Month: March 2021

Week 2 – A New Paradigm For Mental Health: Why Drugs Don’t Always Work & Solutions To Start Feeling Better Today

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  • 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.

Servant of Peace

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I was born into a life filled with trauma. My parents are survivors of war. My siblings and I went through a lot of traumatic events. I was in a long-term abusive relationship with a man who experienced a lot of trauma. I also married a man who is a trauma survivor. We all react differently to trauma. Perhaps, some ways better than others. But at the end of the day, we are all suffering…

I have been feeling unfulfilled especially in the past few years, not knowing my purpose in life. Why am I here on this earth? What is my true calling in life?

I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe that I went through so much pain and suffering in my life so that I will be able to feel the pain and suffering of others, and share my experiences and resources with them, so that we can all help each other heal.

I feel that this is my true calling in life; to provide other trauma survivors resources to help heal ourselves, so that we can all live a fulfilled, healthy and happy life. A purposeful life that is filled with love, joy, and laughter.

I want to develop more compassion, more sympathy, and more empathy towards others. I want to become more accepting of other people’s point of view. I want to learn to love and accept others as they are, just as I am also learning to love and accept myself, as I am.

Servant of Peace

~ Snatam Kaur

Aad Sach, Jugaad Sach
(True in the beginning, True thoughout the ages)

Haibhay Sach, Nanak Hosee Bhay Sach
(True here and now, O Nanak, God shall forever be True)

Aad Sach, Jugaad Sach
(True in the beginning, True thoughout the ages)

Haibhay Sach, Nanak Hosee Bhay Sach
(True here and now, O Nanak, God shall forever be True)

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

Oh Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
It is in dying that we are born into eternal life.

FREE ‘Better Brain Summit’

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HealthMeans will be hosting the FREE ‘Better Brain Summit‘ from March 29th to April 4th, 2021. I am especially interested in listening to Michael Breus’ talk on ‘How to get deeper, more restful sleep’ on March 30th, 2021.

Please click on my affiliate link below to register for FREE, and to also get your FREE eBook on ‘Improve Your Brain Health’ – strategies and tips to protect and/or improve your brain health and optimize its performance!

Thank you! 😀

Improve Your Brain Health

Two Simple Movements for a Strong and Healthy Back – Dr. Ben Kim

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Two Simple Movements for a Strong and Healthy Back – Dr. Ben Kim

While developing and maintaining good core strength is extremely helpful to protecting the spine and surrounding tissues against injury, it’s equally important to work at improving usable strength of the trunk toward its end ranges.

When we have good control of our spine throughout its full range of motion, we are less susceptible to injuring the ligaments, tendons, and muscles that control spinal movement during everyday activities.

This is especially true of the tissues involved when we rotate our trunk, as the discs and ligaments between our vertebrae and the muscles that control spinal range of motion are more susceptible to being sprained and strained when they are under more tensile load during active and passive spinal rotation.

Source(s): https://drbenkim.com/essential-healthy-back-rotation.htm

Candle in the Wind

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“Our lives are like a candle in the wind” – Carl Sandburg

I had a heartfelt talk with my mom this morning. It has only been a few days since we last spoke, yet, she sounded depressed and was beating herself up over how she raised us 3 kids. This is mainly because of my sister’s recalcitrant illness…

Mom said that she read an article a few days ago saying that if the parents aren’t happy, then they pass the sadness down to their children. My mom also had a traumatic upbringing, and she apologized to me for not laughing enough with us when we were growing up.

Lately, we had been discussing all the factors that may have lead to my sister’s illness, starting from when she was in my mother’s womb. I expressed to her as to what I thought may have been the contributing factors leading to my sister’s illness, and she agreed with me wholeheartedly.

We had a picture-perfect family that even my dad’s colleagues were envious of. This was all shattered when my sister became ill around 32 years ago. My brother blamed my parents for my sister’s illness and he started rebelling towards them. I was still in high school when my sister got ill, and I started feeling sick all over my body. I still remember vividly typing up 6 pages of all the physical symptoms that I was experiencing and I handed that to the doctor. The doctor glanced at it for less than a minute, and then told my mom that I need to get counseling. No prescription medication, nothing, just counseling…

Mom asked me this morning to reiterate the factors causing my sister’s illness. My brother still blames my parents up to this day for not raising us properly and thus causing my sister to become ill. I told mom previously that both she and dad suffer from PTSD but I believe that they did the best they could to raise us, given their circumstances.

