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Amino Acids in Fighting Addiction

July 26, 2014

Amino Acids Aid in Treatment of Addiction

Addiction to drugs has been on a rise over the last century. It has therefore been a concern all over the world to develop medication which would address this problem. Through researches many prescription drugs were developed and many of them have proven to cure addiction. Another concern which has of late arisen is that some of the drugs that are given to us (patients) by doctors as prescription drugs have also turned to be addictive. A good example of these drugs is the opioids which are meant to cure pains. This has prompted need to device medication which can cure any kind of addiction, either resulting from legal and illegal drugs or over the counter drugs. One of the treatments which have proven effective is the amino acid treatment.

What is amino acid?

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. These acids are responsible for building the cells, repairing tissues, also responsible for the production of enzymes not forgetting their role in the mental health. Research has shown that about twenty percent of a human body is made up of proteins.

It is important to note that, although proteins are vital in the human body, the body cannot obtain them directly from the food. These dietary proteins must be broken into their constituent amino acids which the body then uses to build the specific proteins that it needs. In this respect, we can conclude that it is the amino acids rather than protein that are essential nutrients.

amino acids

Why are some amino acids referred to as essential?

There are basically two categories of amino acids. These are the Essential and non-essential amino acids. Yes, they are referred to as essential because the body needs them in plenty but it cannot synthesize in sufficient quantities to satisfy the nutritional requirements for good health and thus they must be included in our diets. On the other hand there are other amino acids which are regarded as non-essential because they do not have to be included in our diets since they are not required in plenty by our bodies and also the body can synthesize enough for itself.

How does amino acid cure addiction then?

Like we mentioned earlier, Neurotransmitters are made from amino acids which is the building block of proteins. The brain nervous system is almost entirely regulated by amino acids and their biochemical companions, vitamins and minerals. In this respect, before we look at how amino acids cures addictions is important to note that there are key neurotransmitters which are affected by addiction and needs to be restored to their normal state for the person to recover from drug addiction, and be free from craving and anxiety during the period of recovery. Amino acid treatment plays this role by restoring the affected neurotransmitters to their normal conditions. These neurotransmitters are responsible for good mental health and they include: – Serotonin, Catecholamine; GABA; and Endorphin. Amino acids in the treatment of addiction address the tyrosine pathway, the glutamine GABA pathway in the treatment of addiction, Tryptophan pathway, Serotonin and Melatonin Pathways, Taurine IV for
addiction

What is the Role of cofactors and coenzymes in Amino Acid treatment?

Let’s start by understanding what cofactors and coenzymes refer to. Cofactors refer to non-protein molecules which are required for effective activity of Amino Acids. These cofactors can be organic or inorganic substances. The organic cofactors are the ones referred to as Enzymes. In this case therefore, enzymes can be seen as protein catalysts that are responsible for lowering the energy barriers of many biological reactions. They do this by lowering the activation energy of the reaction that they catalyze and this allows the metabolic reaction to occur faster that it would under normal temperatures.

What makes cofactors important?

Just like we have mentioned above, the cofactors will catalyze the reaction ensuring sufficient metabolic energy generation. One of the notable important cofactors is the metal ions. These include ions such as Magnesium (Mg++), Potassium (K+) and Calcium (Ca+). These cofactors bind the enzymes and participate in the reaction by removing electrons, protons, or chemical groups from the substrate. In reactions which involve oxidation-reduction, coenzymes remove electrons from the substrate and then pass them to the other molecules. Habitually, the electron is added to a proton to form a hydrogen atom before it is passed on. Through this way, coenzymes serve to carry energy in the form of electrons from one compound to the other.

Is amino acid treatment safe?

Yes, amino acid is a very safe treatment of addiction since it involves providing the body with all what it requires in the process of addiction recovery and allowing it to cure naturally. This treatment seeks to restore neurotransmitters to their initially healthy functioning state that they used to be at before addiction. This gives the patient a permanent solution to addiction. Another advantage of using amino acid treatment is that it ensures that the patient is free from craving effects and unlike some addiction medication methods which leaves behind addiction effects in the long run, amino acid treatment is not addictive. With all these advantages we can now conclude that amino acid treatment is a safe and a recommendable method of addiction treatment.

