Transcription
In 1985, the crack cocaine epidemic hit, and we had no tools. Kava, which is a natural herb, killed someone who had recently contacted us wanting help. I call it the dopamine hoax. A mysterious bad batch of tryptophan was made by a small company in Japan. They went for a permanent, forever ban on some of the amino acids.
There are four powerful brain regulators called neurotransmitters that specifically generate and regulate our moods and our appetites. Neuroscience has identified which nutrients these neurotransmitters need in order to function fully, and that information is shockingly simple.
When he came back after a week, he said, "This is the first time in 5 years that I haven't used crack." It worked the first day. Pessimism, panic, negativity, depression, anxiety—a whole range of things that prevent us from being Mr. and Mrs. Sunshine. What's missing is the real answer to addiction, which we've never had before. Which you have. Which we have.
Okay, everyone. This is a really important show to me, and I want to start by talking about two people that I've loved and that I've lost. Both dear friends who died, one of a drug overdose and one of a drug-related suicide. And they were both incredible souls who had so much to offer this world, um, but they had a brain that they just couldn't regulate. And I didn't know of any tools, and nobody who knew them knew of the tools to potentially help them. And I, I carry them in my heart every single day, and that's why this conversation matters so much to me because we have the brilliant Julia Ross here, and she's been one of your favorite guests, and we're going to talk about addiction. She's been treating addiction for decades, wildly successfully, and it all comes down to nutrients that the brain is missing. I think this is a more important issue today than ever. The more our diet becomes processed, the fewer nutrients we have coming into our bodies, building our brains, and it is, I believe, truly an epidemic. So, welcome to the show, Julia. Um, can you just tell people who you are a little bit, and then I know there's some really exciting stuff happening in your world around addiction. So, I'd love you to share that.
I'd be delighted. I'm delighted to be here with you again. Obviously, after 40 years, uh, in the addiction world, I feel the same way you do about this topic, and I really appreciate the way you have given yourself to this and all of the resources you've brought to bear on getting this information to people. Finally, and at last, uh, I think you have the resources to reach the people that need it. And one of those people was me, uh, back in, uh, the late '70s when I was a graduate student with an internship in an addiction treatment program for alcoholic men, long-term residential. One man had been there for 6 years. Uh, 12-step attendance, uh, informal conversation—that was all they had then. There was nothing else, and they came to our graduate program because we were revolutionizing psychotherapy at the time, and the holistic breakthrough, uh, techniques that have now become commonplace were new, and they wanted everything. They said, "We've got to do whatever works, and we don't know what that is beyond what we're already doing. Please bring it to us." And for the next 14 years, I worked there and implemented these just such exciting psychotherapeutic programs. We were the first people to involve the family, for example, which is critical. Absolutely critical, and is almost never done, especially not, you know, intensively.
When the first long-term follow-up study was done on alcoholism treatment in the United States, it showed that the 28-day program, which was brand new then, maybe 5 years long, uh, had about a 50% success rate. Well, we knew that with everything we were putting into it in the longer-term residential setting that we had, that we were at least 65%, but we weren't satisfied with that, and we kept pushing, but we knew we were, you know, we were getting there. And then, in 1985, the crack cocaine epidemic hit. By that time, I was the director of outpatient programs at this place. It had become so popular that, you know, people who couldn't get into the residence wanted outpatient, so we developed them, uh, from scratch. And again, very popular, very productive psychologically, but when the crack cocaine epidemic hit, the residents came in one day and left the next. And 24 hours in treatment was standard. That was the best people could do across the country. Crack cocaine was another dimension from alcohol, and we had no tools, and this is why I needed help, because I couldn't live with it, and I was thinking of leaving the field. And then, the answer was presented to us, and that's the answer I'm still giving now, you know, all these years later, that's so, uh, revolutionary, so effective, and so science-backed that it had to be suppressed. Um, and we'll talk about how that happened and why that happened. But, initially, we had access to neuroscience. And so, I was a clinical psychology professional, a clinician, you know, I was not a scientist. But, these neuroscientists, feeling the same way you and I are feeling now, decided to tour the country to tell all the addiction specialists in the country what was really causing addiction. And what they told us was that the brain was malfunctioning, and that the malfunction was rather simple and easy to remedy. One of them had actually begun trialing the nutrients that neuroscience knew were responsible for supporting all of our, all the, the four neurotransmitters that generate and regulate our moods and our appetites. So powerful. So wonderful. And what they taught us changed everything. Uh, within a month, my staff nutritionist, who had been so frustrated trying to advise people to eat better, well, they couldn't stop using cocaine, they were not going to listen to salads and, and, you know.
So, at that point, and she knew something about nutrient supplementation, and I said, "These scientists have told us about some very specific, just a few nutrients, and there's one in particular for cocaine addiction that they're highly recommending, and here's the study." One of these scientists, really the, the father of, of nutrient therapy for neurotransmitter restoration in addiction, specifically, was known for his research in, in addiction and genetics, and he had learned so much about the brain in regard to alcoholism. And then had moved into the current crisis, which was the cocaine addiction epidemic. And, uh, he advised us to try a single nutrient. Um, we did, and the results with the very first client, when he came back after a week on this particular nutrient, was, "This is the first time in 5 years that I haven't used crack."
And how long did it take? In the first week, you said?
Oh, it, it worked the first day. He said, "That's how I could stay off of it for a week." It got better over the week, but, um, that was, uh, that was the key for him. His cravings were slashed. So, we knew we were onto something. We were not going to let it go. And this is now, you know, 35 years later, and we know so much more, and it's never failed us, really.
Wow. So, in some capacity, 100% of the people you work with improve.
Yes.
Always. That's amazing, Julia.
Now, there are, yeah. There are some people who don't improve enough, and they need some other support, which we can usually find. And everybody is also getting 12 steps and, you know, whatever counseling they, you know, they need and respond well to, but none of that was doing anything until we added this nutrient.
It's so amazing. I just got to, I had tears in my eyes thinking about the people, you know, the millions of people who have addictions who might hear your story and might bump into your methods, and it might change their lives or save their lives. So, ooh, that's exciting, given the people I've lost. But, um, I know you have, before we get into the neurotransmitters, cuz we'll break them down. We're going to talk about marijuana. We're going to talk about alcohol. We're going to talk about the different types of marijuana, talk about crack, cocaine, methamphetamine. We're going to talk about opioids. We're going to give you some tools, but first, Julia, people are starting to recognize you, right? And your successful interventions. Tell me what you've been sharing with me the last few weeks that has just made my heart so happy.
Well, let me start with the fact that we've received an eight-page bulletin from Health and Human Services specifically about the $700 million that has been set aside for innovative treatment for addiction.
Yay.
So, this is money that's been sitting there, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who is a recovering heroin and cocaine addict himself, has been passionate in search of methods that are more successful than what what we have been, but the government's been funding for all this time. What he asked in this document was for help. He was where I was in 1985 when he wrote this document, and he said, "Whether you're someone in recovery, whether you're a professional in the field, whether you're a scientist that's looking at promising research, please let us know. Here's an outline that you can fill in about the techniques that you're talking about and whatever documentation you may have, but if you don't have documentation, don't worry. Just send us, send us some open doors. We've got to flesh this out. We have some bare-bones plans, but what's missing is the real answer to addiction, which we've never had before. Which you have. Which we have. Which we shared. Which we will hopefully have an opportunity to, um, implement nationwide."
Mhm.
