Support Healing From Parkinson’s With Amino Acids

Trudy Scott, CN

Thanks, Dr. Sharlin. It’s a real pleasure to be here today, and I am excited to be talking about amino acids, which are supplements that we use, and how they can support neurotransmitters. This is going to be relevant for, as you say, Parkinson’s patients because there is anxiety, there are mood issues, there is insomnia, and there are movement issues with Parkinson’s patients. But also, what I am going to be talking about is how a lot of these amino acids are relevant for caregivers and also for practitioners who are working with Parkinson’s patients. It is an area that is near and dear to my heart because of my issues with neurotransmitter imbalances. It was how I got into this work. I was in my late thirties, and I had hormonal changes happening and a lot of stress. I discovered that I had issues with gluten, heavy metals, and hormone imbalances, and it turned out that my neurotransmitters were totally out of balance.

I discovered the very powerful connection between food and mood. Specifically for me, it was anxiety and panic attacks, insomnia, and terrible PMS. But as you will hear today, these amino acids that we are going to talk about—GABA, tryptophan, and five HDPs—have wide-ranging applications. Long story short, once I addressed my biochemical imbalances, addressed the toxins, changed the dietary aspects, and added quality protein, I was a vegan at the time, but making those changes and adding in the amino acids completely changed things. My anxiety got rid of my panic attacks and several other symptoms that I had, and I changed careers. I was working in corporate America at the time. I went back to school to become a nutritionist, and now my mission is to share the power of food and nutrition, specifically how these amino acids can help with so many symptoms. Hopefully, what we talk about today is going to help the caregiver practitioners working with Parkinson’s and Parkinson’s patients.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

Absolutely. This is a problem that affects everyone around you. You bring up such an important point about caregiver burden, about family, and how these diseases, whether we are talking about Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, or ALS, are something that reaches beyond the person affected. Yes, they are at the center. Yes, this is about their condition, their health, and their disease. But how we experience it is how we support those individuals; how we support ourselves as part of that journey is so critical. I love the title of your book, The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution. How Foods Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind. We truly often talk about comfort foods, but what you are talking about is something completely different. It may not be intuitive to a lot of people that this food as medicine ties directly into our mood. Can you kind of walk us gently into that? You talked about amino acids and kind of explained to people exactly what amino acids are as well.

Trudy Scott, CN

Yes.  Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. If, for example, you ate a piece of grass-fed red meat, you are going to digest that meat. It is going to break down into amino acids. then that is used as a building block for making, used in the body, and in many different ways. But one of the ways that it is used is to make neurotransmitters, and these neurotransmitters, or brain chemicals, are our feel-good chemicals that help in many ways, as we are going to hear today. It helps with mood, it helps with sleep, and it helps with feeling good. It helps with confidence. It gives us resilience and helps with pain. There are a variety of different amino acids that we are going to talk about. But each one has specific symptoms that are related and that are associated with when they are out of balance. For example, if you have low endorphins, you will have more physical pain and more emotional pain.

Then there is an associated amino acid that we use to raise those levels. The exciting thing about the work that I do with amino acids is that we use a symptom questionnaire to figure out what symptoms you have, and then we pick the amino acid that is associated with that neurotransmitter imbalance. We do a trial, and we see how you respond. It is a powerful way to get feedback, immediate feedback, to see if something is going to work, and then also to figure out how much you may need because we all have our unique biochemistry and someone may need a very small amount. Someone may need more than just the starting dose to get a response to or improvement in some of these symptoms. It is amazing.  

Typically, we want to focus on real whole food and eating quality protein, making sure our digestion is good, removing foods that are problematic, such as gluten, sugar, and caffeine, which can increase anxiety and deplete us of nutrients, and adding in things like organic fruits and vegetables, fermented vegetables like sauerkraut, and fermented drinks like kombucha. But do all of that as our baseline But then we need to use these amino acids as supplements to boost our low levels. Then ideally in the long run having those foundational dietary that dietary factors in place means that you may need less of those and that neurotransmitter support. But what we need to keep in mind is, for example, if you are a caregiver or if you have a chronic illness  Parkinson’s disease, you are under a lot more stress. You are more depleted. You may need some of these. Add this neurotransmitter for longer-term support, and that is fine too. As long as you are benefiting from using these amino acids and you see the resolution of your symptoms, that is a clue that you are on the right track then you are on the right track.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

Oh, Yes.  These amino acids serve many functions in the body and structure, including making hormones, enzymes, and other things. The human body can synthesize certain amino acids, but it turns out that other amino acids must come through food or targeted supplementation, as you are saying. In other words, if we are not eating the things we need, we do not have the building blocks to make what our bodies need.

