stress Archives - Fusion Health and Wellness

Increasing Shen – How to Enhance Learning, Beat Depression, and Chill Out

Within Traditional Chinese Medicine lies a fundamental and unique concept, that of the Three Treasures. The Three Treasures lay at the foundation of how TCM works – build up your Jing energy for a long life and strong resilience; improve your Qi so as to have plenty of day to day energy; and enhance and build up your Shen energy, that faculty of mind that leads to wisdom, peace and tranquility.

We already discussed one of them, Jing, in some detail, but what I want to focus on today is Shen, that faculty of your higher mind. Shen can be defined in many ways, but is commonly described as being the seat of the higher mind, your spirit, consciousness, and the domain of thought, memory and emotion. To have strong Shen is to be mentally quick, happy, joyful, and content, and to not be forgetful, lethargic, depressed, angry or anxious.

What I find really interesting about things like Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda, the equivalent Indian system of healthcare, is how they are able to understand all the effects a substance is having on the body, without ever being able to isolate certain compounds or measure acute changes within a person’s biochemistry.

Luckily for us today, we are able to accomplish this and measure all the minutia within a substance and the subsequent changes occurring in our body. This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak.

Reishi Mushroom

Reishi is the star of the show when it comes to Shen substances, and in fact is the number 1 ranked herb out of 365 medicinal substances within TCM. First described over 2,400 years ago, it was said of Reishi that “if eaten customarily, it makes your body light and young, lengthens your life and turns you into one like the immortal who never dies.”

Of red Reishi, it was said that “it is good for the Qi (functional activities) of the heart including mental activities, it tonifies the Spleen, increases wisdom, improves memory so that you won’t forget, long-term consumption will lighten your body, you will never become old, it lengthens years, it has spiritual power, and it develops Shen so that you become a ‘spirit-being’ like the immortals.”

That’s some lofty descriptions of a mushroom, I’d say.

So I dug deeper. On PubMed alone, there are 1,195 studies on Ganoderma Lucidum, and that’s just one strain of reishi mushroom. And while it has proven benefits on everything from the liver, to the immune system to allergies, we’re here to focus on its possible Shen-enhancing effects.

Reishi mushroom has BDNF- and NGF-like effects within the brain. Both BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and NGF (nerve-growth factor) promote the growth of new brain cells, enhance synaptic connections between existing neurons, and serve to protect neurons from damage. Both BDNF and NGF enhance learning and memory. Further, many studies show a link between low levels of BDNF and depression.

So from Reishi’s BDNF- and NGF-like effects alone, it’s able to help with depression, memory, and learning, as well as help prevent damage to the brain from stress, drugs or alcohol, and help ward off cognitive decline as we age. Not bad.

A simple hot-water extract of reishi exhibited anti-depressant effects in mice, as well as helped to prevent freezing up in the face of fear, and pretreatment of a hot water extract proved to be neuroprotective.

All in all, I’d say reishi mushroom fits the bill of a Shen-enhancing substance, and remember, this is all in addition to proven anti-cancer, anti-allergy, liver-protective and immune-enhancing benefits. I’ve used plenty of reishi products over the years – I suggest getting a liquid dual-extracted tincture, so that you get both the water- and the alcohol-soluble components, as they all have different functions in the body. You can also get a powdered extract that contains reishi mushroom spores – these spores have the same effects as the alcohol-soluble constituents, but are hundreds of times more potent.

When it comes to Reishi supplements, you really get what you pay for. Dragon Herbs carries some really interesting Reishi products, all of which are also concentrated to be even more potent –

they have a dual-extracted Purple Reishi, as the purple variety is said to have the most Shen energy;
a dual liquid extract of 22 different varieties of reishi, which I promise you can not find anywhere else;
a Wild Reishi dual-extracted tincture – this is cool because wild herbs are almost always more potent than those grown by humans, but are much more difficult to collect;
as well as an extremely potent bottle of Reishi Spore Oil – if anyone really likes my website, feel free to buy me some of this, as it is not cheap.

Count the Reishis — A Chinese painting honoring Reishi mushroom

Polygala

Polygala is another premier Shen-enhancing herb. It has sometimes traditionally been called the “Will Strengthener“, helping both spiritual practitioners and common folk alike increase their will power. What biological effects this herb would have to have upon the body to increase will power, alas, I do not know.