I finally found the courage this morning to tell mom that I also have PTSD. Mom thought that my medical school boyfriend physically assaulted me only once. She did not know that it was on an ongoing basis, especially when he was drunk. Mom asked me this morning if that one time of his physical violence was what caused me to have PTSD?

I started panicking and almost wanted to end the phone call, but I could sense that mom wanted to make amends to us and make peace with herself. I also remember that during one of the mind-body webinars I was listening to regarding PTSD, the speaker said that the only way to heal your trauma is by moving through the traumatic event, not by running away from it.

I finally told mom that it was on an ongoing basis. I didn’t even mention to her that the boyfriend which I considered to be my soulmate also assaulted me; both physically and sexually. I guess when there is too much passion between two lovers, their conflicts can become very explosive as well. He assaulted me physically twice. The third time when he was starting to assault me, I stopped struggling and I finally found the strength to say to him, “Hit me, and then afterwards, I’ll call the cops”. He looked at me in shock and stopped. He never physically assaulted me again, until the sexual assault when we were on a break… Mom is already so heartbroken and exhausted with my sister’s illness, so I don’t know if she can handle knowing more of what I’ve been through all these years.

I feel so much pain for my mom’s suffering. I don’t think there can be anything more painful than watching your child suffer, and not being able to do anything about it. That’s the main reason as to why I want to go back to Taiwan one day to take care of my sister, besides the fact that I love my sister very much. Mom has said repeatedly throughout the years that she will not be able to die in peace because of my sister’s illness. I feel that if I can stay happy and healthy, and take care of my sister, then when the day finally comes for my mom to depart from this world, she will be able to leave in peace, knowing that I will be there for my sister.

I told mom in a prior conversation that she is my best friend and I hope that she can live to a ripe old age, because when she finally departs from this world, I will have no one left to have these heartfelt conversations with. I will feel so alone…

10 Brain Health MUSTS for A Sharper Mind, Increased Productivity, and Maximum Focus

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The main reasons causing Alzheimer’s and dementia are your diet and lifestyle choices, and NOT genetics, as it was erroneous believed to be so in the past.

What this means is that if you eat a healthy diet and live a healthy lifestyle, then you can drastically reduce your risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease and dementia later on in life.

4 Top Brain Myths:

  1. Your risk of getting Alzheimer’s – or other dementias – is mostly driven by your genetics or your luck.
  2. Old age means unavoidable cognitive decline.
  3. Your brain stops growing after a certain age.
  4. Will power and motivation can drive lasting habit change – instead, set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) goals.

10 Brain Breakthroughs:

  1. Adopt the optimal dietary pattern.
  2. Forge cross-brain connections.
  3. Your brain loves complexity.
  4. Take brisk walks.
  5. Use these 3 exercise strategies – aerobics, strength training, and increase the frequency (25-30 minutes/day).
  6. Replace bad stress with good stress.
  7. Specific foods your brain loves – blueberries, leafy green vegetables, and coffee (in moderation).
  8. Take your brain to the spa – by getting well-rested sleep every night.
  9. Establish healthy routines – establish a healthy sleep routine to optimize your body’s circadian rhythm.
  10. Use SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

Source(s): https://news.llu.edu/patient-care/prevention-new-treatment-for-alzheimer-s-disease

Source(s): https://brain.foodrevolution.org/masterclass/watch/

Week 1 – Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, & Better Solutions for Anxiety & Depression

