Trudy Scott:

Welcome back to the Anxiety Summit Season 6, Toxins, Meds
and Infections. I'm your host, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert, certified
nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution. Today, we have Dr.
Ameet Aggarwal here to discuss the natural liver detox, how liver
function is intricately connected to your mood and anxiety levels, and how to
improve liver function and bile production.

Watch the full interview on Dr Ameet YouTube Channel

Listen to the full interview on Dr Ameet Podcast

Voted one of the top 43 naturopathic doctors to follow, Dr. Ameet combines
naturopathic and functional medicine, Gestalt psychotherapy, Family
Constellations therapy, EMDR, and homeopathy to help people with trauma,
anxiety, depression, and chronic disease. His bestselling book, online
sessions, and Free Holistic Medicine Courses Online at drameet.com have helped thousands of people
heal their mind and body, together with emotional release techniques, and
holistic medicine.

Dr. Ameet also treats poor communities, and children living with disabilities in
Kenya through his charitable work and sales of his book and Free Holistic Medicine Courses Online.
Very big welcome, Dr. Ameet, it's a pleasure to have you back on the Anxiety
Summit. And we're going to be taking the liver discussion that we talked about
on the prior summit in a new direction. And we’re also going to touch on
Family Constellations therapy, and homeopathy. It’s such a pleasure to have
you back.

Dr. Ameet Aggarwal:

Thanks as well, Trudy. Greetings from Kenya, everyone.
I'm excited, because combining mind, body, medicine seems to be like the new
way of healing. And, yeah, just excited about it.

GABA for Anxiety and Depression

Trudy:

Good. We've got a number of people who combining the mind and body
aspects, and I appreciate the fact that you're going to be adding to that as
well. So before we get to all of that, let's just talk about herbs for liver and
the different mechanisms on how it can affect your mood. We know there's the
thyroid, serotonin connection. There's a connection to the microbiome. And
then there's also the GABA, progesterone connection.

So let's just start with this connection between the liver, and thyroid, and
serotonin production, which we know is important for helping with
depression, and also helping to ease some of the anxiety that we have when
we've got these ruminating thoughts, and the worry, and the reprocessing,
and the maybe some of the OCD type of behaviors or thinking.

Dr. Ameet:

Okay, great. So, basically the liver is responsible for everything in
your body. And it produces bile, which improves digestion, and improves your
microbiome. And as you know, your microbiome has bacteria that produce
serotonin, and GABA, and all the other neurotransmitters. And so, if you have
insufficient amounts of bile, then your microbiome will be unhealthy and
you'll produce unhealthy amounts of serotonin and GABA.

The other thing, recent study done by Malik and Hodgson, showed that the
liver is super responsible for converting thyroid hormone, T4, into active T3. In
fact, they're saying about 60 to 70% of your thyroid hormone is activated in
your liver. And so if you have liver stagnation or liver toxicity, this conversion
doesn't go well. And your thyroid hormone is super important to help your
brain produce serotonin. Your thyroid hormone helps the cells in your
intestines stick together more tightly and to prevent leaky gut syndrome.

So, if you have compromised thyroid function because of liver stagnation, then
you're going to get less serotonin production in your brain, and you're going to
get a worsening of leaky gut syndrome. And both of these things, of course,
will affect your mood, right? Because when you have more leaky gut, then you
have more chronic inflammation. And chronic inflammation suppresses
serotonin, and GABA, melatonin, dopamine. So you'll experience more anxiety
and depression based on liver stagnation, creating or contributing towards
leaky liver and leaky gut.

There was another study done where people with hypothyroidism had less
concentration of serotonin in their frontal cortex. And, just by improving
thyroid function, the levels of serotonin increased in the brain.
And that study is by Bauer and Whybrow. And it's called “Thyroid hormones,
serotonin and mood: of synergy and significance in the adult brain” in case
any of the listeners are interested.

Trudy:

Thank you. And that's important, because we know about the
connection between the thyroid and the catecholamines, but we don't often
hear about this connection between thyroid and serotonin production.
And the other thing that you said that I just wanted to come back to, as you
mentioned, leaky gut. And if you've got a leaky gut, you're not going to be
absorbing some of the nutrients, some of the precursors, some of the cofactors
in order to make some of our neurotransmitters. So we've got that
downstream effect as well.

Amino acids for Anxiety

Dr. Ameet:

Downstream, yes, Trudy. And also very importantly, your liver is
super responsible for releasing B-vitamins as well. And so when you have
compromised liver function, then you're absorbing and releasing B-vitamins in
a compromised way. So your neurotransmitter reduction is compromised as
well and natural liver detox becomes even more important. 

Trudy:

And then going back to the thyroid connection to the liver, you had
sent me a paper, it was called “The relationship between the thyroid gland and
the liver.” And the fact that you said that so much of thyroid hormone is
activated in the liver, I don't think many people realize this. And so this makes
it really, really important. And when we've got thyroid dysfunction, it affects
the liver. And then the liver disease, in turn, modulates thyroid hormone
metabolism. So we've got this sort of two way connection going on.