Amino Acids Aid in Treatment of Addiction

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Neurotransmitters

April 25, 2014

Neurotransmitters-General Psychology

Neurotransmitter

the first neurotransmitter was discovered in early 1920s several others have since been discovered

Neurotransmitters are the chemicals which allow the transmission of signals from one neuron to the next across synapses. They are also found at the axon endings of motor neurons, where they stimulate the muscle fibers. Normally they together with their close relatives are produced by some glands such as the pituitary and the adrenal glands. For a couple of articles in the coming days I will dwell much about NAD being a neurotransmitter and it other functions. I would therefore want to kindly have you on board as we dig into this interesting topic, stay tuned and let us learn together, but for the purpose of article, I want us to byway of introduction review some of the most significant neurotransmitters we have as a basis of understanding ware we are heading to.

Neurotransmitters-Acetylcholine

This is one of the first neurotransmitter to be discovered in early ninety’s.  In 1921 it was isolated by a Nobel laurite German biologist called Otto Loewi for his work.  Some of its functions are;

  • It is responsible for much of the stimulation of muscles, including the muscles of the gastro-intestinal system.
  • It is also found in sensory neurons and in the autonomic nervous system, and has a part in scheduling REM (dream) sleep.

The plant poisons curare and hemlock cause paralysis by blocking the acetylcholine receptor sites of muscle cells.  The well-known poison botulin works by preventing the vesicles in the axon ending from releasing acetylcholine, causing paralysis.  The botulin derivative botox is used by many people to temporarily eliminate wrinkles. On a more serious note, there is a link between acetylcholine and Alzheimer’s disease:  There is something on the order of a 90% loss of acetylcholine in the brains of people suffering from Alzheimer’s, which is a major cause of senility.

Neurotransmitters–Norepinephrine

This was discovered by a Swedish biologist named Ulf von Euler in 1946 by then it was called Noradrenalin.  Ulf also won a Nobel Prize.

  • Norepinephrine is strongly associated with bringing our nervous systems into “high alert.”
  • It is prevalent in the sympathetic nervous system, and it increases our heart rate and our blood pressure.
  • Our adrenal glands release it into the blood stream, along with its close relative epinephrine (aka adrenalin).
  • It is also important for forming memories.

Neurotransmitters-Dopamine

It is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, meaning that when it finds its way to its receptor sites, it blocks the tendency of that neuron to fire. It was discovered in 1950s by another Swede called Arvi Carlsson. Dopamine is strongly associated with reward mechanisms in the brain.  Drugs like cocaine, opium, heroin, and alcohol increase the levels of dopamine, as doe’s nicotine.  If it feels good, dopamine neurons are probably involved!

  • The severe mental illness schizophrenia has been shown to involve excessive amounts of dopamine in the frontal lobes, and drugs that block dopamine are used to help schizophrenics.
  • On the other hand, too little dopamine in the motor areas of the brain are responsible for Parkinson’s disease, which involves uncontrollable muscle tremors.
  • It was Arvid Carlsson mentioned above who figured out that the precursor to dopamine (called L-dopa) could elevate some of the symptoms of Parkinson’s. This would latter in 2000 see him being awarded the Nobel Prize.
  • Recently, it has been noted that low dopamine may related not only to the unsociability of schizophrenics, but also to social anxiety.
  • On the other hand, dopamine has been found to have relatively little to do with the pleasures of eating.

Neurotransmitters-GABA

Eugene Roberts and J. Awapara jointly discovered GABA (gamma amino-butyric acid) in 1950, which is also usually an inhibitory neurotransmitter.

  • GABA acts like a brake to the excitatory neurotransmitters that lead to anxiety.
  • People with too little GABA tend to suffer from anxiety disorders, and drugs like Valium work by enhancing the effects of GABA.
  • Lots of other drugs influence GABA receptors, including alcohol and barbiturates.
  • Luck of GABA in certain parts of the brain, results in epilepsy.

Neurotransmitters–Glutamate

It is an excitatory relative of GABA which is the most common neurotransmitter in the central nervous system as much as half of all neurons in the brain and is especially important in regards to memory.  Curiously, glutamate is actually toxic to neurons, and anything in excess will kill them.  Sometimes brain damage or a stroke will lead to an excess and end with many more brain cells dying than from the original trauma. ALS also known as Lou Gehrig disease comes as a result of excessive glutamate production. Many researchers believe it may be responsible for quite a variety of diseases of the nervous system, and are now looking for ways to minimize its effects

It was discovered 1907 by Kikunae Ikeda of Tokay Imperial Univ. while looking for the flavor common to things like cheese, meat, and mushrooms.  He was able to extract an acid from seaweed glutamate.  He went on to invent the well known seasoning MSG monosodium glutamate.  It took decades for Peter Usherwood to identify glutamate as a neurotransmitter (in locusts) in 1994.

