Diet

Dopamine – part 4

Liz James · February 1, 2022 ·

Dopamine Deficiency Part IV: More Solutions

Do you struggle with belief in any area of your life? Maybe it’s work…. Self confidence…. Big goals…. If so, know that improving your dopamine balance will only help you grow into living what you struggle to believe. Now would be a great time to grab that bottle of Believe essential oil and become a walking diffuser for yourself. Go grab it now… I’ll wait for you!

Gary Young knew which plant chemicals stimulate, protect, and support healthy dopamine levels. And of course, he knew that belief is fueled by dopamine. Essential oils Balsam, Coriander, Bergamot, Frankincense, Idaho Blue Spruce, Ylang ylang , and Geranium all fuel belief through their effect on dopamine within us. These are the oils within the blend Believe. Pretty cool right? Gary never made a product that wasn’t highly purposeful!

Other oils that have been found to contain constituents supportive of healthy dopamine levels in the body include rosemary, oregano, thyme, rose, sandalwood, neroli , palmarosa , and marjoram . Did you notice that many of these oils are used in Raindrop massage? Just one more reason everyone should receive a Raindrop on the regular!

God has gifted us with so many natural ways to support dopamine levels. (Go back and review last week’s post so that you’ll have the full combined list!)

Mowing the yard! It may be hard work, but the aroma of fresh cut grass contains a chemical called hexanal (the “green” smell of grass) that stimulates dopamine release.

St. John’s Wort has been found to increase dopamine in the prefrontal cortex of the brain by 40%. Resveratrol has been found to perform similarly ( found in red wine, fresh grapes, dark chocolate, blueberries, peanut butter)

Organic coffee (No more than one cup a day or it may contribute to adrenal fatigue…. A dopamine high followed by a crash!) or a cuppa organic green tea (Have you tried the YL Vanilla Lemongrass Green Tea yet?) is a dopamine supportive treat.

Rhodiola is another herb known to stimulate dopamine receptors and inhibit enzymes that break down dopamine in the brain. Ashwagandha (You might recognize this as an ingredient in Powergize and Endogize) is also an effective adaptogen with supportive dopamine activity.

Pregnenolone is a natural hormone produced in the body that has a positive effect on dopamine levels in the brain. It is an ingredient in hormone supportive Cortistop capsules, PD 80/20 capsules, and Regenolone moisturizing cream. Do a little research on each of these to determine if they might fight your individual hormone balancing needs.

Acupuncture stimulates the vagus nerve, which in turn support healthy dopamine levels. (Go back and reread the section on low vagal tone!)

Creating and performing music boosts dopamine levels even more than listening to your favorite tunes, but all three are effective. Listening to music has even been shown to improve fine motor skills in Parkinson’s patients.

Chronic inflammation reduces dopamine synthesis and release in the brain. We’ve got tools on hand to support a healthy inflammatory response (as opposed to the runaway variety!). Sulfurzyme, BLM, Agilease, and OmegaGize3 are excellent supplements. Nobody can “out supplement” an unhealthy lifestyle…..examine your life and look for offending (and often hidden) toxin triggers in household chemicals, processed foods and drinks, body care products, and makeup.

Lack of sleep down regulates dopamine receptors and reduces dopamine receptor availability. You know what to do! Sleep is so very important in ALL aspects of health. Review your sleep hygiene practices and look for “holes in the armor” that may result in interrupted sleep. I LOVE and incorporate Rutavala on the base of my big toe and Immupro (chewable) in my bedtime rituals.

Iron plays a role in dopaminergic neurotransmission. Iron and ferritin levels are important lab values to watch (both for being too low and too high). Natural sources of iron include spirulina ( an ingredient in Multigreens), dark chocolate, spinach, shellfish, organ meats (I highly suggest Sally Fallon’s cookbook Nourishing Traditions), beans, lentils, chickpeas, red meat, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, turkey, broccoli, and fish.

Vitamin C assists with the formation and conversion of dopamine in the brain. Deficient levels of vitamin C may show up as a low mood. Super C Chewables are a tasty way to supplement daily.

Vitamins B6 and B9 are critical for dopamine synthesis. Low folate levels contribute massively to low dopamine levels which may ultimately lead to depression. Super B is another fantastic supplement to help the body in at least a thousand little and big ways.

Alternate between standing and sitting. “Chronic sitting” lowers dopamine levels. Our body was designed to move!

