoms; low thyroid symptoms – amino acids are not as effective
Adrenals issues: cortisol imbalance can affect how you handle stress, digestion, inflammation; high cortisol can have direct impact on anxiety levels
Low total cholesterol (<150)
Low levels of vitamin D, magnesium, vitamin C
Low levels of vitamin B12
Low levels of folate
Low levels of iron (test ferritin)
Not getting exercise
Not working on stress-reduction (tai chi, meditation, guided imagery, yoga)
Not getting out in nature
Not getting at least 8 hours of sleep

[the above are all covered in great detail in my book The Antianxiety Food Solution ]

Other possible nutritional/biochemical/physical causes of anxiety/depression

Drug-induced nutrient deficiencies (for example: the birth control pill depletes vitamin B6, folate, magnesium)
MVP (mitral valve prolapse) – it feel like the “heart is skipping a beat” (magnesium may help)
Infections – strep can cause OCD/PANDAS/PANS. Also consider: H/Pylori, Lyme disease, clostridia
Heavy metals like mercury or lead. We covered mercury in season 2 – Your hidden mercury burden: A likely root cause of the other root causes of anxiety and mercury/lead detox in season 4 with Dr. John Dempster
Anything that increases inflammation in the body (high CRP is a good clue)
Herbicide/Roundup use in the home/garden
Genetic polymorphisms – MTHFR, COMT, MAOA, GAD – Dr. Ben Lynch is an excellent resource and has shared his expertise on season 2 – Anxiety: Biochemical and genetic predispositionsand season 3 – How Methylfolate can make you Feel Worse and even Cause Anxiety
Apolipoprotein E ?4 (ApoE ?4) gene polymorphism
Other possible hormone issues: high prolactin, low oxytocin
Histamine reaction to certain foods (Yasmina covers this in her interview in season 3: Histamine-containing Foods: their Role in Anxiety, Depression and Schizophrenia )
Oxalates reaction (berries, leafy greens, nuts). A good resource is lowoxalateinfo
SIBO and FODMAPs/fructose malabsorption (affects serotonin levels)
Too much of some nutrients: fish oil, a B complex, tyrosine, folate
Low lithium (impacts GABA levels)
Copper toxicity i.e. high copper and low zinc
EMFs, air pollution, noise pollution, cell phone use, smart meters
Marijuana use – used recreationally or as medical marijuana (Dr. Hyla Cass covers this in season 4 of the Anxiety Summit – cognitive issues, anxiety, psychosis, schizophrenia, social anxiety)
Toxic mold exposure (Dr. Jill Carnahan covers this in season 3)
Fluoride exposure
Poor mouth health
Toxoplasma gondii
Metals/chemicals/drugs in the tap water
Low leptin (signals satiety/fullness) and high ghrelin
Over-the counter drugs, inner ear issues/cochlear damage, light sensitivity (Sharon Heller shared Hidden Causes of Anxiety on season 2)
Physical pain (from an injury)
Gas leaks
Plastics/BPA
Accutane, the acne drug can lead to psychiatric disorders in some people

May 14, 2016 updates after Season 4 of the Anxiety Summit:

66. Leptin resistance, obesity, skinny-fat and high body fat % (Mike Mutzel covers this in season 4 – anxiety, inflammation, microbiome, PTSD, cortisol and HPA axis)

67. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics (Lisa Bloomquist covers this in season 4 – anxiety, psychosis, connective tissue damage, mitochondrial impacts)

68. Low histamine/histapenia/overmethylation or high histamine/histadelia/undermethylation – read more here and the season 4 interview with Dr. William Walsh

69. Lack of community and social connection (James Maskell covers this in season 4)

Note: these causes do not include psychological or physical trauma or abuse (both past and current).

If the idea of 60+ causes feels too overwhelming and scary for you start with the basic food changes and look at the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution. GABA and serotonin support benefits most of my clients. You can see how to do a trial here and find the products I use with my clients here – such as tryptophan and GABA.

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.

The Anxiety Summit – 60+ Nutritional & Biochemical Causes of Anxiety and Recommended Supplements

May 19, 2015 By Trudy Scott 88 Comments

Trudy Scott, host of The Anxiety Summit, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution presents:

Closing call: 60+ Nutritional & Biochemical Causes of Anxiety and Recommended Supplements

60+ Nutritional/biochemical causes of anxiety and associated solutions
4 degrees/levels of anxiety I see and response to the 60+ causes
The unique ability of the body to heal
Testing I use with my clients and what tests I’d run if everyone had unlimited funds
My recommendations: supplements
My message of hope

I mentioned the speaker blog posts. You can access them all here: The Anxiety Summit Season 3: All the speakers and topics

I also referred back to speakers and topics from season 1 and 2 so here are those links:

The Anxiety Summit Season 2: All the speakers and topics

The Anxiety Summit: All the speakers and topics (this is summit 1)

If the idea of 60+ causes feels too overwhelming and scary for you here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution. Serotonin support in the form of tryptophan or 5-HTP may help

As Dr. Peter Bongiorno said in his interview: Serotonin and Anxiety, Happiness, Digestion and our Hormones

There can be multiple factors involved as to why someone has anxiety. How you’re going to work through these factors successfully is going to be very different for each person.