Trudy Scott, CN

Absolutely. Then they are also cofactors that are needed to help make the neurotransmitters. For example, zinc and vitamin B-6 are important cofactors for making those neurotransmitters. Magnesium is essential as well, and those nutrients are commonly depleted when you are under a lot of stress. If you are eating a lot of sugar or have gluten issues, If you have adrenal issues or thyroid problems, we’ve got to look at the whole picture. But certainly, having that dietary aspect as a foundation is essential. But that being said, I have talked about getting off caffeine. I have talked about getting off sugar and gluten. A lot of us know that those are not good for us. But it is hard to stop. We self-medicate with these foods to feel good. 

The great thing is that the amino acids help with getting off of these bad foods because they address the low neurotransmitter levels that are driving the need to self-medicate. They are every single neurotransmitter imbalance we are going to talk about today. We are going to talk about low endorphins. We are going to talk about low serotonin and low GABA. They all have a craving aspect. When we address the neurotransmitter imbalance with the targeted individual amino acids as supplements, as well as addressing some of the pain, insomnia, mood, and anxiety, it’s also helping with those cravings. It makes it easier to make those dietary changes. When I am working with someone, I will have them start on the dietary changes. But on day one, we start with neurotransmitter support.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

Well, that is fantastic. Well, why don’t we dive into this and start with the one that you mentioned first, which is endorphin support? I know what endorphins are, but I want to make sure our audience does, so help with that and take it away.

Trudy Scott, CN

Okay. I want to talk about endorphin codes today for building resilience in caregivers. I’ve got a case study—not a case study—but feedback from someone in my community. But I feel that this could also apply to practitioners who are working with Parkinson’s patients because we need that resilience when we are working with people with chronic illnesses like Parkinson’s. Endorphins are the body’s natural pain relievers and mood boosters, so they help with both emotional and physical pain. There is an amino acid called DPA, D-phenylalanine, and it is used as a supplement. We use it to boost or support low levels of endorphins. As I mentioned, I use the symptoms questionnaire with my clients, and that helps us know if we need endorphin support. Then we do a trial of the amino acid. In this case, we use DPA. Some of the symptoms we would look at to determine if endorphins are low. Do you have physical pain? Do you have emotional pain? The emotional pain that we see with low endorphins is weapiness and crying or tearing up a lot.

Maybe you will see an advertisement on TV, and then you will feel very emotional. Maybe as you are working with your caregiver, you are working with someone else.  If you have a loved one with Parkinson’s, you will feel very, very weepy, more so than you would expect to possibly be. The other thing is, as I mentioned, there is this craving aspect. With learned orphans, you seek comfort food as a reward or a treat. You say I deserve it; it was my last tough It was hard. I have had a long day caring for my loved one. At the end of the day, I am going to indulge in a huge bowl of ice cream because I deserve it. It is my reward or my treat. The problem is that by doing that, you are further depleting yourself because of that, possibly due to food sensitivity or by depleting the zinc, B-ice, and other nutrients that are needed. We want to address that. We look at the symptoms that I have just mentioned and write them on a scale of one to 10. You may have physical pain, and you may feel that this emotional pain is nine out of 10. Yes, you want those comfort foods. The big clue that comfort food is often learned is that if I told you you had to stop, you would feel this sort of emotional, visceral connection to this food. How can you take it away from me? A lot of my clients will get this sort of little tear, and they are my reward. I deserve this. What we do then is a trial of DPA, and 500 milligrams is a typical starting dose. 

Then if someone notices that the emotional pain is nine out of 10, they will take the DPA open onto the tongue. That is the most effective way to do a trial. We open the capsule onto the tongue, take it away from protein, and within 5 minutes, they should be able to say, I feel comforted. I could call it a hug in a bottle. It’s getting that big hug because it’s raising your endorphins. Within 5 minutes, you should start to notice that quick effect because it is getting in through the blood vessels in the mouth. Then, if you can say my emotional pain went from nine out of 10 to maybe six out of 10, that is a good start. No, I do not. I was thinking about that comfort food that I am going to have later on, but now I do not need it. I feel fine. I do not feel I need that reward that has gone down from a 10 out of 10 to maybe even an eight out of 10. That is a clue that you are going to benefit from the DPA, and then we will increase it as needed. We start low and increase as needed, and DPA can be used three or four times a day. Sometimes I will have clients who need to go up to 1000 milligrams, three or four times a day, but 500, three or four times a day is a typical dose that seems to work. That is a little bit different from DLPA, a lot of people are familiar with DL-phenylalanine which works on endorphins, and dopamine with DPA just works on supporting endorphins.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

When you are doing your symptoms questionnaire for one to 10, is there a threshold, I might say? Well, occasionally I might have some pain; two or three is that enough for me to use the phenylalanine; or, do you say, well, you are a six or seven; we have a problem; or maybe you are a four and we want to focus on food and other things. But if you are eight, that is the time to supplement. How do you break that down?