Dr. Ameet:

Absolutely. And I think that's why people with low thyroid
function often experience constipation, because the liver is responsible for
producing bile, which lubricates the bowels. And so, most people with
constipation have a liver and bile issue rather than a laxative deficiency. A lot
of people make the mistake of using laxatives to detoxify or to move their
bowels. But if they just use herbs and supplements to help the liver function,
and of course, look at thyroid function as well, then their constipation or
sticky bowels would improve significantly. And then they don't get dependent
on all these laxatives as well.

Trudy:

Right. So we're getting to the root cause and we’re addressing the root
cause instead of just medicating to try and get rid of the symptoms, which is
the constipation.

Dr. Ameet:

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Trudy:

So, you also write about, in your book, this connection in the liver
between GABA and progesterone.Can you talk a little bit about that?

Dr. Ameet:

Yeah. So the funny thing is, so we often think about mental health
as a consequence of neurotransmitters alone. But the truth is that our mental
health depends on our hormones. And progesterone affects the way GABA
works in your brain. So GABA is your anti-anxiety neurotransmitter, but it
requires progesterone to work well in your brain, and your liver metabolizes all
your hormones through Phase 1 and Phase 2 detoxification pathways.

And if your liver is compromised, then you're likely to have lower progesterone
levels and estrogen dominance. And with low progesterone, then GABA won't
work as well in the brain, leading to anxiety and insomnia. And so the liver
and adrenals, in the way that they affect your hormones, will also therefore
affect your neurotransmitters.

Trudy:

Can you expand a little bit on how the adrenals come into all of this?

How lack of neurotransmitters is associated with anxiety?

Dr. Ameet:

Yeah. Good question, Trudy. So your adrenal glands basically are
your fight or flight organs. They produce adrenaline when you're threatened,
and they also produce cortisol. So with chronic stress that's unresolved or
even unresolved childhood traumas, your adrenal glands are in a chronic
state of fight or flight. And so they're going to use up all the B-vitamins, the
zinc, and all the nutrients that they need to survive or to function well. The
unfortunate thing is that your body also needs these B-vitamins to make
neurotransmitters. And it needs all these other chemicals to make
neurotransmitters.

So when you're overstressed, and you have unresolved trauma, then your
adrenal glands are using up all the nutrients that you need to make your
neurotransmitters. And so people with adrenal fatigue will often experience
anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, OCD symptoms, because they don't
have enough neurotransmitters, number one.

What happens when you burn out your adrenal glands?

Number two also, is when your adrenal glands are burnt out, you get a
cortisol imbalance, and when you have a cortisol imbalance that also
suppresses serotonin, dopamine, GABA, and melatonin. So the deficiency of
minerals, as well as the cortisol imbalance, both create a neurotransmitter
imbalance, leading to mental health symptoms, anxiety, depression, OCD,
there's a whole spectrum, right?

Trudy:

I'm glad you made this connection because I always, with the way I
describe it to my clients, is we've got this little merry dance going on between
the hormones and the neurotransmitters, and now you've brought the liver
into it, and you brought the bile into it, and you brought the microbiome into
it. So it's amazing how the body is so wise, and how it works together. And
how we can have a problem in one area, and it can cause some of these
downstream effects.

Now, you talked about the role of the liver in detoxing hormones. So, we've got
the liver that's needed to detox from outside toxins and then we've got the
hormones that's also involved. So, can you just talk a little bit about Phase 1
and Phase 2 liver detox? And then I also want you to talk about the best liver detox, Phase 2, and
how important it is, so when we have these self-generated toxins, we don't
want to end up accumulating them and causing more of an issue.

Dr. Ameet:

Right. I call it auto-toxicity. So, your liver is like this beautiful
organ, right? It's one of my favorite organs. That's why I write about it. We
have two phases, well, three phases really, in liver detox Phase 1 basically
takes all these toxins and makes them water soluble. So why do we need
toxins to be water soluble? So that it can be excreted in your bile, and through
your urine.

Now, Phase 1 requires these nutrients called glutathione and other
nutrients, right? And Phase 1 also metabolizes your hormones, drugs,
chemicals, anything that's in your body, and sends them into Phase 2.
The problem is that Phase 2 also depends on glutathione and many other
nutrients. And if you have a deficiency of nutrients, Phase 2 doesn't work very
well. And so, when Phase 1 processes all your toxins and sends them to Phase
2, and Phase 2 is not working very well, then there's going to be an
accumulation of toxins, which is very harmful for your body, right? It causes a
lot of oxidative damage.

So, everyone who's focusing on improving liver detox and herbs for liver
sometimes they forget about enhancing Phase 2 liver detox, right?
So, Phase 2 has, how do I say it? Many other steps within it. You have
something called sulfation, amino acid conjugation, acetylation, there's
methylation as well. All of these phases require different nutrients. And so
what I do is understand if there's a compromise in one of these phases, then
we need to add nutrients specific to those phases.