Finish a project. Who knew? This in itself causes the brain to flood with dopamine.

Huge (and easy) list, right? And yet, sometimes it may seem hard to get motivated to make the changes. Circle back around….. Grab your bottle of Believe, and start somewhere small. I promise you won’t regret finding your dopamine happy place!

xoxo~liz

#caringissharing #knowbetterdobetter #dopamineisdope #balanceddopamineisgoodmedicine #goodmedicine #BecomingYourOwnHealthDetective

#ThanksYL

Dopamine Deficiency Part III: Solutions

Liz James · January 25, 2022 ·

Discussing solutions is one of my favorite topics to write about, but if we didn’t first identify root causes, how would what we are doing be any different than the tendency to bandage a festering abscess? Solutions can be clues all on their own too, right? I ask that you be mindful of three things while navigating and identifying ways to improve and support healthy dopamine levels:

Would I be prone to developing an addictive tendency to something I already particularly enjoy? (Too much of a good thing makes it not necessarily a good thing.)

Am I willing to step outside of my comfort zone in the pursuit of happiness and improved dopamine balance in the body?

There is no magic “one hit wonder”. Lifestyle is where the sweet spot lies….. Just as it took every single person doing their part in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem (read Nehemiah 3 sometime!), it takes symphonic effort to succeed in body balance! Now, on to the fun stuff!

Exercise: Exercise slows the breakdown of dopamine in the body, and helps prevent loss of dopaminergic brain cells. You may have heard of the “runner’s high”. There are several neurotransmitters involved in this sensation of feeling great, and dopamine is one of them. The brain is literally washed with dopamine in these moments. If strenuous exercise is new to you, start with walking, yoga, pilates, or aquatic exercise. Mild exercise causes dopamine release too. Bonus points for exercise outdoors and with a group of friends!

Learn something new: Learning a new skill (language, hobby, sport, or activity) or simply learning new information causes dopamine to be released. It’s very likely happening right now as you read this information! You’ve heard of “seminar highs” or research junkies (yep, this is one area I receive a huge dopamine dump from!). When the dopamine release happens, it makes you want to learn more and repeat the experience. Bonus points…. The more you engage in learning new things, the stronger your brain gets too!

Vitamin D: Vitamin D has a role in the production of dopamine and in also protecting dopamine receptors. Evidence suggests that supporting healthy Vitamin D levels also supports healthy dopamine levels, especially if clinically deficient in Vitamin D. Make sure to ask for Vitamin D levels whenever you have the opportunity to get labwork! Young Living’s Super D is most bioavailable when it is dissolved in the cheek or under the tongue.

Phenylalanine and tyrosine are two amino acids used in the biosynthesis of dopamine. Foods high in phenylalanine and/or tyrosine include meats, beans, milk, nuts, seeds, whole grains, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, cherries, eggs, yogurt, and NingXia Wolfberries! Supporting healthy dopamine production is just one more reason to get your ounce or two (or four!) of NingXia Red every day!

Increasing Vagal Tone: There is a direct correlation between low vagal tone and lower levels of dopamine. You’ll want to go back and review ALL the wonderful and fun ways you can improve vagal tone! (We talked about this a few months ago….use the search option in this group to find the posts.)

Uridine is a supplement. It’s also found in beer, brewer’s yeast and nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is not the same yeast that bakers use. If you do a little digging, you’ll find recipes incorporating nutritional yeast into tasty options.

Here’s a quick recipe for Caesar Salad Dressing:1 & ½ cups extra virgin olive oil¾ cup coconut milk½ avocadoJuice of one lemon1 tsp balsamic vinegar3 cloves of garlic2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast¾ tsp sea salt or pink saltA toothpick swirl or two of Young Living oregano vitality essential oil (1 drop might be WAY strong!)½ tsp onion powder(Use organic ingredients whenever possible). Put all ingredients (except olive oil) into a blender and blend til smooth. Slowly add in olive oil while blender is running at low speed. Stores up to one week in the fridge. Note: may also be used for a dipping sauce!

Cryotherapy: You’ve seen advertisements for it I’m sure. Be brave and consider giving it a try! Remember, simply exploring something new increases dopamine in the brain. Ice water immersion (or cryotherapy tanks) increase dopamine by an estimated 250%! Yowza! I am a fan of cryo….. I find it both terrifying and exhilarating (probably from that ginormous dopamine dump I received!)

