I believe in the power of tonic herbs.  They can be the “medicine” we let be our food.  It can be tempting to shop for medicinal herbs from a place of need and desperation.  We need a foundation beneath this.  I remind myself to give my body the raw materials that it needs for healing and then anything beyond that will be more effective.  So what are the most important nutrients in reducing or compensating for stress?

Vitamin C is depleted by stress and is so important to our bodies and our adrenal glands that it is critical to replenish.  The adrenals use more vitamin C than anywhere else in the body.  There is some debate as to how much C we need and I tend to err on the side of more because I have felt the difference.  A daily green juice is a great place to start for vitamin C and some more hard core sources include wild rose hips and wild greens which both contain much more than an orange per volume.

The second important nutrient for stress relief is vitamin B5.  When under stress we use up our hormone precursors to make cortisol.  This is called the Pregnenalone Steal can lead to imbalances in almost all other hormones because there will not be enough precursors left to create them.  B5 will help us to make more of the precursors out of the raw material, cholesterol (I know, shocker).

Tyrosine, our third most important nutrient is an amino acid.  It is a precursor for adrenaline.  If we are using this up in stress we can get more from spinach, mustard greens, spirulina, nori and other seaweeds or sesame. I feel a raw sushi with a sesame inspired dipping sauce coming on…

Phosphatidylserine is an important amino acid for stress relief and adrenal support.  Do you ever walk into the kitchen and not remember why you are there?  Do you read passages and realize you didn’t retain the information?  I want to be able to retain what I read and remember what I am walking around the house to get.  If multitasking has you feeling brain dead it may be because of stress.

Cortisol can actually damage the hippocampus in the brain, our memory centre. Phosphatidylserine can help to repair this damage. Sunflower lecithin is a good source of phosphatidyl choline but phosphatidyl serine may need to be supplemented to be found in the quantities shown to help brain recovery from stress.  Many of the supplements for phosphatidyl serine are derived from soy.

Our fifth nutrient this week for stressful situations is magnesium. Magnesium can help to improve memory and sleep which are two areas hugely impacted by stress.  Magnesium is important for fighting inflammation which can be triggered by stress as well.  Truthfully there are many important trace minerals for stress however because magnesium is so commonly low and so often overlooked I choose to focus on it.  Some great plant sources of magnesium are green juices made with swiss chard (or swiss chard on its own), sesame seeds, brazil nuts and avocados.

Most of the above nutrient requirements can be easily met by a diet that is very high in leafy greens while making sure to optimize digestion and absorption.  That is a good place to start.  If that is not enough supplementing is possible but almost anything benefits from a nutrient rich food plan.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this article, I have really enjoyed putting it together for you. Please talk with me in the comments.

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Magnesium.  Essential for so many of our daily activities and over 325 of our enzymes and yet somehow a common insufficiency.  It may be due to poor digestion/absorption or the beige-food diet, lacking in fresh greens.  Today we will discuss why magnesium is so amazing for us, where to get it from whole plant foods and what it might look like not have enough.

More than half of the magnesium in our bodies is in our bones, a quarter of it in our soft tissues and fluids and another quarter in our muscles. Magnesium is partly responsible for maintaining cells’ electrical charges and enable our cells to reproduce.  Magnesium is important for energy production and protein forming.  It is responsible for proper muscle and insulin function.  Now that’s important!  With the ability to alter our metabolism and make our muscles (including our hearts) work properly, magnesium is the second-most prevalent mineral in our bodies after potassium.

A University of Virginia study followed people with adequate levels of magnesium for a fifteen year period and found that they had a 31% lower chance of developing Metabolic Syndrome compared to the rest of the population studied.  That is significant and was only measuring the one factor.  Insulin resistance burns up magnesium in the body leading to quite the downward spiral.  In a separate double-blind study supplementation with Magnesium was shown to improve markers for metabolic syndrome in individuals that were previously deficient.

Some foods that are highest in magnesium are spinach, kale, collard greens, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, dried figs and chocolate.  The nuts and seeds can be soaked and sprouted to reduce the phytic acid, making the magnesium more absorbable but soaking chocolate doesn’t really work out.  Much of the magnesium in chocolate is difficult for us to absorb.  Of course I love green juice but green smoothies and soups can also be great ways to get some green power.  Popeye obviously had the right idea, strong and smart too 🙂 Watch this video https://plantpoweredprobiotics.com//videos/ to learn more about how magnesium boosts the brain.

Magnesium deficiency can appear in the form of blood sugar dysregulation as we discussed above and also in poor memory, fatigue, dizziness, constipation, high blood pressure, anxiety, tremors, cramps, weakness and deficiencies of other minerals such as potassium and calcium.  Magnesium can help with sleep and depression.  There is a reason why the brand “natural calm” has that name.  Magnesium can also be rubbed into the skin “transdermally” in the form of hexahydrate for good absorption along with consuming our favourite green foods.

See this week’s recipe https://plantpoweredprobiotics.com//green-homous/ for a magnesium-rich dip.

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Vitamin D (Cholecalciferol) is a vitamin that is actually a hormone-like compound.  It is produced in the skin of animals (including us) when exposed to sunlight.  The RDA recommended daily allowance is 400 iu per day for infants, 600 for children, pregnant women and adults and 800 iu for the elderly (University of Maryland).