Trudy Scott, CN

If there is any symptom, whatever the rating is, and you do the trial of the DPA and it improves, then you are on to a good thing. If you have only got one, this is one category of symptoms we are looking at. This is the low endorphin. We are also going to talk about low serotonin and low GABA, pain features, in all areas. We might look at a cluster of symptoms. Is it just physical pain without the emotional pain? Then we might go to one of the other neurotransmitters first, and it does not matter where you start. I will have my clients do the entire questionnaire, and we will go through the other symptoms in a second, and then we pick the area that they say is the area that is causing the most problems. say, for example, that emotional pain and weakness are big drivers in how they handle life and how they handle being a caretaker. Then we would start there. If we happen to start with low serotonin and come back to endorphin support, that is fine too. There is no sort of hard-and-fast rule. But your question about, is it episode two and it improves with, the endorphins supporting that is good as well? Yes, any other questions? Then I wanted to share some feedback from a caregiver in my community about how to help.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

Yes, let us do a case for sure.

Trudy Scott, CN

Okay.  This is just someone. I’ve got a very active blog, and I write a lot of articles every week. I have a new article, and I happened to have an article about DPA. I have an amazing community, and they are always giving me feedback on how the amino acids are working with them. This was a woman in my community. She is a caregiver, and she shared how DPA helped her improve her emotional resilience and weapiness. Let me just read what she shared. “I had not investigated DPA, as I am a joyful, happy person.” That kind of goes to your question, Dr. Sharlin; she did not sort of think of herself as needing DPA, but she said, “Recently I have been so depleted, and when I sheet depleted enough, she gets weepy, not sadness, just from being physically drained.”

She says, “Wow, I used a 500-milligram dose of DPA in the afternoon, and that has made a startling difference. I have more resilience and buffer now, to the caregiving work I do and just the opposite of laugh,” which I adore. She also shared that she has been greatly helped in the past by using GABA-five HDP. She says five HDPs seem to work better for her than tryptophan. We are going to talk about that and then also tyrosine. A lot of people will benefit from a number of the amino acids. It is unusual for Sara to have deficiencies in all areas, and when we trial the amino acids, it is best to try one at a time. Getting that baseline, figuring out what the optimal doses are, then moving on to the other one what is working because sometimes, as I said, there can be overlapping symptoms. But we are going to talk about GABA. I am going to talk about five HDPs and tryptophan coming up. But I just feel we know that DPA is going to help caregivers. It is going to help practitioners who may need that emotional resilience.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

Very good. Well, shall we segway into tryptophan in 5-HTP?

Trudy Scott, CN

Certainly.  What these amino acids do is help. They help support low serotonin, and they are different, I will explain how they are different, and for those people, a lot of people know what serotonin is. They know that it is a feel-good brain chemical we typically associate with depression. But there is a lot more research, and I am going to share some of the symptoms that you will see are relevant when it comes to caregiving and practitioners, and then I will share a little bit later how it can help patients with Parkinson’s as well. When it comes to caregivers, they may have anxiety. The anxiety may be worse in the winter. We know depression is worse in winter, if you have low serotonin, we know that is the winter blues. But we also have more anxiety in the winter. You could have panic attacks or phobias. You feel worried or fearful, perfectionism, or being overly controlling. 

As a caregiver, you may feel you have to control everything, and that is good, but it can get to the point where it is too much, it is too draining, and it becomes exhausting. It helps with supporting serotonin. You can also have irritability, be negative, and have excessive self-criticism. Am I doing the best job that I could be doing for my loved one? You can have low confidence, I am sure I should be doing something better. I do not feel very confident about what I’m doing. You can have anger and rage issues as a result of low serotonin. then, of course, the classic with low serotonin is insomnia and disturbed sleep. As a caregiver, you need your sleep. It is essential to address the low serotonin so you are not going to have these symptoms. 

