Health Matters

http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Ency/Index.cfm/Id/1517000
THIAZIDE DIURETICS
also Calcium, folic acid, Magnesium, Potassium, Vitamin D, zinc, sodium, Alder Buckthorn, Buckthorn, digoxin, Digitalis,Ginkgo biloba, Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra),

I've never liked this one when incluced in supplements.. never was sure why as the silica may be needed.

But here it shows its a diuretic...which I don't need! No wonder I felt worse on it.

http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Ency/Index.cfm/Id/2112000

Active constituents: Horsetail is rich in silicic acid and silicates, which provide approximately 2–3% elemental silicon. Potassium, aluminum, and manganese, along with fifteen different types of flavonoids, are also found in this herb. The presence of these flavonoids, as well as saponins, is believed to cause the diuretic effect, while the silicon content is thought to exert a connective tissue-strengthening and anti-arthritic action.3 Some experts have suggested the element silicon in horsetail is also a vital component for bone and cartilage formation.4 Anecdotal reports suggest that horsetail may be of some use in the treatment of brittle nails.5
It says horsetail has been used for
Brittle nails
Edema (water retention)
Osteoarthritis
Osteoporosis
Urinary tract infection
Wound healing (topical)

I don't have brittle nails either...although I did when in England and Wales(as well as ridges in them), the only time ever and then they changed back to thin and overly flexible gradually after return to Sydney... really strange.

So I have the opposite problems to water retention and brittle nails.

also note this
The Canadian Health Protection Branch requires supplement manufacturers to document that their products do not contain the enzyme thiaminase, found in crude horsetail, which destroys the B vitamin thiamine. Since alcohol, temperature, and alkalinity neutralize this potentially harmful enzyme, tinctures, fluid extracts, or preparations of the herb subjected to 100°C temperatures during manufacturing are preferred for medicinal use.7

A few years ago Australian "multis" supplements began to include horsetail..and it took a while to work out I didn't like any of them and suspect the horstail.
(I think at the time the naturopath colleges were prommoting horsetail..from speaking on phone to some of the naturopaths and I think lecturers there...and in the past 10 years or so they've had an input I suspect into the formulation of some of the supplements..unfortunately IMHO)

or a journalistic style headline
"Is FLUORIDE contributing to the obesity epidemic"

Hi everyone,

I've been trying out tryptophan .. just 500mg at night on empty stomach (best to try not to eat for about 2 hrs before, especially not a big meal with protein or it won't work).
and I put a bit of the powder(maybe 50mg-75mg?) out of this capsule in with my T3/T4 or T4/THYROID meds during middle of day too, to help cope with my increased appetitie I was getting.

http://www.blog.co.uk/index.php/tealady-health/2006/01/26/fluoride~509144
see in link re pineal gland.. could flouride be reponsible for the obesity epidemic ??
via changing pineal gland.. and therefore slowing serotonin production.

From my current trial on tryptophan it is DEFINTELY a powerful appetite suppressant and now I can take T3 without that mind consuming "I'm starving and sugar only helps for a while" feeling I was getting on T3.

For me, the trick is T4 with T3(about16:1 ratio in mcg, I think?) ..and a small dose of tryptophan
I sure hope it keeps working, and my receptors don't down regulate!

Tryptophan is also increasing my night sleep time.. by an good hour so far.. last night slept 7 hrs straight, nite before 6 hrs straight approx...before Trypt (about a week ago)I would only get 5 hrs straight thru then broken drifting..

Fluoride affecting pineal gland could possibly affect the serotonin appetite suppressing effect as well as reducing melatonin and straight thru sleep time at night?

Looks like serotonin coverts to melatonin? I haven't looked at pathways as yet.

Any thoughts?

(Canadian Medical Association Journal, 1993:149) A panel of Canadian dentists concluded that fluoride does not prevent cavities.

(Journal of Dental Research 79(2):761-9Burt BA, et al. (2000)). The effects of a break in water fluoridation on the development of dental caries and fluorosis.

(Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2000 Oct;28(5):382-9) A study showing a surprising decline in cavities after cessation of fluoridation.

Journal of American Dental Association (JADA), 1972, 84; 355-367 Here's an interesting tidbit-there are more dentists per capita in fluoridated cities than in non-fluoridated cities, and these dentists are still making more money! Cost per person is nearly 20% higher in fluoridated cities than non-fluoridated cities, yet statistics gathered from licensing bureaus in the states of Washington and California show that the dentistopulation ratio averages about 1:600 in fluoridated cities, and 1:1500 in non-fluoridated cities.

