Vacuoles

Vacuoles are used to contain harmful materials, waste products, and small molecules. They also maintain pressure and an acidic pH within the cell. While most, if not all of plant cells have at least one vacuole, not all animal cells have one. In animal cells which contain vacuoles, they aid the processes of exocytosis and endocytosis among others and play a critical role in a process known as autophagy.

Autophagy, ('self-eating) is a catabolic process in which cell parts that are no longer functioning correctly or are simply no longer necessary are broken down. This occurs by first isolating the targeted components / organelles and then fusing lysosomes to them. Lysosomes are organelles that contain acid hydrolase enzymes. This process is especially beneficial during periods of starvation in which the cell may digest its own components for survival.

Muscle contractions

There are 3 main types of muscle contraction, these are concentric, eccentric and isometric.

Concentric contractions occur when the muscle involved is shortened in order to overcome a resistance placed on it, for example, the biceps shorten when lifting a dumbbell in a bicep curl.

Eccentric contractions are the opposite, they occur when the muscle involved lengthens in order to lower an object or resistance placed upon it, for example, lowering the dumbbell at the end of a bicep curl causes the biceps to lengthen.

Isometric contractions occur when the length of the muscle remains constant and the resistance is not moved through space, for example, holding, without moving, an object.

Parasympathetic Nervous System - brief overview

Generally involved in the rest and digest response, or other activities that occur when the body is resting.

Preganglionic neurons are usually long, postganglionic neurons are usually short, this is because the preganglionic neurons must travel from the brain and spinal cord to a ganglion that is next to or inside of an organ. The postganglionic neurons which communicate with the organ are therefore very short in comparison.

Both types of neurons typically use acetylcholine as their neurotransmitter but can also utilise neuropeptides.

Examples of sympathetic stimulation:

- Iris (eye muscle): pupil constriction

- Salivary glands: saliva production increased

- Oral / Nasal Mucosa: mucus production increased

- Heart: heart rate and force decreased

- Lungs: bronchial muscles contracted

- Stomach: peristalsis increased and gastric juice secreted as well as an increase in motility

- Small intestine: motility increased

- Large intestine: secretions and motility increased

- Liver: No change

- Kidneys: increased urine secretion

- Adrenal medulla: No change

- Bladder: wall contracted, sphincter relaxed

Cortisol

Much is made these days of reducing the level of cortisol within our bodies as if this hormone is some sort of foul demon which seeks to kill us by all means possible. However, cortisol is actually essential to our survival and without it we wouldn't be able to function adequately, actions such as walking would become next to impossible. Cortisol is known most popularly as a major stress hormone, in other words, a hormone which is released whenever we become stressed. This stress can be either emotional (due to an argument or even simply imagining an argument) or physical (because of a strenuous weightlifting workout or a long run). In all of these cases, cortisol is mobilised in order to provide us with the energy to deal with the present circumstance or in anticipation of a circumstance which requires exertion. It provides this energy by suppressing the immune system, increasing blood sugar levels and increasing the metabolism of fats, proteins and carbohydrates, among other activities. The importance of this is that cortisol essentially breaks us down in order to provide the energy that we 'need' or, that our bodies believe we need. This can result in muscle breakdown. The reason that cortisol is so feared these days is because most people are chronically stressed which results in chronically elevated levels of this hormone. This means that most people exist in a state of higher catabolic activity than they should. The result of this is that it is harder to gain muscle mass and there is a fear of raising cortisol even further. Cortisol also inhibits the effects of insulin and testosterone. Insulin is very important for exercise as it brings essential substances such as amino acids back into the muscle tissue in order to bring about reparations. Testosterone is also vitally important for muscle growth and repair and this is why there is such a large emphasis placed on raising testosterone in order to improve muscle gains.

Raising Testosterone Naturally

Zinc
Zinc prevents the conversion of testosterone into estrogen. It also aids both sperm count and health. However, zinc will probably only have a noticeable effect on your testosterone levels if you are currently deficient in it, though I feel that it is still worth mentioning.
Lose body fat
Body fat, also know as adipose tissue, is a large storage container for aromatase. Aromatase is an enzyme that converts androgens (hormones largely involved in male characteristics, such as testosterone) into estrogen. Therefore, losing body fat increases testosterone levels while reducing estrogen levels. However, trying to lose excess body fat by extreme dieting is also detrimental to testosterone levels. The trick is to lose weight slowly, this is why many personal trainers will tell you to only lose a few pounds per week at most, as this is healthier for your body.
Avoid plastics
Plastics contain synthetic estrogens called xenoestrogens which again lower your testosterone while increasing your estrogen levels. For this reason it is better to drink from stainless steel bottles if you can.
Testosterone-increasing exercise
Short durations of high intensity exercise have been shown to increase testosterone levels. However, aerobic exercise for moderate to long durations have been shown to have either no effect or to have a detrimental effect on testosterone. Apparently the best exercises for raising testosterone are compound exercises of which you can only perform 5 repetitions for 5 sets.
Relaxation
When we are stressed our bodies release cortisol which is a hormone that inhibits the actions of testosterone. This is a particularly common problem in modern culture as our lives are very stressful, also, having constant worries has a strong impact on both our ability to fall asleep and our sleep quality, both of which have a dramatic effect on our testosterone levels. Sleeping for around 8 hours per day is recommended in order to reduce our cortisol levels and keep our testosterone high. Practising deep breathing exercises is also beneficial for reducing cortisol.
Cut down on sugar and alcohol
The consumption of both of these can lead to large reductions in testosterone. They are both large problems in most peoples' lives as sugar is in many foods and a lot of people drink alcohol. Some studies indicate that drinking heavily can keep testosterone levels low for a few days if not a week. This is particularly detrimental to those of us who drink heavily each weekend.

Buteyko; my thoughts and reading through forum posts

I came across the Buteyko method online and thought I would try it out to see if the bold claims about its ability to treat many diseases (I believe its practitioners say that it can treat around 150) had any merit. The Buteyko method is a breathing technique in which people breathe through their noses and into the lower portion of their lungs. They then try to reduce their minute ventilation (the amount of air that they breathe in and out every minute). The belief being that this will allow carbon dioxide to accumulate and that for those of us in developed countries, this will greatly improve our health. It is thought that due to our modern diets, lack of exercise, and poor postures, that we don't breathe correctly. More specifically, these aspects of our daily life cause us to breathe using our mouths and to take air into the upper portion of our lungs. I have much more information on this in the "Everything I Know: Breathing" post but I don't agree entirely with Buteyko breathing. The practitioners of Buteyko breathing swear by the idea that if we continuously try to reduce our breathing rate and allow carbon dioxide to accumulate then this will cause the respiratory centre of our brain to adjust itself so that higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the blood will become tolerable. They say that the level of carbon dioxide in the blood that we have adapted to is a useful indicator of the oxygenation of our cells. They measure the relative oxygenation of cells through a short breath-holding technique called the "Control Pause". This entails holding your breath while paying attention to any involuntary movement of your body. Once any involuntary movement occurs, you record how long you were able to hold your breath for and you begin to breathe normally again. The length of time that you could hold your breath for during the control pause is thought to be both an indication of cellular oxygenation and also the pressure of carbon dioxide that your body is able to tolerate. While this may very well be true, I have read that in Buteyko practitioners who were tested, the higher their control pause, the lower their carbon dioxide levels were (there was only a very slight reduction in carbon dioxide levels but it still goes against the belief of the practitioners). However, this was only one test and can't be considered conclusive. That being said, I do not personally believe that the Buteyko method increases carbon dioxide levels to the extent that its practitioners believe, but I think that the method is still beneficial. I wouldn't be quick to put aside the belief that because of this test the Buteyko method doesn't work. I feel that the Buteyko method has implications in combating stress, believed to be a major cause of disease.

Reading forum posts on Buteyko Breathing

So today I went through a lot of forums where people talked about Buteyko... all in all I found 1 negative report, 2 reports of no change, and 33 positive reports.

Bad news first then, the negative report was about a person who had gone to learn about the Buteyko method and had a panic attack due to the breath holding. In some medical studies that I can't locate but do exist, I swear, there has been a link shown between panic disorder and increased sensitivity to CO2 induced breathlessness. I assume that in persons with this heightened sensitivity that breath holding may produce the panic attack that occurred in the negative report I'm referring to. For these people it would probably be best to not do any serious breath holding (maximum pauses or straining hard on the control pause), and they may also find it better to just do nasal breathing, control pauses seem to be solely for the purpose of measuring progress so they don't have to be done regularly as part of the training exercises.

The 2 reports of no change came from people who had either multiple sclerosis or chronic fatigue. They both basically concluded that the treatment was not helpful for their conditions, though I'm unsure as to how long or intensely they tried the method.

Of the 33 positive reports, 19 were from asthmatics and 14 were anxiety related. Of the asthma sufferers, 7 reports indicated that the persons no longer needed / used inhalers and/or that they considered themselves cured/fixed. The remaining 12 said that the method was in some way helpful. Of the anxiety reports, 4 persons have/had social anxiety, 2 had adrenal fatigue, 1 had panic disorder and agoraphobia, 1 report was quoting a psychologist (Dr  Meuret PhD) who advocated reduced breathing in anxiety disorders (though not specifically Buteyko) and the remaining reports were from persons suffering from unspecified anxiety complaints. Of the sufferers, around half said it helped and the other half said it was a huge help / was a massive help or words to that effect anyway.

Sources: google searched "Buteyko forum" and went through the first 10 pages.

For both anxiety and asthma it is said (by some Buteyko practitioners) that once the control pause reaches 30 seconds  the vast majority of symptoms are alleviated, with seemingly full recovery occurring at a CP of 40 seconds. This is still a long way off the 60 second control pause recommended for optimal health. I'm still not sure if this method lives up to its own theory but as I've said before... it definitely seems to be doing something beneficial.

By the way, I get most of my Buteyko information online at: http://www.normalbreathing.com/Articles-warm-hands-feet.php#.US48FqKSJ0E if you'd like to check it out.

Muscle fibers

There are 3 types of muscle fibers:

Type 1 fibers; these are slow oxidative (slow twitch) muscle fibers that contain large amounts of myoglobin, this gives these muscle fibers their characteristic red colour. These muscle fibers are capable of carrying out aerobic exercise for hours on end, they are highly fatigue resistant.