Then unrelated to caregiving. But these are also symptoms that we see with low serotonin, such as PMS, menopausal mood swings, digestive issues, pain issues, and TMJ. then, of course, there is this afternoon craving aspect. As I said, with all the neurotransmitter imbalances, there is a craving aspect to serotonin; it is afternoon and evening. That is when you will want to have chunks. You may need chocolate after dinner. You may find that you need cookies in the afternoon. If you have all these other low serotonin returning symptoms and those cravings for carbs at that time in the afternoon or evening, that is a clue that it could be low serotonin. That is the amino acid that we use to support the symptoms. 

Again, we are looking at them and rating them on a scale of one to 10. We may say, I’ve got this anxiety. I am worried and fearful about what is going to happen to my loved one. I do not feel confident in my ability to be a caretaker. Then I feel anger and rage, and I feel guilt that I have this anger and rage. But if it is biochemically driven, we can address it by using an amino acid tryptophan or 5-HTP. The amino acids that we use are tryptophan, which is 500 milligrams away from protein, and the typical timing is afternoon and evening because that is when serotonin starts to take a dip, which is why it affects our sleep.

We know that serotonin is used to make melatonin, which helps us sleep. If we are taking tryptophan mid-afternoon and evening, it is going to help support those serotonin levels and help us make melatonin. Then some people do better on 5-HTPs. It is a matter of trial and error. I typically start with tryptophan. If someone is not getting the results we would expect, then I would say let us try 5-HTPs, and the dosing for 5-HTPs is 50 milligrams as a starting dose. The one caution, Dr. Sharlin, that you have probably seen with 5-HTPs that I do want to mention is that it can raise cortisol levels. If someone does have high cortisol, they may want to go with tryptophan. The way that you would know that it is causing issues, is you might feel a little bit wired or tired when you use 5-HTP. It is a matter of doing a trial of one or the other and seeing how much the symptoms improve. 

Then, if we do see symptom resolution, the anger goes down from maybe nine out of 10 to maybe even eight out of 10. Then we would increase the dose if our confidence goes up a little bit, one or maybe it is improved three or four notches, then we would earn 500 milligrams and the evening possibly increased to a thousand milligrams twice a day and then even up to 1500 milligrams twice a day. For example, someone is doing fine during the day, but insomnia is a bad thing. They are lying awake; they are ruminating, worrying, and obsessing about what is going on. Then we may do just 500 in the afternoon and maybe a thousand milligrams in the evening. We can mix and match the dosing and timing depending on symptoms.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

Absolutely. There is a lot of data on what is called the non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s, as well as what is called the premonitory symptoms that may appear before the motor symptoms occur. Much of this revolves around the serotonergic system. This could be very helpful. I do want to add a note of caution as a physician, because, as Trudy, sometimes we are prescribed drugs by our doctors, and I think folks need to be aware that they may be on a medicine that influences serotonin. This is, why we are offering some general guidance, but of course, please discuss this with your doctor. 

There is concern that certain antidepressant drugs or what are called MAO inhibitors could potentially interact in such a way to raise serotonin levels to the point that it could become a problem. There is something called serotonin syndrome. It is not extremely common, but it is common enough. As a neurologist, I have certainly seen it. While this may be quite safe for most people, we just want to encourage you to be sure to check with your physician if there is any question. In general, we are talking about antidepressant medicines and MAO inhibitors, perhaps some of the migraine medications, and things like that.

Trudy Scott, CN

Absolutely. I am glad that you mentioned it. I was about to mention it, but it is important to be aware of that. There is this potential, and I’m glad that you say it is not very common, and I have seen that myself. But we do have that precaution when I am working with people to discuss with their doctor. If I am working with someone who is on those medications, I work closely with the doctor to get the doctor’s permission and the doctor’s monitoring. What we typically do is have them use the amino acid tryptophan or stay 5 to 6 hours away from the antidepressant, but only one antidepressant. But if yes. That is something that I have found to be valuable. But always, I agree. Always just go to your comments about the serotonin connection with Parkinson’s. 

There is research that shows that the amino acid 5-HTP offers benefits for Parkinson’s disease patients, certainly in terms of easing depression but also reducing levodopa-induced motor complications. This was just a blog post I did about this a few years ago. Two separate, very small studies and they were considered preliminary, but they were done by the same research team at the University of Cagliari in Italy.

