Video on depression...Hold on to hope.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865656534/LDS-Church-releases-new-video-of-Elder-Holland-addressing-depression.html?pg=all
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
New Hope for Autism
A single species of gut bacteria can reverse autism-related social behavior in mice
June 16, 2016 | by Editor
While the number of oxytocinergic cells (green) are reduced in the brains of maternal high-fat diet offspring, treatment with Lactobacillus reuteri increases their number. Credit: Baylor College of Medicine
http://www.neuroscientistnews.com/…/single-species-gut-bact…
June 16, 2016 | by Editor
While the number of oxytocinergic cells (green) are reduced in the brains of maternal high-fat diet offspring, treatment with Lactobacillus reuteri increases their number. Credit: Baylor College of Medicine
http://www.neuroscientistnews.com/…/single-species-gut-bact…
Monday, July 25, 2016
Rebalancing Brain Chemistry with Dr. Walsh’s Nutrients
Dr Judy Tsafrir wrote. I first attended one of Dr. Walsh’s Training for Physician’s in Mastering Brain Chemistry in Chicago in October of 2014. Fifteen months later, I am now participating in a second training in California after having regularly applied his method in my practice. These days I rarely see a patient without recommending simple laboratory testing of blood and urine, and prescribing a protocol of nutrients to treat the conditions that I have learned about from Dr. Walsh, including pyroluria, methylation disorders mediated by histamine, and copper overload.
In my office, I now have had several experiences with patients in tears, because of the relief they feel after years of feeling lousy. In almost 30 years of practicing as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, I have never had a treatment modality to offer that is so regularly helpful. These tearful patients have had numerous dispiriting trials of psychiatric medications which caused them to feel tired and blunted, cognitively dulled, with weight gain and sexual dysfunction. Many have also had years of competent psychological treatment. The patients who experience the most profound shifts are those who not only take the nutrients, but who also make dietary and life style changes, including exercising, minimizing alcohol consumption and attending to their emotional and spiritual lives.
I am developing expertise in weaning patients from psychiatric medications. My current approach is to do the Walsh testing and to develop an individualized nutrient protocol based upon the results to normalize blood chemistry, as well as to recommend dietary and life style changes, including psychospiritual considerations. After a patient has been on the protocols for several months, we begin to wean their medications very conservatively, typically 10 % a month to avoid withdrawal effects. This holistic procedure typically allows for either a complete discontinuation of medication or a significantly reduced dosage.
Conventional psychiatrists are completely unaware of this safe powerful treatment modality, based on Dr. Walsh’s research with 1000’s of patients. They only know about recommending pharmaceuticals or procedures. Some commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals cause irreversible damage, like the widely prescribed atypical anti-psychotics, which have been proven to cause cortical shrinkage. This is not only heart breaking but enraging, given that psychosis is often very responsive to treatment with nutrients, which frequently permits at least a significant reduction in dosage.
These days it is common for patients to have genetic testing and to learn that they have the MTHFR gene. Well meaning but poorly informed practitioners automatically prescribe folate to them. This is a misguided and dangerous practice, without knowing an individual’s biochemistry. Just because you are homozygous for the MTHFR gene, does not mean that you need folate. In fact, in the small group of people who also have low serotonin, it can literally cause harm by inhibiting methylation, worsening psychiatric symptoms and even increasing vulnerability to cancer. Before prescribing folate, histamine levels need to be measured, in order to determine methylation status. There is an inverse relationship between methylation and histamine. If histamine is high, a person will be under methylated, but if they also have low serotonin, they should avoid folate supplements. In cases of overmethylation, folate would be helpful. It is not possible to infer the methylation status from the mere presence of the MTHFR gene. This can only be determined by measuring histamine level and then correlating with psychiatric symptoms.
Similar principles apply to the recommendation for multivitamins. A person who is under methylated and has low serotonin, should not have folate, and a person who is copper overloaded, should not supplement with additional copper, both common ingredients in multivitamins. A multivitamin is an indiscriminate shot gun approach which can be harmful.
