Mental Health Cheat Sheet

To be completed:

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Reminder: Not medical advice, consult doctor before, etc.

Removal and mediation:

• Never ending chronic stress
• Lack of eustress
• Trauma and broken family/communal systems
• Environmental toxins
• Nutrition issues
• Gut and brain damage
• Exercise instead of movement
• Isolation
• Loss of light cues
• Loss of purpose and misaligned motivation

Note on pharmaceuticals (link to pharma page)

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9 Ways to Fix Your Neurotransmitters (Boundless)

1. Avoid antidepressants:

• Prozac, Sarafem, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Effexor, Cymbalta, Pristiq, etc. Most are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which increase the amount of serotonin available to bind to receptors. With long-term use, the receptor numbers are downregulated due to too much serotonin exposure, and you need more serotonin to get the same effect. Enzymes also get more efficient and in higher levels to break serotonin down.
• Antidepressant use can also damage serotonin receptors in your liver, kidneys, and colon, further damaging the gut-brain connection and appetite regulation by lowering the sensitivity of these organs to signals from your nervous system.
• Meta-analyses have revealed that SSRIs have no meaningful advantage over placebos anyway and do not take into account the placebo advantage of clinical visits and social interaction. They have shown no significance with long-term improvement of depression or suicide rates, and chronic exposure to SSRIs can make you feel apathetic and less engaged.
• Alternatives are: acetyl-L-carnitine, probiotics, and curcumin. However, if you are already taking anti-depressants, don’t stop suddenly or without your doctor’s guidance, as you will suffer from withdrawal and other side effects.

2. Limit your intake of stimulants:

• High doses of caffeine, ephedrine, ephedra, guarana, Ritalin, and other CNS stimulants can overwhelm the brain with excitatory neurotransmitters, creating resistance to neurotransmitters and long-term receptor damage.
• Caffeine is water and fat soluble and can therefore easily cross the blood brain barrier. Excess consumption alters the amount of adenosine receptors. Adenosine is a chemical which indicates a state of tiredness and supports natural sleep rhythms. Caffeine is an adenosine receptor blocker.
• How to kick caffeine habits and reset adenosine receptors:
  • Avoid it for 7-10 days, every 4-8 weeks. Consider keeping a bag of decaf on-hand
  • Drink 1-2 cups of coffee per day of a medium roast, slightly lower in caffeine but containing high antioxidants
  • Consume 100-200g of L-theanine with every cup of coffee
• Even the highest quality coffee contains acrylamide: a known carcinogen in animal tests. Most people roast coffee heavily to get rid of it, but then create polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The way to avoid this is by using a smokeless medium roasting process to maintain high antioxidant levels, medium to high caffeine, and to reduce PAH and acrylamide.

3. Avoid toxins:

Colognes, perfumes, brake dust, smog, airborne heavy materials, and car air fresheners can alter neurotransmitter production as well as sensitivity to those neurotransmitters. Resulting in brain damage and brain fog. To avoid these effects, do the following:

• Eat organic fruits and vegetables when possible and wash other vegetables in a water and vinegar solution
• Use natural household cleaners like lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda
• Choose a holistic dentist for any dental work
• Use natural personal care products. Check labels and avoid parabens, dyes, and fragrances
• Fortify your home with air and water filters

By following these guidelines you will be able to handle external neurotransmitter assaults much better.

4. Avoid sensory overload:

Currently, we are bombarded with the following: loud sounds (like honking cars and ringing phones), rapid visual and auditory effects in games and movies, electronic flickering of monitors and screens, radio and EMF waves, fluorescent lighting, excessive work hours, and violent entertainment. This overloads your CNS and can lead to severe neurotransmitter imbalances. It needs more serotonin and GABA than usual to recover.

To rebalance your neurotransmitter levels, you may have to take a step back from loud music while exercising, violent games and movies, excessively using your computer, constantly playing music in the background, and artificial lighting.

Go for a walk in the park, have a chamomile tea, partake in some breathing exercises or mindfulness meditation, etc.

Follow up intense exposure with passionflower extract (promotes healthy GABA activity), lemon extract, cannabidiol (GABA-mediated anti-stress effects), or phenibut supplements (form of GABA).

5. Fix your gut:

Neurotransmitters are produced by your gut lining and by the billions of bacteria in your gut. If the lining or flora is damaged, you are at risk for neurotransmitter deficiencies and imbalances.

4-6 weeks of the Autoimmune Paleo diet or the low-FODMAP diet, combined with generous amounts of glutamine, colostrum, and bone broth or collagen.

6. Replace your building blocks:

Vitamin B6 (bell peppers, turnip greens, spinach), vitamin B12 (calf’s liver, snapper), folate (broccoli, beets, lentils, calf’s liver, asparagus, spinach), vitamin B supplements (full-spectrum blend with 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF)).

Consume at least 0.55g of protein per pound of bodyweight per day: Grass-fed beef, wild salmon, eggs from pasteurized chickens, raw organic dairy, almonds, almond butter, quinoa, and spirulina or chlorella. Sleep may be tied to neurotransmitter problems and could be helped by 10-20g of EAAs.

Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) have no effect on muscle growth in humans and may cause a spike in glucose or insulin, along with an imbalance of more important essential amino acids (EAAs). EAAs, on the other hand, have been shown to improve the retention of lean muscle, increase metabolic rate, and optimize brain and liver function, with no deleterious side effects and a very low calorie level. Excellent during times where you need EAAs quickly and don’t have time for food to digest.

For the nervous system to synthesize and circulate the neurotransmitters formed by amino acids, you need adequate intake of B-complex vitamins. B6, B12, and B9 (folate) are especially important.

If you are frequently sweating during a workout, you should consume a mineral-rich source of protein, such as goat’s milk based protein powder, a liquid trace mineral supplement, and high quality salt (combine Himalayan, Celtic, and Colima).

7. Lube your nerves:

Vegans and vegetarians have been shown to have elevated rates of depression, anxiety disorders, and other cognitive malfunctions. Eventually, the lack of cholesterol, amino-acids, and vitamin B12 cause nagging aches and pains, and cognitive decline (dementia, depression, and other mental disorders). Also, creatine (memory test studies suggest vegetarians who take creatine supplements may actually outperform omnivores).

Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly DHA, are important for the myelin sheath. Good sources are salmon, sardines, cloves, grass-fed beef, halibut, shrimp, cod, and tuna. Animal meat provides the brain boosting effects of B vitamins, zinc, iron, and tryptophan. Vegans and vegetarians can find omega-3 fatty acids by eating soaked, sprouted, and fermented seeds, nuts, legumes, and grains; vegan-friendly algae-based DHA supplements like chlorella, spirulina, and marine phytoplankton; and foods containing the monosaturated fat oleic acid (can comprise 30% of the myelin sheath), such as olive oil, almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts, and avocados.

8. Repair you genes:

The Super Seven “dirty genes” (Ben Lynch – “Dirty Genes”):

• MTHFR: supports methylation, a crucial process involved in more than 200 of your body’s vital functions
• GST/GPX: two gene variants responsible for regulating your body’s energy levels and glutathione levels, thus impacting your natural antioxidant responses
• COMT: affects the metabolism of dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine, thus regulating your mood, energy levels, and ability to calm down, sleep, and focus
• DAO: affects your body’s response to histamines from food and bacteria, thus affecting your vulnerability to food allergies and intolerances
• MAOA: affects your relationship to dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, thus governing your mood, energy, sugar cravings, and ability to sleep
• NOS3: affects circulation and nitric oxide levels and helps determine your cardiovascular health and vulnerability to heart attacks, circulatory issues, and stroke
• PEMT: affects your cell walls, brain, and liver, impacting a range of health issues, such as gallstones, fatty liver disease, gut problems, and attention and focus deficits

Get a 23andMe test and upload the results to StrateGene for interpretation.

Ben’s examples included:

• Histamine intolerance (slower DAO, MTHFR, MAOA, and NAT2 genes) making alcohol and its metabolic breakdown product, acetaldehyde, especially detrimental. Releasing histamine from mast cells and depressing histamine elimination by inhibiting DAO expression. Histamines are bioactive, nitrogen-based compounds that play a role in immune response and gut function.
• The intolerance may cause a red face, flushing, irritability, a runny nose, a bloody nose, exacerbation of existing eczema and psoriasis, insomnia, sweaty feet, increased heart rate, and headaches or migraines.

To reduce effects:

• Limit high histamine foods when you consume alcohol (cheese and aged meats)
• Consume specific probiotics (strains which break down histamines)
• Take S-adenosine-L-methionine (supports the HNMT gene which is overworked when the DAO gene is overwhelmed) or nettle leaves, quercetin, bitter orange fruit, and bromelain, or DAO enzymes
• Take PQQ, reducing oxidative stress
• To prevent headaches and irritability, take 500mcg of molybdenum (reduce effects of sulfites on mental performance and vitamin uptake) and 50mg of thiamine (prevent sulfites from binding to B1)

Ben’s stack: 2 x caps Probiota HistaminX (probiotic to optimize DAO gene) before drinking, 1 x cap HomocysteX Plus (optimize the HNMT, MAO, MAOB, and MTHFR genes) before drinking, 1 x cap Molybdenum (optimize SUOX gene) before, 1 x lozenge PQQ (optimize MTR gene) before, 1 x cap Thiamine (optimize PDH gene) before, SAMe (optimize HNMT gene)

9. Focus on antioxidants:

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) reduces neuronal damage and degeneration associated with excess excitatory neurotransmitters like glutamate. Usually used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. NAC inhibits excess excitatory neurotransmitters and neutralizes free radical damage in neural cells it may be used treat addiction (affects dopamine reward pathways).

Luteolin and diosmin have been shown to reduce beta-amyloid levels (Alzheimer’s associated). Lemons are rich in diosmin, and luteolin is in green peppers and tomatoes. Anthocyanins have proven useful in combatting Alzheimer’s too.

