Do You Take Supplemental GABA and Feel Better or Worse? If So, You Have A Brain Problem That Needs To Be Addressed! This is one of the tips I learned at Dr Kharrazians new Mastering Brain Chemistry course. I see people recommend this on lots of sites for Depression, Anxiety, Insomnia, and to promote a general Calming Effect. Go on any Facebook community page or blog, and you will see people rave about how great they feel taking GABA. If you are one of these people, this indicates you have an issue brewing in your brain that MUST be addressed (dont panic, its not immediately life threatening, but it can really impact the health of your brain and is a sign of early neurodegeneration). GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, which in basic terms means it has a calming effect on the brain and therefore the body. Many people with Hashis or other auto immune issues have either deficiencies of this neurotransmitter, or they have actual antibodies against the GABA pathway (GAD-65 antibodies). This can cause problems with being able to calm down and can cause symptoms like a rapid pulse, sweaty palms, inward trembling and anxiety, etc. In our brains, we have a protective barrier that is designed to keep large molecules out. It is called the Blood Brain Barrier. When it is working properly, the GABA molecule is too big to enter. Therefore, if this protective barrier is intact, then taking a GABA supplement of 1000 mg will have NO EFFECT on you. This is the NORMAL response. If you take GABA and feel a response, this is indicative of a leaky blood brain barrier. If the large GABA molecule can get into your brain, so can environmental toxins, proteins from food, and even bacteria. This is not good, and you should seek help from a functional medicine practitioner who can help you with this ASAP. Taking more GABA wont fix it, even though you feel better! When this barrier is not intact, you can start to get neurodegeneration. If this is ignored for a long time, it sets the stage as a precursor to conditions like dementia and Alzheimers. How can you tell if you have this leaky brain? One thing people do is take a GABA challenge, which is simply taking 1000 mg of GABA and waiting a few hours to see if you have a change in how you feel. No change, barrier is probably good.....change is symptoms, barrier needs to be supported. (I recommend you seek the help of a qualified practitioner with this). A more specific test is available from Cyrex Labs called the Array 20. This tests to see if you have antibodies present against the proteins found in the brain barrier. If they are present, then you should start on some protocols that your practitioner recommends to support this protective barrier. So dont freak out if you have a positive challenge after reading this. If you have been taking GABA, you were probably already prone to anxiety BEFORE you read my post, and I dont want to make you feel worse! Just start addressing it ASAP. You have to make sure that your GLUCOSE is properly supported (no meal skipping, eat a protein based snack every 2-3 hours), support brain oxygen (get exercise first thing in the morning, supplements to support nitric oxide pathways), eliminate gluten and casein, work on any leaky gut issues you have, work on anemias, and support the glutathione pathways in the body, which help to heal the blood brain barrier. Again, I highly recommend if you have this issue that you do not try to do it on your own. Look for a doctor who knows how to assess and support with with functional neurology/medicine protocols. It can be a challenge to find someone who knows this, but when you find someone who knows this information it can be quite helpful. If you have questions, feel free to message me or follow me at facebook/thyroidinfo or follow me on twitter @drkirkgair
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 21:06:07 +0000
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