So many health recommendations, particularly dietary, could be refined by knowing an individual’s biochemistry. If a low serotonin person is undermethylated, they feel better with a high protein diet which supplies methionine, a key amino acid in the methylation pathway. I had one severely undermethylated patient whose psychosis seems to have been precipitated by a vegetarian diet, which according to Dr. Walsh, is not uncommon. This patient feels so much better with adequate animal protein. Those low serotonin persons who are undermethylated would also be advised to eschew green drinks, which are high in folate, and which can aggravate undermethylation. Conversely, those who are overmethylated should eat lots of leafy greens because of their high folate content. Patients who have copper overload should only eat shellfish very infrequently, as it is extremely high in copper. Other high copper foods include, raw kale, mushrooms, seeds and nuts, beans, dried fruit, avocados, goat cheese and fermented soy.
The testing that Dr. Walsh recommends measures oxidative stress in the body, which is correlated with auto-immune conditions and inflammation. These nutrient protocols often improve an individual’s immune status by providing needed nutrients. Many report improved gut health. Low zinc levels are associated with yeast overgrowth. More psychiatric symptoms result from an overabundance of nutrients, such as too much histamine or copper, rather than a deficiency. The nutrient protocols, rebalance and normalize blood chemistry, which often is an essential key to well being. I am so grateful for this knowledge and believe that psychiatrists need to know about it. We are in desperate need of a revolution in medicine. Nothing short of it will do.
To find a Walsh trained practitioner in your area, here is a link to the Practitioners Page
http://www.judytsafrirmd.com/the-psychiatric-efficacy-of-dr-walshs-nutrients/
In my office, I now have had several experiences with patients in tears, because of the relief they feel after years of feeling lousy. In almost 30 years of practicing as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, I have never had a treatment modality to offer that is so regularly helpful. These tearful patients have had numerous dispiriting trials of psychiatric medications which caused them to feel tired and blunted, cognitively dulled, with weight gain and sexual dysfunction. Many have also had years of competent psychological treatment. The patients who experience the most profound shifts are those who not only take the nutrients, but who also make dietary and life style changes, including exercising, minimizing alcohol consumption and attending to their emotional and spiritual lives.
I am developing expertise in weaning patients from psychiatric medications. My current approach is to do the Walsh testing and to develop an individualized nutrient protocol based upon the results to normalize blood chemistry, as well as to recommend dietary and life style changes, including psychospiritual considerations. After a patient has been on the protocols for several months, we begin to wean their medications very conservatively, typically 10 % a month to avoid withdrawal effects. This holistic procedure typically allows for either a complete discontinuation of medication or a significantly reduced dosage.
Conventional psychiatrists are completely unaware of this safe powerful treatment modality, based on Dr. Walsh’s research with 1000’s of patients. They only know about recommending pharmaceuticals or procedures. Some commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals cause irreversible damage, like the widely prescribed atypical anti-psychotics, which have been proven to cause cortical shrinkage. This is not only heart breaking but enraging, given that psychosis is often very responsive to treatment with nutrients, which frequently permits at least a significant reduction in dosage.
These days it is common for patients to have genetic testing and to learn that they have the MTHFR gene. Well meaning but poorly informed practitioners automatically prescribe folate to them. This is a misguided and dangerous practice, without knowing an individual’s biochemistry. Just because you are homozygous for the MTHFR gene, does not mean that you need folate. In fact, in the small group of people who also have low serotonin, it can literally cause harm by inhibiting methylation, worsening psychiatric symptoms and even increasing vulnerability to cancer. Before prescribing folate, histamine levels need to be measured, in order to determine methylation status. There is an inverse relationship between methylation and histamine. If histamine is high, a person will be under methylated, but if they also have low serotonin, they should avoid folate supplements. In cases of overmethylation, folate would be helpful. It is not possible to infer the methylation status from the mere presence of the MTHFR gene. This can only be determined by measuring histamine level and then correlating with psychiatric symptoms.
Similar principles apply to the recommendation for multivitamins. A person who is under methylated and has low serotonin, should not have folate, and a person who is copper overloaded, should not supplement with additional copper, both common ingredients in multivitamins. A multivitamin is an indiscriminate shot gun approach which can be harmful.
