HMN

HMN twitter Food Mood party: more on pyroluria and zinc

January 25, 2012 By Trudy Scott Leave a Comment

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 10^th The Holistic Moms Network invited me to answer questions at their January 10^th 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

HMN twitter Food Mood party: more on sugar and cravings

January 20, 2012 By Trudy Scott 10 Comments

honey sweet tooth sugar addiction

Are you looking for the next “healthy” sweetener and have a sweet tooth? If yes, then read on.

On January 10^th The Holistic Moms Network invited me to answer questions at their January 10^th 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’m doing this post to add to it and to clarify a few things…

I think this is a great statement Mira made: “The chat started with a discussion of whether or not folks noticed if there were certain foods that made them anxious or affected their mood. Answers were fairly consistent across the board with responses including sugar, caffeine, gluten, McDonalds, and processed food.” I love that gluten was a hot topic and want to add the possible issue with GMO grains.

But what I’d really like to address the whole sugar discussion. With regards to this statement on Mira’s blog: “Sugar was by far the biggest offender with many participants discussing how difficult it can be to break the sugar habit” and this recommendation which didn’t actually come from me 🙂 “choose lower process sweeteners such as sucanat, evaporated cane juice crystals, honey, molasses, maple syrup”. I believe that if you replace white sugar with equal amounts of any of the above then it’s an issue. Ideally, a moderate amount of fresh fruit should satisfy your desire for something sweet and you shouldn’t have a sweet tooth. And you should not be seeking out the next “healthy” sweetener that comes on the market! If you do, it’s a message that you need to address your diet, nutrient deficiencies, imbalanced brain chemistry or even an addiction, or candida. This may apply whether you’re craving “healthy” sweeteners, stevia or xylitol sugar, or foods with artificial sweeteners. I asked this question “why do u eat sugar – comfort, calming, energy?” and these were some of the responses: “all of the above” and “I’d need to lose both arms to stop myself from eating sugar”. It really doesn’t have to be this way! You can quit and not have to use willpower and not feel deprived!

We didn’t have time to get completely into the individual amino acids (a future Twitter party ??) but they are incredible for stopping cravings in their tracks and improving mood. For example if you eat sugary food to calm down perhaps its low GABA and you may benefit from GABA supplements. Here is a Low GABA questionnaire.

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!

Food and Mood at Holistic Moms Network Twitter party

January 8, 2012 By Trudy Scott 3 Comments

Join me for a virtual Q and A session on Food & Mood!

Tuesday January 10^th 7pm PST / 10 EST

I’ll be answering all your Food & Mood questions on twitter – for one whole hour. Join us and learn more about The Antianxiety Food Solution, the mood-food connection and the Holistic Moms Network.

Do you wonder why zinc is so important and what depletes our zinc levels? And the best food source of zinc? What about the importance of healthy fats and proteins? And the gluten-mood connection? Do you remember your dreams and do you know what brain nutrient helps both your dream recall and your anxiety? If you’re super-anxious are eating loads of nuts a good thing or a bad thing?

Go here to make it easy, follow along, ask your questions and comment http://tweetchat.com/room/holisticmoms

My twitter handle is @everywomanovr29 and Holistic Moms Network is @HolisticMomsNet

The hashtag is #holisticmoms (this will find all related tweets)

There will be some fun giveways! Hope you can join us!

Thanks to The Holistic Moms Network for hosting me. They have a great explanation about Twitter parties work and how to use tweetdeck.

About The Holistic Moms Network “The Holistic Moms Network is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization connecting parents who are interested in holistic health and green living. We encourage moms to trust their instincts, parent from the heart, use their innate sense of what is best for their children, live in balance with the Earth, and learn about the pros and cons of all healthcare and parenting options.

Living healthy and living green is not an endpoint, but an ongoing journey. No matter where you are on your parenting or holistic living journey, you are welcome at HMN! We are a diverse and open-minded community, a place where your choices are respected and where you can learn and become informed! Many of us are new to this journey, others more experienced. Wherever you are, you can benefit from the wisdom, support, and resources that Holistic Moms have to offer!”

[Please note this USA time, click this world time zone converter and use US/Pacific to find your date/time and join in from wherever you are, be it Australia, South Africa, Sweden, Malaysia or anywhere else – be sure to let us know where you are tweeting from!]

If you can’t make it use the hashtag #holisticmoms later to find the tweets. Of course, much of what we discuss about anxiety and mood and food (and so much more) is covered in much detail 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