Here's a link to an excellent bibliography of fluoride literature:

http://www.slweb.org/bibliography.html
a link in the above page suggests fluoride may effect sleep via the pineal gland wrt serotonin and on to melatonin production
http://www.slweb.org/bibliography.html
----------------------------------

On amalgam replacements
Then comes the question of alternatives or replacements. Mostly today, dentists are using composite resins highly filled with quartz, ceramics, or zircon. Some have aluminum. Many have fluoride added.

Extrapolations done with inadequate data suggest that these composite fillings carry ten to one hundred times less risk than the heavy metals. Clinically useful blood tests have been developed using the response of subsets of immune cells to the contents of various dental materials. Dentists who are members of the Holistic Dental Association or The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology can prescribe this test.

Half the fluoride containing and releasing glass ionomers failed at three years due to recurrent decay. The frequency of secondary caries as a cause for replacement of glass ionomer restorations was surprising because fluoride is supposed to prevent decay.
--------------------------
edited to add following :
http://www.townsendletter.com/Jan_2003/fluoridecontroversy0103.htm

and Bob's following comment
of course, those with short memories and recall of the shenannigans that went on over the Camelford episode...will be delighted to know that fluoride is one of the most toxic substances that you can put in water with a ratio of hazardous (including fatal doses) to therapeutic dose of a very low order.....

if the lorry driver had dumped sodium hexafluorosilicate or sodium fluoride in the water, instead of 'merely' alum, they'd have still been holding a Royal Commission to discover why hundreds of people had suddenly died....'out of the blue'......(as was the potential case with the copper from the pipes)....

flouride doesn't poison rats by affecting their thyroid; well no ~ it completely knackers the citric acid cycle ..........it's much much faster.....

(update written May2004 on my return from Vanuatu)
It makes you real thirsty!! (well I found that)

Also great night vision..from someone who is night blind..dilates pupils, so all nakamals have very dim lite..like almost dark

Is addictive, but natives where it is traditionally grown have social taboos about drinking only at certain times..like when men gather on occasion in the evening. Taken in this way its seems OK
Where it has not been drunk in this way and its drunk whenever.. the addictions start
If you read the link in my old post below, it has the medical reasons that kava is being banned in a lot of western countries.

-----------------------
(Original post written Jan 2004 before I went to Vanuatu)
Here's a description from talking to someone who has spent some time in the Pacific Islands.
The real Kava..as made by the Pacific islanders involves digging up some roots..slashing them to get more than the soaking, then wrapping the roots in cloth(like an old towel) and sticking them in a bucket of water...which becomes muddy looking.

Then you just remove the roots and drink. It tastes like grassy mud and poison mixed together I'm told. Basically yuk! so you don't drink it for the taste or refreshment..as in beer. I know I've tried it many years ago in the Sth Pacific too, but only a sip to be polite like, and yes it tasted yuk.
It begins by kinda numbing your lips and tongue immediately, and the more you drink the more of your tongue gets kinda numb. The yuk flavour absorbs into your tongue and you can't get rid of it.
Its best taken just near bedtime as when you wake up in the morning there is no hangover effects at all..but if you drink it earlier, about a couple of hours after drinking it you feel "wierd" as you go thru a letdown. Bad feeling was the best description I could get.
The natives seem to only drink it near bedtime. It does relax you, but doesn't make you noticeably drowsy, perhaps a little.
Basically they drink it as the local beer tastes even worse I gather ..and the imported beer is way out of the price range.
I heard they tried to encourage the aborigines at Arnhem Land to drink Kava instead of beer ( the aborigines in Oz appear to not tolerate beer the same as most non-aborigines...no ability to be able to tell when to stop and cranky drunks)...but I think they found it increased heart and other medical problems.
From the above, I guess it mustn't be TOO addictive as the Sth Pacific natives don't seem to lie around drinking it all day, like say beetle nut gets chewed in PNG,...but if they only use in mostly before bed at night..it must mean the letdown during the day is not worth it. Note- they have a sleep (siesta) for 2 hrs or so in the middle of the day and the natives in St Pacific don't seem to drink kava then.

(update written 2006)
My impression is that if kava is consumed within the traditional "protocols" by the locals, it seems to not be addictive, just a pleasant way of relaxing while telling a few yarns and enjoying a bit of grub around a campfire.