Plenty of money to do it. And interestingly enough, the money is being funneled through the faith-based recovery movement, which I think is lovely. And, and, and it's not a movement that's already entrenched in some other approach. It's new, you know, it's open. And, um, so, next week I'm going to be talking to, uh, Monty Burks, who is the, uh, has been assigned the formal leadership of this addiction initiative, and he is very interested in this approach.
Mhm.
Um, so, there, uh, lots of good things. I've sent out copies of this bulletin to people all over the country, and people have been piling in wonderful documents and sending me copies so that I have an idea, uh, of what they're getting. And we're going to be talking today about some of the most exciting things that we, uh, shared with the government.
Yeah. I'm so excited. And just so for anyone who's new to Julia Ross, we've done podcasts before, and they, people have such reverence for your work. And a naturopath wrote to HHS, as I understand it, and recommended you. People just can't scream from the rooftops about how you've changed their lives. I mean, you've changed my life. So, I just want everyone to know that this is someone who is so well respected. In fact, in the last podcast, someone said, "Stop talking on him. Let someone of this caliber have the floor." And so, I'm going to do that because I agree. Like, you have, you have, you hold these secrets, Shirley Ers, and, um, that I want everyone to know. So, you've been working in addiction for 40 years, as we've been talking about, 35, 40 years. And so, tell us, what is the one thing that you wish everybody knew about addiction?
I wish that everybody knew who suffers addiction that it is not your fault. There is no way you could have known what I'm about to tell you. Um, if you are someone who loves someone who's addicted, and you've been trying to set limits, and you've been struggling with your anger and your hurt, um, there's a huge dimension for you, too. Here's the simple information that we received from first, really, expert neuroscientists who were specialists in addiction. The brain chemistry of addiction and the brain chemistry of recovery. And here's how they explained it to me, and I'm going to pass this on to you, um, with, along with some of the things we've discovered in beyond what they told us by working with these tools for, for all these years. They said there are four powerful brain regulators called neurotransmitters that specifically, as I said earlier, program our moods. So, depending on how highly functional they are, how many there are available to us, we're either happy or depressed. And, uh, we know specifically which moods each neurotransmitter controls, and which kind of addictive substance they may be drawn to when their levels are too low. And here's the wonderful kicker that Dr. Kenneth Blum researched and shared with the world in the late '70s and then through the '80s, uh, and up through the end of the '90s. Neuroscience has identified which nutrients these neurotransmitters, these powerful brain regulators, need in order to function fully. And that information is shockingly simple. First of all, it's not a huge menu across-the-board vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids. It's just a few, literally five of the 20 amino acids that we find in food, and that the body breaks down and circulates to really construct every cell in the body. Protein, and the amino acids that compose it, uh, is the most vital of all nutrients, especially for people struggling with addiction. Everyone struggling with addiction is deficient in at least one of the four neurotransmitters. And, uh, those who are addicted to alcohol and ultra-processed foods, the new most addictive substance on the planet,
Yes.
Also have a blood sugar imbalance, major hypoglycemia, that also calls for either alcohol or sugar or starch, uh, to temporarily satisfy. So, what are the amino acid alternatives? If we're not going to use drugs and alcohol or drug-like foods, um, what are these specific amino acids? And which neurotransmitter are they feeding? So, let's start with the one that I started with, the neurotransmitter that was the most, uh, talked about, uh, on Earth up until about 15 years ago. And that neurotransmitter is our, our antidepressant, dubbed by scientists as our inner sunshine. Um, and that neurotransmitter is called serotonin. Well, it turns out that serotonin, although the deficiency symptoms for serotonin are longer than any other list of negative negativity you can imagine, it only requires one of the 20 amino acids found in food to function. This information was shared widely from the inception by the scientists, and the nutrient supplement industry was listening, and they began to develop amino acid supplementation so that we could get just, if we were only deficient in one amino acid, we could just get that one amino acid. And that one amino acid was called tryptophan. And I can't tell you how much worldwide research and neuroscientists internationally has been done on the neurotransmitter serotonin and its fuel, tryptophan. I have a volume this thick just on tryptophan because it has many, many uses in the body, but all we care about is what is its use in terms of creating a life that's worth living emotionally and freedom from addictive substances. Any addictive substance that temporarily elevates serotonin levels is, uh, going to lose all of its potency when the person is exposed to enough tryptophan because tryptophan itself raises serotonin levels so beautifully to whatever level is needed. That takes care of category one, but maybe, you know, to fill in a little bit of the blanks, um, we know what the serotonin deficiency symptoms are, and there are about, I don't know, at least 15 that are just focused primarily focused on mood and mental attitude. So, pessimism, panic, negativity, depression, anxiety, um, a whole range of things that prevent us from being, you know, Mr. and Mrs. Sunshine are evident and they're intolerable. So, when we have a drink and those symptoms go away temporarily, we're set up for addiction, especially if we have a genetic bloodline, you know, specifically alcoholism in the family seems to be the most common, uh, denominator for people who, who end up needing some help that, you know, from addictive substances.
I was just going to say too, I've seen this, um, work so quickly even in people I love who are younger, too. And for a while, because of the pessimism and I, if I think body image stuff sometimes.
Oh, very much so.
Yeah.
"I'm ugly and I'm looking in a mirror and I'm obviously not ugly." That kind of thing.
That kind of thing. And I tried tryptophan in the early days, and it worked beautifully for me. Today, it doesn't so much, but I've seen it work so well for other people. And can you, before you go on, tell people why did tryptophan stop becoming a popular supplement?
Okay.
Move on.
Before I do that, I'd like to come back to what you said about your own experience. Um, you may not want to share the details, but, um, at the time that tryptophan was helpful for you, you were very depleted.
Yes.
Nutritionally.
Yes.
And later, um, you weren't. And so, what you, what I know you've learned, and you mentioned it in our last interview, was that there was another area of your brain that was, that is, that was more currently underproducing. And so, when you turned to that instead of tryptophan, which, you know, you were kind of short up in, um, you, you had the, the kind of, uh, benefit. So, uh, don't worry that if it, you know, worked once, it'll stop working. If it doesn't work, that means you don't need it anymore. But, so then you, you, if you're not feeling, uh, happy without substances, what are you going to turn to? You're going to turn to another neurotransmitter food. Uh, and the neurotransmitter that is deficient in cocaine addicts, which is where I came in, it's actually, um, a collection of neurotransmitters that are all, um, targeted towards energizing us and programming action, physical action, our, our muscles, you know, coordination, um, but they have many other purposes in addition. And they're certainly, uh, responsible for, um, mental focus and acuity and activity and excitement and emotional upness and excitement, and they're called the catecholamines. So, there are three, and we call them the cats for short. But, I'm going to tell you who the three are. One of them is way too well-known now. It doesn't deserve all the publicity it's been getting, and we may get into this later, but one of them is dopamine. The other, which is really the star of the show for us in terms of addiction recovery, is norepinephrine. The third one is adrenaline, which is, you know, kind of stimulation gone crazy when we have to deal with fight or flight, you know. So, what's the single amino acid that feeds this whole family of cats? It's even more generously available in high-protein foods, particularly animal protein, which has all of the amino acids, whereas vegetable sources don't. It's called tyrosine. So, it's, it's our stimulating food. When our crack addict said he felt it right away, that's such a huge relief for anybody who's dragging through life and is using substances for energy. One of the things that I'll mention just briefly is that we're going to go next into opiate addiction and what neurotransmitters are involved, but in terms of food, um, it turns out that opiates can be very stimulating, uh, as well as pain-killing and sedative. So, we'll get to that next. Um, but with this, you know, this one amino acid, we have a solution to not only the, the cocaine epidemic, but the meth epidemic. And this is one, in one instance, in which the government is admitting we have no answer to the meth epidemic. And, uh, I, it's refreshing. They have no answer to the cannabis epidemic. They have no answer to the, to the meth epidemic, and they're admitting that, but their, their solutions to some of the other addictions have not been terribly effective, but at least there's something from their point of view. So, do you think I need to go any further in this stimulating category?