Type IIa fibers; these are also red. They are used for long-duration anaerobic exertion typically lasting up to 30 minutes.

Type IIx fibers; these are white and are used for short-duration anaerobic exercise, typically lasting up to 5 minutes.

Type 1 fibers

These are slow twitch (also known as slow oxidative) muscle fibres that are red in colour due to their large volume of myoglobin, they contain many mitochondria and produce low power contractions. Due to their relatively high level of mitochondria and relatively low power output, these muscle fibres are specialised for low intensity endurance exertion. They are capable of maintaining their power output for hours of exercise. This type of muscle fibres is commonly found in muscles that are used very often during the day, like our postural muscles for example. They are linked to large numbers of blood vessels which supply them with a large volume of oxygen, among many other essential molecules and nutrients. The reason that so much oxygen is needed is because type I fibres split ATP by an aerobic mechanism (hence the name slow oxidative fibre). Without an adequate oxygen supply, these fibres would be unable to produce energy. Endurance runners rely heavily on these muscle fibres as they are highly resistant to fatigue.

Type IIa fibers

These are fast twitch muscle fibers, though they are the slowest of the fast twitch fibers. They contract at around 5 times the speed of slow twitch fibers. They produce energy through oxidative processes just like the type I fibers, though they have less mitochondria and have a higher power output. They are also red due to a high myoglobin content. They contain many blood vessels to supply this oxygen need and are consequently resistant to fatigue, though not as much as the type I fibers. In many ways they can be considered to possess a mixture of both type I and type IIb muscle fiber characteristics. Their main storage fuels are glycogen and creatine phosphate. However, these muscle fibers are uncommon in humans, but through training it is possible to convert type IIb fibers into type IIa fibers. Training of any kind causes type IIa fibers to be formed in the body, due to their increased efficiency at generating energy.

Type IIx fibers

These are typically referred to as type IIb fibers as they were once indistinguishable and many people recognise them as being different. Type IIx fibers are present in humans the IIb fibers are present in other animals. The IIX muscle fibers are white due to a low myoglobin content and produce energy anaerobically, therefore they contain few blood vessels and few mitochondria. THeir main storage fuel is creatine phosphate though they also contain glycogen. They are extremely fast twitch and are also known as fast glycolytic fibers. A consequence of their high power output is that they fatigue rapidly and are also inefficient in producing energy. Whenever a person trains, these fibers are converted into IIa fibers, no matter what type of training is undergone. This is because the IIA fibers are more energy efficient and the human body favours efficiency over power. For this reason, even though these fibers are most useful in sprinters, the people with the higher type IIb fiber content in their muscles are those who do barely any exercise at all.

Myoglobin

Myoglobin is an intracellular oxygen storage protein that is found in both cardiac and skeletal muscle tissue, it is the protein that is responsible for the red colouration of these muscles. It has a capacity for one oxygen molecule (O2), equivalent to two oxygen atoms. It is rare to find myoglobin in the blood stream of humans and this is typically an indicator of muscular damage. As myoglobin has a high affinity for oxygen, it is used by muscles in times of oxygen deprivation. This is because the myoglobin binds to oxygen when there are low concentrations of oxygen and only dissociates when these concentrations become very low. This means that only when there is extremely little oxygen contained within the muscles, will the myoglobin release the oxygen bound to it. Consequently, myoglobin is very beneficial during intense exercise and breath-holding.

Haemoglobin

This is an oxygen transport protein that is primarily found in red blood cells. When it is bound to oxygen molecules it has 2 forms. The first form is a tense (T) form and the second is a relaxed (R) form. The tense form is the one which is most likely to give up its oxygen to surrounding cells. The form of haemoglobin when bound to oxygen (called oxyhaemoglobin) is dependent upon the environment in which the protein finds itself. An environment contained a high concentration of carbon dioxide, low concentration of oxygen and low pH favours the tense form and conversely a low concentration of carbon dioxide, high concentration of oxygen and high pH favours the relaxed form. The tense form of oxyhaemoglobin has a lower affinity for oxygen and so releases it much more readily. This is of great benefit for the body when red blood cells pass by respiring tissue. As the tissue is using up all of the surrounding oxygen, releasing carbon dioxide, and this carbon dioxide subsequently forms carbonic acid (which lowers the pH), it follows that the oxyhaemoglobin is much more likely to dissociate from its oxygen molecules and therefore supply the tissue with oxygen and allow it to continue exerting itself for longer periods of time.

Bohr Effect

The essence of the Bohr effect is that as pH decreases and the concentration of carbon dioxide increases, the affinity of haemoglobin for oxygen decreases, under such conditions oxyhaemoglobin dissociates from its oxygen more readily. Respiring tissue releases elevated levels of carbon dioxide which are converted by carbonic anhydrase (an enzyme present in red blood cells) into carbonic acid. This acid lowers the pH of the blood. These effects compound each other to improve the oxygenation of respiring tissue. When we breathe out too much carbon dioxide, either through rapid or too-high volume-per-minute breathing, we deplete our bodies of carbon dioxide and this means that the haemoglobin in our blood remains attached to its oxygen and system-wide hypoxia may result. This happens most often when we are stressed and is most noticeable due to its associated light-headedness.

Everything I Know: Breathing

If you can't be bothered reading everything below, here's the stuff that helps you: breathe through your nose all the time and make sure you're breathing into the lower portion of your lungs. Remember that the slower you breathe the more carbon dioxide builds up and that carbon dioxide is not a waste gas, it is very useful within your body but needs to be maintained at a certain level (not causing discomfort unless you are deliberately trying to adapt to different carbon dioxide levels, such as in Buteyko breathing).

How to Breathe efficiently


This will help you specifically in dealing with stress but it has many applications and should be done constantly. The instruction to breathe in for 4 seconds and out for much longer is specifically an anti-stress tool. If you did this all the time you would more than likely become very tired, however, it is worth bearing in mind and cultivating it as a skill.

Close your mouth and press your tongue against the back of your two front teeth, breathe entirely through your nose. Make sure that you are breathing into the lower portion of your lungs. To check that you are doing this correctly, place the palm of your left hand on your belly button and your right hand on your chest. As you breathe in, notice which hand moves most. Ideally, your left hand should be pushed out by your inhale and your right hand should barely move, if at all. This should be how you should be breathing in all circumstances, apart from real danger (being chased by a lion for example). If you have a panic attack, probably the fastest way to stop the panic is by changing to this style of breathing. To get the best anti-stress results from breathing you should aim to breathe in for around 4 seconds and then breathe out for as long as is comfortable. In general, inhalations stimulate the sympathetic nervous system while exhalations stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system. Therefore, if your exhalations are longer than your inhalations you will feel much calmer. If you practise this you can get to a point where you will breathe in for 4 seconds and out for over 20 seconds. As you do this you'll notice that all of the muscles in your body become naturally inclined to relax.

Diaphragmatic breathing:

It is important to breathe into the diaphragm as this is where the highest proportion of blood vessels are within the lungs. It has been shown that the upper 7% of your lungs will only take in 4 ml of oxygen per minute whereas the lower 13% of your lungs will take in around 60 ml per minute. Also, using diaphragmatic breathing requires so much less energy to perform that it requires less than 5% of total oxygen intake. If you are over-breathing  the energy requirement goes up massively, when volunteers were told to hyperventilate on purpose they used up 30% of their oxygen intake just to breathe in this way. So by breathing into the diaphragm, you not only take up a significantly larger volume of oxygen into your blood, but you also reduce the amount of oxygen (and energy) that you waste in performing the breathing itself.


Nasal breathing:

The nose is the narrowest place in the respiratory tract, it creates a bottleneck that results in airflow being restricted before it travels into the lungs. Compared to the mouth, it requires 1.5 times the amount of energy to pull the same volume of air through the nose.

Within the nasal cavity are bony projections called turbinates  They heat and humidify air that is drawn through the nose and into the lungs. This reduces the damage that air causes to the lungs. The nose is also useful in breathing because it filters the air that is drawn into it. This takes place because there are many small hairs on the inside of the nose. This means that we take in less bacteria every time we breathe and consequently, our immune systems are less likely to become overworked. It is estimated that when these particles are caught in the nose hairs and/or mucus within the nose, that they are removed from the body within 15 minutes. However, if they travelled to the lungs they would take a few months to remove. Every time you breathe through your mouth you send these particles to your lungs and increase your chance of having a lung infection.

It is said that while breathing through your nose, if you are breathing through the right nostril you will be more inclined towards energetic pursuits, or those involving aggression. Conversely, breathing through the left nostril is associated with feelings of calm and introspection. Over the course of a day, the airflow between the nostrils will change of its own accord. You may wake up, for example, breathing through the left nostril and by midday realise that there is more air coming out of your right nostril.

In a study in which volunteers were subjected to a stress test, with some participants breathing through their mouth and the others through their nose, those who breathed nasally experienced brain wave activity that indicated greater relaxation.

Nitric oxide is also present in the nose and the slowing of air as it enter the nasal cavity allows nitric oxide to mix with the incoming air. This causes nitric oxide to be taken into the lungs where it dilates the blood vessels (bronchodilation). This allows significantly more oxygen to be taken in by these blood vessels and is very beneficial to the overall health of the organism.

Breathing through the nose is also beneficial in that it forces our breathing to slow down and as a result, our bodies follow suit. This helps us to reduce stress and think more clearly.


Nitric Oxide:

Nitric oxide (NO) is secreted into the nasal passages and is inhaled through the nose. It is effective in dilating blood vessels and also aids the lungs in the uptake of oxygen. it is produced in the walls of blood vessels and is required for the optimum functioning of every organ in the body.

Due to its vasodilatory effects, NO is useful in reducing blood pressure, increasing blood flow and treating heart-related diseases (cardiovascular diseases). This is also a reason why it is used in viagra.

In the cardiovascular system, NO reduces artery-clogging plaque from forming. In the immune system, it helps fight off infections and cancer cells. In the nervous system it helps brain cells communicate properly.