Based on what I know about the effectiveness of 5-HTP for depression, anxiety, and insomnia, I think this is a major step forward for Parkinson’s disease patients. In one of the studies, they just used 50 milligrams of 5-HTP over four weeks, and they found significant improvement in depressive symptoms compared to the placebo group. Then the other study was also very small, with just 12 Parkinson’s patients. They had levodopa-induced dyskinesia. This is the involuntary, erratic, writhing movements of the face, arms, legs, or trunk. They also looked at motor fluctuations, and there was a placebo group and then another group that received 50 milligrams of 5-HTP daily over four weeks, and they found a significant improvement in the levodopa-induced dyskinesia during the 50 milligrams of 5-HTP treatment. It is very encouraging to think that these amino acids are being looked at specifically for Parkinson’s.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

Yes, this is a real problem for people who have Parkinson’s disease. Often, they find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place because the drugs that they are using—the levodopa and the dopamine agonist—to improve movement sometimes lead to extra movements. But if they want to lower their dose to try to ameliorate the extra movements, and the dyskinesias, then they find their back in a more rigid state. It is sort of a catch-22. Darned if you do, darned if you do not. How about GABA, Trudy? I know that is also important.

Trudy Scott, CN

Yes.  We did not talk about GABA, but let me just quickly recap the symptoms of low GABA, and then I will share what I’ve seen in the research about GABA when it comes to Parkinson’s. GABA stands for Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid. It is an amino acid that we use as a supplement, and it supports low levels of the new GABA. We have physical tension, so with the low serotonin, it is more in the head—the worry, the ruminating, the negative self-talk. With low GABA, we have this physical tension, so we will feel it in our bodies. We can also feel worried and fearful, but it is more physical. We will feel it in our gut, where you have stuffed and tensed muscles. We will feel stressed and burned out. 

Again, we write down those symptoms and do a trial of GABA. I just want to mention that with GABA, we start low. You will often see products that are 500 milligrams or 750 milligrams, and that is way too high. My clients start at 125 milligrams and increase from there. If you have taken too much, you will get a flush. You may feel more anxious. But what I have found is that 125 milligrams if used, sublingually or opening a capsule onto the tongue or liposomal, or now we have topical GABA. You will get the benefits of knowing about these symptoms, and there are several other symptoms not related to caregivers that we see with low GABA, one of which is a lump in the throat. When you have that anxiety, you can have rectal spasms, laryngitis, spasms, tics tourettes, and swallowing issues. You are going to say something?

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

No, I am just that. It is terrible to have to deal with all of that.

Trudy Scott, CN

Yes, it is.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

It is so good to know that there are solutions. I know that you mentioned that there are different routes of administration. Do you find that some of the non-oral routes, or perhaps better, absorption, is better sublingually, through the skin, and through the gut? Are there dose adjustments that you have to take into account depending on the route of administration?

Trudy Scott, CN

I have found that 125 milligrams seems to be the sweet spot as a good starting dose, whether it is opening up a capsule, whether it is using a sublingual, or a lack of product, can I mention a brand name here? 

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

Yes. 

Trudy Scott, CN

GABA Calm is made by Source Naturals, it is sublingual, does not taste bad, is an easy product to use, and comes in 125 milligrams. We start there and then dose GABA throughout the day, if you have those physical symptoms. The other thing that we can see and as far as your adequation about liposomal, it depends on each person. Some people do well with liposomal and their lipids. Others find the Gabba Calm a bit too dry, and now there is that, so you can use it topically. I find starting with that low dose and then just increasing as with all the amino acids until you get symptom resolution is just the way to go. The other thing that I mentioned with all of the neurotransmitter imbalances is the sugar craving aspect. With lower GABA, you feel less need to self-medicate with sugar or alcohol to relax. As a caregiver, that is not a good idea. You are depleting your B vitamins and other nutrients. But the other thing that we see with caregivers is these intrusive thoughts and thinking, which are often associated with low serotonin. However I have seen it happen clinically with GABA as well, and there is research that supports it. 

But to answer your question about GABA with Parkinson’s, I have worked with several people with Parkinson’s, mainly as a family member of someone that I am working with. It is someone that I am working with who has low GABA anxiety, we have used GABA, and it is been very helpful for them. They have said, Look, my husband has Parkinson’s; he has stiffness and pain; he has this physical anxiety, and at night throws himself around the bed, and it is uncomfortable for him and it is uncomfortable for me. That is one particular client. She had used GABA extensively and found that it helped her with her physical anxiety, as well as general muscle stiffness, pain, and insomnia. She was happy to have her husband take the GABA, and it did wonders for him. 