No, I just want to say that meth addiction has taken three friends from me, um, in, in small town Montana. It is rampant, or at least was when I was growing up, and I, I just know how hopeless it can be. So, for there to be an amino acid, an amino acid that can give people relief from that is, I mean, it's just blows my mind. But no, take us wherever you need to go. If you want to go to, um, the other neurotransmitter, maybe the calming ones.
Well, yes. Let's go to the opiate, um, the, our natural opiates, which are the endorphins. And you know, it's a common term. Again, it's, it's a smaller family, but, but there are a few different types of, of endorphin, but what they all do the same thing. They create the joy in life, the pleasure in life. And when somebody finds a substance, you know, whether it's chocolate or, you know, oxycodone, they get a precious sense of. They even call it their best friend. It's such a precious essential to our quality of life to have enough painkiller to survive. This is not an easy trip.
No. You can say that again. Some days.
Yeah, some days intolerable. And, but we have our own resources to deal. And we can get over grief, you know, we can, we can survive various kinds of, of emotional and physical pain, but not if we aren't making enough endorphin. So, what foods, you know, are the endorphin foods? Actually, endorphin addiction, opiate addiction, is more complicated than other addictions, and it's partly because opiate addicts tend to be just breathtakingly deficient in all of the neurotransmitters. And yet, they need more than any other addict, addicted person, more amino acids than any other addiction calls for. And it's partly because their addiction itself stops appetite, you know, we know the models, we're told, "Oh, you're gaining a little too much weight? No problem, just use a little heroin, you know." The problem there is, you know, it's not voluntary. People addicted to opiates really can't eat. They try, but there are some very specific amino acids that have been identified in the physical pain arena. Looking for what can we use for people in the surgical ward besides morphine, which we're overloading people on. Side effects, residual addiction, you know, real problems with morphine. And one of them at the University of Chicago Medical School, head of pharmacology, um, discovered that there was an amino acid, an unusual amino acid, um, that had been researched with animals. And he got permission to use it. And, uh, it's called D-phenylalanine. To give you an example of how it works, um, I was doing a training, um, and we broke up into groups of six or seven people, and one of the people in the group was a Native American, uh, addiction professional, um, in recovery, um, who had been a rodeo rider, and he had been very badly injured, and limped pretty badly, even though, you know, he'd been out of rodeos for decades. When people raised their hands for what nutrients they wanted to trial, uh, based on their, their deficiency symptoms, um, he didn't raise his hand for anything. And so, I, I just asked him. I said, you know, what are you really feeling so terrific, you know, that you don't need any more help? And he said, well, I can handle it, you know, whatever I, you know, I've got going here, I can handle, and, and I'm, you know, I'm, I'm not, I don't have bad cravings to fight anymore. Um. And I said, well, are you in pain? Because, you know, you're clearly somewhat disabled. And he said, oh, yeah, you know, I'm so used to this that when you brought it up, you know, I thought emotional pain. I didn't think my physical pain. So, I said, well, I'd like you to trial the D-phenylalanine. And he did. So, we went around and everybody gave their feedback on their amino trial, and he said, "Oh, I'm not sure. It doesn't hurt unless I stand up and walk." So, we got up, and he walked away from us, and then he turned around and walked back with a big smile on his face. And, uh, he came to me that night and said, um, "It's bad when I lie down, you know? Uh, could I have some more for the night, and then I'll report you in the morning." And sure enough, in the morning, he'd had a much better night because the pain was so reduced. Um, so, um, he kept in touch with me, you know, just for the fun of it, uh, for, for months, and, uh, uh, and did well and, uh, continued to do well. So, but when it comes to emotional pain, which is really more common, people don't, they think, [clears throat] they can't handle it, you know, that they're wimps. Um, why doesn't this just go away?
Too sensitive, crying at commercials.
Yes. Yes.
Yeah.
Uh, what's wrong with me? Um, I can't take it. Uh, so, those are some of the symptoms of endorphin deficiency. You really can't take it because you don't have the tools to vanquish pain. And so, uh, we've been blessed with D-phenylalanine, and, um, it actually, uh, comes in two forms. Uh, I don't think it's worth going into that right now, but, um.
No, yeah. And I just wanted to say too, this was the one that really changed my life overnight because I was, I was on the heels of a very long stretch of stress, a long one. And I had just, like you said, depleted my reserves of endorphins. The day I tried it, it like, it was a turning point in this season for me. And I have never tried opiates, right? I always kind of known like, I don't think that would be a good idea for me. And maybe it's part of me knowing.
[Laughter]
This was the thing that would have made me feel really good. Maybe what I would need it, but I'm just so glad that I tried the amino before the actual thing, cuz opiate addiction, wow. I mean, it's so sad, and it's something I've seen a lot of my friends struggle with as well. So. Now, opiate addiction, we're going to talk about withdrawal, you know, and, and all the tools that we've learned for withdrawal, which is different than building up the endorphins. There's more going on with the different things going on with withdrawal, and of course, opiate withdrawal is among the worst. Uh, but it doesn't need to be anymore. So, we'll get to that. But, um, yeah, so let's just move on.
Yep. Go for it.
Okay. So, for everyone who has become addicted to benzos, uh, benzodiazepines, because of their stress level, stress, burnout, um, unbearable tension and stress intolerance, there's a divine amino acid, uh, that, uh, actually, there's more than one that feeds the system that's supposed to calm us down. So, we have natural benzos. And alcohol is another thing that people turn to for stress. And certain, you know, the, the certain kinds of cannabis as well, the calming kind. We'll get to that, but the stress cure, um, what does it cure? It cures a neurotransmitter called GABA, which is gamma-aminobutyric acid, and, uh, luckily we've agreed to call it gamma. Um, so, uh, this is another, you know, like endless stories of GABA trials. So, I'm talking about trials. And let me just say briefly that this is one of the ways that we determine within minutes whether an amino acid that sounds like it would be good for a person will in fact be good. And, um, you know, I was just thinking of, of a, actually, a 10-year-old monster child. A lot of crying, also a lot of yelling. Um, but she needed, uh, the tryptophan for the yelling, the anger. But for, for the crying and the over-sensitivity, um, the, the DPA was a wonderful instant. And she was only 10, so we just used probably a third of a capsule, and that's all she ever did need. Uh, couple times a day for, uh, just a few months. So, the younger the, the, the less time it takes to res, to build up your transmitter system.
It's wild. I know I've given it to someone as young as 11 and only needed one dose and only for a few days. And just the difference in, like, even in an hour was their, the parents were just like, they couldn't believe it. Just like this joy, this ease, this gregariousness, um, for a formerly more kind of like somber and melancholy child. So, I mean, it's crazy. It's been crazy for me to see.
