Dr. Scott Sherr

So if you're on prescribed medications, you really should be working with a healthcare practitioner and talking to them about anything else that you're bringing in to your body that you're going to be taking, because that's always an important thing.

So if you're on prescribed medications, you really should be working with a healthcare practitioner and talking to them about anything else that you're bringing in to your body that you're going to be taking, because that's always an important thing.

Yeah, sure. So GABA is our primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. So it's the neurotransmitter in our brain that helps calm things down. It calms down neuron firing. This is very much associated with the increased tone of our parasympathetic nervous system, our nervous system that helps calm us down, rest, digest, recover, detoxify. That's what parasympathetic is all about.

Yeah, sure. So GABA is our primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. So it's the neurotransmitter in our brain that helps calm things down. It calms down neuron firing. This is very much associated with the increased tone of our parasympathetic nervous system, our nervous system that helps calm us down, rest, digest, recover, detoxify. That's what parasympathetic is all about.

The sympathetic nervous system on the other converse side is our side that makes us feel more awake, more alert, ready to go, hustle, hustle, hustle, bustle, move, go, don't stop, that kind of thing. And so the emphasis in American culture is on the sympathetic nervous system, right?

The sympathetic nervous system on the other converse side is our side that makes us feel more awake, more alert, ready to go, hustle, hustle, hustle, bustle, move, go, don't stop, that kind of thing. And so the emphasis in American culture is on the sympathetic nervous system, right?

you know hustling you know pounding the pavement like not sleeping you know getting done and i was i've been definitely guilty of this in my own life in many times as many of us that are trying to run 10 miles a day and taking three ibuprofen a day just to do it are doing but if we forget is that the parasympathetic nervous system helps us heal and if we cannot heal we can't recover

you know hustling you know pounding the pavement like not sleeping you know getting done and i was i've been definitely guilty of this in my own life in many times as many of us that are trying to run 10 miles a day and taking three ibuprofen a day just to do it are doing but if we forget is that the parasympathetic nervous system helps us heal and if we cannot heal we can't recover

we're not going to be able to perform at our best. And so optimizing the GABA system is extremely important. Many of us these days are GABA deficient, which means we don't have enough GABA in the system. If you don't have enough GABA in your brain, you're going to feel depressed. You can feel anxious. You're not going to sleep well. You're going to have mood instability.

we're not going to be able to perform at our best. And so optimizing the GABA system is extremely important. Many of us these days are GABA deficient, which means we don't have enough GABA in the system. If you don't have enough GABA in your brain, you're going to feel depressed. You can feel anxious. You're not going to sleep well. You're going to have mood instability.

You're just not going to feel good overall. So the key with the GABA system is to optimize it. And so how can we do that? There's a lot of different ways you can do it. You can The thing about GABA itself is that it's really just made in the brain. And it's made from something called glutamate, which is our primary excitatory neurotransmitter. So there is the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate.

You're just not going to feel good overall. So the key with the GABA system is to optimize it. And so how can we do that? There's a lot of different ways you can do it. You can The thing about GABA itself is that it's really just made in the brain. And it's made from something called glutamate, which is our primary excitatory neurotransmitter. So there is the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate.

And then there is the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. And there's a balance between these two always. And so if you're too much on the glutamate side, you're going to feel edgy. You're going to feel headaches. You're going to feel like you're just kind of like off and hustling. You're just like not going to be able to feel relaxed.

And then there is the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. And there's a balance between these two always. And so if you're too much on the glutamate side, you're going to feel edgy. You're going to feel headaches. You're going to feel like you're just kind of like off and hustling. You're just like not going to be able to feel relaxed.

And it's very rare to feel too much GABA, but too much GABA is like I can't get off the couch. Like it's like you can't move. It's very, very unusual unless you're taking things that are enhancing the GABA system. So the first thing to think about when you're enhancing or optimizing the GABA system is optimizing the conversion. of that excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate to GABA itself.

And it's very rare to feel too much GABA, but too much GABA is like I can't get off the couch. Like it's like you can't move. It's very, very unusual unless you're taking things that are enhancing the GABA system. So the first thing to think about when you're enhancing or optimizing the GABA system is optimizing the conversion. of that excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate to GABA itself.

And the two cofactors that are required there are vitamin B6 and magnesium. You also have to think about stress and other things that can be depleting GABA. Like if you're overexercising, if you're overstressed, that's going to deplete GABA over time too. Mineral deficiencies can do this.

And the two cofactors that are required there are vitamin B6 and magnesium. You also have to think about stress and other things that can be depleting GABA. Like if you're overexercising, if you're overstressed, that's going to deplete GABA over time too. Mineral deficiencies can do this.

The problem with GABA supplementation is that GABA supplements, GABA itself doesn't get across into the brain very easily. It doesn't get across the blood-brain barrier. If it does get across, it means that your brain is probably leaky, which means that it's leaking things in there that shouldn't get in there. That's not good, obviously. And that often corresponds with having a leaky gut.

The problem with GABA supplementation is that GABA supplements, GABA itself doesn't get across into the brain very easily. It doesn't get across the blood-brain barrier. If it does get across, it means that your brain is probably leaky, which means that it's leaking things in there that shouldn't get in there. That's not good, obviously. And that often corresponds with having a leaky gut.