Neurotransmitters–Serotonin

Serotonin is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that has been found to be intimately involved in emotion and mood. For instance:

  • Too little serotonin has been shown to lead to depression, problems with anger control, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and suicide.
  • Too little also leads to an increased appetite for carbohydrates (starchy foods) and trouble sleeping, which are also associated with depression and other emotional disorders.
  • It has also been tied to migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, and fibromyalgia.
Neurotransmitters-Endorphin

In 1973, Solomon Snyder and Candace Pert of Johns Hopkins discovered endorphin.  Endorphin is short for “endogenous morphine.”  It is structurally very similar to the opioids (opium, morphine, heroin, etc.) and has similar functions:  Inhibitory, it is involved in pain reduction and pleasure, and the opioid drugs work by attaching to endorphin’s receptor sites.  It is also the neurotransmitter that allows bears and other animals to hibernate.  Consider:  Heroin slows heart-rate, respiration, and metabolism in general – exactly what you would need to hibernate.  Of course, sometimes heroin slows it all down to nothing:  Permanent hibernation.

Having got the background of these neurotransmitters I want to seek your indulgence to stay on the link to continue getting the optimum benefits from doctor Dalal Akoury who is the founder and MD of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. She is a professional training physicians globally to offer the best to patients. In her facility she take keen interest and focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE while administering treatment to her patients.

Neurotransmitters-Psychology of neurotransmitters

 

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Neurotransmitter Restoration (NTR)

April 18, 2014

Neurotransmitter Restoration (NTR)-Addiction Recovery using Intravenous NAD & amino acids

Neurotransmitter

Besides Neurotransmitter Restoration (NTR), Addiction Recovery can be achieved by physical activities.

The first step in addiction recovery is a functional medical investigation targeting the conditions in the body that facilitates fatigue, anxiety, depression, reduced pain tolerance, poor focus and the likes. These common underlying conditions include food sensitivities, gluten intolerance, adrenal and thyroid imbalances, malabsorption, neurotransmitter deficiency and NAD deficiency. Since these issues are treatable, normally with nutritional supplements and diet, the patient receives intravenous NAD and amino acids based in individually designed protocols for a 10 day period of time. The IV NAD and amino acids improves brain function based on higher levels of cellular energy production along with increased neurotransmitters, such as serotonin. There could be some withdrawal symptoms for a period of two or three days which is easily manageable and so should not worry you much. After three to five days as withdrawal symptoms disappear, craving subsides and clarity of thinking is restored.

It should be noted that this treatment is not a substitute for recovery, but it is the beginning of the process of healing. The moment the brain and body are functioning better, the patient has the energy, clarity and focus to engage in the recovery process. The patient will be able to understand the reasons for compulsive behavior and with better health and motivation they can stop compulsive behaviors and make informed choices that are self-supportive rather than self-destructive.

Some studies done in the past five decades reveals the efficacy and safety of IV NAD in detoxifying patients from alcohol, opiates, tranquilizers and stimulants.  Like the early studies, our experience with the protocol over the past five years substantiates its benefits in greatly reducing withdrawal symptoms, as well as reducing, and often eliminating the cravings.

At AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s there are tailor made programs provided to individual, family and group therapy. Patients are provided with continued integrative care for their underlying medical problems, which helps them to timely feel better physically and mentally. This way they are more likely to continue healing psychologically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. Depending on case by case at least two year commitment to after care treatment is critical because the underlying psychological issues which often lead to substance abuse must be resolved for long lasting recovery.

Neurotransmitter Restoration (NTR)-Addiction

It is a disease in the body and the mind and successful therapy depends on treating both.  Mind-Body medicine is based on the unity of mind and body and focuses on promoting health and balance in the mind-body, thereby providing highly effective therapy for addiction.  If you detoxify, or withdraw, from alcohol or a drug, but do not address the conditions in the body that create fatigue, depression, and anxiety, then relapse is more likely and therapy has been incomplete. Similarly, if you withdraw from a substance and do not understand the psychological and spiritual issues that promoted the need for it, then relapse is likely and the “lessons of disease” have not been learned.