Well, when sometimes with children, they can't express, you know, the fact that I'm tense, I'm stressed, and it can come out in silence, you know, or, so, it's, you know, it's as miraculous as it sounds. Uh, so, now we've gone through three of the five. So, let's move on. We've had our antidepressant, we've had our natural painkiller, we have our natural, uh, stimulant. We've just arrived at our natural tranquilizer. And, uh, GABA is available as a supplement, you know, as you indicate, you know, at various different strengths. And, um, any amino acid is more effective and more quickly effective if it dissolves in the mouth. So, we like chewables for that reason, for trialing especially. What's the last amino acid on the list? This is the amino acid that is particularly vital when the addiction is to carbohydrates and alcohol, which is carbohydrate and typically mixed with carbohydrates. It's a fascinating amino acid that has so many healing properties. It's actually being sold now as a medical amino acid for sickle cell anemia. It's, it's a commercial product called Endari. I'm just telling you that as an aside, but just so that you know that there are many other powerful uses for, for this amino acid in the brain and body. But, stopping the cravings for carbohydrates when our blood sugar drops low, this is the role that it plays in addiction recovery. And you might be interested to know that one of the most highly publicized medications on Earth at this time, like Ozempic, the GLP-1 medications, are mimics of a peptide, which is a group of amino acids that the body makes itself. It's been duplicated and made into a drug. And the nutrient that triggers the body's production of GLP-1 is glutamine. So, it's its effect on, on the body is profound. And what we see visually, you know, and get immediate reports on are that the, the kinds of moods that you get into when your blood sugar's dropped, when you've skipped breakfast, when you don't have time for lunch, when you've been drinking too much coffee to try and make up for it, and you get irritable, and you get stressed, and you get spacey, and you can't concentrate. Those are all classic symptoms of hypoglycemia, of blood sugar that's really gone dangerously low. Um, and there are at least 20 other negative repercussions to low blood sugar. So, the state that people, um, the negative state that people get into when their blood sugar drops causes them to reach for instant relief from addictive substances. So, sugar and alcohol are, are the two, um, best known and, and most often used for this purpose. So, when we have somebody who has one or both addictions, uh, we know that glutamine is in their future, and, uh, we try violet. And if they are in, uh, we, we ask them actually to not eat close to a meal because we want to know what you're like when your blood sugar drops, when you trial your amino acids. So, if their blood sugar is low and they haven't eaten a decent meal, uh, lately, we're going to get this kind of the kind of instant response we get from the other amino acids, only in this case, smoothing it all out. "Oh, I can handle it. Why was I getting hysterical? You know, I'll just call somebody back, and it'll be fine, you know." Uh, so, um, and I don't need a drink to deal with it. So, that's the final jewel, you know, in the, uh, addiction recovery crown.
Yeah, and I remember it was in your book, too, that I read, and I can't remember the author or the book that you referenced, but something like 95% of alcoholics had this hypoglycemic tendency. It was almost all of them, right?
Yes. It, it's very, very high, and it's, it's, um, clear that it's a family genetic trait, and that that sensitivity, that blood sugar instability, runs in the family. People blow up, you know, or they cry hysterically, or, you know, uh, they're known to be stress intolerant. So, for them, uh, this is, uh, really a lifesaver.
Yeah, I can't even tell you how many issues I think are related to people not being able to regulate their blood sugar. I mean, my life was crazy before I realized that. And I have, you know, bipolar genetics in my, um, in my mom's side, and I just think that I was eating in a way that exacerbated all of my moods.
Uh-huh.
Uh-huh. Yeah, I just think that is profoundly underrated as like a tool for healing so many common, like maladies. So, thank you, Julia, for that overview. I want to go back on a few things before we show people what, what do we do? What is our next step? And talk about the concept of the addicted brain and the idea that some people are just born with brain chemistry that makes them more vulnerable. Can you explain what's actually happening, and if that's true, and what the research says around that?
Well, the, the majority of addicts of any kind, uh, are known to have some kind of alcoholic gene. And, uh, it's interesting because the neuroscientist who discovered and shared, uh, the discoveries about nutrition and neurotransmitter restoration was very deeply respected for his work with the alcoholic, [snorts] genes. Um, he discovered, uh, a gene that programmed a very, a violent kind of alcoholism that took hold quickly and took over for life. And a different gene that programmed a much slower developing and never as life-destroying, you know, the chronic easygoing drinker, you know, in the bar every day but never made any trouble, you know, at home, you know, easygoing, uh, but needed, needed the drinks.
And you've also mentioned, so, so, in other words, some people do have this kind of, is it a reward deficiency syndrome? Would you say that that's?
Well, uh, Dr. Blum himself named this. This is, I think what's so important. He named the addictive syndrome reward deficiency syndrome, but that doesn't, um, tell you the whole story because within that title, he's talking about an inability to feel a sense of reward that's really a five-part, um, neurotransmitter function, you know, gift. If we don't have enough of it, we are unhappy in very specific ways, and we find substances that are going to relieve that unhappiness temporarily.
Perfect. Perfectly said. Thank you, Claudia. And I know you've mentioned that dopamine. There's a lot of hype around dopamine, and you've been really diving into this topic, and there's a lot of important nuance. So, can you clear up what you believe to be some of the most common, common types of confusion around dopamine's role in addiction and even mental health?
Thank you for asking. Uh, I call it the dopamine hoax. Um, and I started to notice, uh, 15 years ago that neuroscience popularized neuroscience, and the programs on college campuses started to mushroom up about neuroscience, BA programs, master's programs, PhD programs. Their entire focus was on dopamine over the years, more and more and more, until all of the other neurotransmitters were completely sidelined. They weren't mentioned, and knowing how important they all were, I knew there was something wrong. And I began to explore the motivation for this. And, um, one of the important things, uh, is that Kenneth Blum, his, his research, original research on alcoholism that was so widely revered, really was about dopamine chemistry. So, he was an expert, world expert on dopamine. And still is. Um, but he was very, very clear and taught us an invaluable lesson. It's turned out to be more invaluable every year. And that was that the dopamine release that people talk about now as being the source of, of, of all our reward, you know, benefits, you know, brain chemistry benefits, rewarding brain chemistry benefits, um, is only possible when the four basic neurotransmitters are operating fully and optimally. And also when the blood sugar level is solid. So, it's just like the cherry on the hot fudge sundae. You know, you've got all these wonderful things that are happening, and people are feeling great. And then there's a dopamine surge, which is, I would say, the least subjectively, uh, important, um, experience that anyone I've ever worked with has had.
Wow. And so, why do you think it's been given this undeserved attention?
Well, there's been a lot of, of controversy because a lot of scientists, you know, for example, there was a big outcry from, uh, National Geographic saying that's not the primary role of dopamine. It's not rewarding. It's about activity. It's about programming our, our muscles to move properly, our coordination, and so forth. That's what it's most important for. So, I continued to look, you know, as to, well, okay, I, I agree with that. Now, why isn't that being honored now? Why is there any controversy over that? There's no controversy. There's just a silence about any neurotransmitter except dopamine. And what I discovered is that as the serotonin-targeted antidepressant drugs have lost their glamour and, you know, their limitations have become obvious, side effects have become notorious, the pharmaceutical industry has been busy creating a new line of mood-boosting pharmaceuticals with a dopamine target. So, this is a perfect setup for the next round of exciting new, uh, pharmaceuticals.
Yeah. It's kind of, it's a similar story, right? Story that we've heard before. Um, so, if this is, right? If these aminos have been so successful, and your experience says they are, um, why have they not become standard of care? What are the barriers to their wider adoption and use?
You have an evil smile on your face.
[Laughter]
Cuz I already know. I just want you to tell everyone.