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  • Module 1: Heal Your Gut to Overcome Anxiety and Depression
  • Common gut problems can cause and perpetuate mood disorders.
  • By healing the gut, we can support mental balance and relieve the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
  • When you affect the gut, you will affect the brain. When you affect the brain, you will affect the gut. You cannot separate the two.
  • The way we start to get brain health is actually by taking care of our gut and optimizing that.
  • The gut and the brain are connected through a multitude of ways. The first one is through the neurological system, and that neurological system is directly connected to the brain to the Vagus nerve.
  • The second way is through the immunological system.
  • There is also a lymphatic system that is present in your brain that was actually recently discovered.
  • The third way is through your normal circulatory system.
  • 90% to 95% of serotonin is not produced in the brain. It is produced in the gut. 50% of dopamine is produced in the gut.
  • Some of the consequences that we’ve seen that are associated with dysbiosis, or a leaky gut, are anxiety, depression, PTSD, autism, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, just to name a few.
  • We need a healthy gut to have a healthy brain – and we can’t have a healthy gut without a healthy microbiome.
  • The microbiome is the collection of micro-organisms, bacteria, fungi, archaea, viruses, even potentially parasites.
  • The common gut problems that lead to chronic disease, emotional imbalance, and cognitive dysfunction are loss of microbial diversity, loss of keystone strains, and leaky gut.
  • Dysbiosis (leaky gut) means that there is a loss of balance within the gut microbes.
  • The 5 R’s to heal a leaky gut:
  • Remove – remove toxic food from your diet – processed food, chemicals, gluten, dairy, alcohol, and certain other foods that tend to be inflammatory – do an elimination diet.
  • Repair – give nutrients like glutamine or coating agents like aloe or marshmallow root to help calm and soothe and nourish the gut lining cells.
  • Replace – via digestive enzymes, or even a little stomach acid to help heal the leaky gut.
  • Repopulate – via probiotics.
  • Restore the spirit – via mood, emotions and stress control.
  • Increase the diversity in your microbiome.
  • Three foundational things that can lead to chronic illness and especially emotional and cognitive dysfunctions: loss of diversity within the microbiome, the the loss of keystone strains (critical microorganisms essential for health) and increased permeability in the guy (leaky gut/dysbiosis).
  • Healing leaky gut requires a multipronged approach that includes treating the root cause(s) of dysfunction, restoring the microbiome, and repairing the gut lining.
  • Treating the root cause(s): food sensitivities (gluten and gliadin from wheat, genetically modified (GMO) foods, unsprouted grains, caffeine, dairy, sugar, alcohol), toxins (environmental), stress, medications, hormonal imbalances, vitamin D deficiency.
  • Gut-healing diet and supplements:
  • Foods:
  • greens, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains & beans
  • organic foods
  • fermented foods
  • omega 3 fatty acids, e.g. chia seeds, walnuts, flaxseeds, and algae oil
  • well-cooked, easy-to-digest vegetables, e.g. pumpkin, carrots, sweet potatoes, and spinach
  • foods that contain mucilage (repairs the mucous membranes of the body), e.g. okra, flaxseeds, chia seeds, seaweed, and plantain.
  • bitter foods, e.g. kale, dandelion greens, arugula, radishes, and endive.
  • Supplements:
  • aloe vera, deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL), marshmallow root, slippery elm bark, L-Glutamine (the most popular supplement for healing leaky gut), butyric acid, quercetin,
  • Boost immunity:
  • prioritize sleep, exercise regularly, reduce stress, enjoy healthy exposure to the sun
  • Immune-boosting foods: citrus fruits, blueberries, kiwi, garlic, spinach, broccoli, green leafy vegetables, mushrooms, almonds, sunflower seeds, miso, sauerkraut, ginger, tumeric, cinnamon, and green tea.
  • Key supplements for immune health: Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Selenium, Zinc, Elderberry, Echinacea, Medicinal mushrooms
  • Microbiome Restoration:
  • restore diversity and abundance to the microbiome in the digestive tract.
  • spend time in nature
  • Most experts agree that prebiotic fiber is the single most important nutrient for a healthy gut.
  • Foods rich in prebiotics: cabbage, garlic, chickpeas, nectarines, grapefruit, cashews, and pistachio nuts.
  • Prebiotic fiber supplements: partially hydrolysed guar gum (PHGG), D-mannose, acacia fiber, glucomannan, inulin.