Its benefits include:

- Vasodilation / increased blood flow to tissue / reduced blood pressure
- Protecting the heart during heart attacks
- Boosting brain power / cognitive functioning
- Regulating digestion / relaxes the smooth muscles in the gastrointestinal tract
- Improving the immune system
- Re-building muscles after exercise
- Improved sexual functioning
- Aiding the liver and pancreas work more efficiently

It is produced during exercise and regulates contractility of cardiac muscle, as well as reducing heart rate.

However, as with all things in the body, nitric oxide must be produced in moderate amounts as it is a free radical, capable of damaging both pathogens and healthy cells alike.



Carbon dioxide:

Carbon dioxide is commonly referred to as a 'waste gas' from respiration. I feel that this is highly disrespectful to carbon dioxide. Your body requires a delicate balance of carbon dioxide, generally within 35 and 45 mmHg (millimetres of mercury at sea level, a pressure measurement) within the blood. If you breathe too quickly you approach the lower end of this scale and feel dizzy and if you breathe too slowly you approach the upper end of this scale and feel breathless. Most people need around 40 mmHg or above, to function normally. Below this your cells aren't getting adequate oxygen. The reason for this is illustrated by the Bohr effect. Without going into too much detail, the essence of this is that your blood cells offload their oxygen (this is desirable) around cells that are producing more carbon dioxide. Hence, if you breathe too rapidly you deplete your body of carbon dioxide and the blood cells continue to carry oxygen around the body without giving it to cells and tissues that require it. The result of hyperventilation is an impaired ability to think, among many other signs. This is primarily because the brain is suffering from oxygen deprivation (even though you are breathing rapidly and getting a lot of oxygen into the body), because your level of carbon dioxide is inadequate.


Role of CO2 in oxygen transport

Cells that are respiring more actively than others will release a lot more carbon dioxide into their external environment. This causes the dilation of blood vessels and subsequently means that more blood is able to come near tissue that has a higher metabolic rate. When the red blood cells that are carrying oxygen come into contact with this carbon dioxide they are more likely to release their oxygen. It also means that more glucose can be given to these same tissues.
When carbon dioxide increases in the blood it is converted into carbonic acid, causing a drop in the pH of the blood. This increase in acidity is what primarily results in oxygen being deposited by the red blood cells. Conversely, lower levels of carbon dioxide cause less carbonic acid to form and so less oxygen is dissociated from haemoglobin into the respiring tissue.
Thus, when we hyperventilate, we remove carbon dioxide from our bodies before it has the chance to form carbonic acid. The result is widespread hypoxia. Despite taking in much larger volumes of oxygen, this oxygen is not effectively utilised by the body. Also, this loss of carbon dioxide causes our blood vessels to constrict which means that their pressure is increased and red blood cells travel faster through them, further reducing their capability to give up oxygen. The result of this loss of acidity is called alkalosis, a reduction of hydrogen ions. This actually causes increased excitation of cells, e.g. neurons in the brain, and increases their oxygen demand. This can be considered a compensatory response in order to increase the carbon dioxide concentration within the body. However, it is worth noting that by overbreathing due to stress (over-excitability), you actually cause increased excitation and therefore increased stress over the long-term.
The effects of hypocapnia-induced hypoxia are compounded by hypoglycaemia. Due to the constriction of blood vessels mentioned earlier, the blood cells cannot adequately transport glucose to respiring tissue either. The effects of both of these deficits is particularly noticeable in the brain. People who routinely hyperventilate will feel drained, more anxious, more irritable, are more likely to suffer from insomnia and feelings of low-self esteem, vulnerability, being overwhelmed and panic. Fortunately, this particular problem is easily remedied by correct breathing.

Here is a study showing that taping the mouth can increase the end-tidal carbon dioxide in humans. This suggests that there is a higher concentration of carbon dioxide within the blood as well:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031940606001921


In order to understand why correct breathing doesn't come naturally to many of us we need to consider the type of lifestyle that we all live. It is primarily one of emotionally suppression and stress, both of which cause us to tense our stomach muscles and breathe into our chest. This is a manifestation of the body's fight or flight response. I think a more illustrative way of thinking of the fight or flight responses are to consider them as being a response to Anticipated Exertion. This way it becomes easier to understand why our bodies react in the way that they do. For example, if we were to undergo physical activity then our cells would greatly increase their carbon dioxide production. If our body anticipates that we will undergo physical activity then it naturally begins to breathe in a way that causes this carbon dioxide to be expelled. The problem occurs when our stressors are imaginary and we stay still. This causes us to lose carbon dioxide without producing more of it. The result is hyperventilation and strangely, increased stress.

Slow breathing

Through looking at various biofeedback techniques related to breathing (such as breathing while connected to blood pressure and heart rate monitors) I have come up with the following information:

For most people, breathing at 10 or under breaths per minute will activate the parasympathetic nervous system (a branch of the nervous system which calms us down and lets us enter a state of rest and repair). Brain waves are affected too, it has been shown via biofeedback that slow, diaphragmatic breathing increases alpha waves in the brain which are associated with a relaxed yet alert state of mind.

This form of breathing also stimulates the vagus nerve which in turn inhibits inflammation, suggesting that correct breathing reduces inflammation and that improper breathing may exacerbate it. This is significant as inflammatory disease include arthritis, colitis, ischemia, and heart attacks. Negative thinking can also trigger inflammation which may progress to depression. Therefore, breathing exercises which reduce stress and inflammation could be useful in combating depression.

Slow, diaphragmatic breathing also increases heart-rate variability, if you are stressed your heart rate will remain inside a strict boundary of around 10 beats per minute. For example, it may vary between 75 and 85 beats per minute. If you breathe more slowly this variability increases, a sign of relaxation. In some studies it has been shown that breathing 5 to 7 times per minute can increase heart-rate variability up to 35 beats per minute. This means that your heart rate may go up to 95 bpm while inhaling and drop down to 60 bpm while exhaling. Generally, the larger the heart-rate variability, the greater the effects of relaxation from the exercises.

It can also dampen pain perception too, in a study where both healthy individuals and those suffering from fibromyalgia were subjected to heat pulses on their hands, it was found that a reduced breathing rate was effective in reducing pain perception for all of the healthy volunteers, although only some of the fibromyalgia sufferers. Both groups were given the heat pulses when first breathing at a normal respiratory rate, and then following this, they breathed at 50% of the previous rate. The participants which had fibromyalgia only reported a decrease in pain perception if they also felt positive affect. Positive affect refers to an elevation in their mood, for example, feeling more happy / content / relaxed.


Hyperventilation

Hyperventilation and overbreathing essentially mean the same thing though hyperventilation is used more in medical and clinical diagnoses. They refer to a state of breathing that is faster or deeper or both in comparison to necessity. Breathing faster and deeper in response to exercise is not hyperventilation as the body is producing more CO2 and so the increased oxygen intake and CO2 removal is necessary. A measure of hyperventilation is 'minute ventilation' and refers to the volume of air that is breathed either in or out during a one minute period.

Overbreathing refers to the excessive removal of carbon dioxide leading to hypocapnia (lack of CO2). This can occur through chest breathing or diaphragmatic breathing. While diaphragmatic breathing is generally considered as the healthy option for breathing mechanics, it is not immune to the same detrimental effects of chest breathing.

When we are exercising, stressed or in some way aroused we are more likely to breathe using our chest. This is important because the way in which we breathe is highly influential towards our mood, digestion and the function of our brain and nervous system. When we are stressed but not increasing our physical movement (through exercise), we breathe using our chests in more rapid, shallow breaths. This causes more oxygen to be taken into the body, but this can only be absorbed if carbon dioxide levels are adequate. This is an anticipatory response; because our bodies are programmed to believe that if we are stressed it is because of some sort of danger or other motivation to bring about physical movement (which would increase oxygen demand in respiring tissue and consequently cause more carbon dioxide to be given out by those tissues) this means that we will automatically begin taking in more oxygen. However, this can paradoxically lead to hypoxia, the deficiency of oxygen. Our blood cells release oxygen much more readily into tissue that has higher metabolic activity (and therefore releasing more carbon dioxide). If we take in more oxygen but our cells are not respiring to an extent that creates adequate carbon dioxide to be released, then this oxygen binds to red blood cells and doesn't let go. No matter how much oxygen you have in your blood, if it doesn't want to leave your blood cells and enter your tissue, it is not beneficial and can even be harmful to you.


Chronic hyperventilation

When chronic hyperventilation occurs the body has a number of responses. Red blood cell production increases in an effort to distribute more oxygen to the capillaries. This causes the blood to thicken and consequently the heart must beat faster in order to pump this extra blood around the body. This increased strain causes physical and mental stress within you, leading to chronic low levels of anxiety. This anxiety causes your oxygen demand to further increase and your breathing to become faster and shallower. This leads to the further removal of CO2 which further diminishes your ability to absorb the oxygen which you now need more than ever. This is a major cause of stress and leads to many disruptions in general life contentment, mood and health as will be covered later. Your brain itself takes in around 20% of your total oxygen intake. When oxygen availability to the whole body drops due to inappropriate breathing, your brain experiences this and the many detrimental effects just like the rest of the body. This can lead to a decrease in serotonin and increase in cortisol (stress hormone), which causes the cycle to continue and worsen. This effect on the brain is particular noticeable to the hippocampus (a primary memory area of the brain) which is sensitive to both oxygen deprivation and higher cortisol levels.

Thoracic breathing is generally believed to stem from emotional suppression. In our Western culture it is usually encouraged that we act as though stressful situations don't bother us. This can cause us to either hold our breath or breathe irregularly which contributes to the effect created by the situation itself.

Diaphragmatic is considered to be more healthy because many small blood vessels which are instrumental in carrying oxygen to blood, reside here. With thoracic breathing these blood vessels never receive a full share of oxygenated air. This can result in shortness of breath and anxious feelings.

Breathing is perhaps the most important homeostatic mechanism in the human body and its purpose is to ensure adequate cellular oxygenation. The average human breathes between 12-20 breaths per minute, equating to 17,280 to 28,800 times per day, so if the incorrect mechanism is repeated over and over again each day it is easy to see that it will have repercussions. Thankfully, the ability of humans to take voluntary control of breathing means that we can correct our breathing mechanisms if they are causing problems with our health.