Yes. Uh, this is a good time to talk about it, actually, because it, it all has to do with antidepressants. The first antidepressant to be released, like all of the subsequent antidepressants that have since been released, was targeted towards serotonin. Drugs can't nourish the neurotransmitters, but they can stimulate activity temporarily. And that's why they become so addictive that they, you know, it's not like a cure. What happened was that, uh, Prozac was released with much fanfare in 1940s, 87, and it didn't sell well. So, this was not what they expected. And the next thing that happened in 19, 1989, was that a mysterious bad batch of tryptophan was made by a small company in Japan, not by the famous Ajinomoto, which makes most of the amino acids for the entire world and has never made a bad batch. Somehow, this company was exporting a product that it later testified in US court they knew was contaminated, and it was sold widely enough that it created an enormous and hideous epidemic, almost of EMS. I mean, we're talking about thousands of people, up to 10,000 people or more, being affected either in a minor or temporary way or in a permanent way, and many people died from it. So, it created this panic and horror surrounding this beautiful nutrient. Um, but it allowed the industry to persuade the FDA to ban it. They went for, they were going for a permanent, forever ban, but, um, this is another wonderful story, but, but one of our heroes in the amino acid therapy world, um, was able to convince the scientists who were there, um, that that would be wrong. That this was a contaminated batch, not any problem with the supplement, trip, of tryptophan that was being made elsewhere. So, for 15 years, we had no access to tryptophan. So, until 2005. And during that time, the psychiatrists who had known about tryptophan and loved it, no side effects, help with sleep, help with mood, wonderful, couldn't get it and turned to Prozac. And got, um, lesser benefit, um, and more side effects, but they knew of no other tool. And as frankly as our diet has deteriorated and our stress levels have gone up, our need for antidepressants, our natural antidepressants, have, have risen. And our ability to fuel those antidepressants, you know, with healthful food, uh, that's protein, you know, that contains good amounts of protein, um, has really disappeared. You know, we are living, uh, progressively on a very low protein diet.
And I'm worried because of the GLP-1. I see so many people taking these peptides and eating less than ever, and maybe less protein than ever, and I worry long-term repercussions of that could, you know, be very serious for our mental health as well.
No, it's true, and for our physical health, you know, the less we eat, the less we function well, you know, system-wide. Uh, so there's, and more and more people are, um, taking GLP-1 drugs permanently. You know, they're not going off because they do get a rebound of cravings and waking. That doesn't happen when they are using amino acids.
Yeah, cuz like you said, with these pharmaceuticals, and I know they're life-changing for some people, there's a transient effect. Maybe in some cases, an even depleting effect. Whereas with aminos, it's a restorative effect. It's kind of a root cause nourishing effect.
Yes.
Yeah, the, it either works or it doesn't. It's, it's not a degrees of working or having an adverse effect at any point. When you've had too much of an amino acid, you just don't want to take it anymore. You know, it's.
And if there's an adverse reaction, you can take vitamin C, right? And neutralize.
Yes. And in, yeah, in, in minutes, the, the liver is flushed, and it's a, it's so wonderful because we don't have to worry, no matter who it is, if we're trialing. First of all, we're going on, on a set of, of, uh, symptoms that are that indicate very, very successfully, you know, who needs what amino acid. But, sometimes it, we're wrong. And, uh, we don't have to worry about giving someone the wrong amino acid because the vitamin C will clear the system so, so quickly.
I know. Case.
Well, thanks for bringing that up.
You're welcome. Yes, I know that is a, it's so different because I had very adverse reactions to pharmaceuticals that, you know, that are, it's just different. It takes a really long time, and you're trial and error with the dosage, and you get brain zaps, or you know, you can't keep your eyes open, but I just, I've just never experienced anything similar with using the amino. So, I just kind of wanted to highlight that for people. And now, I think what I would like to do, Julia, just for people, because we've talked about it. We want people to have this information quickly. Can we go through the common drugs? I'll rename them. You tell me which amino. And then, after that, we'll talk about where to start detox and diet. Does that sound good? Just so we have a little snapshot for people.
Yes. Uh, that's okay.
Okay. So, the first one, cuz we went through it, but I want to just make it real clear right here.
Good idea.
How about methamphetamine and cocaine? Let's start there.
Okay. So, we want to build up our natural stimulants. And if someone's been using those drugs, they have been depleted to the nub. Uh, and we should get an immediate response from the amino acid tyrosine.
Let's go to alcohol.
Okay. Alcohol is quite different because alcohol, you know, the ancient drug of addiction, has been prized all this time because it hit, it affects so many of the neurotransmitters. So, whatever is deficient, there's a good chance that alcohol is going to relieve it. We, you know, even you don't think of alcohol as a stimulant, stimulant, but we had a client who was a bookkeeper, and she would go to the local bar and do her books and not make any errors because it, it stimulated her brain, you know, in a, she was having side effects, you know, which is why she came to us, but just, but obviously somebody who's in pain who's endorphin deficient is going to get some relief from alcohol. And if they're stressed, they're going to get some relief. So, if GABA levels are low, they're going to get some relief. They're going to get a little energy, as I just explained. And so, it's an all-around elixir, and that's why it's so popular.
Yeah, and what about marijuana? I know there's nuance here, too.
Well, marijuana is, is an utterly different drug than it ever used to be because the potency has gone up from, you know, less than 1% to almost 100%. Now, it's available at, you know, any, any potency really, but the complete, you know, extraordinary addictiveness that has resulted from the increased potency is shocking. You know, there are the high potencies cause some very severe negative reactions such as hyperemesis, visits commonly now to emergency rooms over the country for uncontrollable nausea, and the only thing that really relieves it is the stopping cannabis, and people can't do it. So, they end up in the emergency room over and over. What else about cannabis? Well, as you mentioned, it's not just one substance, you know, it comes in two flavors, at least. It can certainly stimulate any of the neurotransmitters. So, the sativa is stimulating specifically to the catecholamines, you know, so it's what gets people talking too much and having fun that way. Um, and.
The other, the other option is indica, which is tranquilizing. We had two addicts come in together. It was a husband and wife, and he liked indica, sativa, and she liked indica. So, they didn't spend much time together once they were high.
[laughter] Interesting. And they both responded beautifully to different amino acids and lost their their interest and their the expense. I think that's...
So, if you like indica, I'm going to guess for you, GABA. And if you like sativa, is it more of a tyrosine DLPA?
That's right. Okay. Yeah. Okay. And what about opiates? We talked about this. Opiates and painkillers, if that's your drug of choice, which amino acid typically works?
The primary one, the the most immediately therapeutic one is D-phenylalanine, as I explained earlier. But it it comes in another form, DL-phenylalanine, which has its own additional benefits and it's a little more stimulating. So, different people prefer different, and some people use both for a while.
I like the stimulation. I just have to admit. I miss you, babe.
There's there's one other thing, um, and that is that because opiates, you know, really interfere with appetite and our our amino acid levels just across the board get so low, um, we we like to also recommend that people have a complete free-form amino acid, meaning it doesn't need to be broken down like food form. Like whey protein has to be broken down into the constituent amino acids. There's uh, at least one company, Total Amino Solutions, that makes uh, a lovely product.
Aha. [laughter] Got it. She's become my best friend. Yeah.
So, it's particularly uh beautiful for opiate addicts.
Mhm. Yeah. Again, I think again, that door endorphin deficiency is is something I think I've been working with lately, or you know, for a while. Benzos, what about benzos, tranquilizers? Which aminos?
Well, that's easy. Um, uh, but again, there there fortunately for us, there are a few options. Uh, but the the far and away the most common solution to a GABA deficiency is supplementation with GABA.
Yeah. It turns out GABA is both an amino acid and a neurotransmitter. But uh, there's, you know, a steady supply of people who don't really respond much to it, and they we find that they respond really beautifully uh to the amino acid theanine, which feeds into that same GABA, you know, what they call inhibitory, calming things down, literally um inhibiting uh adrenaline. And it's one of the reasons that GABA is so useful, or or uh theanine for people who have uh attention deficits.