Neurotransmitter Restoration (NTR)-The body

Integrative, or, functional medicine provides the tools to assess and treat the conditions in the body that contribute to fatigue, depression, and anxiety, thereby increasing the likelihood of chemical dependency.  These include:

  • Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) deficiency
  • Neurotransmitter deficiency (serotonin, GABA, adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine, etc)
  • Metabolic cofactor deficiency
  • Pyroluria
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Adrenal fatigue
  • Intestinal yeast overgrowth
  • Delayed onset food sensitivities
  • Gluten intolerance

These “terrain issues” in the body need to be properly treated in order to make detoxification easier and to prevent relapse.

Neurotransmitter Restoration (NTR)-The mind and spirit

However, addiction is also disease in the mind. The fact that the mind rules the body is, in spite of its neglect by biology and medicine, the most fundamental fact which we know about the process of life.

The origins of most physical disease are within consciousness – the body is the messenger of the conflicts, sustained fears, suppressed emotional traumas, disturbed patterns of thinking, and other imbalances that lie within the conscious and unconscious mind.  Many people have painful childhood experiences, including patterns of neglect, smothering control, abandonment, and emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Later on there can be failed relationships, years of marital conflict, and the pain of loneliness. Many experience decades of unfulfilling employment, foiled personal creativity and the quiet desperation of a slowly dying spirit. These life experiences contribute to relentless anxiety, depression, denied emotions, destructive beliefs, hopelessness, helplessness, “giving up”, and an endless variety of recurrent stresses.

Disease of any kind is the body’s way of getting your attention and inviting this self-exploration, thereby offering true healing.

Neurotransmitter Restoration (NTR)-Brain disease Reward Deficiency Syndrome
  • Neurotransmitters are chemicals in the brain that help to control states of consciousness, including moods.
  • Serotonin and GABA down-regulate electrical activity in the brain, thereby contributing to calm, peacefulness, or less anxiety.
  • Adrenaline and nor-adrenaline up-regulate electrical activity thereby promoting excitement, motivation, or, reducing depression and apathy.
  • Dopamine is the “feel good” brain chemical. It is the dance of these electro-chemicals that produce emotional balance and feelings of well-being.

When the proper flow, or cascade, of these neurochemicals is impaired, or, the brain’s receptors are blocked, then a variety of problems can develop, including:

  • Mood instability
  • Irritability
  • Agitation
  • Hypersensitivity
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Apathy
  • Impaired concentration
  • Trouble focusing
  • Despair

A host of medical and lifestyle issues can disturb the healthy flow of neurotransmitters, including chronic stress, alcohol, drug abuse, genetics, poor diet, digestive disturbances and malabsorption, micronutrient deficiency and more.  The result can be Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS), a term primarily used for hereditary chemical imbalances wherein the pleasure centers, which regulate feelings of well-being in the brain, fail to receive appropriate neural signals.  As a result, the brain sends out urgent messages of craving. In the brains of addicts, various neurotransmissions are affected, depending upon the drug or drugs that have been used. As a result addicts experience difficulty concentrating and have mood swings, for example, as well as having other physical symptoms. Collectively, these symptoms are called cravings and withdrawals. Craving and withdrawal symptoms are a result of a neurochemical imbalance in the brain.

It is the Reward Deficiency Syndrome that causes the compulsive use of alcohol and drugs that help to feel good, at least temporarily. In addition to alcohol, people use nicotine, other stimulants, illicit drugs, junk foods, sugars, or thrill-seeking behaviors such as gambling, sex and Internet porn. Unfortunately, this only provides temporary relief while bringing with it the possibility of more long-term problems. For lasting solution to addiction, only experts in the same line will liberate you from this problem. Doctor Dalal Akoury is an expert you can rely on for whatever addiction you are going through.

Neurotransmitter Restoration (NTR)-Addiction Recovery using Intravenous NAD & amino acids

 

 

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Poor Nutrition causes Addiction

November 1, 2013
Poor Nutrition causes Addiction

Dr. Dalal Akoury

Why Poor Nutrition causes Addiction?