Everything I Know: Magnesium

How this post benefits you: If you have a magnesium deficiency or are under a lot of stress you may find it beneficial to take a magnesium supplement or consume more magnesium-rich food. From my research the best magnesium supplements are; magnesium chloride (spray and applied to skin), magnesium sulphate (Epsom salt bath), and magnesium glycinate (oral ingestion).

Under normal circumstances, in a healthy individual, there is more magnesium contained within the cells than calcium. The stress response causes this to change. Magnesium leaves the cells and calcium enters. Unfortunately for modern times, the stress response is triggered by psychological stress as well as physical stress. This means that each time a person worries about the bills or anything that provokes stress, their bodies are excreting magnesium. The significance of this is that magnesium is needed to down-regulate the stress response and its removal from the body causes hypersensitivity to stress. The same also occurs when magnesium intake is either low or inadequate in relation to calcium intake. Our ancestors grew up in a time when magnesium-rich foods were plentiful, with excess magnesium having to be excreted, and calcium having to be stored. Nowadays, however, the opposite is true. The problem is that our bodies haven't changed to storing magnesium and excreting excess calcium efficiently. The result for many people is a deficiency of magnesium and also a possible build-up of calcium. This makes us much more reactive to stress and lowers the threshold for which the stress response occurs. Therefore, it is of great importance that those suffering from anxiety and depression, and every other ailment that would benefit from this, replenish their magnesium stores in order to increase this threshold and subsequently alleviate their anxiety. However, as discussed above, the stress response removes magnesium from the body and so those under heavy stress must consume more magnesium than is given in the RDA (400 mg per day) although many sources say that this is too low and that the true number should be at least 800 mg per day for healthy individuals.

I actually had magnesium citrate supplements in my room for about half a year but never got round to taking them because I didn't know how good they were. Recently I somehow realised that they are very good for getting to sleep and have been taking them (450 mg of magnesium citrate per day) for a few days now, it definitely helps. Magnesium has many uses in the body, and a deficiency in magnesium is detrimental to our health, despite this, an estimated 68% of american adults don't consume the minimum RDA (recommended daily allowance) of elemental magnesium per day (around 400 mg per day). According to the national institute of health, magnesium citrate contains 16% of elemental magnesium by mass, meaning that my 450 mg dose contains 72 mg of elemental magnesium, however, magnesium is also obtained from various food sources such as many vegetables.

I'll attempt to list some of the ailments that magnesium treats but there are really far too many to get them all:

- Anxiety
- Chronic fatigue
- Stress
- Depression
- High blood pressure
- Atherosclerosis
- Inflammation
- Arthritis
- Osteoporosis
- Muscle twitches and tics
- ADHD
- some people with autism
- PMS
- type 2 diabetes
- Fibromyalgia (in a test using magnesium malic acid)
- Insomnia (it is a sedative)
- And perhaps HIV (some studies have shown that 30-65% of HIV sufferers are magnesium deficient).

Stress causes magnesium to be removed from cells and be excreted from the body. However, it is not enough to simply bombard your body with magnesium in the hopes of fixing these and other ailments because magnesium interacts intimately with calcium. For this reason some recommend to take a 1:1 calcium to magnesium ratio. Calcium generally causes muscular contraction while magnesium inhibits contraction and is therefore a potent relaxer of both body and mind. These minerals compete for absorption (I have heard this claim but have found no evidence for it) so if you take too much of one, the absorption of the other is inhibited and both are necessary for healthy functioning.

Finland used to have the highest recorded incidence of heart attacks in middle-aged men out of any other country in the world until they increased magnesium intake using magnesium salt substitutes. It is estimated that before this measure was put in place, their calcium to magnesium ratio was 4:1. Now their death rate from heart-related issues is ranked 10th in the world.

Magnesium is a cofactor for over 300 enzymes and so is very useful in many different reactions which may help to explain why its deficiency can cause so many diseases.

If you're reading this; magnesium is not just some random element that sort-of helps you, it's a huge deal.

Magnesium and depression:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16542786 - "Case histories are presented showing rapid recovery (less than 7 days) from major depression using 125-300 mg of magnesium (as glycinate and taurinate) with each meal and at bedtime."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19944540 - "we further hypothesize that magnesium treatment will be found beneficial for nearly all depressives"


So, obviously I had to read through forum posts on magnesium supplementation to see if this is beneficial to people that have used it. There have been numerous studies, I'll do research into them at a later stage but the vast majority of them are positive, off the top of my head that is. Without further ado, the information I collected from forums:

There were a total of 60 'reports' (I googled "magnesium forum" and clicked on everything and went through all the pages of each forum thread and did this for the first 10 pages of google search results).

There were 9 negative reports, 6 reports showing insignificant change and 45 positive (showing significant positive change) reports.

As I wasn't searching for any particular magnesium supplement there is an assortment of results.

In the 9 negative reports the breakdown of supplementation went as follows:

- 4 unspecified (single magnesium source)
- 2 magnesium aspartate
- 1 magnesium oxide
- 1 magnesium malate
- 1 person used many magnesium supplements with negative effects each time

In the 6 insignificant reports:

- 3 magnesium oxide
- 2 magnesium citrate
- 1 magnesium taurate

In the 45 positive reports:

- 16 unspecified
- 8 magnesium oil (magnesium chloride)
- 5 magnesium citrate
- 6 magnesium glycinate
- 2 magnesium taurate
- 3 magnesium malate
- 3 magnesium threonate
- 1 Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate)
and
- 1 brand product that combined magnesium aspartate, citrate and orotate. The person who used this had social anxiety and said it had "done wonders for my anxiety. It's practically gone."

Magnesium chloride


Magnesium chloride (MgCl2) is considered by many experts to be one of the best, if not the best magnesium supplement. It is totally ionized at a pH range of around 2 to 7.4 which means that it is very well absorbed. There are three methods for absorption, oral, injection and transdermal (through the skin). While injections of magnesium chloride are typically only given by doctors to those suffering from moderate to severe hypomagnesemia, the other two methods are much more common. When taken orally, the magnesium chloride will aid the production of hydrochloric acid which in turn helps to absorb even more of the magnesium. However, higher doses taken orally increase the probability of causing diarrhoea and this reduces the length of time that the supplement spends within the gastrointestinal tract, thus reducing its absorption. Magnesium tends to stay in the intestines for around 12 hours, this would be massively decreased if diarrhoea were induced, causing drastic impairment to its assimilation. Typical side effects of oral magnesium supplementation may occur with oral magnesium chloride; difficulty breathing, muscular weakness, hypo-tension etc. but this is less common with the transdermal method of absorption. Topical application of magnesium chloride also has a higher absorption rate. The magnesium is fully ionized at the skin's pH of around 4.5 to 6. This improves its absorption greatly. This method also bypasses the problem of diarrhoea.

http://www.ancient-minerals.com/magnesium-chloride/

http://www.ancient-minerals.com/transdermal-magnesium/#studies

Magnesium chloride is also a powerful stimulant of the immune system and studies have shown that when its levels in the blood are elevated, phagocytosis (ingestion of microbes by phagocytes (an immune cell)) is greatly increased, by up to 333%.

Press ctrl+f and type in: 333 percent http://www.mgwater.com/rod04.shtml

I found 8 reports on forums of people using magnesium chloride, all of them were positive. The first had had ligament pain in their foot for 1.5 years which is now gone,and they have noticed much faster exercise recovery. Another used it for restless legs and said it "reduced/removed" these feelings. Someone else said it removed their depression. One woman gives it to her husband when he suffers from panic attacks, and it "works within minutes". A chronic migraine sufferer experienced significantly reduced symptoms. Another uses it to help back pain. One more person said it has a noticeable calming effect and the last person said it gives "much relief", referring to their anxiety.

Based on this research I would say that magnesium chloride is the most effective magnesium supplement, especially when absorbed through the skin instead of ingested orally, 7 of these people said they used magnesium oil which I take to mean that it was applied topically as otherwise it would be a magnesium chloride tablet or pill.

Magnesium sulphate


Magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) is the form of magnesium that people are referring to when they mention Epsom salts. This is an additive to bath water and seems to be best absorbed through the skin in these baths as opposed to being ingested orally or taken in by injection. While soaking in Epsom salts has few complications, the other two methods have some rather common side effects. When magnesium sulphate is taken orally or injected the following symptoms can arise; difficulty breathing (as magnesium sulphate is a respiratory depressant, this means that it can cause shallow breathing or shortness of breath), extreme muscular weakness (some people have difficulty standing or walking), flushing, hypotension (in some people the blood pressure can become so low that the person suffers from light-headedness or even fainting). Therefore, soaking this salt would be my personal preference for its intake. Typically, people will use around 10 grams of Epsom salts for every litre of bath water. For a standard bath of around 60 litres of water, this would require around 500 g to 600 g of Epsom salts. This form of bath can be used to treat epilepsy, magnesium deficiency, anxiety, depression, inflammation, pain, migraines, pre-eclampsia and toxicity. The sulphates within the salt can remove toxins and impurities from the body and allow them to dissolve in the bath. For this reason it is suggested that people bathe for around 10 minutes to avoid reabsorbing these toxins. An added benefit for baths in general is to induce vasodilation and improve blood flow to the extremities and vital organs.

The following link is to a study testing the effects of magnesium sulphate bathing over the course of 7 days.

http://george-eby-research.com/html/absorption_of_magnesium_sulfate.pdf

I only found one person that used Epsom salts as their magnesium supplement (positive report) but they said that they felt significantly relaxed afterwords.

Magnesium Threonate

Magnesium threonate (Mg(C4H7O5)2), this compound was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is available as the product "Magtein". This is believed to be the only magnesium compound that readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and hence improves magnesium concentration within the brain. This has been shown in rats to improve both short and long-term memory. After 24 days of magnesium threonate supplementation it was shown that rats had approximately 15% extra magnesium in their brains compared to the start of the trial. One of its creators, Dr Liu, says that he and his friends have been using Magtein and have increased the level of magnesium in their bodies by 50%. As of now, around 100,000 people in the US are currently taking this supplement. I have little more to say about it however as there are a lack of human trials. This considered though, it does seem to be beneficial and if you would like to learn more about it here are two websites:

http://www.nature.com/news/testing-magnesium-s-brain-boosting-effects-1.11665

http://www.magtein.com/

I found 3 reports for magnesium threonate, all of which were positive.