So many health recommendations, particularly dietary, could be refined by knowing an individual’s biochemistry. If a low serotonin person is undermethylated, they feel better with a high protein diet which supplies methionine, a key amino acid in the methylation pathway. I had one severely undermethylated patient whose psychosis seems to have been precipitated by a vegetarian diet, which according to Dr. Walsh, is not uncommon. This patient feels so much better with adequate animal protein. Those low serotonin persons who are undermethylated would also be advised to eschew green drinks, which are high in folate, and which can aggravate undermethylation. Conversely, those who are overmethylated should eat lots of leafy greens because of their high folate content. Patients who have copper overload should only eat shellfish very infrequently, as it is extremely high in copper. Other high copper foods include, raw kale, mushrooms, seeds and nuts, beans, dried fruit, avocados, goat cheese and fermented soy.
The testing that Dr. Walsh recommends measures oxidative stress in the body, which is correlated with auto-immune conditions and inflammation. These nutrient protocols often improve an individual’s immune status by providing needed nutrients. Many report improved gut health. Low zinc levels are associated with yeast overgrowth. More psychiatric symptoms result from an overabundance of nutrients, such as too much histamine or copper, rather than a deficiency. The nutrient protocols, rebalance and normalize blood chemistry, which often is an essential key to well being. I am so grateful for this knowledge and believe that psychiatrists need to know about it. We are in desperate need of a revolution in medicine. Nothing short of it will do.
To find a Walsh trained practitioner in your area, here is a link to the Practitioners Page
Nutrient Power: Heal Your Biochemistry and Heal Your Brain
by William J. Walsh, PhD, FACN
http://www.judytsafrirmd.com/the-psychiatric-efficacy-of-dr-walshs-nutrients/
Best Home genetic Testing
What is the best at home genetic testing you have found? So far I'm only finding 23&me.
Ans. 23andme. It's still the most complete test around and the best bang for your buck.. They may only report on a limited number of things, but that's why people upload their genetic data to one of the many interpretation sites like Livewello, so they can get better info off the raw data..
https://www.facebook.com/groups/230824260340671/?multi_permalinks=973413146081775¬if_t=group_highlights
Ans. 23andme. It's still the most complete test around and the best bang for your buck.. They may only report on a limited number of things, but that's why people upload their genetic data to one of the many interpretation sites like Livewello, so they can get better info off the raw data..
https://www.facebook.com/groups/230824260340671/?multi_permalinks=973413146081775¬if_t=group_highlights
The Gut Brain Connection
The Gut-Brain Connection
From a proactive perspective, it's important to realize that you have the potential to take control over your health, including your mental or psychiatric health.
Psychiatric conditions such as OCD are primarily believed to be the result of chemical dysfunction in your brain, or in some cases hereditary and therefore out of your control. Many fail to realize that a) your lifestyle can override genetic predispositions, and b) your lifestyle can be a m...ajor underlying cause of that chemical imbalance or dysfunction.
So, there's plenty of reason to take a closer look at lifestyle factors such as diet and toxic exposures—whether you want to prevent a health condition, or treat it.
Some may object and say that a child hasn't had enough time to develop bad lifestyle habits, but when it comes to health problems related to the brain, the GUT is typically involved, and children are now increasingly BORN with damaged gut flora—courtesy of less than ideal lifestyle choices by the child's mother...
In a very real sense, you have two brains: one inside your skull and one in your gut.
While they may seem very different, these two organs are actually created out of the same type of tissue. During fetal development, one part turns into your central nervous system while the other develops into your enteric nervous system.
Your vagus nerve—the tenth cranial nerve that runs from your brain stem down to your abdomen—connects these two organs together. Your gut actually produces more of the neurotransmitter serotonin—thought to play an important role in OCD, in addition to having a beneficial influence on your mood in general—than your brain does, so optimizing your gut flora may indeed have tremendous benefit for your psychological health. And there's plenty of evidence to suggest that this needs to begin from birth, or even, ideally, before birth.
Dr. Mercola recommends probiotics to help the gut.