 

Understanding the relationship between nutrition and addiction is an important component for successful drug abuse recovery. Although many drug addicts become malnutritioned from their drug abuse behaviors, this issue is much deeper than you thought.  This article purpose is to expose to you that Why Poor Nutrition causes Addiction? Drug addicts are deficient in a variety of vital nutrients, which leads to physiological and psychological symptoms and imbalanced neurotransmitters in the brain that often result in the relapse. Thus, identifying and correcting these deficiencies is another important step in maintaining drug-free and long-term sobriety.

The role of nutrition and addiction have brings two sided adverse effects on each other. You find that drug addiction causes nutritional deficiencies, while on the other side poor nutritional cause drug addiction. Both addiction and nutrition have a reciprocal effect on one another that often makes addicts to relapse. Remember that your recovery will be much easier and long lived if you know that Poor Nutrition causes Addiction.

A poor diet lacking in vital nutrients, high in sugar or salt, refined foods and with environmental toxins that average people takes nowadays, often results in nutritional deficiencies. Contrary to most people’s popular beliefs and culture, minerals and vitamin deficiencies are quite common in our society. Their deficiency or lack of it can result into imbalances causing uncomfortable symptoms. Scientific research indicates that Poor Nutrition causes Addiction.

On the literal form, nutrients are needed in the brain to form neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are substances used by our brain to communicate with all body parts or relay messages within the brain. An imbalance or lack neurotransmitters such as GABA, serotonin, endorphins and dopamine have been found to be at the root of what causes alcohol and drug addiction. That is why Poor Nutrition causes Addiction because it causes lack of Amino acids the building blocks of all Neurotransmitters.

Why Poor Nutrition causes Addiction? is explained Below

The manufacturing process of these neurotransmitters, the body requires every nutrient with right amount to be present during the process of synthesis of neurotransmitters if the nutrients are lacking the neurotransmitter production is compromised causing imbalances leading to addiction and self medication. The lack of one or two of these nutrients during the manufacturing process can lead to failure of neurons in producing adequate quantity of neurotransmitters. This is explains why Poor Nutrition causes Addiction

You’ll want to read and understand alcohol and drug addiction and how to recover from the adverse effects caused by taking drugs. To achieve successful drug and alcohol addiction recovery, your body’s neurotransmitters must be brought into balance. So you need to understand the interrelationship between addiction and nutrition because they are important aspects if you want to maintain a lasting sobriety.

Poor Nutrition causes Addiction

prevention an aid against drug addiction Deutsch: Kampf dem Drogenmissbrauch :*Ausgabepreis: 40 Pfennig :*First Day of Issue / Erstausgabetag: 14. August 1975 :*Michel-Katalog-Nr: 864 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Symptoms and Impact of Deficiencies explaining why Poor Nutrition causes Addiction?

Symptoms from a deficiency or lack of minerals, vitamins or amino acids may include hypoglycemia, depression, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, hyperactivity, learning disorders, cognitive dysfunction, insomnia, hypertension, memory problems, personality disorders, sugar cravings, heart disease, agitation, headaches, and many more. You will realize that that many of these symptoms, as a result of nutrient deficiencies, look extremely similar to the symptoms that an addict faces in their recovery experiences.

When your diet lacks proper nutrients that it needs, then your brain is out of balance in manufacturing and realizing neurotransmitters. You must understand the importance of these crucial chemicals in making your body feel relaxed, happy or normal. Lack of it or the imbalance of these chemicals in the brain can lead to depression, anxiety, sadness, tiredness, confusion and make one not to think clearly.

All psychotropic substances mimic the effects of your neurotransmitters and thus provide one with a temporary, but artificial boost. When neurotransmitters are not balanced in the brain, then we crave things like drugs, alcohol, sugar, cigarettes and caffeine to provide us with the feelings and relieve which we could otherwise get naturally.

Since most people are eating a diet that lacking in nutrients or deities that are toxic, nutritional deficiencies are usually present in the drug and alcohol addict prior to addiction. Actually this is one of the things that lead to substance abuse and eventually addiction. You find that our body doesn’t produce enough dopamine, GABA, serotonin or endorphins, and therefore taking drugs provides us with a temporary boost to those neurotransmitters. These drugs provide us with what we are missing. However, in the long run, the temporary stimulation of these brain chemicals only depletes them even further and leads to diverse problem of substance addiction.

AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center offers an NER a Neuroendocrine Restoration that replenishes targeted amino acids in an attempt to achieve quick and long term craving free without withdrawal recovery. That is how we address the fact that Poor Nutrition causes Addiction.

 

Why Poor Nutrition causes Addiction?

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