The first person said that during the first week of supplementation they experienced euphoria and after this week the euphoria decreased but they still had an elevated mood and increased mental alertness. They also noticed much more vivid and frequent dreaming. The second person noticed similar effects: elevated mood, more dreams, better sleep and also reduced fibromyalgia-related pain.The last person effectively used the supplement to stop cramping.

Magnesium Glycinate

Magnesium glycinate (C4H8MgN2O4) is considered to be a useful combination. It is magnesium bonded to the amino acid glycine. This particular chelate is believed to have a very high bioavailability (some sources place it at 5 times the bioavailability of magnesium oxide), also it apparently has less of an effect upon the digestive system. Some magnesium supplements like magnesium oxide and citrate can cause constipation or diarrhoea whereas glycinate is less likely to cause these upsets. While magnesium would normally passively diffuse (a relatively slow process requiring no energy usage), binding it to glycine in this way allows intestinal cells to actively take in the chelate (a faster process but which requires energy expenditure). This means that more of the magnesium is absorbed. Glycine is also an inhibitory neurotransmitter under most circumstances but it also functions as a co-agonist (works with another chemical to bind to a cellular receptor and trigger a response from the affected cell) along with glutamate (a highly stimulating neurotransmitter) to activate certain types of NMDA receptors which are excitatory. Therefore, while moderate doses can cause relaxation (around 3,000 mg is suggested by Wikipedia to improve sleep quality), extremely high doses can cause hyper-excitability by activating this receptor. The level of glycine required for this would be huge however, and very unlikely to occur unless intentional. In rats a dosage of around 4,000 mg is usually fatal, it would be significantly larger for a fully grown human though. Glycine may also help to remove mercury from the body.

I found 6 positive reports for magnesium glycinate supplementation.

The first said it improved mood and the other five said it caused significant relaxation.

Magnesium Taurate


Magnesium Taurate (C4H12N2O6S2Mg) is another chelated form of magnesium supplement. It is a complex of magnesium and taurine. Taurine may have anxiolytic (anxiety-splitting) properties but there are mixed results on this. In contrast to magnesium, whose concetrations fall when a person is under stress, taurine concentration actually increases (possible evidence for anxiogenic effects). However, taurine has been know to cause cells to retain potassium and magnesium while regulating sodium and calcium intake (possible evidence for anxiolytic effects). It could be that taurine increases simply to reduce the effects of stress but so far this is just speculation. Anyway, here are the positive studies that I found:

www.karger.com/Article/FullText/107687

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16540157

These show specific anti-anxiety improvements while the following study shows a possible suppression of the sympathetic nervous system due to taurine's effects. An overactive sympathetic nervous system could lead to irritability, and increased susceptibility, severity, and duration of anxiety and anger.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8915402

This next study shows that taurine has some anti-anxiety properties in mice but it seems limited, this study only lasted for 7 days though:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15240184

However, when taurine intake method was assessed it was found that chronic oral supplementation may be anxiogenic (cause anxiety), whereas acute injections where anxiolytic:

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/232283013_Effects_of_taurine_on_anxiety-like_and_locomotor_behavior_of_mice

Taurine also has many other uses, it can cause weight loss, lowering of cholesterol, prevention of oxidative stress caused by exercise, preventing congestive heart failure, and is used by some as a dietary supplement in the treatment of epilepsy.

I found 2 positive and 1 insignificant self-report of magnesium taurate supplementation.

In the insignificant report the person used magnesium taurate for 5 days but felt no different.

In the positive reports, one person used it for 2 days and had noticeable reductions in depression and anxiety and reported feeling much more relaxed. The other said it noticeably relieved stress.

Magnesium Citrate


Magnesium citrate (C6H6MgO7) is magnesium attached to citric acid. This is a highly bioavailable type of magnesium supplement, one that allows your body to absorb relatively high quantities of magnesium. The magesium content in magnesium citrate varies from 11-16% and is at least 55% soluble (this is its solubility in water, but increases as pH is reduced, as it would be in the stomach), which greatly increases its absorption, though I came across so many different percentages of absorption that I am unsure which to believe. Citric acid is found in fruits like lemons and oranges, and is alkaline (has a pH above 7). Citric acid has many benefits: it functions as an anti-oxidant, removes excess calcium, prevents kidney stones (due to calcium removal and alkaline properties). However, side effects of citric acid supplementation include nausea, diarrhoea and abdominal pain and it may interact with drugs such as amphetamines or tetracyclines.

On forums I found 2 insignificant and 5 positive self-reports of magnesium citrate supplementation.

Of the insignificant reports, one person noticed slightly improved insomnia and the other noticed no change.

In the positive reports; one person took 500mg of magnesium citrate each day for a week and said "I haven't felt this good in years." Another took it and noticed a significant increase in energy levels. Reduced fatigue, more restful sleep and better ability to cope with stress was noticed with another user. The last 2 used the supplement successfully for cramps.

Magnesium Malate

A study showing the beneficial effects of magnesium citrate on exercise tolerance in patients with coronary artery disease:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12615252

Another studying showing efficacious treatment of fibromyalgia with magnesium citrate, particularly in reducing self-reported depression:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22271372


Magnesium  malate (C4H4MgO5) this is magnesium attached to malic acid. Malic acid is a compound that occurs naturally in fruits like apples and has no known serious side effects. It may cause cramping or bloating of the digestive tract but this is rare and not dangerous. For this reason it is considered to be a safe supplement to use. It has been particularly beneficial to those suffering from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. This is probably because malic acid is an essentital component in the Krebs cycle, a cycle which is necessary for the production of ATP and consequently energy in the body. Patients with fibromyalgia seem to benefit from both malic acid and magnesium alone and moreso when these are combined. Magnesium malate also binds to aluminium which is a toxic metal. Aluminium has been linked to memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer's.

I found 1 negative report on malate and 3 positive.

The person who reported negative effects said that magnesium malate caused heart palpitations.

Of the positive reports, one had more relaxed muscles, found it easier to sleep and had less muscular pain. Another had diabetes and used it successfully to stop cramping. The last person used a high dose (1,200mg per day) for 6 months and claimed that it "got rid of fibromyalgic aches and pains, relaxed muscles and aided sleep."

There have been a few studies on fibromyalgia and magnesium malate (I couldn't find any studies on anything but fibromyalgia) but none have been proved conclusively, however, there does seem to enough evidence for its effectiveness in comparison to the risk (minimal and infrequent) to suggest that supplementation is worth trying.
Source: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13590849208997961

Magnesium Aspartate


Magnesium aspartate (C8H12MgN2O8), is believed to be a poor choice of magnesium supplement. This is because while magnesium is a relaxant of nerve cells, aspartate is actually an excitatory neurotransmitter (stimulates the firing of nerve cells). In large doses aspartate is toxic to neurons in that it can cause them to fire until they injure and/or kill themselves. In fact, magnesium and aspartate can be considered to have opposing effects. For this reason it is important that people are aware of aspartates effects, especially those who are magnesium deficient. People who fit this category are much more likely to be affected by aspartate, for example, those suffering from anxiety, depression, any kind of pain, any form of fatigue, or other ailment caused by chronic excitation.

I found 2 negative reports on magnesium aspartate:

In both of the negative reports the persons involved said that the supplement had caused depression, though one said it also alleviated their anxiety.

A study involving supplementation of magnesium aspartate showed no benefit to high blood pressure. This may be due to either magnesium not having an effect ton the patients or the aspartate's effects cancelling out the benefits of magnesium. However, it is difficult to tell, the only thing to take away is that magnesium aspartate did not help blood pressure in this study.
Source:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1416881/

In another study where magnesium aspartate was given to pregnant mothers, it was shown that this supplement was beneficial in reducing premature birth rates and improving birth weight. Disease was also reduced and side effects either didn't occur or weren't serious in the participants.
Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3063587

Magnesium Oxide


Magnesium oxide (MgO) has been shown to have a very low bio-availability, in one study this value was shown to be as low as 4%. This means that only 4% of the magnesium is absorbed by the living system, in this case, our bodies. Despite its 60% magnesium content by mass, inexpensive cost, and high availability on our planet, magnesium oxide is so poorly absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract that its main use is to act as a laxative.

This may help to explain the 4 results (1 negative and 3 insignificant) that I found with magnesium oxide.

In the negative report, magnesium oxide caused diarrhoea and no positive change.

In the insignificant reports it produced; a slight reduction of social anxiety, no noticeable effects, and no benefit.

There was a study in which 44 volunteers  (8-14 year old healthy girls) with elemental magnesium intake of under 220mg per day participated in a study investigating magnesium's effect on hip bone and spinal lumbar mineral content. Magnesium oxide pills were taken twice per day (each pill containing 150mg of elemental magnesium) over the course of 12 months. 23 volunteers received placebo and 21 received the magnesium oxide. From results taken both during and at the end of the study it was determined that those receiving the magnesium oxide had slightly raised spinal lumbar bone mineral content. They also had significantly elevated bone mineral content in their hips.
Source: 91/12/4866

Another study showing the beneficial effects of 9mg of magnesium oxide per kilogram of body weight (675mg of magnesium oxide for a 75kg person) on migraine sufferers presented evidence that magnesium oxide slightly reduces frequency of migraine attacks and significantly reduces the severity of them.
Source: Headache. 2003 Jun:43(6):601-10

Everything I Know: Anxiety

Welcome to this post containing everything I know about anxiety. The reason that I have made this post is because when I was researching the Buteyko breathing and magnesium topics covered elsewhere on this blog, I came across many anxiety forums. It seemed that many of the people that were using both Buteyko and magnesium also had anxiety of some form. By going through these forums I came across a wealth of information. Eventually it got to the point where I would be looking up a particular magnesium supplement and I would find that the people on these forums were asking each other questions about other natural methods and treatments for anxiety that I had already come across and knew a fair amount about. Once I realised this I started to go to Youtube videos where people were talking about their anxiety and how it was affecting their lives, and I would try to tell them various things that I had picked up from the forums. However, no one ever responded. I eventually became so frustrated at the lack of response that I just stopped trying and decided to make this post instead. Here you will find everything I ever came across with regard to anxiety, with all of the medical studies I could find, with details of how people on forums responded to them and their relative safety and efficacy. If you try anything that I talk about here please comment below to tell me if it helped, made your condition worse, or had no effect. Also bear in mind that everybody is different, and something that worked for somebody else may not necessarily work for you.