It’s also traditionally been said to be able to connect the sexual energy of the reproductive system with that of loving, altruistic energy of the heart. As such, polygala has been used as one of the premier Shen-enhancing herbs used throughout the ages. Does it hold up to Western scientific scrutiny?

One 2009 study concluded that treatment with polygala led to improved memory and learning, and even ameliorated some of the deleterious effects of the amnesia-producing drug scopolamine. The authors noted that “the expression of BDNF was also greatly enhanced in the hippocampus.”

A 2014 study found strong anti-depressant effects, noting that the main constituent studied, Yuanzhi-1, had a stronger affinity to dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine receptors in the brain than a commonly prescribed pharmaceutical anti-depressant. This means it improves depression through 3 distinct pathways more effectively than a drug approved by the FDA, without side effects.

Do you often have trouble finding motivation to get things done, even if they are activities that should excite you? Another 2014 study found that polygala administration not only had “rapid-onset anti-depressant” effects, but also that it helped reverse anhedonia, the scientific term for having a lack of motivation for, and lack of pleasure in, common every day activities.

Polygala is neuroprotective; enhances memory; attenuates beta-amyloid plaque build up (one of the main factors in Alzheimer’s disease) and promotes neurite growth; and also improves synaptic transmission, or the ability of cells within the brain to communicate effectively.

Polygala is a bit harder to find than reishi mushroom, but don’t despair – Dragon Herbs offers a very nice product I’ve used in the past called Will Power. Polygala is the main herb used, but the product also has a number of other Shen-enhancing herbs.

If you’re looking for straight polygala, you can buy 100 grams of a 5:1 extract here, which is the product I’m currently using. I gotta say, things have been looking bright since I started taking it.

In conclusion, it seems those ancient Chinese sages were on to something when it comes to “Shen” substances that improve emotions and enhance the intellect. There are plenty of other Shen herbs out there as well – pearl and dragon bone, which have Shen-grounding effects, albizzia flower, which is one of the most uplifting herbs I’ve ever used, spirit poria, and more – I’ll try to have more info up soon about some of these herbs.

For now, get your hands on some reishi and polygala, and let me know what you think in the comments below. And don’t forget to contact me if you’re interested in learning how to take a multi-targeted approach to beating depression and anxiety, or how to enhance learning, memory and mental acuity.

Supplements Everyone Can Benefit From, Pt. 1

A lot of people think that given today’s nutritionally poor food, combined with mineral depleted soils, that it isn’t possible to meet all of your nutritional needs through food alone. The truth is that we most certainly can get all the nutrients we need in our diet, but you have to be willing to go out of your way to consume plenty of seafood, seaweeds, dark leafy greens, organ meats and fermented foods – things that in America and many parts of the western world aren’t exactly common place.

Luckily we live in a time and place where we can easily buy a few supplements to fill in the gaps. Of course, this doesn’t mean we should eat foods that completely lack nutrition – one should still maintain a healthy diet, exercise regimen and practice stress reduction if you want to look and feel great.

So without further ado, here are a few supplements almost everyone should be taking.

Vitamin D – Boost immune function, improve cognition, improve hormonal status and bone health, fight off depression

Vitamin D is not just a vitamin, but an important hormone that has a plethora of uses within the body – it helps the body absorb and utilize calcium, magnesium and zinc, boosts the immune system, and affects more than 2000 genes! This means that if you aren’t getting adequate Vitamin D, you’re not functioning properly at the genetic level, which can lead to many problems down the road.

dna-genes-1405932776 — Your Genes on Vitamin D

Vitamin D is also an important neurosteroid, up-regulating amounts of Nerve Growth Factor within the brain and central nervous system, which helps to repair damaged neurons and even to grow new ones. This has implications for learning, memory and even depression, as there is a strong correlation between low levels of neurotrophic factors (of which NGF is but one) and depression. It’s estimated that 1 billion people are deficient in Vitamin D, and it seems to be that the lower the levels of Vitamin D, the worse the depression.