From a proactive perspective, it's important to realize that you have the potential to take control over your health, including your mental or psychiatric health.
Psychiatric conditions such as OCD are primarily believed to be the result of chemical dysfunction in your brain, or in some cases hereditary and therefore out of your control. Many fail to realize that a) your lifestyle can override genetic predispositions, and b) your lifestyle can be a m...ajor underlying cause of that chemical imbalance or dysfunction.
So, there's plenty of reason to take a closer look at lifestyle factors such as diet and toxic exposures—whether you want to prevent a health condition, or treat it.
Some may object and say that a child hasn't had enough time to develop bad lifestyle habits, but when it comes to health problems related to the brain, the GUT is typically involved, and children are now increasingly BORN with damaged gut flora—courtesy of less than ideal lifestyle choices by the child's mother...
In a very real sense, you have two brains: one inside your skull and one in your gut.
While they may seem very different, these two organs are actually created out of the same type of tissue. During fetal development, one part turns into your central nervous system while the other develops into your enteric nervous system.
Your vagus nerve—the tenth cranial nerve that runs from your brain stem down to your abdomen—connects these two organs together. Your gut actually produces more of the neurotransmitter serotonin—thought to play an important role in OCD, in addition to having a beneficial influence on your mood in general—than your brain does, so optimizing your gut flora may indeed have tremendous benefit for your psychological health. And there's plenty of evidence to suggest that this needs to begin from birth, or even, ideally, before birth.
Dr. Mercola recommends probiotics to help the gut.
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride has successfully demonstrated the power and effectiveness of this theory. In her Cambridge, England clinic, she treats children and adults with a range of conditions, including autism, neurological disorders, psychiatric disorders, immune disorders, and digestive problems using the GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) Nutritional Program, which she developed.
The health of the gut determines the health of the body, including depression.
The health of the gut determines the health of the body. This is a well-known fact. There are roughly 100 trillion cells inside our bodies, yet the there about 10x as many cells of bacteria living on our bodies. This mass of bacteria lives in harmony with us (most of the time) and helps make sure our immune system is functioning and we are able to digest our food. Without these bacteria in our gut and on our skin, we wouldn’t survive long.
That is all good news but what happens when these bacteria become imbalanced? What are the implications to our health when we have an overgrowth of bacteria in the gut? As we will see, when the small intestine is overwhelmed with bacteria (diagnosed as Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth – SIBO) it can have major impacts on our methylation cycle…it can make methylation problems much worse!
As a quick reminder, those of us with MTHFR, PEMT, MTR, MTRR, etc. have defects in how well we recycle homocysteine and how well we convert folic acid into folate. Many of you are aware of Dr. Lynch and his concept that folic acid is a toxin for those with MTHFR. While there is still some debate about this issue, Dr. Lynch is right on when he points out that having too much folic acid can impair the methylation cycle. Here is how it works:
In other words, until the gut infection is properly taken care of, the methylation cycle is at the mercy of what is happening in the gut. The same is true of important vitamins like choline, B12, vitamin D, protein, etc…the gut imbalance makes it very difficult to absorb these vitamins. Side effects from vitamins are most commonly due to an untreated gut problem.
When someone has SIBO, or an overgrowth of “non-pathogenic” (aka normal species of gut flora) bacteria in the small intestine, the bacterial infection can produce EXCESS AMOUNTS OF FOLIC ACID! Too many bacteria in your gut, can lead to way too much folic acid being released and absorbed. This can lead to high blood levels of folic acid, which as Dr. Lynch and other researchers have shown, can impair the methylation cycle in people with MTHFR and other genes. What I have just discovered is that one important and often-overlooked source of this increased, UNMETABOLIZED Folic Acid is a raging Gut Infection!
This gut infection, aka SIBO, is an infection made up of non-infectious bacteria. Meaning, its not an infection the traditional sense, its an overgrowth of something that should normally be there, only exists in way too high of a quantity. This is a problem since the bacteria down there can produce folic acid while at the same time causing all kinds of other digestive issues. more at
http://www.beyondmthfr.com/mthfr-and-sibo/
That is all good news but what happens when these bacteria become imbalanced? What are the implications to our health when we have an overgrowth of bacteria in the gut? As we will see, when the small intestine is overwhelmed with bacteria (diagnosed as Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth – SIBO) it can have major impacts on our methylation cycle…it can make methylation problems much worse!