- Breathing in general: breathe through your nose at all times and into your belly. Breathing slowly allows carbon dioxide to accumulate which is calming. Breathe only as slow as is comfortable, but still as slow as you can. When feeling stressed make a conscious effort to extend your exhales, many people find stress-relief from breathing in for 4 seconds and breathing out as slowly as possible until there is an air hunger. You will probably feel a lot less anxious if you breathe in for 4 seconds and out for, say 10 seconds. Remember: 1) always breathe through your nose and 2) always breathe into your abdominal area.

- Buteyko breathing: this goes back to the time that I went through Buteyko forums to see if there were enough anecdotal reports to justify myself trying it as an experiment. What I found was that out of the 33 positive reports that I gathered, 14 of these were anxiety-related. You can find all the information you need about Buteyko breathing on the internet but caution is advised if you attempt this without a practitioner. Breathing is a very important part of living, and its easy to underestimate its importance and cause damage by trying to carry out this breathing method alone. I also advise never doing a maximum control pause (this has caused panic attacks in some people) and remember that the function of a normal control pause is for measurement and helping beginners get used to air hunger, it is not a necessary tool for adapting to this technique. I would rate Buteyko breathing as 4 out of 5. There was one negative report on Buteyko breathing in which a person said breath holding caused a panic attack. This is why I have made it clear that the maximum control pause and even the ordinary control pause aren't necessary. The others all said that Buteyko helped them, with some stating that this technique was a huge help in dealing with severe anxiety. I recommend this once you have done a little research on the importance of breathing. It has minimal chance of causing harm as long as you listen to your body. In my opinion you should only ever create a slight level of air hunger in order to adapt to this technique. Also, I do not believe that the theory behind this method is correct, i.e. that it raises carbon dioxide levels to the extent that its practitioners believe. My opinion is that it raises carbon dioxide significantly, but only to the extent that occurs when switching from mouth breathing to nose breathing. However, I stand by this method completely in saying that it is effective for both anxiety and asthma, though I presently don't know why.

For the following supplements, if you are considering taking them, make sure you do your own research into the side effects. There were too many for me to list each one's potential adverse effects. Make sure that if there is a potential danger to these supplements that you confirm with a medical professional that they are, in fact, safe. Take special care if you are pregnant. I have also added my own rating based upon the studies and anecdotes that I came across for each one, this is almost entirely subjective but I feel that it would help you in deciding which things to try, considering there are so many listed below.

Vitamin D: Came across a few people that used vitamin D to cure panic disorder, I didn't know this was possible. Safe doses are 3,000 to 4,000 IUs. I once came across a story from a scientist giving a lecture on vitamin D supplementation who said that vitamin D intoxication is  hard to do, he spoke of a man who used a supplement where the manufacturers had forgotten to dilute the vitamin D. Once he had tested the supplement he found that the man had taken around 1,000,000 IUs of vitamin D per day. Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq1t9WqOD-0 (about 39:30 into this video_

- Niacinamide/Nicotinamide/Nicotinic acid amide: these terms all refer to the same thing, an amide version of the B vitamin niacin. Niacinamide differs from niacin in that supplementation with the former vitamin does not cause a flushing reaction. Some people notice profound lessening of anxiety immediately with niacinamide, others do not. Some sources say that it could take up to a month to feel the therapeutic benefits of niacinamide (I found that if people took a dose of 500 mg and it had no effect, they would take a higher dose of around 2 grams and if that didn't work, they would stop supplementing with niacinamide altogether). I am not sure if everyone with anxiety would benefit from niacinamide. If you are considering this supplement please check with a doctor beforehand and make sure that your liver is healthy. Niacinamide does not typically cause side effects in moderate doses; around 500 mg to 1,500 mg per day but it is better to check this with a medical health professional just in case. I rate niacinamide as being 4 out of 5. While it is unknown whether it is beneficial for everyone, those who had no alleviation of their symptoms didn't take it longer than around a week. Other people had complete removal of moderate to severe anxiety within this same timeframe. Tolerance seems to build slowly, over months.

- Tea: green (try decaffeinated as caffeine is a major contributor to anxiety), the theanine in green tea is a known anxiolytic (anxiety-splitting) agent. Alternatively, skip the tea and supplement with theanine alone. Other beneficial teas include; chamomile, valerian, and Linden, though I'm sure there are more.

- Chamomile: Based on what I've seen on chamomile it does seem to be an effective agent in reducing anxiety. However, take care if you have asthma, are pregnant, or are allergic to plants in the daisy family. Apart from this, chamomile is described as being one of the safest herbs to take. Low doses typically help anxiety while higher doses help you get to sleep. I rate Chamomile as being 2 out of 5. It is beneficial for mild and perhaps moderate anxiety but a tolerance does build up quite quickly to it (within a week or 2) and high doses can cause diarrhoea.

- Valerian: this is a herb that is generally regarded as being safe to use. Some say it has helped their anxiety though it doesn't seem to have much effect in treating severe anxiety. Fresh roots seem to have the greatest effect. I rate Valerian as being 3 out of 5. If you wish to try this, make sure you get fresh roots. Tolerance can build up within a couple of weeks.

- Theanine: this has effects as a neurotransmitter and while it is calming, it has a similar shape to an excitatory neurotransmitter; glutamate. However, theanine has a weak affinity for glutamate receptors in neurons, so it doesn't cause excitability in moderate doses. There is scientific evidence to show that theanine can reduce anticipatory anxiety and also stress when performing tasks while improving focus and helping patients with ADHD sleep. It seems that the only form of theanine supplementation that is effective is called "suntheanine". This appears to be effective in reducing anxiety for most, but not all people, though a moderate tolerance to it is quickly induced. This supplement may cause headaches. I rate this as being 2 out of 5. Despite having numerous studies supporting its beneficial effects, this supplement induces a rather rapid tolerance (within 1 or 2 weeks), may cause headaches, and its best effect is more to increase concentration than to alleviate anxiety. It may be a useful additive that could be taken a few times per week but isn't overly effective by itself.

- Omega-3: based on medical studies and forum reports where people supplemented with omega-3; I think that this would be a worthwhile supplement for anxiety and also depression. Everyone that I came across (and also in the studies) used around 3 grams of omega-3 supplements per day to alleviate depression and anxiety. Below this, mental health wasn't improved. I rate this as being 3 out of 5. This is mostly for its lack of side effects. This could be a relatively safe additive and I at least haven't heard of any tolerance being built up.

- Magnesium: there was a study in which mice were deprived of magnesium from their diets and showed both depression and anxiety-like symptoms. I'll include this study at a later stage, right now I'm just firing out everything I know that could possibly help. Also, when I went through many forum posts on magnesium I found that probably around half of the people were using magnesium supplements for either relaxation or anxiety-related reasons. I rate magnesium as being 3 out of 5 for anxiety, although it could be a lot better than I realise. Studies have shown that when we are anxious we excrete extra magnesium as well as phosphorus. Therefore, those suffering from anxiety must consume more magnesium than an otherwise healthy individual.

- Glycine: this is an amino acid that also acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter. Inhibitory neurotransmitters decrease the activity of neurons and can reduce anxiety. Glycine also acts as a co-agonist along with glutamate for NMDA receptors. Therefore, while moderate dosages of glycine can have a calming effect, too much can cause increased anxiety.

- Magnesium Glycinate: I felt that this was important enough to have its own section. Combining magnesium and glycine in this way allows the magnesium to be better absorbed within the body. It also provides anxiolytic properties from each component for added efficacy.

- Dairy products: if you have anxiety, cut down on these and see if it makes a difference, they contain high levels of calcium, a mineral that doubles as an excitatory neurotransmitter. If you have an excess of excitatory neurotransmitters, you can end up feeling anxiety for no reason. The chances are that you already gain enough calcium from your diet to avoid the necessity of supplementation, for those of you that are considering, or are already taking, calcium supplements.

- GABA: this is an amino acid that is also the most important inhibitory neurotransmitter within mammals. Increasing the level of GABA within the central nervous system can increase the amount of alpha waves that the brain produces. This causes a person to feel more relaxed yet alert. GABA's role as an inhibitory neurotransmitter is of critical importance to anxiety disorders. By increasing the amount of GABA, you decrease the amount of anxiety in people. Two of the main GABA supplements that I came across are called Phenibut and Picamilon. I personally consider these to be unsafe but I may be wrong. I suggest that if you consider GABA supplementation to be of possible benefit, then you should research both of these supplements rigorously and then speak to a medical professional about their safety. Make sure that if you do take them that you know their effects on the drugs that you may also be taking in conjunction with them. I noticed with Phenibut especially that anecdotal reports claim you can become tolerant to this if you use it more than 2-3 times per day and can experience withdrawal symptoms if you use it every day for only one week. Withdrawal symptoms can include severe anxiety and this supplement should be taken with caution. I rate GABA supplements as being 2 out of 5. They seem highly effective, but I am wary of their side effects and addictive nature. I wouldn't recommend these though they certainly do reduce anxiety.

- Kava-kava: this is made from the roots of a plant and is well known for its relaxing qualities. It can relieve anxiety, reduce pain, and help with sleeplessness. It seems to be used by a lot of people with anxiety who say it has noticeable relaxing effects. However, caution should be taken when using this drug as it may cause liver damage. For this reason it shouldn't be used in conjunction with alcohol. It also shouldn't be used with many prescription medications as it could adversely interact with these as well. From what I've seen and heard, the kava root powder or paste appear to be the best forms, taking these after consuming oily foods may improve their effectiveness. I found mixed results for people supplementing with kava, it seems to be a case of finding a very good source, though this is very difficult considering it was banned quite recently and manufacturers might take a while to invest into it again. I rate kava as 3 out of 5, just make sure that you buy it from a well-known company and check the reviews of the product to make sure that it is effective. Also, tolerance to this can build quickly so it shouldn't be taken everyday of the week.