How much Vitamin D do we really need? Recent research is suggesting that the current RDA of Vitamin D – 600 IU for ages 1-70, and 800 IU for 70 and up – is far too low. It’s best to shoot for blood levels of around 50 ng/dl of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, something you’ll have to get your doctor to test for. Aim to ingest 2000 IUs of Vitamin D on days you aren’t getting sun exposure. I personally use this brand, as it gives well over a year’s supply and is mixed with the next supplement on the list, Vitamin K2. Vitamin D also needs to be balanced with Vitamin A – as I stated in my post for vegans and vegetarians, vegetables are unfortunately a poor source of true Vitamin A, so if you aren’t willing to consume plenty of liver, cod liver oil, or eggs from pasture raised hens, I’d use this Vitamin A supplement if you aren’t vegan, and this one if you are, one pill every other day.

Bottom Line – Vitamin D may improve your mood, decrease the likelihood of you getting sick, improve the expression of positive genes while silencing ones that can cause disease, and even help you remain mentally sharp.

Vitamin K2 – Essential for Bone Health, Prevention of Calcium Deposits in Soft Tissues and Improving Hormone Status

Vitamin K1 is ample in the diet, and most people know that it plays an important role in blood clotting. Few people have heard about Vitamin K2 however, and it’s much harder to come by in the diet, only being present in fermented foods or foods coming from grass fed animals.

Vitamin K2 is a critical factor in the process of calcium utilization – more precisely, it makes sure that the calcium you do consume goes where it’s supposed to – mainly in the bones, and not in the arteries, kidneys (kidney stones) or other organs.

Therefore Vitamin K2 is crucial in preventing atherosclerosis, or the hardening of the arteries. Studies have shown an inverse relationship between Vitamin K2 levels and atherosclerosis. It may further prevent cancer, improves insulin sensitivity, and improve prostate health.

As stated earlier, Vitamin K2 is solely a product of fermentation – without bacteria, there would be no K2. The best source is a Japanese dish called natto, a rather stinky smelling food made out of fermented soybeans.

Other sources include certain aged cheeses from grass fed animals, especially gouda, as well as other dairy products from grass fed animals, especially fermented ones such as yogurt, lassi and kefir, eggs from free ranging hens, and organ meats from healthy, free range animals. All of the K2 present in these animal foods are produced by the healthy bacteria in the animals’ guts, which finally make their way into the organs, eggs, meat and milk of the animal. Most fermented vegetable dishes contain K2 as well – sauerkraut, kim chi, unpasteurized pickles and miso should all have some K2, and be sure to consume them with some fat as K2 is a fat-soluble vitamin.

Don’t like fermented foods? You should really work on developing your palate, but in the mean time don’t hesitate to use the Vitamin D/K2 supplement listed above – I make sure to consume plenty of fermented foods but choose to supplement as well. Scientists are still debating how much K2 we should be getting, but a good recommendation is anywhere from 200 to 1,000 micrograms a day – two drops of the Thorne Vitamin D/K2 supplement is 200 micrograms.

Bottom Line – Vitamin K2 helps prevent osteoporosis, prevents atherosclerosis, improves insulin sensitivity and may even improve prostate health

Magnesium – Important for Bone Mineralization, a Healthy Relaxation Response, Improved Hormonal Status and Improves Drive and Motivation

Ahh, magnesium.. Easily one of most crucial minerals to get, yet so few of us are – only 25% or so of Americans are getting adequate amounts of magnesium.

“Magnesium is involved in over 300 biochemical reactions in your body. It affects everything from your heartbeat to your muscles to your hormones,” – Dr. Danine Fruge, Associate Medical Director at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami, Florida.

Feeling stressed? Rundown? Are you overweight? Achey, especially after workouts? Do you have restless leg syndrome, or worry about osteoporosis? Having difficulty focusing or staying motivated? You may be one of many who are deficient in magnesium.

Magnesium is another critical nutrient for bone health – magnesium is required to activate Vitamin D into its active form, to allow calcium to find it’s way to the bones. In fact magnesium is required for all of the enzymes involved in Vitamin D metabolism.

Feeling stressed? “Mg deficiency, even when mild, increases susceptibility to various types of neurologic and psychological stressors in rodents, healthy human subjects and diverse groups of patients. Repletion of deficiency reverses this increased stress sensitivity, and pharmacologic loading of Mg salts orally or parenterally induces resistance to neuropsychologic stressors.” In English, this means having adequate levels of magnesium buffers you to feelings of stress. Magnesium is crucial to the relaxation response, helping your muscles and nervous system to relax.