Perhaps its good if you have night time anxiety? or problems relaxing to get to sleep? I'll probably give it a go myself in a couple of months..if I can stand the taste enough.
OK, here's a link to the Arnhem Land stuff
http://www.pacificislands.cc/pm102003/pmdefault.php?urlarticleid=0026
--------------------------------------
I did hear of one or two non-locals in Vanuatu who are addicted to Kava, but nothing like you notice alcohol at home or beetle nut in PNG.
---------------------

The potential liver toxicity is why Kava is now illegal to import I think. In Oz though, if you visit say Vanuatu you can bring back some Kava with you as you enter but you can't get it in by mail order. The safer stuff is the whole root IMO.

The US drink a different kind I think from Hawaii??(apparently called kava kava ). I've been told it's not as strong as that consumed in Vanuatu.. and also I think they mostly only have an extract they seem to sell in capsules?which is the stuff that may be toxic to the liver?
Most seem to take it in capsules not in cupfuls..or half coconut shells full.

http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jandi_7/detail?.dir=fb0c&.dnm=521b.jpg&.src=ph
http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jandi_7/detail?.dir=fb0c&.dnm=fb23.jpg&.src=ph
http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jandi_7/detail?.dir=fb0c&.dnm=5cc6.jpg&.src=ph

Just some tryptophan links... followed by my trial of l-tryptophan, with my thoughts that I'll update as I go.

Effect of tryptophan and of glucose on exercise capacity of horses. Therefore, we tested the effect of infusing tryptophan and/or glucose on ... The failure of glucose infusion to alleviate the effects of tryptophan and the ...
www.jcircadianrhythms.com/pubmed/9729551

Kynurenine metabolic pathway in pregnancy Kynurenine metabolic pathway of tryptophan catabolism in healthy and ... Tryptophan to kynurenine transformation is one of alternative tryptophan pathways. ...
www.priory.com/med/kynurenine.htm

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=14284

http://whatreallyworks.co.uk/start/articles.asp?article_ID=182
instead of boosting levels of melatonin with melatonin, increase levels of this sleep-controlling hormone by stepping up your intake of serotonin; a neurotransmitter involved in the manufacture of melatonin. You can also easily boost levels of tryptophan, an amino acid that is critical for the manufacture of serotonin.

Take magnesium with tryptophan at night?
DanceSafe E-Board: Teeth grinding ..." one theory on the clench is that your bodies magnesium stores are exhausted becuase magnesium is required to make new serotonin. it is a crucial part of tryptophan decarboxylase. but this is just a theory" ... Re: Teeth grinding [Re: sueq420] #44583 - Mon Mar 11 2002 07:14 PM,
I noticed that I grind my teeth a lot.
http://dancesafe.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=45000&Main=43278

PDF] FIBROMYALGIA: A CURRENT PERSPECTIVE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML... Serum levels of serotonin and its dietary precursor tryptophan are low in FMS (Russell 1996). ... Klonopin may help patients who grind their teeth. ...
216.242.80.63/cheapceus/FIBROMYALGIA.pdf

11) A person low in Serotonin will be inclined to consume greater amounts of sugar in an attempt to increase Serotonin production and this may lead to sugar addiction. http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/serotonin_connection.html

maybe why I've been craving so much sugar all the time??

---------------------------TRYPTOPHAN DIARY---------------------

night Tuesday 7th Feb.
I took my first 500mg tryptophan (1 capsule) tonight at 9.30PM.. dinner around 6PM. (1 hamburger), followed by a couple of lollies.. so although stomach not empty.. need a break before I take my thyroid meds (as they maybe a litle like tyrosine?.. unsure here?) OK I had a cup of tea with the tryptophan.. hope this is OK?

Also took 200mg of Magnesium Orotate tablet sometime after dinner and probably about 8.30Pm? a sublingual multiB with P5P and B12 etc in it.. to have adequate B6, magnesium as cofactors to promote the enzyme needed to convert tryptophan to serotonin.

I'm not sure how tryptophan goes to melatonin.. like if serotonin pathway is different or if serotonin is the first step and melatonin is a second step in the same pathway?

I was reading on Ray Sahelian's site where on taking tryptophan at night, it can convert to melatonin..which I think I really need even more than serotonin.. so fingers crossed:-)
Tryptophan taken orally can convert into serotonin and melatonin

Written morning Wed 8Th Feb

After taking the tryptophan I was awake another couple of hours, but then crashed. Slept at least as good as usual. Woke up with dog barking, then woke about 6am and got up befre 8AM finally. Felt OK, not wiped or anything.

