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Food, exercise, biofeedback and nutrients for anxiety at ADAA

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Trudy scott antianxiety adaa 2012

Great three days at the 2012 Annual Conference of Anxiety Disorders Association of America. I was accepted to do a poster presentation on Saturday night: Food and Mood: Case Study of Woman with Anxiety (using food changes and nutrients) and I had a lot of firsts – the first time attending this conference, my first poster presentation at a mainstream conference, first time meeting some of the excellent researchers in the field and first time exposure to some of the newest research on anxiety.

I thoroughly enjoyed it from the start… submitting my proposal, creating the poster, figuring out how big to make it so it could be read easily (it was 3ft high by 5 ft wide) and then standing with my poster answering questions for an hour and a half during the poster session. I am now I’m inspired to do some of my own food mood research.

My poster was a case study of a woman using real whole food, no gluten, no sugar, 5-HTP, GABA, zinc, vitamin B6 and other nutrients to end her anxiety and panic attacks. I was very pleased with the interest and was thrilled to share this important info about the food-mood connection!

Some other highlights from the conference (there were many!):

  • Keynote by Dr Spiegel on self-hypnotism – in one study, participants were able to increase their gastric acid secretion. We learned that hypnotism has much good research for anxiety but is not used that extensively.
  • Meeting and talking to Lindsey DeBoer, lead author of Dietary Supplements for Anxiety Disorders: A Systematic Review – to be included in a chapter in a new book called Psychobiological Approaches for Anxiety Disorders that I look forward to checking out
  • Great quote from a session on Exercise for Anxiety: “Do your exercise before a stressful event and you’ll do much better” ~ Michael W. Otto, Ph.D. At the same session Jasper Smits, PhD shared much of the evidence of the benefits of exercise for anxiety, OCD, panic attacks and social phobia. Otto and Smits have a new book Exercise for Mood and Anxiety that I look forward to checking out.
  • This short 2 min totally cool video!!! “Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator and feel better” is something we often hear or read in the Sunday papers. Few people actually follow that advice. Can we get more people to take the stairs over the escalator by making it fun to do? See the results here. http://www.thefuntheory.com/piano-staircase With thanks to Michael W. Otto, Ph.D and Jasper Smits, PhD for sharing this at the exercise presentation
  • Doing a biofeedback relaxation session
  • Meeting, listening to and learning from researchers, authors and editors of some of the major journals
  • Meeting new people and making new connections

(On a side note, the ADAA was previously Anxiety Disorders Association of America, and was just renamed this weekend to be Anxiety and Depression Association of America.)

More research and conference highlights will be shared in future blogs… and all this and more will be included in future editions of 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.

Total cholesterol that is too low: anxiety and depression in women

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If your total cholesterol level is too low, you’re at increased risk for anxiety, depression, and even suicide, as well as increased risk of strokes, cancer, digestive diseases and respiratory diseases.

A study by Suarez in 1999 in Psychosomatic Medicine found a relationship between low cholesterol and increased anxiety and depression in women. And in a 2008 paper in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry it was reported that when total cholesterol is less than 160 mg/dl (milligrams per decililter), there may be an increased risk of suicide.

An interesting 1992 editorial in the journal Circulation reported that these same levels were also associated with increased risk of death from strokes, cancer, and digestive and respiratory diseases. In addition, this editoral emphasizes that, among women, there is no association between high blood cholesterol and cardiovascular deaths.

Dr Mark Hyman, MD is one of my favorite integrative physicians and he writes extensively on cholesterol and why it may not be the cause of heart disease.  He talks about the importance of ratios (total cholesterol to HDL and triglycerides to HDL) and considering additional testing if you’re concerned about heart disease: NMR Lipid Profile to look at particle sizes, Hemoglobin A1c, Cardio C-reactive protein for inflammation, Homocysteine, Fibrinogen, Lipoprotein (a) and others.

Low total cholesterol is a topic that I address 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.  It is just one of many factors that need to be considered for anxiety and mood issues.

Food and Mood: 9 Steps to Calm the Anxious Mind in Boston

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Please join me for a full 1 day seminar to learn about the powerful connection between food and mental health, and anxiety specifically.

“Food and Mood: 9 Steps to Calm the Anxious Mind, Improve Mood & End Cravings”

I’ll be doing 3 talks in the Boston, MA area in these locations and on these dates:

Tuesday, March 06, 2012 at 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM in Woburn, MA

Wednesday, March 07, 2012 at 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM in Waltham, MA

Thursday, March 08, 2012 at 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM in Dedham, MA

These are PESI seminars and are geared towards mental health professionals and are also open to the public. They are delivered as a live event with Q & A at various times during the presentation. I’ll be covering all the latest research on food and mental health, as well as practical steps for implementing changes.

[Update after the event: go to the PESI site and at the Title, enter Trudy Scott, and hit SEARCH to see all the future events, plus DVD/CDs that are available for purchase.]

Recent 2011 food mood research by Dr Felice Jacka,  looked at the eating habits of 5731 Norwegian adult men and women. They  found that “those with better quality diets were less likely to be depressed” and that a “higher intake of processed and unhealthy foods was associated with increased anxiety.”

The fee of $79.99 includes course materials.

The 9 steps are covered in great detail in The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings, now available in major books stores, at Amazon and via www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com

Here are book reviews by Dr Winston Chung, child psychiatrist and Mira Dessy, Certified Nutrition Educator

Dark chocolate for Valentine’s Day and heart health!

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Dark CHOCOLATE! …I can see you smiling as you get an endorphin and serotonin boost at just the thought of chocolate! With Valentine’s Day around the corner and with February being American Heart Health month it’s time to talk about chocolate. Not just any chocolate, but good quality dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate that is at least 70-80 percent cocoa is the best choice because it has less sugar (and sugar is toxic and addicting) and more cocoa, which is rich in antioxidants and flavonols (a class of plant-based compounds that provide many of the same benefits as antioxidants).