Intermittent Fasting not only leads to higher levels of dopamine release; it also reduces age related dopamine receptor attrition. There are many additional reasons to incorporate intermittent fasting into your lifestyle if you’ve not considered it before now.

Curcumin is the yellow pigment found in turmeric. Curcumin reduces the metabolism of dopamine in the brain thereby increasing levels. YL Golden Turmeric or Spiced Turmeric Vitality Tea for the win! You might also consider adding Golden Turmeric to yogurt or smoothies!We’re about halfway through this pretty amazing dopamine support list! Next week we’ll wrap up with more simple and inexpensive ways to support this happy hormone.

xoxo, liz #caringissharing #knowbetterdobetter #dopamineisdope #balanceddopamineisgoodmedicine #goodmedicine #BecomingYourOwnHealthDetective#ThanksYL

Dopamine Disturbances

Liz James · January 5, 2022 ·

Dopamine Deficiency: Part I
“Motivator molecule.”
“Feel good brain juice”
“Reward chemical”
Dopamine is all those things and more. It’s a “VIP” neurotransmitter produced within the body whose job description is critical for optimal brain and body function. While dopamine occupies less than 1% of the neuron real estate in the brain, it is a key ingredient for important and finely tuned tasks:
*Controls flow of information within the brain
*Holds a critical role in memory, attention, and problem solving
*Contributes to motor skills and cognitive abilities
*Plays a supportive role in reproduction
*Activates reward and pleasure centers in the brain
*Holds a key role in attention and learning
*Reduces insulin levels in the body
*Protects the digestive system
*Influences the immune system
*Strongly affects mood and emotions
Dopamine is one of the most widely studied neurotransmitters, and yet there is still so much to discover. There is no direct way to measure levels of dopamine in the brain, so healthcare professionals must evaluate clues just like we are about to do: symptoms, lifestyle habits, medical and medication history are all important factors in becoming aware of what a dopamine deficiency might look like. I often wonder how we operate as we do, given the millions of things that can go wrong in the human body. Thankfully, God designed each body with the incredible ability to restore balance if given the correct tools and time to do so.
Do you remember how easily the gut can be brought out of balance with a pesky virus or an overpopulation of an aggressive bacteria or fungi? The same is true with dopamine. Incrementally small swings of dopamine can make a big impact in either direction. Too much dopamine can lead to some pretty challenging mental health disorders. Dopamine deficiency can be mild or it can be major. Major dopamine deficiency is linked to Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, autism, ADHD, major depressive disorder, certain neurodegenerative disorders, and addictions. Identifying a dopamine deficiency trend early on allows for the time and tools to assist in bringing the body back into balance. I’ll wager that some of these clues may surprise you:
🔎Struggle to handle stress well (often leading to feelings of hopelessness and low self esteem)
🔎Carbohydrate and sugar cravings
🔎Chronic back pain
🔎Persistent constipation
🔎Poor blood sugar stability
🔎Weight fluctuations
🔎Lack of motivation (may show up as learning difficulties)
🔎Impulsiveness (Alleviates feelings of loneliness and sadness. Self gratification is used to “force” a dopamine drop that ultimately only creates more depletion long term.
🔎Difficulty organizing thoughts or staying productive
🔎Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
🔎Restless legs
🔎Tremor in the hands
🔎Cold hands or feet
🔎Fatigue or low energy
🔎Attention difficulties (may include a diagnosis of ADD/ ADHD)
🔎Reduced libido
🔎Low moods / depression
🔎Muscle cramps, spasms, or tremors
🔎Stiffness, aches or pains that have no cause
🔎GERD
🔎Lack of insight or self awareness
How does a dopamine deficiency happen? Three possibilities exist: too little dopamine is being made, dopamine receptors are being hindered or are not available in the numbers needed, or dopamine is being broken down before it can be utilized. Neurotransmitters are just as much a product of the environment as the body is. Environment includes mindset, lifestyle, and habitual behavior. Dopamine deficiency is very much affected by all three:
❓Sleep deprivation (Are you using all your tools and knowledge to get a restful night of sleep? (Immupro, Sleep Essence, lavender, cedarwood, Peace & Calming, Rutavala, and Tranquil are great options.)
❓Adrenal fatigue (Do your adrenal glands need some supportive Endoflex or Endogize?)
❓Vitamin B6 or B3 deficiency (Are you taking Super B?)
❓Heavy metal exposure including lead, arsenic, cadmium, and aluminum. Mainstream cosmetics are a hidden contributor to daily heavy metal exposure. Lipstick is among the worst offenders. YL’s Savvy Minerals cosmetics line has many gorgeous, long lasting colors to choose from that are toxin free and dopamine friendly!
❓C Difficile overgrowth. This is often the result of antibiotic use. Always follow each antibiotic dose two hours later with a probiotic such as Life 9 or MightyPro and fermented foods to minimize risk of this occurrence.
❓Low magnesium, zinc, iron (Get proper lab work. Know your numbers, and supplement if necessary!)
❓Vitamin C deficiency (Are you taking your Super C Chewables?)
❓Vitamin D deficiency (Know your numbers and supplement with Super D or something stronger if your labs reflect the need.)
❓Obesity. This causes a downregulation of dopamine in the brain, and leads to a reduction of the number of receptors in the brain.
❓Drug abuse both depletes dopamine and reduces the number of receptors in the brain.
❓Diets high in saturated fats and sugar ultimately deplete dopamine resources.
❓Chronic stress affects the body’s ability to produce dopamine. Go back and review the section on stress for tips, tricks and habits to mitigate stress wisely.
❓Certain medications often have a disastrous effect on dopamine in the body.
The topic of medications and their effects on dopamine is so very important and unfortunately it is rarely discussed. I’ll devote next week’s post to that discussion! Life is too short to feel “meh” and live in jammies. If you’ve identified any areas of life that may be sabotaging your dopamine production or utilization, it’s always a great time to make some changes and invest in yourself!
xoxo~ liz
www.goodmedicine.info
#Sharingiscaring
#ahealthydopaminelevelisgoodmedicine
#BecomingYourOwnHealthDetective
#ThanksYL
#goodmedicine