I was still grinding my teeth though..and still tense when woke up.. like I have my hands clenched and my legs tightly wound around each other:-)

I got the expected (similar to SSRI's but not as extreme) gut reaction.. tummy pains, burping, passing wind other end, put off food..but nothing more like the first few weeks on SSRI's (no diarrohea or vomiting)..which is a pity..could have done with the weight loss!

Think on this. I think I remember teejay telling me in England after I'd eaten some yoghurt over there and got wind problems ..that yoghurt in UK causes this.
the Yoghurt over there maybe has more tryptophan in it?.. wouldnt suprise me..I bet the milk/yoghurt is less processed and I know the yougurt has more choices on what is added like the bacteria etc.
Maybe it was the tryptophan in the yoghurt..if z remember this right? I was eating yougurt to replace the gut bacteria from being on dooxycycline for about 5 weeks.

Looks like this is something I've definitely been missing? I wonder if its the KEY to why I cant take straight T3, as it pure T3 synthetic not mixed with other stuff as in pig's Thyroid extract.

I bet the thyroid extract, being a protein, contains some tryptophan as well? I still get an increase in appetite and sugar cravings with Thyroid extract (more than is desired).
With T3 I get an extreme hunger and sugar craving I get with even a small amount..say 2 mcg T3...even mixed with T4!
It's one explanation..
Maybe I need to take a little tryptophan with the thyroid meds.. like maybe onlu 50mg - 100mg for balance? .. smethiing to try in future?

Tonight I will try just 250mg tryptophan, although I guess my tummy receptors will adapt (probably by cutting down their nos as well as their sensitivity). I guess eventually all serotonin receptors adapt..and maybe that was the logic behind SSRI's.. nah, can't be as the extra serotonin still would downregulate receptors in the same way anyway?

Bob ( or anyone if you read this?) do receptors have differing amounts of sensitivity? I think I vaguely remember reading that somewhere?
How do you think it happens?

to put into posts
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20030903/msgs/263032.html
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031104/msgs/280769.html
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031104/msgs/281442.html
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20040418/msgs/348327.html
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20040418/msgs/348271.html
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20040418/msgs/352142.html

17th Feb
http://www.blog.co.uk/index.php/tealady-health/2006/02/17/fluoride_may_cause_appetite_increase_red~568905

18th Feb
So far tyrptophan is the missing thing for me.. that elusive "closer to normalily feeling" .. that more enrgy..lessend anxiety.. and the stopping f that Help I'm starving somewone sew up my lips please feling.. also many other things more normalised. Hope it keeps working!!

I was wondering if taking thyroid hrmones..especially noticeable with synthetic T3 .. or Synthetic T3/T4 combo (I was well I wondering if somehow that also upped the dopamine/noradrenaline pathway..si,ilaylusing (40mcgT4, 4mcgT3) caps.. ((Thyroid(armour) wasn't as bad))

Well i was wondering if they acted similar to tyrosine.. by upping dopamine and noradrenaline pathways?
Maybe they just allow more of your own tyrosine not to be formed into thyroid hormones??.. but it feels more than that??
When 3 breaks down (for some reason T3 is the worst culprit regarding appetite increase)..to T0 I presume eventually? would it then turn into tyrosine?.. maybe??

Can't be relevant on thinking out the figures..as I only take say MAX of 150mcg T4+T3 a day.. so that would make a max of 150mcg of tyrosine. If protein is considered "balancedz' the ratio of tryptophan to tyrosine is

if 1:1 that would man i'd be needing LESS than 1mg=1000mcg tyrptphan to balance this tyrosine form the meds.. or 'saved" by nt being used to convert to thryoid hormones :-)

and my body should be able to adjust, even on a long term basis to less than 150mcg of tryptophan daily upped for balance?

Anyway tryptophan balances this ..at least for a week for me.. the effect is not as strong as when I started now.. so I'm hoping it keeps working!

26th Feb.
Yesterday evening and last night going to sleep, I had a very mild ear ringing (tinnitus).I haven't had any of that since back on SSRI's before 2000 I think. It was stopped completely by thryoid meds.
So it looks like this may not be caused by SSRI's only being selctive inhibitors? (although I had severe with one of them).. it may be just too high a serotonin level in my brain.
One thing that serotonin causes and thryoid hormones seem to do the opposite and alleviate.
Other signs my levels are too high are
.. a lack of energy on exercise.. tryptophan makes it more difficult to exercise and I can feel it now
.. still some flatulence (not extreme though)
.. cramping in uterus had ceased
..the heightened sexual effects that many have reported on thyroid hormones has ben balanced by l-tryptophan, but this is not unexpected as many on SSRI's report " diminished/ dampened/ almost no feelings or desire sexual side-effects from the SSRI's..so serotonin must dampen sexual effects and thyroid hormones must increase them?