These recommended intakes along with normal blood levels are surrounded by much controversy particularly in the fields of holistic health and functional medicine.  It is possible to be deficient in vitamin D through insufficient exposure to sunlight and inadequate dietary intakes.  There are two main forms in which vitamin D is ingested: cholecalciferol and ergocalciferol.  Cholecalciferol is also known as D3 and is found in animal foods and made by us through sunlight.  If you, like me, have chosen to eat a completely plant based diet AND if you live somewhere more than a little rainy or spend less than a few hours daily outside you may ask “am I getting enough D?”

It is very likely impossible to get enough vitamin D if you live north of Atlanta, Georgia in the winter.  Even being outside for the available sunlight hours.  This definitely includes where I live off the coast of Vancouver, BC.

Dairy and cereals are generally fortified with D2, ergocalciferol and do not naturally contain any vitamin D.  There is much debate as to whether D2 is useful for the human body and some sources suggest that it is harmful to ingest.  It is difficult to obtain adequate vitamin D levels if you are living far away from the equator, for example in the northern part of North America or Europe.  It is useful to have vitamin D levels tested and to have an awareness of the optimal range so you can be the judge of what works best for you and what will compliment your current health goals.  Remember the lab normal is the mean average of the levels for people who get tested at that lab.  You and I don’t want to settle for normal.

Regarding our topic of brain health as it relates to gut health and probiotics it is necessary to have adequate D to rebuild a leaky gut and repopulate healthy flora and immune system.

How your body uses Vitamin D

• Many immune cells have vitamin D receptors and low D levels have been associated with autoimmunity
• Vitamin D stimulates calcium reabsorption in the GI tract and mineralization in the bones
• Many other cells in the brain, colon, breast tissue and immune system among others have D receptors and the uses of vitamin D in these receptors is being studied

Deficiencies and excesses

Extreme deficiencies in children can cause Rickets, a softening of the bones and in adults Osteomalacia, a similar condition. Symptoms of excess include thirst, weight loss, diarrhea, constipation and excess urination.  The following conditions are being studied either for their connection to low D levels or their improvement with D supplementation:

• Respiratory Infections
• Autoimmunity
• Psoriasis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Diabetes Types 1 and 2
• Asthma
• Periodontal diseases
• Depression, Postpartum Depression, Schizophrenia and other neurological conditions
• Cancer, many types
• Sleep disorders

Interestingly human studies on Vitamin D2 supplementation do not have the same results as the D3 supplementation studies.  For instance D2 does not seem to have the same effect as D3 on cancer which may be because it does not have the same effect on our immune systems.

Are you getting enough?

How much is enough and how much is too much? It is theoretically possible to take in too much from food sources but it is unheard of from sunlight even though we can make 20000 IU vitamin D per hour of sunlight exposure depending on our skin tone.  Melanin in our skin prevents us from making too much D, getting burnt, or being overexposed to sunlight.  This does mean the darker each of our skin is the less D we will make when exposed to sun.  This may not present a problem in the summer but in the winter it certainly can.

Vitamin D is fat soluble so it is stored in the body. While the “normal” ranges of D in blood tests are usually defined as 30-74 nmol/L studies show that levels at least over 75 nmol/L and ideally within 90 and 100 nmol/L are advantageous for bone density, immunological function and colorectal cancer among other conditions (NCBI2).  So the jury is out.  I have personally found vitamin D to be very helpful for my digestive health and rebuilding.  In fact it is essential for digestive integrity.

Contributing Factors

• As we age our kidneys can become less efficient in converting vitamin D2, ergocalciferol, to its active form and that is why the elderly are recommended to increase supplementation
• Conditions of the digestive tract can inhibit absorption of vitamin D, particularly for anyone with a history of IBD or IBS including Celiac
• Prednisone and other corticosteroids can deplete vitamin D
• Antacids and some cholesterol lowering medications can lower D levels in the body
• Melanin in darker skin colours absorb UVB rays, making less available for D synthesis
• Low cholesterol levels in the body reduce the amount of D that can be synthesized in the skin, it is a cholesterol dependent process

Supplementation

It is recommended to supplement with D3 rather than the D2 that is added to fortified foods because the results of human studies using these two forms have been so different.  D3 supplements have traditionally been produced from sheep lanolin, genetically modified yeasts, mushrooms and lichens which are actually symbioses between fungi and algaes.  Vegan D3 supplements are now made from lichens.  It is great to know that there are many vegan D3 supplements now available so you can have adequate D levels without having to compromise anything.  There are liposomal, encapsulated, micronized, whatever is the best absorbed for you.  It is important to monitor vitamin D levels in the body when supplementing to find the right balance for you.

References

Aranow, Cynthia. Vitamin D and the Immune System. J Investig Med. Aug 2011; 59(6): 881–886. doi: 10.231/JIM.0b013e31821b8755. Retrieved from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3166406

Bischoff-Ferrari HA1, Giovannucci E, Willett WC, Dietrich T, Dawson-Hughes B. Estimation of optimal serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D for multiple health outcomes. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2006 Jul;84(1):18-28. Retrieved from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16825677

National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved fromhttp://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-Consumer/

University of Maryland. University of Maryland Medical Centre.

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