For any workout that is longer than 90 minutes (mix and drink over time):

• Easy to digest carbohydrate (potato dextrin, dextrose, highly branched cyclic dextrin). Maintaining liver and muscle glycogen stores without the blood sugar rollercoaster or gut rot, and fermentation usually caused by fructose and maltodextrin. He uses Glycofuse by Gaspari Nutrition (100-150 calories per hour)
• Easy to digest protein (EAAs at an intake of 5-10g per hour). He uses (and also owns) Kion Aminos
• Ketone or MCT source. One serving of ketone salts or ketone esters per hour. Or 1tbsp. of MCT oil per hour (mind the digestive stress)
• Electrolyte source. He uses Thorne’s Catalytes (blend of sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, small amounts of d-ribose, and more)

The Last Word

• Use natural antidepressant alternatives
• Take a break from caffeine
• Remove toxins from your home
• Avoid sensory overload
• Reboot your gut with a squeaky-clean eating protocol
• Get adequate amino acids
• Eat fat
• Determine your neurotransmitter dominance

12 Ways to Fix a Leaky Brain

1. Get more sleep: Sleep loss impairs the immune system and increases pro-inflammatory mediators. It also increases sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and causes endothelial dysfunction (limiting the divide and repair ability of the BBB).
2. Limit your alcohol intake
3. Control blood pressure: Dark chocolate, magnesium, potassium, handgrip strength training, and high-dose garlic can help. Do not restrict salt as a strategy. Mineral-rich salt is crucial for maintaining normal blood volume, blood pressure, and oxygen delivery to tissues.
4. Be cautious of high-fat diets: Adding aged garlic extract, alpha-lipoic acid (R-ALA), niacin, or nicotinamide eliminated elevation of BBB permeability during a high saturated fat diet with rats. Supplementing with vitamin D, bitter melon, and phytonutrient-rich plants and spices like turmeric, astragalus, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cabbage are also helpful for repairing high-fat diet induced BBB permeability. Fiber-rich foods like sweet potatoes, kale, and beans too. It may be useful to follow Stephen Gundry’s The Plant Paradox diet or Terry Wahl’s The Wahl’s Protocol.
5. Drink coffee and tea: A cup of coffee or tea a day (caffeine specifically) may inhibit BBB disruption by inducing the production of cAMP, a molecule that facilitates intercellular communication and fortifies the tight junctions of BBB. cAMP reduces inflammation in the brain.
6. Take supplements: Alpha-GPC (a type of choline that readily crosses the BBB), is known to improve endothelial dysfunction. Inositol from egg yolks also enhances BBB integrity. Berberine reduces BBB permeability and increases resistance to brain damage. B12, B6, and B9 restore a damaged BBB to equilibrium. Stroke victims that used astragalus, chlorogenic acid, ginseng, olive leaf extract, and rosmarinic acid had some success with healing. Also, apigenin, butyrate, citcoline, and shilajit. Using nutrients that inhibit MMP-9, which breaks down the BBB during inflammation, (curcumin, resveratrol, berberine, fish oil, ginger, broccoli, watercress, pomegranate extract, etc.) have been shown to restore BBB integrity.
7. Get more magnesium: 300-400mg a day can attenuate BBB permeability. You can acquire this by magnesium salt baths, topical lotions or sprays, or supplements. Don’t exceed 1500mg per day unless you want to shit your pants.
8. Stimulate your vagus nerve: Massages, singing, chanting, meditation, deep breathing, and cold showers. Also, a Fisher Wallace Stimulator.
9. Avoid frequent snacking: Ghrelin can improve BBB integrity by reducing BBB breakdown after traumatic injury. Practice intermittent fasting and not eating until you’re hungry to normalize ghrelin levels.
10. Nourish your gut bacteria: Prebiotic fiber, probiotics, and fermented foods.
11. Decrease inflammation: According to Dr. Datis Kharrazian, inflammatory cytokines can enter the bloodstream, make their way to the brain, and pass through the BBB. There, they can affect tissues like the vagus nerve and autonomic nervous system (ANS), to the point that they cannot function properly. Intestinal motility slows down, inflammatory cytokines have more time to move through the bloodstream, creating a cycle. Poor vagal tone can increase cortisol and inflammatory cytokines. Sing, gargle, and gagging exercises, along with coffee enemas.
12. Cold thermogenesis: Cold soaks, cold showers, splashing cold water on your face, wearing body-cooling gear, cryotherapy chambers, cool temperature at home, etc.:

• Increased blood flow and nitric oxide delivery to your brain, which increases BBB integrity and suppresses BBB degeneration
• Increase cell longevity
• Support a robust immune system
• Induces rapid fat loss in the absence of exercise
• Lowers your appetite and strengthens the appetite-regulating vagus nerve connection between the gut and brain
• Causes internal temperature fluctuations that will send blood and nitric oxide to your brain