Interesting. Because that inability to clear the brain can be because there's too much adrenaline. And the GABA eases it out. The brain clears and you get, you know, you get focused.
That is fascinating. And I read in your book, too, uh about glycine and taurine and kind of like seizure-related stuff. Do you use those two aminos very often, or is it just kind of like satellite or peripheral?
Yeah, we um we don't anymore use uh glycine. We just find we don't need it and it it has more um functions and more effects. And sometimes for somebody who's just dealing with a GABA deficiency, it's not the right thing. It doesn't even help them. So, we get uh, but we love taurine and uh, it can be right up there. It's just that we almost never get there. You know, either GABA or theanine are so, you know, totally calming. Uh, and uh, clearing of the brain that we rarely need taurine. But um, I've used it for benzo withdrawal um in IVs. Um
Okay. Because in uh in IV form, which is wonderful for with just for, you know, 10 days or 2 weeks for withdrawal, as part of the IV, we for benzo person, we want to use some form of GABA, either GABA um, but we um I ended up using taurine because uh GABA used IV causes a momentary interruption in breathing. You know, and people can get, you know, panicky and they're already stressed. So, I helped someone withdraw from just decades on benzodiazepines with uh just over a few weeks um using the IVs with with taurine, vitamin C, magnesium, some, you know, other calming and restorative things. It was fun to can watch it happen.
Yeah, it's amazing. It works amazing. And there's a few other notes we want to say about detox, but I want to ask you about two other things, and that is antidepressant. Do you see antidepressant addiction? And if so, are any amino acids helpful there? And then, I didn't plan to ask you this, but hallucinogenics like mushrooms. Do you see people coming in with LSD or mushrooms or even MDMA? Are these things that you see people getting addicted to? And have you ever used aminos with them?
Well, we actually haven't.
Yeah. And I've been wondering the same thing. Are we going to, are they, you know, what is their addictive potential? But what we do see, and it's recently increased. In fact, kava, which is, you know, a natural barbiturate, as barbiturate, you know, a benzodiazepine kind of herb, killed someone who had who had recently contacted us wanting help.
Kava? Whoa. Okay, now cuz I know...
So, I don't I don't know that you know that there are kava clubs all over the country now.
No, there's one in Boulder and I know there was a bad batch of kava back in the day that scared some people with some liver toxicity issues. But are you saying that it's still maybe a dangerous thing?
It's it's very addictive, and this person died because he couldn't stay away from high doses, and he was wandering around and tripped and fell and killed himself.
Oh my gosh, Julia. Because his coordination was shot.
That's awful. And is kratom similar? I've I've never tried kratom, but I've been hearing so many things about kratom.
Kratom is not is not a benzo. Um, it does it's not uh tranquilizing, but it it has two different properties. Initially, for most people, it's stimulating. So, if you catch it at that stage, then tyrosine is helpful. But, it moves into becoming a just terrible, deadly, um, really uh opiate.
Yeah. I've also had some friends who have had issues with kratom. Started it because it seemed, it was over-the-counter. It's fine. It's an herb. Ah. And then all of a sudden we're realizing, "Wow, I am so dependent on this, and this doesn't seem to be helping." Okay, Julia, that is amazing. Thank you for giving us that. And you were really excited about some detox um issues and considerations and things you were using for certain populations who might need to detox. Do you want to talk about that?
Yes. Anyone who has trouble withdrawing. And a lot of people don't. Just using the the amino acids and vitamin C, they can they're they're comfortable. But, you know, there are other substances that, you know, like kratom uh and like opiates that are guaranteed nightmare withdrawals. And cannabis is moving into that category, too. Um so, we are so fortunate. And again, actually I I'd like to mention the name of the man who saved tryptophan from uh from the pharmaceutical industry ban, permanent ban. His name is Don Tyson. He was 90 years old this year.
Wow. And um he has been in the um amino acid therapeutic use of of amino acids for 50 years. Uh I won't go into his history, how he got to be a specialist in amino acids and, you know, doing a lot of purity work and, you know, evaluations and and then becoming uh a consultant to holistic doctors all over the country on various conditions that were associated with amino acid deficiencies, you know, even physical illnesses and so forth. Anyway, he is wonderful and he educated me uh on a nutrient which is tremendously uh potent and has a universal effect rather than uh on withdrawal, on relieving withdrawal, rather than just for one substance or another. Any substance that uh produces a withdrawal syndrome that can't be eliminated easily uh or tolerated easily. For example, SSRI detox, uh opiate detox, kratom detox. It's called NAD. Uh I'm not going to try and say the the. But what it it is is a supplement of the chemical that controls um our mitochondria, which is the the nodule in every cell that that energizes the cell and allows it to perform its function properly. He discovered that there was an MD addiction specialist in the state of Washington in the 1960s who acquired uh supplements of NAD from South Africa where it was first synthesized and he used it on probably a thousand uh addicts in withdrawal from many different substances and found it to relieve most of their withdrawal symptoms that had been intolerable before. So, his work um and Don Tyson's promotion of it created a a phenomenon which was another physician hearing about that work decided to combine amino acids with the NAD IV and started a drug uh detox program about a block from the border uh in Tijuana. People from all over the world came and in 6 days they were detoxed comfortably through IVs that they they may have as much as 6 hours a day for 6 days. Unfortunately, as he said, you know, the heroin addicts would come back over and over. And the problem with him was that he never told people about the amino acids and how to stay sober, how to stay clean. He just was able to relieve their withdrawal symptoms and and many of them were able then to go on and stay clean. But um he was he was a legend. And now we have NAD available to us online.
Yeah. And uh the one problem with NAD is that it can't be swallowed unless it's enteric coated because the hydrochloric acid in the stomach destroys it. So, Don Tyson created a product that's enteric coated.
Hm. And um so uh his the company that sells it is called his company is called Montiff, M-O-N-T-I-F-F. But now there are some other there are some gels that Amazon is selling. Um there are some drops that can gels and drops can be absorbed through the mouth. So, uh the availability of NAD, which is a miracle for withdrawal really, is uh is getting greater and greater all the.
I love that. And one other thing, we're going to talk about diet, but you have mentioned this to me in passing and I think it's important to mention. So, so we love the total amino solution, but there are many people using amino acid blends that may not be as effective as somebody working with a practitioner like yourself um and dosing according to exactly what they need. Do you want to say anything about that?
Thank you. Yeah, that's that's really important because um actually Dr. Blum made that mistake. It didn't look like a mistake because his studies, you know, showed improvement, but he created these little blends of all of the precursor amino acids, but in low potency. Um And although they helped, you know, there was something in it for everyone and some some people needed all of them. Uh it was really helpful for them. They [clears throat] were sort of dependent on it for life because there wasn't enough to actually restore full function.
And uh we don't want that and we don't need to do that. What we've been able to do, and this is something that that other recovery programs in the country um have learned how to do is to use the aminos in an individualized fashion. So that we trial, we see what works at what dose, what doesn't work, what isn't needed. And then those people have an individual formula formula for them. Um So, we, you know, we it's as strong as it's needed and it's as rich as it's needed. It's cumbersome, you know, because you have to have, you know, at the most five bottles of supplements, but a lot of people only need two or three.
And like you said, it just depends on how long you've been working with the addiction and how depleted you are, but this isn't even something you need to do forever. In fact, you can trial the aminos, restore, and then the ideal scenario, right, is that we build the backbone of our own ability to produce neurotransmitters with a healthful diet. So do you want to talk about that and like what does this like restorative diet look like that can eventually maybe get you off of aminos in to- like totally? Is that something you move towards?