I am stopping all tryptophan tonight..didnt take all day today
looks liek it builds up.
i read somewghere where it shold only be taken for a short period of time, guess this is why.

27th Feb
Only took a tiny amount with my thyroid meds about 1 1/2 hrs after lunch today.. to ensure my appetite didn't increase. It usually gets worse after lunch and I don't want to overeat. I just add to my thryoid hormone med capsule. A little tyrptophan powder..would have to be at a guess around 25mg? haven't measured

At dinner I was still a bit hungry ..so maybe try 50mg tryptophan in my noon capsule tomorrow.

Only taking bout 50mg tonight(tyrptophan) as well. Hopefully for serotonin to melatonin conversion.
I have been noticing since I started tryptophan that I need the room more darkened at night, even to the point of covering up lights on phone, modem, computer etc Maybe my body is wanting to make some melatonin now..?
tetth grinding and jaw clenching is still bad.. hasnt got better that I've noticed and I've started taking ,magnesium nd increasing the amount over the past week.
started with 100mg mag orotate..then 200mg..then 200mg Mg oratate_ I tablet Mg with P5pB6,..
yesterday I tried adding in a cal and mag chelate(can't find out the chelates)+ above Mg orotate and P5PB6 with magnesium...think teeth grinding and jaw clenching a little lesened??
no idea if calcium or mag..or both here now???
27th Feb
I've noticed I'm no longer worrying excessively about trivial things.. like posts on babble (alter and politics and even admin).. I'm not "caring" what others think as much..they can take it or leabve it. this doesnt't mean I'm uncaring..just I've now have "saner" view on things(perhaps mewrely more apathetic.. been wanting this for a while
I did look at politics on 26th Feb...and still wrote out a long post expressing a tiny fraction of what I think. but didn't post it.
So I an still able to get overworked too much for my own good, but it has adjusted for the better re anxiety anyway. (3 hrs of getting worked up, although still upset the next morning.. but more at myself fo having got worked up abou politics.. like it does any good? ..still hopefully better than 3 days last time.. it is a feeling like lashing out feeling in a way.. but not too intense)

28 th Feb
morning.. took 150mcg trptophan last nught..slept 9 hrs with only on wake for toilet break.. still grinding teeth and clenching jaw

15th March

I think I got my temp up with l-tryptophan. I only take about 150mg -200 mg most nights ( I leave out occasionally) and maybe 50-75mg with my noon thyroid meds. I take up to a couple of days off occasionally.
My body temp has definitely come up lately but I'm not sure if its that or duphaston (a progestin) or progesterone.pr just menopausal related.
Oestradiol and oestriol also influences the body temp.. so its not clear to me exactly what is going on.

Serotonin (via tryptophan) also influences oestrogen.

But now I feel the heat, sweat and my skin even goes pinkish with exercise.. whereas before the best I'd do was a cold clammy sweat on a hot day with exercise occasionally.. reached this last year.

23rd March
ear hissing , had to reduce tryptophan again
when stopped altogether didn't sleep thru night and felt like crying at night for no apparent reason
http://tealady-health.blog.co.uk/2006/03/19/serotonin_ear_ringing~656627?comment_ID=873169#comments

still jaw clenching and teeth grinding, sigh
wish I knew what would help

17th April

been mostly off tryptophan past couple of weeks. felt i needed some lastight, took 1/2 capsule (just empty the powder into mouth) and drink some water.. I've found it takes about 90mins before I get real sleepy. I'm a tad hypo at present so in normal people I'd expect 5HTP or tryptophan to "hit" somewhere between 30 mins and 90 mins max after taking. (5HTP sooner than trypt I'd expect)
NB. MUST be taken by itself on a reasonably empty stomach.. and a tiny bit sugary food or starhy food about 20 mins to 30 mins after (if none left in stomach from dessert!).. one small lolly or choccy or biscuit is enough!

I slept right thru last night, felt OK in morning

I've been trialling Yasmin (BCP) for the past 10 days or so, and that rasies oestrogen a little, and the oprogestin seems to be OK with me.. I've noticed it seems to incr. my serotnin in itself.. again this estrogen/progesterone/serotonin link is in there somehow
However Yasmin Doesn't stop the night sweats. I not Angelique has less progestin and estradiol (huge amount..way too much actually!! as well). So maybe I need a little sertontin as well as the Yasmin and a little estradiol..(like less than 1/10 in Angelique).