- Module 2: How to Support a Healthy Gut with Probiotics and Fermented Foods & Discover Natural Solutions for Anxiety and Depression:
- My Goal at the end of the 9-week Natural Health Retreat (end of April, 2021):
- To stop having to rely on so many natural health supplementation in order to restore my gut’s natural microbiome.
- To be able to rely more on healthy foods, and my body’s own natural ability to produce the healthy microbiome.
- It’s important to take a holistic approach to treating mental health, not only looking at what is going on in the rest of the body, especially in the gut, when it comes to treating mental health, but also taking into consideration that there could be a myriad and even combination of drivers that differ from individuals to individual.
- This week, we will be focusing on:
- Restoring healthy chemical balance in the brain by repopulating the microbiome with probiotics and fermented foods.
- Anxiety and Depression – natural remedies, and amino acid therapy.
- 1. Probiotics:
- Many of the neurotransmitters that we rely on to feel good are actually produced in the gut, not the brain. As such, a healthy gut is vital for a balanced mind.
- Microbes in the digestive tract produce significant amounts of serotonin, GABA, norepinephrine, dopamine, acetylcholine and melatonin, along with countless other chemicals that impact our moods and cognition.
- One proven way to improve mental health is to fortify the microbiome with probiotic supplements.
- Probiotic supplementation benefits people who suffer from anxiety and depression, regardless of the strain that is administrated.
- When choosing a probiotic, look for the following
- has been tested in clinical trials
- has been third-part tested
- CFU (Colony-Forming Units) should be in the billions
- Diversity is the goal of a healthy microbiome
- Avoid binders or fillers – lactose, cornstarch
- Check the expiration date
- 2. Fermented Foods:
- When shopping for store-bought ferments:
- No shelf-stable (non-refrigerated) or pasteurized
- Actually fermented, not just marinated in vinegar
- e.g. sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, pickles, coconut kefir, and kombucha
- 3. Natural Remedies for Anxiety:
- Factors that may contribute to anxiety – ongoing stressful circumstances, thyroid dysfunction, nutrient deficiencies, substance abuse and addictions, trauma and having low self-esteem, food allergies, genetic predisposition, unhealthy lifestyle choices, hormonal imbalances, thyroid dysfunction, and even side effects of medications.
- Anxiolytic herbs enhancing the calming influence of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a naturally occurring amino acid that helps regulate the fear response.
- Herbs: kava, valerian, passionflower, lemon balm, skullcap, chamomile, lavender, oats, and ashwagandha (especially effective for stress-induced nervous exhaustion, it is an adaptogen).
- Randomized controlled trials have shown that exercise, relaxation training and the plant kava are the most effective complementary treatment options for generalized anxiety.
- Adaptogens are plants that have the ability to help us adapt and adjust to various physical, chemical, environmental and biological stressors we are exposed to on a daily basis. They also help to increase physical performance, combat fatigue and enhance mental function and mood.
- Nutritional supplements: magnesium, inositol, and vitamin B-complex.
- The POSE strategy for coping with anxiety:
- P: Pause
- O: Observe
- S: Stay and Soothe – don’t run away, and take deep breaths
- E: Embrace
- 4. Natural Remedies for Depression:
- Factors that may contribute to depression – stressful life events, endocrine abnormalities such as thyroid imbalances, drug and alcohol use, chronic illness, food allergies, chronic stress, genetic predisposition, cancer and side effects of medication.
- Herbs: St John’s Wort, saffron, turmeric, mimosa tree bark, cannabidiol (CBD oil)
- CBD does not contain THC which is the psychoactive component of marijuana. Therefore, CBD has the calming effect but not the psychoactive effects.
- Nutritional supplements: SAMe, sunlight, and omega-3 fatty acids.
- When the retina is exposed to sunlight, it triggers the release of serotonin.
- 5. Amino Acid Therapy for Anxiety and Depression:
- Amino acids: GABA, 5-HTP, L-theanine, and tryptophan.
- Supplementation with GABA may be beneficial as a natural anxiolytic and antidepressant with the ability to induce relaxation and restful sleep.
- 5-Hydroxytrytophan (5-HTP) is a naturally occurring amino acid and is a precursor to the neurotransmitter, serotonin, which plays a central role in depression.
- L-theanine is a naturally occurring amino acid, typically found in green tea.
- Whilst supplementation can be helpful, the best way to increase serotonin is through your food through its precursor, tryptophan.
- Many different protein-containing foods are good sources of tryptophan.
- Plant-based sources include: soybeans and tofu, leafy greens, broccoli, almonds, walnuts, mushrooms, bananas, and oats.
- Research shows that eating carbohydrate foods along with foods high in tryptophan can increase its ability to be absorbed.
- 6. Action Points for Week 2:
- a. Increase probiotics and prebiotics in your diet by incorporating fermented foods into a variety of meals.
- b. Increase your exposure to sunlight as it is essential for mental health.
- c. Increase your dietary intake of tryptophan to increase serotonin.
- 7. Notes from Episode 2:
- You have a brain in your gut called the enteric nervous system.
- The gut microbiome produces basically all of the neurotransmitters and all of the hormones that the rest of our endocrine system produces.