Liver cleansing herbs

Trudy:

So you talk about how there are these different phases in Phase 2
detox and how there are different nutrients that are needed for each of these
phases. So can you go into that a little bit more please?

Dr. Ameet:

Right. Okay, great. So, most of your toxins are stored as fat
molecules in your body, and they need to be dissolved in water to help them
be released from your body, either in your bile or in your urine. Now using the
cytochrome P450 group enzymes, your liver basically renders these toxins
more water soluble and that happens in Phase 1. The problem is that Phase 1
creates a lot of byproducts that need to be dealt with by Phase 2. And if Phase
2 is running slow or ineffective, then you have an accumulation of toxins. And
this accumulation is what causes a lot of oxidative damage in your body. And
Phase 1 depends on glutathione.

Now what happens is Phase 2 also depends on glutathione and other
nutrients. When you have a lot of toxins, heavy metals, pesticides, too much
alcohol, too much drugs, your body uses a lot of glutathione in Phase 1 to
process these toxins and heavy metals. That means that Phase 2 has less
glutathione and less other nutrients to process the byproducts of Phase 1. So
you get this accumulation of toxins in your body and that's going to cause a
lot of problems downstream. Phase 2 requires glutathione and many other
nutrients, your B-vitamins, folic acid for methylation.

Then you have other processes, like amino acid conjugation, so you need
nutrients such as taurine and other amino acids. You have sulfation, and
that's where you have your sulfur containing foods that are super important.
That's why everyone's eating broccoli and Brussels sprouts to improve liver
function. You have other processes such as glucuronidation, which we'll talk
about and why that's important with Gilbert’s syndrome as well. So, all these
phases have to be taken care of with the right nutrients and the right
detoxification herbs as well, to make sure that there's no accumulation of
toxins from Phase 1.

Trudy:

Great, thanks for clarifying that. Because I think people often focus on
Phase 1, and they don't think about what's happening in Phase 2. And they've
got these more active metabolites that are going to cause more issues. So, let's
talk about, you mentioned a few liver friendly foods. I'm glad you mentioned
the high sulfur foods. We've got the broccoli, and the cabbage, and the
Brussels sprouts, which actually also help with Phase 2 detoxification, as
you've shared. What other liver friendly foods do you recommend that we
think about consuming? And we're going to go into the nutrients in a second,
but let's talk about some foods first.

Detoxification: what foods to help cleanse your gut for the best liver detox?

Dr. Ameet:

Great. So I always start with bitter foods, Trudy, because bitter
foods stimulate your liver to release bile and that's really important, right?
Bitter foods include arugula, radish, dandelion, and also adding turmeric in
your food, and your cooking will stimulate bile flow. Things like parsley,
thyme, ginger, and also berries, they will provide the antioxidants because
remember your liver is going through a lot of oxidative damage, so you need
the antioxidants.

And then Indian cooking also has a lot of other spices like coriander seeds,
fennel, turmeric, cumin, and those also help to detoxify your liver. So having a
bit of spicy food will improve liver function. And then you mentioned the
Brussels sprouts, and the broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, onions, and garlic.
They also contain sulfur, which will help with liver detoxification, especially
the sulfation pathway, which is really important for bile conjugation as well.

Trudy:

Love it. I feel hungry just listening, and I love Indian food. And I love
that you mentioned the spices, because we often talk about the foods and we
forget about how beneficial some of those spices are. Can you give me ideas on
how someone could use turmeric in just like a curry, or in a beverage?

Dr. Ameet:

Right. So what I do is I actually make a turmeric, ginger, lemon
tea. Ginger is great for the liver. Turmeric is fantastic for liver, and lemon
obviously stimulates bile flow as well. So I'll drink that once or twice a day. My
mom or family always adds turmeric to their cooking, and you go to any
restaurant, most Indian restaurants will have turmeric to their cooking. And
the important thing is to add black pepper with turmeric, because black
pepper activates the turmeric and then helps it become more bioavailable. So
black pepper is super important when you're using turmeric as well.

Trudy:

So with your turmeric, lemon, ginger tea, you’re obviously using a
turmeric root, and are you grating it, or do you just cut it into chunks? How
do you make it?

Dr. Ameet:

Okay, so most turmeric is ready sold as a powder, as a preprepared powder. So I just put the powder in. Of course the fresh root is better, so I'll crush it, I'll just pound it a lot, and then boil it because I like to
have it in little pieces so that the ingredients are released much faster. Then I
won't strain it. And I'll actually swallow the root, all those pieces. So most
people will use a teabag or use a sieve to filter out all the medicines. But I like
to eat them so that my stomach acids process those roots further, and get
more nutrients out of them.

Trudy:

I love it. So what about some other herbs for liver support? You've
mentioned the B-vitamins. Obviously the turmeric is a good herb. You've
mentioned some cooking herbs. What about other medicinal herbs that we
might want to consider for liver support? And then also nutrients for
improving bile production?