- St. John's Wort: this is a herbal remedy that has been used for both depression and anxiety. In some studies it has been shown to be just as effective as prescription medication and more than placebos for people suffering from depression. However, care should be taken when combining St. John's Wort with SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) or serotonin-boosting medication as serotonin toxicity may result. The Mayoclinic considers St John's Wort to have "strong scientific evidence" for use in treating mild to moderate depressive disorders. However, it also states that there is unclear scientific evidence for its application for anxiety disorders. I rate St. John's Wort as 1 out of 5 for anxiety, there was no clear evidence, scientific or anecdotal, of its benefit for anxiety disorders. It may work however, but this is just my opinion.

- Passionflower: this is another herb that is considered to be quite safe. It seems to be of benefit to many people with anxiety and this is backed by scientific research although more studies are needed for proof. I recommend trying this once you are aware of the side effects and possible drug interactions. I rate passionflower as 3.5 out of 5. This is because some people used it to successfully reduce severe anxiety and it has a relatively low chance of side effects. Again, care should be taken to avoid building up a tolerance.

- Alcohol: I would suggest cutting down on alcohol if you have elevated anxiety. Using alcohol as a coping mechanism can lead to a dependency and alcohol addiction in itself is a major cause of anxiety. Also, even if you aren't taking it to such a huge extent, the hangovers can wear you out and this will definitely increase your anxiety.

- High glycemic foods (sugars): These can cause huge blood sugar spikes which can make your mind race and wander and isn't desirable for those suffering from anxiety. Also, the inevitable sugar crash can leave you feeling drained and lethargic.

Correct Breathing: (This breathing section is an extract from "Everything I Know: Breathing", and is covered more fully on that page.)

Close your mouth and press your tongue against the back of your two front teeth, breathe entirely through your nose. Make sure that you are breathing into the lower portion of your lungs. To check that you are doing this correctly, place the palm of your left hand on your belly button and your right hand on your chest. As you breathe in, notice which hand moves most. Ideally, your left hand should be pushed out by your inhale and your right hand should barely move, if at all. This should be how you should be breathing in all circumstances, apart from real danger (being chased by a lion for example). If you have a panic attack, probably the fastest way to stop the panic is by changing to this style of breathing. To get the best anti-stress results from breathing you should aim to breathe in for around 4 seconds and then breathe out for as long as is comfortable. In general, inhalations stimulate the sympathetic nervous system while exhalations stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system. Therefore, if your exhalations are longer than your inhalations you will feel much calmer. If you practise this you can get to a point where you will breathe in for 4 seconds and out for over 20 seconds. As you do this you'll notice that all of the muscles in your body become naturally inclined to relax.

Diaphragmatic breathing:

It is important to breathe into the diaphragm as this is where the highest proportion of blood vessels are within the lungs. It has been shown that the upper 7% of your lungs will only take in 4 ml of oxygen per minute whereas the lower 13% of your lungs will take in around 60 ml per minute. Also, using diaphragmatic breathing requires so much less energy to perform that it requires less than 5% of total oxygen intake. If you are over-breathing  the energy requirement goes up massively, when volunteers were told to hyperventilate on purpose they used up 30% of their oxygen intake just to breathe in this way. So by breathing into the diaphragm, you not only take up a significantly larger volume of oxygen into your blood, but you also reduce the amount of oxygen (and energy) that you waste in performing the breathing itself.


Nasal breathing:

The nose is the narrowest place in the respiratory tract, it creates a bottleneck that results in airflow being restricted before it travels into the lungs. Compared to the mouth, it requires 1.5 times the amount of energy to pull the same volume of air through the nose.

Within the nasal cavity are bony projections called turbinates  They heat and humidify air that is drawn through the nose and into the lungs. This reduces the damage that air causes to the lungs. The nose is also useful in breathing because it filters the air that is drawn into it. This takes place because there are many small hairs on the inside of the nose. This means that we take in less bacteria every time we breathe and consequently, our immune systems are less likely to become overworked. It is estimated that when these particles are caught in the nose hairs and/or mucus within the nose, that they are removed from the body within 15 minutes. However, if they travelled to the lungs they would take a few months to remove. Every time you breathe through your mouth you send these particles to your lungs and increase your chance of having a lung infection.

It is said that while breathing through your nose, if you are breathing through the right nostril you will be more inclined towards energetic pursuits, or those involving aggression. Conversely, breathing through the left nostril is associated with feelings of calm and introspection. Over the course of a day, the airflow between the nostrils will change of its own accord. You may wake up, for example, breathing through the left nostril and by midday realise that there is more air coming out of your right nostril.

In a study in which volunteers were subjected to a stress test, with some participants breathing through their mouth and the others through their nose, those who breathed nasally experienced brain wave activity that indicated greater relaxation.

Nitric oxide is also present in the nose and the slowing of air as it enter the nasal cavity allows nitric oxide to mix with the incoming air. This causes nitric oxide to be taken into the lungs where it dilates the blood vessels (bronchodilation). This allows significantly more oxygen to be taken in by these blood vessels and is very beneficial to the overall health of the organism.

Breathing through the nose is also beneficial in that it forces our breathing to slow down and as a result, our bodies follow suit. This helps us to reduce stress and think more clearly.


Carbon dioxide:

Carbon dioxide is commonly referred to as a 'waste gas' from respiration. I feel that this is highly disrespectful to carbon dioxide. Your body requires a delicate balance of carbon dioxide, generally within 35 and 45 mmHg (millimetres of mercury at sea level, a pressure measurement) within the blood. If you breathe too quickly you approach the lower end of this scale and feel dizzy and if you breathe too slowly you approach the upper end of this scale and feel breathless. You need around 40 mmHg or above, if you have adapted to higher pressures of carbon dioxide, to function normally. Below this your cells aren't getting adequate oxygen. The reason for this is illustrated by the Bohr effect. Without going into too much detail, the essence of this is that your blood cells offload their oxygen (this is desirable) around cells that are producing more carbon dioxide. Hence, if you breathe too rapidly you deplete your body of carbon dioxide and the blood cells continue to carry oxygen around the body without giving it to cells and tissues that require it. The result of hyperventilation is an impaired ability to think, among many other signs. This is primarily because the brain is suffering from oxygen deprivation (even though you are breathing rapidly and getting a lot of oxygen into the body), because your level of carbon dioxide is inadequate.

In order to understand why correct breathing doesn't come naturally to many of us we need to consider the type of lifestyle that we all live. It is primarily one of emotionally suppression and stress, both of which cause us to tense our stomach muscles and breathe into our chest. This is a manifestation of the body's fight or flight response. I think a more illustrative way of thinking of the fight or flight responses are to consider them as being a response to Anticipated Exertion. This way it becomes easier to understand why our bodies react in the way that they do. For example, if we were to undergo physical activity then our cells would greatly increase their carbon dioxide production. If our body anticipates that we will undergo physical activity then it naturally begins to breathe in a way that causes this carbon dioxide to be expelled. The problem occurs when our stressors are imaginary and we stay still. This causes us to lose carbon dioxide without producing more of it. The result is hyperventilation and strangely, increased stress.

Passionflower

Passionflower is a herb that is commonly used as an alternative treatment for anxiety. It is believed that its anxiolytic properties stem (no pun intended) from its ability to increase GABA within the brain. It is typically used in conjunction with other herbs, for example, Valerian root. While passionflower is generally considered safe, it may cause nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, rapid heart rate and sluggishness. It may also cause liver failure in rare cases.

Very few people said that passionflower had no effect on them and this may be due to where they bought it from, though maybe even the best source doesn't work for everyone. Many people used passionflower successfully to treat even severe anxiety and cure mild anxiety.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11679026 - in a study of 36 people diagnosed with generalised anxiety, a passionflower extract was compared against oxazepam. Both approaches showed similar improvements but passionflower took longer to take effect yet caused less impairment of job performance.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21294203 - passionflower may improve sleep quality, a 41 person study.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12244887 - a review of studies on passionflower implying it has proven sedative and perhaps anxiolytic effects.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11679027 - 65 opiates addicts received either clonidine plus passiflora extract in a tablet or clonidine plus placebo in a tablet. Both treatments were equally effective in treating the physical effects of withdrawal but the addition of passiflora extract showed a marked improvement in treatment of the mental symptoms.

Valerian


Valerian is a herb that may have anxiolytic effects. There  are many types of Valerian but the one considered to be the most effective is Valeriana officinalis. Typical dosages for Valerian range from around 250 mg to 600 mg per day. The calming effects of Valerian are thought to arise from this herb's ability to increase the amount of GABA within the brain. A tolerance can be built up to this herb (you begin to require ever higher dosages to gain the same beneficial effects) so it is recommended that you don't take it for more than a few weeks without a break. It is considered generally safe within the recommended dosage, however it may adversely react with or exacerbate the effects of medications and alcohol.

According to anecdotes, the best results come with fresh Valerian roots and consequently a lot of company forms of Valerian which aren't fresh, seem ineffective. The general consensus on Valerian supplementation is that it can cause a small to moderate reduction in anxiety, but seems ineffective in cases of extreme anxiety.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17054208 - a randomised control trial involving 36 participants with generalised anxiety disorder, those taking Valerian had no significant decrease in anxiety compared to placebo.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20042323 - a study on mice: Valerian extract and valerenic acid caused a significant reduction in anxiety-related behaviour compared to an ethanol control group.

GABA

*From what I've seen regarding Phenibut and Picamilon, I would be very cautious with both of them. Picamilon seems to me to be the safer alternative, though studies are lacking. I'm afraid I wouldn't recommend either of these but if you feel that it would be beneficial then please do a lot of your own research first and then check with a medical professional. It may be that I came across some negative anecdotal reports at the start of reading into these supplements and this put me off them completely.