Absolutely. Um I would like to come back to the withdrawal piece.
Yeah. Because NAD isn't the only...
Yeah. Tool in our toolbox to ease withdrawal. Um and maybe we uh we could have a a segment that's on what do we know in terms of effectiveness in terms of studies. What have people put together that works, you know, that has worked best?
What? For detox or the amino?
No, for for well, combination. Detox and the the rebuilding of neurotransmitters. So...
I'd love that. I I've got a marvelous thing for you. I have you'll love. So, NAD is sort of the most exciting and universally um potent withdrawal aid available to us, but there are some other things that have proved very helpful in studies as well as in practice. Um One of them is uh vitamin C, either at bowel tolerance orally or uh IV. And there have been, you know, several studies showing that withdrawal discomfort for opiate addicts was quite dramatically reduced. Not as completely perhaps as with the NAD, but still significant comfort and tolerability. The other thing that's actually had the most research is something that was developed for opiate addiction recovery withdrawal [clears throat] and recovery um and it was developed by acupuncturists in China because China was forced to allow the sale of of opium in its country. Uh There was actually a war uh with uh with Britain about it, which they lost. Um So, it became a major addiction and tragedy in China. So, at some point, and I don't know the details of this story, um, but I could find out, they realized that of all the points in the body, the points that were most effective at increasing endorphin activity and giving us naturally this wonderful sense of oh, everything's fine, you know. That that point was in the ear and the ear tissue isn't very sensitive. You know, you can poke at your ear and it doesn't hurt with your nail. Uh Well, uh what what evolved um and was used in the United States for for heroin addiction recovery in the '60s, I would say was the beginning of the use of the Chinese uh needles, ear needle acupuncture with just a few points including that one, the the opiate point. Um for helping to make withdrawal more tolerable. So, it also, it's not, you know, it's probably the least effective for heroin and and and other opiate addictions, but it helps. Uh and it's very good for other other um addictions as well. Um I've actually witnessed it. In San Francisco, there was a a a government-funded ear acupuncture project in an area of the city that was very heavily addicted. And the room there were about 70 people in the room at 7:00 in the morning every day of the week because 1 hour of uh the endorphin stimulation and the uh benefits of the other few points in the ear that were that were tapped could keep them drug-free for 24 hours. And with other health benefits, you know, but this is the problem. Uh 24 hours isn't long enough. We need some, you know, something that they can do themselves like take supplements every day. They don't have to be someplace at 7:00 and they have something in case they have to miss. Um but the combination is wonderful for detox. You can have your acupuncture, you can have have amino acids, you can have vitamin C, um orally or IV, and it's a beautiful thing.
Yeah, and you've put together so many cool pieces of my own story because vitamin C high dose has always been very helpful for my mood, and I learned in your book that it helps with the endorphins. Again, all roads are leading to this probably chronic endorphin deficiency I've been dealing with. So, thank you for those tips, and before you tell people like what is the next best step and where we can get some of your resources. The last thing I want to touch on is the diet. So, what is the what does a diet look like that helps us replenish these neurotransmitters, and can you do it if you're a vegan?
Well, don't forget we're also going to talk about the research showing the effects of this.
Yes, take us there first. We can end with diet. Go there.
One of my colleagues in in California, uh Carolyn Reuben, was an acupuncturist, and she had been training acupuncturists and supplying ear acupuncture, uh also called the acudetox, um she in recovery programs for a few years before she took my training. Once she took my training, she determined that she was going to get better results combining the amino acids and diet, which diet is something we're going to talk about for sure before we're through, with the acudetox, and she was successful within a year or so of the training uh in getting a contract with the state of California in her county, which like all the counties in California, was running a drug court program of almost a year long, and she applied for a special grant, which they happened to be able to fund to allow her for 6 weeks of that year long program to also supply them early on with the amino acids and with the IQ detox and with dietary instruction and eventually and feeding them twice during every day of the week and eventually sending them home with food for the weekends. The program ended up running for 19 years. And she was in charge for that period of time. And the results are just unbelievable, but the the state office of accounting did initially do a study of 10 years, the first 10 years, and found that the recidivism rate in all of the rest of the counties in California was over 60% in Sacramento it was 17%.
Crazy. It saved they declared that it saved the county $20 over 10 years.
Oh my goodness. And if $20 and if you don't know what recidivism is, it's just falling back into addiction. Right?
Being re-arrested. It's very expensive to arrest and prosecute and, you know, and all. So, so many people never needed that. So, then in in the 11th year, she she changed the program just slightly, and that was when she added the food that she sent home with them on the weekends. Now, keep in mind, some of these people were street people, and they were learning how to cook and how to eat right, and they were managing, they were figuring it out. When they analyzed that year, they saw that the recidivism rate dropped from 17% to 13% as opposed to more like 60 to 70%.
Easy. They proceeded with that slight adjustment another 9 years. So, overall in 19 years, they saved the state close to $40 million. Oh my.
Julia, can you imagine a wide-scale adoption of these types of programs? Like, what do you think? What would that save us on a national scale? Can you imagine? Not And like, not even to make money that priority. Like, these are lives. These are families. This is so much more important than money. But if we think about money, too, like, what do you think it would save?
We'd have to figure out what, you know, what each person saved the state. I don't know how many people were going through at a given year. So, we'd have to do a little more analysis, but I don't think it would be difficult to do. No.
We'll have to do it. I'll do it and we'll share it on one of our future podcasts. Which is a good thing to mention because we're going into food addiction next time. And it's a whole separate issue, and Julia says that she treats all the time very successfully. So, we'll do that calculation, and stay tuned for that in the next one.
Great. But it's amazing. Amazing.
Let me just say one other thing. That is that uh there's probably the best book ever written on alcoholism is called Seven Weeks to Sobriety. And uh haha. It was written by a woman whose son committed suicide in treatment at 18. And she determined that she was going to find out why and what was missing in treatment. He went to a 28-day treatment program. He went to a halfway house afterwards. He got all the best care. And she ended up getting a PhD in nutrition, like you. And her dissertation uh was a follow-up study uh 2 to 3 years after people had gone through her 6-week intensive outpatient program that was almost entirely nutrition-focused. And uh what she found and what Seven Weeks to Sobriety is based on is that the alcoholics who went through the program who were initially the only clients, 83% were still clean and sober two to three years after.
Wow. And these were personal contacts. These were not, you know, little forms with a check off. When she followed up on the cocaine addicts, which, you know, the cocaine addiction started, you know, for her the same year, 1985, it started for me. She found that the recidivism rate was greater. So, it was in the 70s. It's, you know, success rate was in the 70s instead of the 80s. Um
Still great. Yes. Yes. So, I wanted to mention that and to also say that the smaller follow-ups that we have done at my clinic have all come out in the same thing, 83%. And I So, all of this, you know, points to uh tremendous efficacy that dates back decades. We could have been doing this for decades. And now there are even more things that we can add to it like NAD and vitamin C.
And it's blown my mind. You've told me this multiple times that crack and cocaine addiction is one of the easiest.
Yes. That's crazy.
And meth addiction.
Mind-blowing. It is the part of the brain that's very easily restored by one nutrient. One inexpensive nutrient that's only needed for, and this is an important thing to say, for a lot of our very, you know, severe addicts, whether alcohol or meth or cocaine or opiates, the aminos are needed for a year. And, you know, we we watched many of them go through and they're fine with it, you know, because actually they start cutting back. They don't need as much, they don't have to remember it as many times a day, and we've been so interested in that that that seems to be what it takes when there's a, you know, especially when there's a clear-cut genetic component. Some people are much faster, and the younger they are, the more quickly the aminos work and aren't needed anymore. But, we just want people to know it could be up to a year using the aminos. And it's very doable.