Manage Your Anxiety Through a Healthy Gut and liver

Dr. Ameet:

Okay, so in my Free Holistic Medicine Courses Online, I have a whole protocol for herbs for liver, I'll mention some of them. One of the most important
ones is glutathione, very important, is the major antioxidant for your liver.
Then there's NAC. NAC helps your body replenish glutathione.
The herbs that I love using include milk thistle, of course, that's the famous
one for the liver. Dandelion is very important. Dandelion root specifically,
because dandelion leaf is for the kidneys, but dandelion root is for the liver,
and it helps stimulate bile flow.

Then we have artichoke leaf as well. And then I use homeopathies as well,
such as nux vomica or Lycopodium. There's other nutrients that we have to
consider that are often ignored for liver function. One of the most important
ones is taurine, because taurine helps with bile conjugation, and liver detox.
And then we have choline and inositol, very, very important for fat metabolism
in your liver. So each nutrient has a specific function or a specific rule with
liver detox and a specific pathway.

Trudy:

Okay, a few follow-on questions here. Do you have a time when you
might use glutathione versus using NAC? And if yes, when would that be?

Dr. Ameet:

It's funny you ask that, Trudy. Because I'm often conflicted when
to use it and I'll test it out energetically because some people get irritated with
NAC and they seem to tolerate glutathione much better. So I nowadays tend to
use glutathione more than NAC. But if somebody energetically tests better for
NAC, then I'll use NAC instead.

Trudy:

Okay. And are you using NAC capsules, or are you having people use
the powder? Because the powder is a pretty intense taste you've got to really
get used to. But I've found, some people really prefer to do that and mix it in
with water. What are you finding from your patients?

Dr. Ameet:

I’m using capsules. Straight. I don't put them through that
process.

Trudy:

Yeah. It's pretty intense, isn't it? It's very interesting. There's been
some research supporting NAC for respiratory issues, and some potential
benefits with Coronavirus. So, it's interesting to see that getting a little bit of a
revival there.

What are the Best Herbs for Liver Detox

Dr. Ameet:

Yeah, I'm actually recommending that to my patients with
Coronavirus. I've been prescribing homeopathy of course, and NAC to
stimulate lung healing, because it reduces the damage caused by the cytokine
storm, and the inflammatory damage due to cytokine excess, basically. And
they've done studies on that actually, where NAC actually helped tissue
repairing the lungs post influenza virus.

Trudy:

Are you finding that it's helpful as a preventative as well, or when
someone starts to get sick? And then also, once they are sick, is there a timing
that you have found works better?

Dr. Ameet:

I've been using it while somebody is sick. However, NAC and any
other antioxidant, these all improve your immune function, so there's no harm
in taking it as a preventative as well. What I'm doing mostly for prevention is a
lot of zinc, selenium, vitamin A, and of course the homeopathy.

Trudy:

Okay. The other thing that I just wanted to mention about NAC is that
there's been a number of studies showing how beneficial it is for OCD, and for
phobias like hair pulling, and when kids are plucking at their eyebrows, and
scratching their nail beds until they’re bleeding. So, it's quite interesting that
it has those mental health benefits as well.

Dr. Ameet:

Absolutely. And I combined NAC with inositol as well. Inositol is
fantastic and choline as well for OCD. I use inositol, choline, and NAC for
OCD-like symptoms.

Trudy:

I love, love inositol, and NAC, and I hadn't thought about using it with
choline. So that's interesting that you mention that.

Dr. Ameet:

Inositol and choline are often sold together and I think they work
synergistically together. So I'll often prescribe them together just to enhance
their function.

Trudy:

Okay. Good to hear. I love hearing from practitioners who are seeing
what works, and what is going to be effective. I've got one follow on question,
you mentioned earlier on that you use homeopathies in the work that you do.
And you mentioned nux vomica, and Lycopodium. Can you just give me an
idea of when you would use either of these? I know there's very specific
indications for homeopathy.

Homeopathy for Anxiety

Dr. Ameet:

Yeah. So, nux vomica is often used when somebody has chronic
constipation and it's irritable and there might be signs of heartburn, but there
might not be. I also use nux vomica if they've had a history of a lot of stress.
And, their poo is often very hard or like little sheep pellets. Lycopodium has
more of the picture of gas and bloating, indigestion, and a lot of hunger or
aggravation from hunger. So if they get hungry, they get angry, or they feel
anxious with hunger, or they wake up in the middle of the night and the thing
that helps them sleep is eating. So that's more the Lycopodium picture.
Lycopodium picture is more of an anxious person. And nux vomica is more of
an irritable person.

Trudy:

It's interesting that you combine homeopathy with the nutrients. It's
not often that we see this. We often have people who are just using
homeopathy, and then we've got people just using the diet and nutrients. And
it's interesting that you combine the two. Yeah, it's intriguing. And that's why
I wanted to talk to you about it. And I've actually also heard you talk about
using the homeopathy for specific toxins or maybe for when someone is
tapering off a medication like a benzodiazepine. Can you talk to that a little
bit?