Here is the list of the 60+ Nutritional/biochemical causes of anxiety. (Just click on this link to see all of them)

Here is the list of supplements: The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements (Just click on this link to see all of them)

Here is the: Nutritional testing for figuring out the root cause/s of your anxiety (Just click on this link to see all of them)

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.

The Anxiety Summit – Pyroluria, Amino Acids and Anxiety: Real Cases, Real Solutions

May 16, 2015 By Trudy Scott 22 Comments

Karla A Maree CNC, Neuronutrient Therapy Specialist, is interviewed by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.

Pyroluria, Amino Acids and Anxiety: Real Cases, Real Solutions

How pyroluria affects mood and anxiety and introversion
Amino acids GABA and tryptophan: how they can help you feel less anxious and happier in as little as 5 minutes
What is a pixie dust person
Gina, case study 1: social anxiety/pyroluria, birth control pill, vegetarian, low GABA, low serotonin and low iron
Mark, case study 2: social anxiety, pyroluria, claustrophobia, low serotonin, very sensitive to noise, gluten sensitivity

Here are some snippets from our interview:

When we do a trail of an amino acid, you open the capsule into water and hold this in your mouth for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. It bypasses the digestive system and you can expect results in 5 minutes or less

“Pixie dust” people are very sensitive to the environment or vitamins and we have them do finger touches of the opened capsule [of an amino acid] and that small amount can literally shift their brain chemistry

Here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution. I encourage you to do it and see which sections may be an issue for you. And as Karla mentioned re-do it frequently to see how much you’ve improved if you’ve been using amino acids.

We discussed why Urinary neurotransmitter testing falls short and why we use the above questionnaire instead.

Here is the Pyroluria Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution. Karla has pyroluria and having it helps her identify with her clients. She also used to be an introvert but when she is on the pyroluria protocol she can easily walk up to people and talk to them.

[please stay tuned for the Dalai Lama vegetarian article]

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.

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

May 16, 2015 By Trudy Scott 101 Comments

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:

addressing blood sugar issues and eating real whole food
the brand and quality
timing i.e. between meals and away from protein
your unique amount for your own need
addressing bipolar or bipolar-type symptoms
using the pyroluria protocol at the same time (if needed)
addressing thyroid health and hormonal health
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)

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.

The Anxiety Summit – Serotonin and Anxiety, Happiness, Digestion and our Hormones

May 14, 2015 By Trudy Scott 43 Comments

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

Serotonin and Anxiety, Happiness, Digestion and our Hormones

What is serotonin and why is it often considered the molecule of happiness
The role of serotonin when it comes to anxiety?
How serotonin was first discovered and the 5-HT1A receptor/oxytocin connection
Serotonin’s strong relationship to the digestive tract
The connection between inflammation and serotonin
How to naturopathically support serotonin and the overall neurotransmitter system for optimal mood support: 5-HTP, L-tryptophan and its vitamin co-factors
Serotonin’s effects on our hormones, other neurotransmitters and whole body

Here are some snippets from our interview:

In modern medicine we tend to focus on one thing and tend to work it to death, almost to the point that we believe we are doing things that will be helpful. Many studies have shown that antidepressants are not working any better than placebos in most people and yet we’re still treating it [depression/anxiety] the same way

In naturopathy we look at things from all angles. There can be multiple factors involved and why someone has anxiety. How you’re going to work through these factors successfully is going to be very different for each person.

Here is the 2010 JAMA paper: The Antidepressant Drug Effects and Depression Severity A Patient-Level Meta-analysis

The magnitude of benefit of antidepressant medication compared with placebo increases with severity of depression symptoms and may be minimal or nonexistent, on average, in patients with mild or moderate symptoms. For patients with very severe depression, the benefit of medications over placebo is substantial.

Dr. Bongiorno shares how using 5-HTP and tryptophan leads to quicker results for his patients, and unlike drugs you don’t get side-effects. He likes to use acupuncture for this too.

He discusses the co-factors that are needed for making neurotransmitters: the B vitamins like riboflavin, niacinamide and vitamin B6, plus the need for a good multivitamin. Here is a recent Psychology Today article: Multiple Vitamins for Anxiety

Here are Dr. Bongiorno’s two books:

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

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

You can download his free gift here: 10 Ways to Boost Serotonin Naturally. Once you sign up you’re taken to a page that has the free ebook about serotonin.

If you are not already registered for the Anxiety Summit you can get live access to the speakers of the day here: www.theAnxietySummit.com

Missed this interview or can’t listen live? Or want this and the other great interviews for your learning library? Purchase the MP3s or MP3s + transcripts and listen when it suits you.

You can find your purchasing options here: Anxiety Summit Season 1, Anxiety Summit Season 2, and Anxiety Summit Season 3.

Oxytocin and social anxiety, pyroluria and depression?

March 27, 2015 By Trudy Scott 66 Comments

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?