GABA is considered to be the most important inhibitory neurotransmitter in mammals. For this reason it is considered to be fundamentally important in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Most if not all of the supplements that I have currently looked into have had some connection with GABA receptors. There are 2 main oral supplements utilising the effects of GABA: Phenibut and Picamilon. Both of these were made with the purpose of passing through the blood-brain barrier.It is believed that GABA has difficulty in doing this by itself (I have not seen proof of this) and this is necessary for inhibition of neuronal excitation, therefore supplementation of a GABA form that can enter the brain is important.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16971751 - this is a review of 2 studies involving a total of 21 study subjects. In the first study it was found that GABA administration caused a change in brain activity, by increasing the alpha waves produced by the participants. This occurred within an hour of the administration. People producing more alpha brain waves experience a more relaxed and alert state of mind. In the second study it was found that those who took GABA instead of a placebo had significantly higher immunoglobin A while facing a phobia (they crossed a bridge and were afraid of heights). The significance of this is that when we are afraid our immune systems decrease in activity. The fact that GABA maintained a higher level of immunoglobin A in these participants shows that their immune systems were less affected by the situation and strongly implies that the GABA induced relaxation. Together, these studies provide evidence that GABA is beneficial against anxiety, though in total only 21 participants have been tested.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12467378 - an abstract pointing out that glutamate is the main excitatory and GABA is the main inihibitory neurotransmitter within the brain.

- Phenibut

Phenibut is a chemical that mimics the effects of GABA. According to anecdotal reports from users, it seems that tolerance to phenibut is easily attained and withdrawal effects can occur even if you have only been taking the supplement for about a week. The withdrawal symptoms seem pretty horrific, with one of the worst symptoms being extreme anxiety. For this reason many people use phenibut about twice per week. Phenibut may also increase the effects of sedative drugs and alcohol and ideally shouldn't been taken in conjunction with these. There also seems to be the possibility of liver damage and probably many other side effects that haven't yet been discovered. I couldn't find human studies on this drug and for that reason I would be wary of trying it.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11830761 - phenibut is used in Russia for a variety of ailments, particularly in relation to stress, e.g. anxiety, depression, PTSD etc.

- Picamilon

Picamilon is a chemical that is formed from the combination of GABA and niacin. It crosses the blood-brain barrier and is subsequently hydrolysed to GABA and niacin. Apart from the potential anxiolytic effects of GABA, the niacin can also act as a vasodilator. This means that picamilon could also be beneficial for migraines. Anecdotal reports claim that this supplement is quite safe, and may relieve headaches. As far as anxiolytic effects go, the results are mixed. Some people report significant benefit and others very little.

Niacinamide


Niacinamide and nicotinamide and nicotinic acid amide are three names used for the same compound, an amide of nicotinic acid, also known as niacin. Nicotinamide is a B vitamin with potential anxiolytic effects. It is not to be confused with niacin, as this molecule can cause a flushing reaction in which a person's face, neck, chest, and maybe even whole body turns red and becomes warmer. Nicotinamide rarely causes this same reaction and is the preferred form used for anxiety treatment. I have seen people on forums taking around 500 mg to 2,000 mg per day. Some of these people have noticed an instant effect whereby their extreme anxiety is practically eliminated, and others notice no effect whatsoever. According to a few websites it can take up to a month for the therapeutic benefits of niacinamide to be felt. I am unsure if this is a beneficial treatment for everyone with anxiety. Dosages of 500 mg to 3,000 mg may be be safe though some people take up to 6,000 mg from what I've seen. I don't know what side effects would occur from such high doses and recommend that if you are considering taking niacinamide that you check with a doctor beforehand. Side effects are considered uncommon with this supplement but could occur at higher doses, for example, liver damage.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7913840 - nicotinamide has anxiolytic effects and reduces fights in conflict situations.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6101294 - nicotinamide might interact with the benzodiazepine receptors in the brain. Others believe that nicotinamide has a weak affinity for this receptor but may bring about anxiolytic effects in a different way to benzodiazepine.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6125374 - a possible alternative mechanism whereby molecules like nicotinamide may cause anxiolytic effects, by acting on receptor sites associated with benzodiazepine receptors as opposed to acting on the benzodiazepine receptors themselves.

Chamomile

From what I've seen on chamomile, and based on its relative safety, I would suggest chamomile as being beneficial for most people with anxiety. It is by no means a cure but it should help. Just make sure that you aren't allergic to it or have any health conditions that may be adversely affected.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19593179 - 28 patients with mild to moderate generalised anxiety disorder took Matricaria recutita (chamomile) extract for 8 weeks. A "significantly greater reduction in mean total HAM-A" (subjective anxiety rating) was observed.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16628544 - this review states that animal studies show some anxiolytic effects of chamomile, though human studies testing chamomile tea are non-existent.

There have been surprisingly few human studies on chamomile but I've seen loads of people take it and no one has mentioned side effects. The vast majority of people report noticeable calming and find it easier to get to sleep when taking chamomile tea. This is also considered to be one of the safest herbs that you can take, although care is advised for pregnant women as it may increase the risk of miscarriage and there can be allergic reactions to it. It may also exacerbate asthmatic symptoms. There will be a trial ending in June 2014 that will last 38 weeks, to determine the long-term effects of chamomile. This will give an indication of what sort of tolerance is built up to chamomile.

Kava-kava

Searching through the forums on this one was utterly confusing. There were so many forms of kava and added to the fact that there are so many companies and qualities of each individual source, I cannot say for sure which kava form is the most effective. However, it seems like the kava root powder or kava paste are among the best and for best results some people suggest taking oily foods or supplements beforehand as these forms are oil-soluble and this aids absorption. I can't comment on the effectiveness though, so many people had tried each form of kava with wildly different results.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12076477 - A review of 7 trials involving kava was made. Kava was found to have significant effects in reducing anxiety and with only mild, adverse reactions to the extract.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12535473 - A review of 11 trials found the same results; significant reduction of anxiety and only mild adverse effects.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23348842 - a 6 week study showing no adverse effects due to kava.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1930344 - 29 patients with anxiety syndrome took kava extract (WS 1490), 300 mg per day, and found it caused significant reduction in anxiety after only 1 week of treatment. No adverse events occurred due to the drug.

There were many more studies done on kava, all of the ones that I came across pointed to the same conclusion, that kava causes statistically significant reductions in anxiety with only mild adverse effects. The potential problem with kava is that it may cause liver toxicity in rare cases. It is unsure at this stage whether the liver toxicity was caused by the kava alone, or in combination with other medications, drugs, or viruses etc. It may also be that the form of kava used by these people was unsafe or impure. It seems that the toxicity of the kava plant may be avoided by using the rhizomes. The stem and leaves apparently contain much more toxic substances. This would explain why locals who use kava experience much fewer and less severe side effects through using only the rhizomes, whereas when the drug was imported, it contained extracts taken from the stem, leaves and rhizomes combined.

Omega-3

Summary: based on what I've seen on forums, people seem to benefit most from 3 to 4 grams of omega-3 supplementation per day. These people notice benefits with regard to anxiety and depression and it also keeps their skin healthier. I am unsure what the long-term effects of this level of supplementation are.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23051591 - 935 women were asked to give a detailed description of their diets. Those with the highest intake of DHA had a calculated 50% reduced chance of having an anxiety disorder. This study suggested a linear link between DHA intake and anxiety and as this was a very large trial it can't be easily discarded.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3191260/ - 68 medical students were sorted into either a placebo or omega-3 supplement group. Those who received 2.5 grams of omega-3s (containing around 2 grams of EPA and 350 mg of DHA) per day had statistically significant reductions in anxiety.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17110827 - 24 substance abusers were splint into a placebo or test group. 13 supplemented with 3 grams of omega-3 PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids). Those receiving the omega-3 capsules had a progressive decrease in anxiety as the trial went on (it lasted 3 months). 6 of these supplementers were then followed for an additional 3 months and were found to maintain a significantly decreased level of anxiety.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2275606/ - 22 substance abusers were split into a placebo or test group, the test group supplemented with 3 grams of omega-3 PUFAs daily, this lowered both their anxiety and anger levels. A higher plasma EPA correlated with decreased anxiety and higher DHA correlated with decreased anger.

I think probably the main problem with omega-3 consumption is that after going through the forums, everyone is taking around 1 gram per day. Upon further looking, everyone that I came across that noticed no benefit either didn't state their dosage or said they were taking up to around 1.2 grams of omega-3 per day. Everyone that said they were taking 3 or 4 grams had noticed significantly reduced anxiety.

Theanine

Summary: theanine seems to work for some people, the best source appears to be 'suntheanine', though some people still notice no benefits with this supplement. For those who do notice the benefits, a tolerance appears to be quickly induced, diminishing the effect within a couple of weeks. It's best effect seems to be in improving concentration as opposed to anything else. The only conclusive side effect that I came across was headaches.

These are all the studies that I could find which tested theanine's anxiolytic effects.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15378679 - some reduction in anticipatory anxiety but no effect during stressful situation (extremely small study, practically meaningless).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16930802 - theanine prevented heart rate increase in stressful situation (extremely small study, practically meaningless).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16759779 - no signs of toxicity or other adverse effects in mice given 4000 mg per kilogram of bodyweight over 13 weeks. This suggests that humans supplementing with theanine would be incredibly unlikely to suffer any adverse effects.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22214254 - theanine significantly improved sleep for patients with ADHD. No significant adverse effects. This was a moderately sized trial and was placebo-controlled (2 groups undertook the experiment, one group took the substance to be tested and the other took a placebo) and was double-blind (neither the volunteers nor the people in charge were aware of who received the substance under test or the placebo).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22819553 - theanine administration caused increased nitric oxide production in blood vessels leading to vasodilation of blood vessels. This improves blood flow and reduces blood pressure. This would be beneficial to people suffering from hypertension.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22707502 - theanine reduces adrenal hypertrophy in male mice housed with other males. It also reduced stress, depression and blocked the negative effects of caffeine. This suggests that drinking green tea may not cause the usual nervousness associated with caffeine intake as this would be counteracted by the theanine found within green tea.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23395732 - multiple beneficial effects of theanine on mice that were trapped (causing restraint-induced stress), this shows theanine can reverse some cognitive impairment in mice that have undergone stress, and most likely in humans as well.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23107346 - multiple benefits to theanine administration in human participants with a tendency toward high-stress responses while performing a mental task.

I also looked over a few forums and saw mixed results, I'd say around half of the people using theanine experienced reductions in anxiety while the rest noticed no change. Also, most of the people that used it said that they quickly developed a tolerance to it (usually within a couple of weeks). However, a lot of people said that the only good quality form of theanine was something called suntheanine, and I'm sure that most of the people on these forums hadn't used this particular form. The people who did use this form usually said it was effective.