- Most gut-based bacteria are anaerobic.
- Spore-based probiotics can pass through the gastric acid in your stomach. They can produce antimicrobials to bring down the growth of pathogenic bacteria, support the growth of beneficial bacterial (including those keystone strains), and seal up the tight junctions within the guy (to prevent leaky-gut syndrome).
- The most important types of spore-based probiotics are bacillus endospores, e.g. bacillus subtillis, bacillus coagulans, and bacillus indicus.
- Fermented foods are a superfood. There’s a number of them. There can be kimchi, natto, sauerkraut, and there are many others, even kefir.
- These foods are things that we should be having as a cornerstone in our diet because they provide a lot of the beneficial bacteria.
- A lot of these bacteria have massive roles with optimizing different neurotransmitters in our body and different levels of mood and even, we’ve seen in some of the literature, they can support anxiety and depression.
- Adaptogenic herbs: ashwagandha, Rhodiola Rosea, Schisandra, Korean ginseng, and Siberian ginseng.
- You can take a few drops of Bach flower essences under the tongue just throughout the day. It provides a nice and subtle intervention to help take some of the depression away slightly throughout the day, until we get that gut healed, the adrenals resolve, the hormonal imbalances that may be going on.
- 8. Q&A Session:
- Have a good mindset – stop the victim mentality. Be empowered. Believe that you can heal.
- Deal with your stress – gratitude, affirmations.
- Top 2 problematic food groups: wheat (gluten) and diary – cut that out.
- Remove inflammatory foods – sugar, artificial sweeteners, alcohol.
- Eat organic foods as much as possible.
- Have a Mind, Body, Spirit Makeover.
- You have the power to be your own healer.
- It will feel uncomfortable and strange in the beginning. Push yourself through that. Start with little steps. e.g. Wk1 – take out gluten. Wk2 – take out diary. Wk3 – cleanse the gut. Wk 4 – add digestive enzymes. Wk 5 – take probiotics. Stack them week by week.
- If you have mental health issues, allergies, skin issues, autoimmune disease – you have leaky gut.
- Add amino acids – L-glutamine, and aloe vera, etc.
- Are you getting both insoluble and soluble fiber?
- Conquer sugar cravings, and refined carbohydrates.
- Consider doing a food sensitivity test – functional medicine health practitioner.
- There is no perfect test for leaky gut syndrome. Lactulose-mannitol test is a common test being used.
- Zonulin controls the permeability of your gut.
- If you have SIBO, then you can have leaky gut without raised zonulin levels, or permeability of the tight junctions.
- How long does it take leaky gut syndrome? Anywhere between 3 months, 6 months, to a year. If you take antibiotics, or are under a lot of stress, it will set you back as well. Incorporate breathing, yoga, vagal nerve activation (parasympathetic nervous system) – sing, gargle, or ohm.
- Traumatic brain injury causes immediate dysfunction of the vagal nerve, which immediately causes increased gut permeability.
- If you’re just starting to heal your gut, then start with only cooked vegetables, no raw vegetables.
- You might be able to tolerate a certain amount of healthy food, e.g. avocado. There can also be threshold issues. You may need to reduce the amount that you eat. Garlic and onions are the biggest triggers for people with stomach issues – gas producing.
- You need hydrochloric acid in your stomach in order to break down proteins into amino acids.
- Drink water in between meals, not during a meal as it will dilute your stomach acid. If you find that you need water to bring your food down, then you’re eating too fast.
- Your gut is your inner skin. If you want your outer skin to look beautiful, then you need to take care of your inner skin, which is your gut lining.
- Intermittent fasting: gives your digestive system a break to allow time for your gut to repair itself. It is a very key important part for gut healing.
- The simplest way is to do a 12 hour fast until when you finish dinner, until the next morning, e.g. from 8pm through 8am. Make sure you have a good combination of protein, carbohydrates and healthy fat so that you don’t get hungry during the 12 hour fast. As a bridge, drink a relaxing herbal tea, or even add some raw honey in the tea to help you get through the night initially.
- Grazing throughout the day is not necessarily good for your gut. Your gut has a circadian rhythm that is determined my your sleep, and by when you eat. Try to have a regular eating routine. It is important to fast in between meals, so that your insulin can reset itself. Don’t graze all day long.
- Considerations for women and intermittent fasting (especially women going through menopause) – be a bit more gentler with your body. Your stress levels and cortisol levels can increase if you fast for too long. It may be important to keep your blood sugar levels steady, and not add more stress to the body.
- A lot of people who has Lyme disease or tick-borne fever are not aware of being bitten by a tick previously.
- There is a strong correlation between Seasonal Affective Disorder and an insufficient vitamin D level.
- Spore-based probiotics are very effective for patients with SIBO.
2 thoughts on “Week 2 – A New Paradigm For Mental Health: Why Drugs Don’t Always Work & Solutions To Start Feeling Better Today”
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The immune system is strengthened by probiotics, and those taking them often report higher energy levels and greater well-being. Those with IBS find that their digestive systems respond to probiotic treatments with increased hunger sensations and less gas.
Yes, that is what I have learned as well. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!