Yes, considering the ways that it can change a life and a family and a community, I mean it's amazing, Julia. Um well, thank you. And and take us to that diet. Like, if we're trying to build a very nourished brain and ner- many multiple neurotransmitter systems, what are we going to be eating on a on a daily diet or in our daily diet? What does that look like?
Well, this is the reason that it's not enough to take the amino acids as magical and as potent as they are because once you stop, if you're not also eating generously of protein, which is our dietary source of amino acids, it can't be sustained. We've got to improve the diet enormously, you know, in when we first started, the diet wasn't that bad, and people really did do well on the aminos, and they could keep it up cuz they were more stable, you know, they were home, you know, three meals a day, whatever, you know. Uh but that's not true anymore, you know, we're we're on this is a deadly diet, and it's deadly for the neurotransmitters because it's particularly low in protein. So, one of the other things that's transpired over the last few decades is our our interest in vegetarian and vegan diets, and people are so passionate, and it's understandable, you know, um about many people about avoiding animal any any animal that's been slaughtered, you know, so they'll eat eggs, um milk products, uh but what they find and and we don't really argue with that, but we teach them, you know, how to get more protein from vegetable sources, beans, you know, whole grains, nuts and seeds. And quite often they just come to us at some point, you know, down the line and say, "You know, I'm I'm going to try eating animal protein more animal protein because I can't get off of the supplements and still maintain my quality of life." And uh, we we teach that we are omnivores, so we are animals ourselves who need both animal protein and vegetable sources of of nourishment. And we also know that we have specific blood types that program us to digest certain foods well or not. And so that, you know, the two major blood types, type O, uh, which is the Paleolithic type, really does need to lean on animal protein as primary source of nourishment. Um, and doesn't do so well with the crops that we began to eat later when the when the next blood type, the A blood type, evolved. So, O's don't do well with beans and whole grains typically. But type A's do very well um, as long as they have animal protein as well. So, they can combine proteins, you know, they'll make a dish that has let's say, you know, chicken and it's also got garbanzo beans or, you know, nuts and seeds on the crust, you know, that kind of thing. They they have more interesting I'm an A, you know, we make more interesting food, I think, but
[laughter] Me too. I Me too. And so what I try to do is three protein animal protein three times a day. But again, variation in my diet, but it is it seems pretty important for me that I always have, you know, two to three meals with animal protein.
So, that is what we help people to identify. What does that mean? How much um what kinds, how do I cook it, what do I have with it? It's critical for the rest of of the life, you know. We don't want people dependent on supplements even if it was good for them. We we don't know because we don't recommend it long-term.
Yeah. Um, okay, and the last thing before I'll have you tell them what their next step is. Do you see any other nutrients that you're like like omega-3 fats? Like I know fish oil is pretty important for the brain, too. Are there any other nutrients that you would say you add into people's programs when it comes to addiction that are also pretty helpful or is it pretty bare-bones with the aminos?
We absolutely insist that they take a very good vitamin mineral supplement and there's one in particular that we found to be, you know, so far uh outstanding. Uh and and when we've run out of it and we substitute something else, our clients notice. They don't feel as good.
What is it?
So, that's Yeah, it's called Gluco Balance. What we like to do with the omega-3s is um start with diet so that they're getting good sources of omega-3s. But, if there's any um indication that the the diet that they're on and the supplements they're taking are not doing everything that we expect in terms of improvement in in mood and health, then we have them do a uh fatty acid panel and those are you can self-order from OmegaQuant, from Nordic Naturals, and see, you know, in black and white where you might need additional supplementation.
Okay, Julia, oh my goodness. I can't wait to share this episode and I know it's going to change so many lives. So, if someone's out there thinking about themselves or thinking about a family member, someone they love, like what are the resources that you can direct people to to take that next step and get the help that they need?
Well, there are, you know, more resources all the time, I'm happy to say, but it's still not an overwhelming amount. And so, what we've decided to do is to make the resources, you know, present them and explain what their usefulness is. And we want people who need help with amino acid therapy for their addiction, whether uh what or family member, quite often the family members need the aminos as much as the addicts. That's another topic, but um so, one of the things uh that I've been able to do um which has been successful over 20 years is uh write books that people still want to read. Uh
[laughter] I'm just looking. Yes, your books life-changing. So, The Mood Cure specifically has a whole chapter on addiction recovery and nutrition. And it also has an entire chapter on antidepressants and how to withdraw. That's a valuable book when when addiction is important. If the addiction is alcohol addiction, Seven Weeks to Sobriety is a complete lifesaver uh to add to the collection. Now, since the uh The Mood Cure came out, I've been doing more recent updates, which are all on my website, juliarosscures.com. And in the shop, you'll see there are a number of e-publications. Now, there are two things at the shop that are fundamental. And one of them is a an e-publication, 20 pages of updated information on amino acid therapy for mood and addiction problems. And it's called the Amino-Aid Handbook. It contains a questionnaire, it contains information about precautions. Some people as particularly on certain medications, there might be one amino that they shouldn't be taking. So, just to get that out of the way and be clear on that before plowing ahead. And then is sort of a set to go with that, we have an amino acid trialing kit. It also contains the questionnaires and the precaution sheet and directions for using the amino trialing kit. So, there are samples of 12 different aminos so that people can take the questionnaire, identify which which drugs they're on, which symptoms they have, and which aminos seem would seem to be the most helpful, and then actually take them with directions and feel for themselves the the effects. Um to help with that, I've posted on my YouTube channel five different interviews of of people trialing the aminos with one of our nutritionists at my virtual clinic. Um so that you can see how quickly they take effect and hear people describe how they're making them feel differently.
Incredible. Would you...
Are more things that we'll post.
Okay, yeah. We'll link to all of that in the description. And again, Julia, I just can't speak highly enough of your work and how it's changed my life and how I know and the the feedback I've gotten on our first podcast is incredible. There's hundreds of comments, you know, over 30,000 views now. Um so, I just can't wait to share this episode. We're going to have an episode on food addiction, and then we're going to keep going and going and going and creating more of these episodes to just help you understand the natural resources and effective resources that are out there. So, last question for you is for someone who's watching right now, whether it's for themselves, for a family member, they've tried everything, they're at their wit's end with addiction. What would you like them to know?
I'd like them to know that there's guaranteed help. And it's help that will take effect quickly. There it's not something that you're going to have to wait to find out whether it's really going to work this time. Because it works right away. And it's not elaborate, it's not something complicated. It can be done and especially if there's a family, you know, together on this, because everyone will trial, everyone will get benefit. It won't just be the addict who's identified as the only problem. They will see that they have a a genetic, a family-wide tendency. Um and for that particular person, their vulnerability was just greater.
Everyone, stay tuned for the next episode. I hope you enjoyed this. We're going to do food addiction next. So, if you or anyone you know is suffering, also let me know in the comments below which symptoms or aminos resonated most with you. And of course, check out all the links below in the description. Amino Aid Handbook, you know, Julia Ross Cures, her website, as well as her YouTube channel where you can see people trialing amino acids in real time. So, again, thank you, Julia. And um if you try the aminos and you've experienced something transformational like I have, I would love to hear about it in the comments below. So, let us know if you, your family, or anyone you um know or love has been using these aminos, Julia and I live for these stories. Uh Julia's got a lot of them to share, but we could never get enough. So, let us know in the comments below. Thanks for watching, everyone.
Thank you, Laura.