As a quick reminder, those of us with MTHFR, PEMT, MTR, MTRR, etc. have defects in how well we recycle homocysteine and how well we convert folic acid into folate. Many of you are aware of Dr. Lynch and his concept that folic acid is a toxin for those with MTHFR. While there is still some debate about this issue, Dr. Lynch is right on when he points out that having too much folic acid can impair the methylation cycle. Here is how it works:
1) Folic acid comes from fortified food AND from gut bacteria. Yes, you heard that right…folic acid is a NATURAL by product of the metabolism of bacteria that live in our intestines, mainly the colon. Every person on earth gets some folic acid into their bodies from the action of our gut bacteria.
We get in trouble when the bacteria in our colon grows and moves into the small intestine. Normally only a small amount of bacteria is found in the small intestine, but when the digestive system becomes imbalanced the population of bacteria in the small intestine can increase, creating a condition of SIBO.
2) Folic acid and folate both enter the cell through the same receptor. If there is an excess of folic acid, it is harder for the folate to get into the cell. The more folic acid you have inside your blood stream, the less often folate will get to the receptor. In other words, there is competition between folic acid and folate, and when folic acid is elevated, it wins the competition to enter the cell.
3) In a person WITHOUT MTHFR issues, this poses zero problems since folic acid is rapidly converted to folate in their methylation cycle. For the rest of us however excess folic acid makes it harder for us to create methyl donors. Since MTHFR is often slowed down along with MTR, MTRR, BHMT and other SNPs, having high doses of folic acid may slow down the methylation cycle. This is why folic acid in high amounts can be a problem.
There is new research that shows that the bacteria involved with SIBO actually poop out large amounts of folic acid (yes the dreaded folic acid!) and we absorb that folic acid into our bodies. Many individuals with MTHFR C677T/A1298C, MTR, BHMT, etc. may have symptoms of under- or overmethylation due solely to the excess folic acid from improper gut bacteria and digestion. An imbalance of the gut bacteria, namely in the small intestine, is a major reason WHY an individual has elevated unmetatoblized folic acid. If we are going to balance methylation pathways, we need to control how much folic acid gets into the system. – we have to control the gut!In other words, until the gut infection is properly taken care of, the methylation cycle is at the mercy of what is happening in the gut. The same is true of important vitamins like choline, B12, vitamin D, protein, etc…the gut imbalance makes it very difficult to absorb these vitamins. Side effects from vitamins are most commonly due to an untreated gut problem.
When someone has SIBO, or an overgrowth of “non-pathogenic” (aka normal species of gut flora) bacteria in the small intestine, the bacterial infection can produce EXCESS AMOUNTS OF FOLIC ACID! Too many bacteria in your gut, can lead to way too much folic acid being released and absorbed. This can lead to high blood levels of folic acid, which as Dr. Lynch and other researchers have shown, can impair the methylation cycle in people with MTHFR and other genes. What I have just discovered is that one important and often-overlooked source of this increased, UNMETABOLIZED Folic Acid is a raging Gut Infection!
This gut infection, aka SIBO, is an infection made up of non-infectious bacteria. Meaning, its not an infection the traditional sense, its an overgrowth of something that should normally be there, only exists in way too high of a quantity. This is a problem since the bacteria down there can produce folic acid while at the same time causing all kinds of other digestive issues. more at
http://www.beyondmthfr.com/mthfr-and-sibo/
Are you drinking enough water.
Lack of water is the number one trigger of daytime fatigue. . A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memorey, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen. Filtered or distilled water is better than tap
Even mild dehydration will slow down a person's metabolism as much as three percent. Drink your water. One glass of water shuts down might hunges for 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study
Even mild dehydration will slow down a person's metabolism as much as three percent. Drink your water. One glass of water shuts down might hunges for 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study
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