Restless Leg Syndrome – part 2

Liz James · December 28, 2021 ·

Restless Leg Syndrome: Respite Part II
One of the honed skills of a most excellent detective revolves around the process of eliminating suspects. This is key in nabbing the right culprit. How many news stories have you read about the wrong person languishing in jail for a crime they didn’t commit? The same is true when parsing health clues…. We’ve got to find the true offender.
The reality is that there may be a single culprit, or a gang of culprits….. AND, there might be some shady characters who look suspicious, but are not the real troublemakers. As the lead health detective, you may choose to haul them in for questioning (closer evaluation), only to find out they are truly innocent. Don’t get discouraged…. readjust your Sherlock Holmes cap and move on to question the next suspect!
As you’ve learned, all restless leg syndrome cases are unique. Unfortunately, nearly all cases are treated the same way by introducing pharmaceuticals to mediate discomfort. The most common medications used are anti-seizure medications (ex: gabapentin), drugs to treat Parkinson’s (ex: levodopa/carbidopa), opioids (ex: tramadol), or benzodiazepines (ex: clonazepam). I can personally guarantee that while each of these may soothe the legs, if used long term, will lead to misery and/or dysfunction in another part of the body.
If you’d like to build some gentle DIY soothing support for restless legs while you work on finding the root cause, try these recipes and find the one that serves you best. You’ll not want to stop here tho, because the culprit is still on the loose.
(Each recipe makes a 10ml roller bottle)
🌿Recipe #1🌿
20 drops Marjoram
20 drops Roman Chamomile
10 drops Lavender
10 drops Frankincense
Fill remaining space in roller bottle with carrier oil.
******
🌿Recipe #2🌿
15 drops Lavender
10 drops Roman Chamomile
10 drops Vetiver
5 drops Lemongrass
5 drops Marjoram
5 drops Blue Yarrow
5 drops Peppermint
5 drops Clove
3 drops Ginger
3 drops black pepper
Fill remaining space in roller bottle with carrier oil.
******
🌿Recipe #3🌿
AromaSiez (snap a roller fitment on that puppy and use as is!)
*****
🌿Recipe #4🌿
10 drops Peace & Calming
10 drops Panaway
10 drops Stress Away
10 drops Lavender
Fill remaining space in roller bottle with carrier oil
*****
Other ways to naturally alleviate the discomfort of restless legs include:
*Reducing caffeine intake (especially after lunch)
*Stop smoking
*Weight loss (Recall that elevated BMI contributes to restless legs)
*Increased exercise
*Cryotherapy
*Warm or cold compresses
*Weighted blankets
*Avoiding certain foods including processed foods, fatty fried foods, sodas, sugar, excessive alcohol, and caffeine.
*Adding specific food “tools” to your diet (ex: cashews, almonds, peanuts or brown rice) that are rich in magnesium. If you add magnesium to your diet thru supplementation, you’ll want to look for forms such as glycinate or malate for maximum bioavailability.
*Balance your micronutrient load with Young Living’s Mineral Essence and NingXia Red. You’ll be so glad you added both of these to your routine!
*Young Living CBD muscle rub. CBD has a relaxing effect on the muscles and a calming effect on nerves.
*Work on ways to improve your natural dopamine levels.
*Quinine water (true tonic water)
If you’ve done your prep work, you may now have a line up of suspects causing your restless legs. I am an enormous advocate of proper and extensive lab work, as concrete answers eliminate the guesswork. It will save both time and frustration.
-Iron deficiency may be easily identified and treated once you have concrete lab work answers on both iron and ferritin levels. It’s not generally a good idea to supplement iron until you know. Too much iron in the body can be quite damaging over time.