Dr. Ameet:

Yeah. So homeopathy truly is an energetic medicine, right? It
helps heal emotional trauma from the past. It helps reset the nervous system.
And the thing is we cannot only rely on nutrients to heal us. We have to shift
the energy. We have to release the trauma that's making our body
compensated. So, if somebody is coming off drugs and medicines, we need to
support their emotional state. Not only biochemically, but their vulnerability,
their energetic emotions. And that's where homeopathy comes in really well.

So I'll try to understand the traumas the person has been through, because
there's a specific remedy that can heal specific traumas. And then I'll also
understand the specific symptoms the person has. So some person with
anxiety might have more OCD-like symptoms, or fear of robbers versus
somebody might have a fear of poverty, which is a different mental state. Or
some person might be afraid that people might not like them, and they're a
people pleaser.

How to Go Off Anti-Anxiety Medication?

So each different symptom points to a different homeopathic remedy. And
when you give the right homeopathic remedy, it's easier for the person to come
off their drugs. Because you're supporting the energetics, or the emotional
vulnerability of a person, and they become less dependent on the medicine.
And of course I'll use psychotherapy and homeopathy to also release the
trauma that put them in the state. So that's really important to combine
healing the mind and the body together.
Trudy: So are you doing this in a layered approach? Like you might work with
the nutrients first, and then maybe think, “Well, now I need to consider
whether there's going to be a role here for homeopathy and therapy.” Or is it
something that you do right from the beginning with everyone? Or is it really
just dependent on each person?

Dr. Ameet:

Awesome question, Trudy. So it is depending on each person, and
often I'll do it altogether. So when they come in for a visit, I'll understand their
emotional history. And I also suspect because their physical history, they
might have gas, bloating, fatigue. So I know they need some liver support, and
most people have inflammation, and they need to heal their gut. I'll put them
on the protocol to heal the gut, the liver, and if necessary, the adrenal system.

But sometimes I'll wait to actually heal their adrenal system, because they
might be toxic, right? So adding Rhodiola or ashwagandha might aggravate
their symptoms, because they have, what we call in Ayurvedic medicine, too
much heat in their system. So after we reduce inflammation, and after we
detoxify, then it's safer to include the adrenal support. But at the same time in
the visit, I'll either help them release some emotions, which are stressing the
adrenal system. And I'll also give them homeopathy to heal their past, and
their mental state so that there's less stress on the body and on the nervous
system energetically. And when you do that, the supplements actually work
better, because the body's using up less supplements, because of emotional
stress. Does that make sense?

Trudy:

It does. That's very interesting. It's a really interesting perspective to
hear. I appreciate it. That's why I love doing these summits too, because I get
to learn as well. So thank you for sharing that. Going back to some of the
nutrients you mentioned for liver support, we talked about NAC. I know
people are going to want to know what sort of dosing you are using. Are you
using like 500 to a thousand milligrams or, any thoughts on that?

Dr. Ameet:

Again, Trudy, I always start slow. And I test it out energetically.
Some people need it twice a day. Some people need a large dose all at once,
but often I'll space it out like one tablet twice a day. And if they're aggravating,
then cut it down to even just one tablet once a day.

Trudy:

Okay. So, you’re finding some people it's too much for them too soon
and they need to cut back?

Dr. Ameet:

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Trudy:

Okay. So, Dr. Ameet, I had the pleasure of reading one of your most
recent books, it's called Liver Detox, Foods, Nutrition, and Herbs. And in that
book, you mentioned an herb that we don't often hear about. It's an Ayurvedic
herb. It's called Triphala, T-R-I-P-H-A-L-A. And the reason I'm interested in it,
firstly, it’s because I looked up the research and saw all the benefits. So we'll
talk a little bit about that. But also before I became a nutritionist, I actually
worked with an Ayurvedic practitioner when I was living in South Africa. And
I'm just fascinated by the whole Ayurvedic principles. So let's just touch a
little bit on Triphala. I know you use it in your work. And then, you've got a
study that you're going to share with us.

Natural herbs fro anxiety

Dr. Ameet:

So Triphala is this beautiful combination of three herbs. Amalaki,
which is Emblica officinalis. Then in Indian it is called Bibhitaki, and that's
Terminalia bellirica, cannot pronounce these that well. And then Haritaki,
which is Terminalia chebula. So the beauty of Triphala is that it has a
synergistic effect on the entire body. It's immunomodulating, it's antiinflammatory, it's an antioxidant, it helps the microbiome, it helps detoxify your body.

So in Ayurvedic medicine, it's one of the first therapies that people undergo to,
I think, reset their metabolism. So when you remove all the toxins, and you
tone down inflammation, then any other herb you add will work much better.
Because you have less blockages in the system. And there was actually a
study done where people were exposed to noise stress, the stress of just loud
noises and stuff. And noise stress actually increases inflammation in your
body.