I have seen it work, and from that aspect, I will share that the research is mixed when it comes to GABA and Parkinson’s. There was a paper published in 2022 called Molecular Imaging of the GABAergic System in Parkinson’s Disease, and they said, that there is a growing number of Neuroimaging studies that suggest a GABAergic role in motor symptoms, gait disturbances, frontal cognition, somatic symptom disorder, and hallucinations. But they do say more research is needed, and they’re not sure whether the changes in GABA are part of the widespread neurodegenerative process in Parkinson’s disease or if they are compensatory consequences of the dopaminergic degeneration. 

Now, the research is mixed, but it is exciting that they are looking at GABA. If you have those low GABA symptoms and GABA helps, I think it is worth doing a trial or working with someone who can help you do a trial of GABA. I have mentioned serotonin, but there is a study that I found looking at serotonin. It is called the Circulatory Levels of Serotonin, Beta-Endorphin, and Dopamine and their Relation to Pain Perception in People with Parkinson’s. This paper talks about how increasing the levels of these biomarkers could decrease pain sensation in people with Parkinson’s. I mentioned earlier that we have pain when there is low serotonin, we have pain with low GABA, and then we have pain with low endorphins. Here, we have research that does not specifically say let us use these amino acids, but it shows that these neurotransmitter imbalances are contributing to pain. I say, Let us start considering these amino acids for people with Parkinson’s and helping the caregivers who may be depleted in these neurotransmitters as well.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

Absolutely. Just going back to some of the mechanisms of the drugs that are used, oftentimes are reuptake inhibitors of serotonin of norepinephrine. Increasing the availability of these neurotransmitters in those particular synapses We do use what are called GABAergic drugs. Usually when we are talking, for example, about pain. Pain is modulated through several neurotransmitter systems, but common things are common in the US and probably in other parts of the world. Practitioners such as myself turn to GABAergic Drugs and pain is a very big part of Parkinson’s, often neck pain or leg pain. There is probably some element of dystonia underlying that. These can be very helpful, potentially, and perhaps to many people, a much more satisfying approach, knowing that they can take this natural approach as it is, as opposed to solely relying on medication to get some relief.

Trudy Scott, CN

Absolutely. I have a lot of people in my community who have been prescribed benzodiazepines. One of the drugs that you are alluding to here, Gabapentin has had a lot of issues with building up tolerance and needing higher and higher doses. Then when, having severe withdrawal symptoms, when they do want to taper, that is another whole topic. Tapering needs to be monitored by the prescribing physician and done slowly. The nutritional support helps a lot. But I would love to see us get to the point where people are considering doctors and the patients are considering some of this amino acid support so they can not have to deal with some of these other issues, which are going to add to what has going on with them already.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

That is important. Trudy, This has been an enlightening and educational discussion. You could help many folks out there with Parkinson’s and their caregivers and families. If they would like to reach out to you, how do they do that?

Trudy Scott, CN

My blog post, my blog, and everywomanover29.com have all my articles. I send out a newsletter once a week, you can sign up there to get my newsletter. My book, The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution, covers all the nutrients that we have talked about today. There is a whole chapter on amino acids and all the dietary aspects. I’ve got online group programs, and then I’ve got the Anxiety Nutrition Institute. We have trained practitioners on how to use these amino acids.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

First, they can go on to that website and find a practitioner near them or one that does virtual. Would you let us know what that website is? I am assuming that you have a way to search it so they can find practitioners who have been trained by you.

Trudy Scott, CN

Yes. It is called the Anxiety and Nutrition Institute. At the moment, it is just an opportunity for practitioners to train. I have not got to the initial training up there. Once we have the certification in place, then I will be listing practitioners. We are not quite there yet, but we will get there.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

That is wonderful. In your book, where can I find a copy? Amazon?

Trudy Scott, CN

Anywhere online. You can find it in bookstores, and it is in most libraries as well.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

Excellent. I am encouraging folks to pick up a copy, read it, get some great information, and apply it to their lives. It is going to help a lot of folks, whether you are affected by Parkinson’s or whether you are a human being, you are going to benefit from this information. I, for one, qualify. 

Trudy Scott, thank you so much for being part of the Parkinson’s Solutions Summit.

Trudy Scott, CN

Dr. Sharlin, thanks so much for having me, and thank you for hosting the summit. I think it is so important, and I’m looking forward to hearing from the other experts and sharing this with my community, who I know are going to get so much value out of it. Thank you.

Kenneth Sharlin, MD

Thank you again. Bye now.