-If you suspect a hormone imbalance (including thyroid) may be a contributing factor, lab work can confirm your suspicions.. A hormone imbalance will also yield many other possible clues. Find your clue cluster, and you’ll likely find the culprit, and then you can get to work on the solution!
-Nutritional deficiencies can be so very subtle, and don’t always have a strong set of clues. Magnesium is a simple and safe supplement to try if lab work simply isn’t possible. Ample magnesium in the diet is also helpful for reducing chronic constipation episodes, reducing symptoms of depression, improving PMS symptoms, preventing migraines, and more!
-Kidney disease can be a hard one, as both the disease itself and many medications used in chronic kidney disease patients are potential culprits.
-Arguably, drug 💊induced restless legs is among the biggest offenders. Not surprisingly, countries that do not rely on pharmaceuticals as their predominant mode of care have the lowest incidence of restless leg syndrome within their population. Additionally, these countries also tend to live within a diet structure that has minimal processed foods and sugars available to them.
Take a close look at the medications that can cause restless legs (last week’s post). The biggest known offenders are 💊acid reducers (ex: omeprazole, pantoprazole, esomeprazole) 💊 escitalopram, 💊fluoxetine, 💊levodopa/carbidopa, 💊, levothyroxine, 💊mirtazapine, 💊olanzapine, and💊 tramadol. Many of these medications could be avoided with lifestyle choices and changes that address balancing mind, body, and spirit.
Approximately 10% of the population is on medication for heartburn and GERD related symptoms. According to a recent study:
“… consuming these powerful acid-blocking agents is strongly linked to a significantly higher incidence of restless legs syndrome, compared to those who did not consume these medications.”
Gah! Please go back and re-read all you’ve learned about the clues within the digestive system. Pairing up clues is the name of the game!
Finally, if you have children, remember that restless legs is not an “adults only” dysfunction. Up to 6% of kiddos have restless legs which often are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Kids are not always able to verbalize what they are experiencing, which can add to the challenge. Sleep, mood, cognition, and quality of life are significantly affected in the pediatric population. Not surprisingly, ADHD, depressive symptoms and anxiousness are often included in the clue cluster.
xoxo~ liz

##sharingiscaring
#goodmedicine
#Godgaveusallweneedinthegarden
#BecomingYourOwnHealthDetective
#ThanksYL

Power of Nutritional Holiday Herbs

Liz James · December 16, 2021 ·

Have you researched herbs of the Bible? I mean…… really dug deeply into them? When I first began learning the healing properties of herbs, I would dive into studies on www.pubmed.gov using the common name, Latin name, or constituents (ex: linalool) and it would be hours before I would come up for air. Nature is the inspiration for pharmaceuticals….. because they work. However, nature is not patentable, so there’s no money in promoting their efficacy. And then of course, there’s the Flexner report back in the early 1900’s that put the kaboosh on literally everything but Big Pharma.
Yesterday, I just read an article about the conspiring ways of Big Pharma and the USPS preventing many legal packages of Iverme(ctin from reaching people.
Evil people like King Herod from Jesus’ time are still roaming this earth and creating problems for good people.
Get to know your herbs friends. Times haven’t changed much 2000+ years later…. neither have people…. and neither have plants. God is in the details and He knows what we need and He gave it to us in the garden.
xoxo~ liz
www.goodmedicine.info
#sharingiscaring
#herbsofthebible
#GodgaveusallweneedintheGarden
#ThanksYL
#eyesonpine

power of nutritional holiday herbs