And they found that Triphala reduces this inflammatory response. So in a
way, Triphala can be used to also tolerate stress. And what I do is I add it in
warm water, and I sip it during the day. Most people recommend taking it at
night because it has a laxative effect. I personally haven't found a very strong
laxative effect on it, so I'm comfortable just sipping it during the day to just
tone my system, and protect it, and cleanse while I'm living my daily life.

Trudy:

Interesting, it was so good to read about it. And I appreciate you
sharing that. The paper that I pulled as a result of reading it in your book was
called “Therapeutic Uses of Triphala in Ayurvedic Medicine.” And as well as
some of the benefits that you just mentioned, it's also got immunomodulating
effects, it's antibacterial, hypoglycemic, so it'll help with high blood sugar.

Chemoprotective and radioprotective. So I was just blown away when I read all
of those benefits. But the other reason why I was particularly interested and
why I wanted to talk about it today is I've got some discussions going on in my
Facebook group about misophonia, M-I-S-O-P-H-O-N-I-A, which are people
who have this issue with noises.

And it's usually chewing noises where, if I'm talking and they can hear me go,
you know, when I'm talking, or if someone's eating, they can hear the plate,
the scratching on the plate while someone's eating. Or just hearing someone
in the room next to them being bothered by the chewing and it's not even loud
chewing, but they're just very, very sensitive to it. So when I heard about the
fact that Triphala could help in that area, I just thought, “Oh, that's
interesting.”

Because what I've found is that for some people who have this misophonia,
however you want to pronounce it, they respond, it's like an OCD type
situation and they respond well to serotonin support. They may respond well
to NAC, which we just talked about, but now we've got Triphala as well, that
might help them. And I guess it depends on what their underlying cause is,
what the trigger is, and everyone responds differently to different things. So
it's fascinating.

Dr. Ameet:

Absolutely. And also for misophonia, I use homeopathic like Kali
Phos and phosphoric acid, in the cases where some of these had a lot of
burnout and their nerves are raw. So they’re over sensitive, they don't have a
shield or protection. And so they'll react to either loud noises or people
chewing. They get irritable very easily. So homeopathy is a great addition as
well as Triphala, of course. And NAC, like you mentioned.

Trudy:

So just mention the two homeopathic formulas you mentioned there?
Kali Phos, and?

Dr. Ameet:

Kali Phos and phosphoric acid have often used for burnout states.
And in burnout states, I've found that some people are oversensitive to noises,
especially loud noises. So when you give them these low-dose homeopathies
they jump less or they startle less. So I imagine even for misophonia, they'd be
like less irritated with other noises going out in their system. These
homeopathies make the nerves less raw or less sensitive.

Trudy:

And that makes sense because it’s like the nails scratching on a
chalkboard that I remember thinking about when I was a kid and for some
people just hearing chewing, regular chewing, or someone eating a packet of
crisps, and some of the feedback that I've heard from people in my
community, it's been so serious that they have to eat in a different room to the
rest of the family, they can't eat out at restaurants. So it is a very debilitating
symptom that is affecting people's lives. So I'm so glad we've got this, the
Triphala, and these homeopathies that you've mentioned as possible
additions. Your thoughts on serotonin support for this as well?

OCD natural treatment

Dr. Ameet:

Absolutely because serotonin deficiency is often seen in OCD
symptoms. And like you say, misophonia is a form of OCD like, it's a stray
from the normal, it's something that's new, or an added stimulus. And that
can provoke a lot of anxiety or irritation in someone. So definitely using
serotonin or inositol as natural remedies for anxiety and depression as well. 

Trudy:

Inositol. Yeah.

Dr. Ameet:

I imagine that would help a lot as well. Because it reduces the
obsession, right? Because in OCD we really get obsessed with small, small
things, either germs or noises or something new. We just want that familiar
state all the time, as much as possible.

Trudy:

Well, thank you for all of that. That was an interesting discussion. So,
let's just talk about something else related to the liver function, and that's
Gilbert's syndrome. And the reason that I wanted to bring this up is when I
was getting ready for this interview, I posted on social media and I asked my
community, “I'm going to be interviewing someone about the liver. Is there any
specific questions that you have?” And I was very surprised to have five or six
people ask about Gilbert's syndrome. And it's not very common.

I've worked with a few clients with Gilbert's syndrome. It's not something that
we hear a lot about. And a lot of people will go to the doctor and they’re told
they've got Gilbert’s syndrome and there’s absolutely nothing that we can do.
So I asked you if you could take a look at this, and give some feedback. And
we often have anxiety and depression with Gilbert's syndrome. So if you can
just go ahead and share what you found, I think that'll be very helpful.

Does Gilbert's syndrome cause anxiety?