Magnesium has been shown to increase learning and memory, especially the form Magnesium-L-Threonate.

Turns out that dopamine, that wonderful little neurotransmitter that is involved in motivation and feeling pleasure, is a magnesium-dependent molecule :

“Dopamine has been called the ‘pleasure neurotransmitter’ and evidence shows that dopamine is a magnesium-dependent neurotransmitter. It is possible that low levels of magnesium trigger low levels in dopamine in the brain.”

Magnesium also improves hormone status, at least in middle aged men. This study concludes :

In a cohort of older men, magnesium levels are strongly and independently associated with the anabolic hormones testosterone and IGF-1.

This is great news, as we’ve seen national levels of testosterone plummet, likely due to xenoestrogens in the environment, and is also beneficial because these hormones decline with age. Please note that magnesium supplementation brought these hormones back into a healthy range. Magnesium is not a steroid and won’t make any of you ladies grow a beard.

Soda, caffeine, alcohol, refined grains and sugary foods, as well as stress, intense exercise and sweating all increase the need for magnesium.

The Recommended Daily Amount is around 400 mg, but remember, you may need more depending on how much you exercise, how stressed you are or how poor your diet is.

Magnesium is found most abundantly in pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate and raw cacao, bone broth and dark leafy green vegetables. At the center of every molecule of chlorophyl in plants is a magnesium ion, so the greener the plant, the more magnesium-rich it is.

It can still be difficult to ingest adequate amounts daily, especially if you’re stressed or exercising regularly, and for this reason it’s wise to supplement with magnesium in addition to eating magnesium-rich foods. Magnesium citrate is a great choice that is cheap and has the added benefit of helping improve digestion. Two rounded teaspoons is just short of 400 mg – I’d suggest consuming two teaspoons in times of stress or if you don’t have a healthy diet, or one teaspoon if you eat plenty of magnesium rich foods.

Bottom Line – Magnesium improves bone health, reduces stress, calms the brain and improves alertness, improves the functioning of the motivation and pleasure molecule dopamine, improves hormonal status, can help with constipation and may even improve learning and memory.

Stay tuned for the rest of the list of supplements everyone should probably be using, leave a comment if you have any questions, and contact me to learn more about how to fit all this together and taking it to the next level.

Adaptogens, Pt. 1

Let’s say you’ve got your diet nailed down, and your exercise routine is going along great, and you’ve even started taking a few supplements to fill in some gaps. You have more energy and hey, you’ve even lost a few pounds without trying, you sly dog you.

But then you hit that wall. It could be that 3 pm, post-lunch-take-a-nap wall, or the wall you hit when you get home from work that turns you into a zoned out zombie. It could be that wall you hit each time you try to go to the gym only to find you don’t have any energy.

The wall has been hit

You realize there’s something missing, something more you could be doing. And the truth is there is more, a lot more you could be doing – small tweaks you could be making that will make a big difference. One of which is making use of adaptogens.

No doubt about it, getting your diet honed in and specified to your goals, getting a healthy dose of exercise and improving your sleep habits are the foundation of any health promoting regimen, and the cornerstone of your success. But once that’s in place, how do you take it to the next level?

The Missing Link in Your Life

Today’s world is a high-stress world – we’re actually built to handle, even thrive, on small doses of stress, but chronic stress? Thats a killer. Good news is, nature has once again provided us with all we need, this time in the form of adaptogens.

An adaptogen is any substance that improves our ability to handle stress. Many of them lower or modulate levels of cortisol, our main stress hormone. Some adaptogens help us to actually rebuild our over-worked adrenal glands, helping to prevent or reverse adrenal fatigue. They provide us with sustained, jitter-free energy throughout the day, many improve libido, and they work in too diverse a way to sum up in this little paragraph.

Further, some help us to relax, much as a glass of wine does after work. Others can be more stimulating, great for the start of the day or before the gym, and yet others are neutral and balanced, while still being strongly anti-fatigue. I recommend picking either one neutral adaptogen to try out, or one that is stimulating and one that is relaxing, so you have one for day time use and one for the evenings.