Chocolate does improve mood and create feelings of joy – we can all relate to this! And dark chocolate certainly does have heart benefits. This is important because heart disease is still the number one cause of death in the United States.

Moderate consumption of dark chocolate has been shown to be beneficial for heart health by:

And interestingly, dark chocolate may offer protection against cancer due to the “high concentration of catechins and procyanidins”

But here are a few questions to ask yourself as you indulge:

  • Do you devour the whole bar of chocolate rather than a small piece? (the key here is moderate consumption!)
  • Do you binge on chocolate and then feel awful afterwards – physically (really icky!?) and emotionally (the guilt-trip deal?)
  • Does it make you anxious or more stressed or keep you awake? Caffeine is found in all forms of chocolate and cacao (other than white chocolate); the darker the chocolate, the more caffeine it contains!
  • Do you suffer from migraines (sadly, chocolate gives me a terrible headache two days later!)
  • Do you experience breast tenderness leading up to your period?

If you answer yes to any of the above then you really should reconsider if chocolate is for you this Valentine’s Day! And give delicious carob a trial instead.

In Finland Valentine’s Day is called “Friend’s day” and is more about remembering all your friends, not only your loved ones. I wish you, your loved ones and your friends a happy and wonderful Valentine’s Day and a happy healthy heart – both physically and emotionally!

HMN twitter Food Mood party: more on pyroluria and zinc

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beef

Do you experience anxiety, social phobia and inner tension that you cover up? Do you have poor dream recall? If yes, then read on.

On January 10th The Holistic Moms Network invited me to answer questions at their January 10th twitter party on Food and Mood. It was a great virtual “event” with really great questions.

A colleague, Mira Dessy, Certified Nutrition Educator and holistic health columnist, provided a great summary of much of the discussion. I added some information on sugar and cravings and I’d like to add to the discussion on zinc.

There are a subset of anxious people who do need higher amounts than the average person. From Mira’s blog “Zinc can be found in beef (grass fed is best), calf liver, venison, spinach, shitake mushrooms, and pumpkin seeds. It’s very important for pregnant women and children to get enough zinc with the addendum that zinc is a trace mineral and we do not need massive doses of it.” I agree, we don’t need massive doses but if you have pyroluria (anxiety, social phobia, inner tension you cover up – here is the complete pyroluria questionnaire) you will benefit from zinc and vitamin B6 supplements (at a minimum).

Again, thanks to Mira and read her blog to get the rest of the discussion. And thanks to HMN! Do come to the next HMN twitter party – they are a lot of fun and very informative!

Much of this information relating to anxiety and mood and food (and so much more) is covered 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

Orange chicken stir-fry recipe and vitamin C for anxiety

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orange chicken stir fry vitamin C

While we are all aware that citrus fruit is a great source of vitamin C, a little known fact is that a mild to moderate deficiency of vitamin C may be associated with increased nervousness, anxiety and depression. We need all we can to boost mood during the long, dark, dreary and chilly days of winter. In fact, there is evidence of seasonality in anxiety and panic attacks, as there is with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or “winter blues”, a form of depression caused by the lack of light during the fall and winter months, possibly leading to low serotonin. Together with depression and anxiety, low serotonin can also cause increased carb and sugar cravings. Eating a delicious blood orange (and other winter citrus fruit) will provide a boost of vitamin C and satisfy that desire for something sweet! I like to call these fruits “little spheres of sunshine” you can eat and enjoy to provide mood benefits as well as a boost for the immune system. (If you have a really sweet tooth this info from the HMN twitter party may help).

I encourage you to try and eat organic oranges, tangerines (or “naartjies” as they are called in South Africa) and other citrus fruit. In 2002, at a Great Lakes Regional meeting of the American Chemical Society, it was reported that organically-grown oranges contain up to 30% more vitamin C than those grown conventionally. A 2006 Italian study in the European Journal of Nutrition found that “organic red oranges have a higher phytochemical content (i. e., phenolics, anthocyanins and ascorbic acid)” and antioxidant than conventional oranges.

Here is a recipe for you to try

Orange Chicken Stir-fry

This stir-fry is beautiful, healthy, and delicious, and it’s also easy to make. It’s also simple enough that kids will enjoy it too. I like to start cooking and chop as I go to make life easy. I also pre-boil the chicken pieces so they are easier to chop up and cook quicker. This makes 4 servings and can be served with yummy baked sprouted GABA rice. Ideally all the ingredients are organic but most importantly make sure the peppers are (based on the EWG Dirty Dozen list)

2 T coconut oil for stir-frying

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 thumb-size piece of fresh ginger, sliced thinly

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

3 or 4 carrots, grated or cut into slivers (about a cup)

4 boneless organic or pastured chicken thighs (pre-boiled and chopped)

¼ head of cabbage, finely chopped

1 orange, cut into slices with skin and seeds removed (save the juice and use too)

2 T tamari (wheat-free especially if you are gluten-intolerant)

sea salt and pepper

Heat the coconut oil in a wok and add onion, garlic and ginger, stirring occasionally. While that starts to cook (about 5 minutes), chop the peppers and then add. While that cooks (about 5 minutes), grate the carrots and then add. Keep stirring occasionally. While that all cooks (about 5 minutes) chop the cabbage and add this and the chicken pieces and cook another 5 minutes or so. Add pieces of orange, juice, tamari sauce and spices and cook another 2 minutes. Enjoy!

If orange in your main-course doesn’t appeal to you, serve the orange slices with coconut milk for a delicious dessert, or simply peel and enjoy!