Dr. Ameet:

Yeah, with pleasure, Trudy. So Gilbert's syndrome is compromised
glucuronidation detoxification. What does that mean? So in the second phase,
Phase 2 of liver detox, you have this pathway called glucuronidation. And
when it's compromised, basically your body cannot break down bilirubin and
excrete it as bile. And so there's an excess of bilirubin going on in the blood.
And so somebody will look jaundiced, yellow eyes, and bilirubin is also a
neurotoxin. So it irritates the nerves and somebody will be more prone to
anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

They've even done studies with people with schizophrenia and found that they
often do have high bilirubin levels. And so what I like doing is basically
supporting the formation of bile acids. And there's another pathway called
sulfation and that can also help conjugate more bile acids. And I imagine that
will help pull out more bilirubin from the blood. And so I'll use things like
taurine, there's red cabbage also, which has molybdenum, which is important
for sulfation as well. So all these things I imagine will help the body
detoxifying.

And you want to support, of course, every single pathway in the body, in the
liver. Because imagine if liver Phase 1 is building up toxins for Phase 2, and
your poor glucuronidation pathway is overwhelmed, then you're going to get a
buildup of everything else going on in the body, all the other toxins. So just
enhancing liver function, and then using taurine, and Phase 2 specific
nutrients, I imagine you can help reduce the symptoms of Gilbert's syndrome.

Trudy:

And then address some of the other downstream effects that are
causing some of the anxiety, and the depression, maybe with some of the
other things that we've talked about, homeopathy, and then also some of the
therapy approaches that you use as well. So this would be just one area to
look at.

Dr. Ameet:

Absolutely. Yeah. And the root cause in Gilbert’s syndrome is this
genetic defect that's causing the reduction in glucuronidation. So that's the
prime focus there.

And of course, I believe that chemicals bring up unresolved
traumas and emotions that need to be healed. So for example, if somebody
has gone through a trauma and they have gluten sensitivity, then the gluten
will bring up more anxiety because the person’s gone through trauma. So by
healing the trauma and the stress from the past, then the irritation of the
nerves, I believe, would bring up less anxiety.

Trudy:

Very interesting. I'm going to come back and talk to you about the
trauma aspect, and one of the approaches you use called Family
Constellations. But if we could just finish up Gilbert’s syndrome, if you
can just repeat again for folks what the market is that would have been
measured in their blood work that would indicate that they do have Gilbert’s
syndrome.

Dr. Ameet:

It's a high bilirubin levels.

Trudy:

Okay, great. Bilirubin. B-I-L-I-R-U-B-I-N.

Dr. Ameet:

Yeah. And I believe you could actually do genetic testing as well.

Trudy:

So through this interview, you've talked about trauma and you mentioned your holistic medicine books. And during the
summit, we've also had Niki Gratrix talking about adverse childhood
experiences, and Dr. Eva Detko talking about the importance of healing
trauma for vagus nerve support and overall healing. And you use Family
Constellations, and I'd love you to just share a little bit about what Family
Constellations therapy is and how you use it.

Trauma treatment

Dr. Ameet:

Okay. So, Trudy, we're born into family systems, right? And our
ancestors went through trauma, our parents went through trauma. Everyone's
carrying some sort of trauma, and our parents’ and grandparents’ physiology
is affected by trauma. And so when we're born into these systems, our
physiology is also more primed for anxiety, depression, or stress, based on the
genetic changes that happened to our ancestors.

And combining EMDR, Gestalt psychotherapy and Family Constellations,
there's a way to release the loyalties or bondages to these traumas from
previous generations, right? It's called Family Constellation therapy, where we
use certain sentences to help heal. For example, if your mom was abandoned
by your dad and then your mom created a strong bond with you. Suddenly
you became like her partner rather than her child. And she shared her
sorrows and pain, and you took on a responsibility for her sorrows and pain.

And a healing sentence could be something simple like, “Dear mom, I love you
very much. You're the big one. I'm a little child. You know, you can carry
this with respect, and heal your path so that I can live my life as the pure
child for you. And I thank you for giving me the life you've given me.”

I know it sounds a bit strange, but these healing sentences actually release us
from almost karmic or energetic entanglements that we have with our parents
and our ancestors. Another example is if your mom had a miscarriage or an
abortion before you, and you think you're the first child, you might have a lot
of unexplained anxiety that doesn't go away with medications or even
nutrition and homeopathy.

And what I've found in clinical practice is by recognizing that you are the
second child in your family system, and you give a place to the aborted or
miscarried child, you will suddenly calm down because you recognize your
correct position in your family system. And Family Constellation therapy is an
exploding therapy out in Europe and in North America now, because it's really
getting to the root cause of a lot of emotional imbalance.

Trudy:

Very interesting. Is it related to some of the research that we're seeing
on intergenerational trauma?

Dr. Ameet:

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So they're seeing, you know, children
or descendants of Holocaust survivors are more prone to anxiety, OCD, and
mental health symptoms. Because the genetics of their ancestors changed,
right? Their ancestors have to cope with a lot of trauma and abuse. So their
physiology changed and that physiology is passed through the sperm and the
ovum down to the children.