Ginseng – This is the big boy on the block, the granddaddy of all adaptogens. Ginseng is the highest ranked herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for a reason, and that’s because it is so broad-spectrum in its actions, and because it’s the primary Qi tonic, it increases energy levels and stamina tremendously. Ginseng normalizes the activity of both the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, meaning it brings you into balance between your “rest and digest” mode and your “fight or flight” mode. Ginseng also regulates your endocrine system, helping to keep your hormone levels in check.

Ginseng root looks like a human body

In addition to being strongly anti-fatigue, Ginseng is also

Neuroprotective
Cognitive Enhancing
Immuno-regulatory (increases immune response in those with low immune function, and decreases response in those with over-active immune systems)
Anti-diabetic
Anti-cancer
Pro-libido
Hormone-regulating

It should be noted that true Asian ginseng, called Panax Ginseng, is a different plant than either American Ginseng or Siberian Ginseng, although all three have similar effects. Panax Ginseng is generally more stimulating than the others, with Siberian Ginseng being neutral, neither stimulating nor relaxing, and American Ginseng being ever so slightly relaxing. Further, when it comes to buying ginseng, you get what you pay for. Higher quality roots will produce much better results, and will cost more, with some very mature and potent roots easily reaching close to a thousand dollars. I personally have used Dragon Herbs products with great results. Their House Ginseng and Ginseng Sublime are excellent choices.

Ashwagandha – This bad boy, sometimes referred to as Indian Ginseng, is a helluva plant. A mainstay in Ayurvedic medicine, the ancient healing system of India, Ahswagandha is my top pick in terms of relaxing adaptogens, and may well be my favorite adaptogen overall.

It has been proven to lower cortisol, our main stress hormone, in a dose dependent manner, making it a gift for today’s fast-paced, highly strung world. It excels at treating anxiety, as it actually works on the same receptors in the brain as pharmaceutical anxiety meds, without addiction or side effects. For this reason, it can be used in smaller doses throughout the day as a calming agent, and in larger doses in the evening to relax, much the way you would drink a glass of wine.

It provides a nice big boost to the libido, enhances fertility in both women and men, and boosts thyroid function, aiding in weight loss, as well as being anti-fatigue and immuno-regulatory.

But perhaps it’s greatest benefit is that it’s been shown to enhance the release of BDNF within in the brain. BDNF stands for Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, which protects brain cells from stress and toxins, repairs damaged brain cells and even promotes the growth of new brain cells! For this reason it deserves a place in anyone’s medicine chest, and especially for those who may be worried about cognitive decline. For this benefit to bear fruit Ashwagandha must be taken continuously over long periods of time.

Yeah, it makes you smarter, thinner and more fertile

Tulsi – Also called Holy Basil, this herb is known as the “Queen of Herbs” in Ayurveda (ashwagandha is sometimes referred to as the king). Tulsi is a highly revered medicinal plant that is found in almost every home in India, and for good reason. It’s said to be the most Sattvic of all herbs, meaning it promotes a sense of ease, peace and clarity and benefits spiritual practice.

This 2014 study sums Tulsi up quite nicely – “Tulsi has been found to protect organs and tissues against chemical stress from industrial pollutants and heavy metals, and physical stress from prolonged physical exertion, ischemia, physical restraint and exposure to cold and excessive noise. Tulsi has also been shown to counter metabolic stress through normalization of blood glucose, blood pressure and lipid levels, and psychological stress through positive effects on memory and cognitive function and through its anxiolytic and anti-depressant properties… Cultivation of tulsi plants has both spiritual and practical significance that connects the grower to the creative powers of nature, and organic cultivation offers solutions for food security, rural poverty, hunger, environmental degradation and climate change. The use of tulsi in daily rituals is a testament to Ayurvedic wisdom and provides an example of ancient knowledge offering solutions to modern problems.” Bolds and Italics my addition.

Tulsi is a calming herb, but not as relaxing as Ashwagandha. It promotes feelings of peace and well-being more than anything, and is a solid choice for evening or morning use. This product has been the most potent form of Tulsi I’ve yet to try, though it’s very common in tea form as well.

Which adaptogens have you tried, and which of these sound most interesting to you? Keep your eye open for more posts on adaptogens in the near future.