Trudy:

And we were seeing this in indigenous and black communities as well,
where there's been this ongoing systemic racism that's being passed down
from generation to generation. So yeah. Thank you for sharing that. That's so
interesting. I'm so glad that we got to mention that. I love to bring new
information when I'm doing these interviews and that's something that we
haven't talked about. So thank you for sharing that. There's so much that we
can do to help people heal. And we don't want to forget about the trauma
aspect, I think it’s really, really important.

Dr. Ameet:

We carry so much information, right? It’s exhausting the nervous
the system, Trudy.

Trudy:

Very, very interesting. So in my interview with Dr. Perlmutter, we talk
about how giving boosts endorphins, and how, when we get that endorphin
boost, when we give and we donate of our time or money, it actually has an
impact on our immunity. So it gives us this immune support as well.

Now you do community work in Kenya, and firstly, I have to just say, I love
Kenya. It's one of my favorite places in the world. You know that, because I
mentioned this the last time we did an interview, that my husband and I had
our honeymoon there. We climbed Mount Kenya. And then we went to
Tanzania, and we climbed Kilimanjaro as well. So, we spent six weeks there,
and I absolutely adore it.

And when I hear about you doing this work in the community there, it just
takes me back to the amazing time we had there, meeting some of the amazing
locals. And so I would love you to just share about the work that you do in the
community, because I just think it just brings so many things together that
we've talked about on the summit and today.

Dr. Ameet:

Thanks, Trudy, it's a pleasure. So giving is an act of love, right?
And I think we're born to love. And unfortunately, we're so busy with
transactional interactions and relationships that we forget about love. And
so what I find for myself and for the volunteers who come, when we do
community, when we give our time selflessly, and we don't ask for anything
back, it's almost like we're going to the more natural human state of just
giving and community living. And I think then you feel more connected to
people and that sense of belonging, even in Family Constellations it comes up,
that sense of belonging will boost your immune system.

And so I left Canada to do mobile things for poor communities in the North of
Kenya. I'm driving around in a Jeep and giving homeopathy. And now what
I'm focusing on is these children with disabilities, they've been abandoned
because of their disabilities. Yeah, their families or communities think they’re
a curse to the community, and I'm using homeopathy there, either to release
trauma from the system or help developmental issues, hopefully also increase
the body's ability to absorb nutrients because we have like 11, 12 year old
kids that look like three year olds.

It's unbelievable. Because they've been deprived of nutrients from a very
young age. I’m mostly using homeopathy to help with their joints, because
they're all contracted because they've been left without help to walk and
things like that. So I'm hoping for good results. And I support this work
through the sale of my Free Holistic Medicine Courses Online and my book. So if anyone's interested in
my Free Holistic Medicine Courses Online and the book, please help me continue my community work.

Trudy:

That's wonderful. Thank you for sharing and I'd like you to just give
folks where they can find out more about this, your book and your website,
and how they could get involved in this, if they’re interested in it.

Dr. Ameet:

The website is drameet.com, D-R-A-M-E-E-T. It has a link to the
charity work. It has a link to my Free Holistic Medicine Courses Online and the books as well.

Trudy:

Wonderful. And now, I know at one stage, you were inviting people to
come out and get involved on the ground and the charity work. Are you still
doing that?

Dr. Ameet:

I've put a hold on that, one, because of coronavirus and security
issues. And, also when my mom passed away from cancer, I had to put a
pause on that. But I'm thinking about opening up again, somehow combine
that with more personal development as well, because I'm a psychotherapist
and a family constellations therapist, I want to combine emotional healing
experience and some voluntary work in the communities.

Trudy:

I love it. And sorry to hear about your loss.

Dr. Ameet:

Thank you.

Trudy:

I'd love you to just end with final words of wisdom for us today, Dr.
Ameet.

Forgiveness Can Help Panic and Anxiety.

Dr. Ameet:

Okay. I'm just going to tune in. What's coming to me intuitively is
using love as medicine, and the word forgiveness comes. So forgiving others,
forgiving ourselves. We're so busy criticizing ourselves and trying, we have all
these “shoulds” in our minds. So recognizing that a lot of “shoulds” and
expectations and criticisms come from information that's not ours innately as
children, right? We're fed this by society from traumatized parents.

So, working with Family Constellations, working with psychotherapy, to
release these mental stresses from our physiology, so that nutrition can work
better, so that homeopathy can work better. So, really focusing on selfforgiveness. And also letting go of the bonds we hold on others, if we haven't forgiven them yet.

Trudy:

Beautiful. Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing that. And as
someone who works primarily with nutrition, I love the fact that we've got
something that's going to help nutrition to work better. This has been
absolutely fantastic, Dr. Ameet. Thank you so much for taking your time to
share with us today.

Dr. Ameet:

It's been a pleasure, Trudy. Thanks everyone for listening.

Trudy:

Thank you. Thanks a lot, Dr. Ameet, and thank you everyone for
tuning in to another amazing interview on the Anxiety Summit. I do encourage
you to join us for other great interviews on the summit. This is Trudy, signing
off.

Watch the full interview on Dr Ameet YouTube Channel

Listen to the full interview on Dr Ameet Podcast

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