GABA for Back-To-School Anxiety (video)

covid mood learning & behaviour nutrients & supplements video

Parents are presented with particularly interesting stressors this year as we try to decide on the best way to keep our kids safe and happy. If you or your child are prone to anxiety and panic attacks you might be particularly concerned.

“Anxiety tends to involve fears about the future, while depression tends to relate more to regrets about the past”, I recently heard one psychologist explain.

Well, concerns about the future are certainly at a climax so we can expect anxiety in parents and kids to be at an all-time high this back-to-school season. Are you feeling it?

In this post I want to talk about a particular nutritional supplement that can help ease anxiety, stress and panic in some kids (and their parents!): that’s GABA.

At the bottom of this post, you'll find a video replay from a Facebook Live session I did answering questions about using amino acids with kids.

 

>> Learn about our Amino Acids (with kids) Quickstart program here <<

 

Why GABA?

Low levels of GABA have been associated in research and clinical studies with anxiety, agitation, stress, panic attacks, poor sleep, epilepsy, depression, mania, and chronic pain. 

When given to kids as a supplement I have seen GABA increase feelings of calm and relaxation, quickly resolve panic attacks, help kids sleep better, improve confidence in new situations, ease tummy pain caused by tension and worry. (As an aside, I have also seen GABA help with cramping associated with premenstrual syndrome).

My own personal experience taking GABA was profound. I'm not particularly prone to anxiety but coming off stage after a particularly stressful public speaking event (described here) I was exhausted, short of breath, nauseous, my vision was blurry and I was literally shaking. I returned to calm within 60 seconds of taking GABA offered to me by my friend Trudy. 

When it’s a good fit GABA works incredibly fast to calm the nervous system.

 

What Is GABA & Why Can It Be Low?

GABA stands for gamma-aminobutyric acid. It is an amino acid most well known for its work as a calming neurotransmitter in the brain. 

GABA works in a teeter-totter-like fashion with glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter.

GABA reduces the production of the stress hormone adrenaline (which is probably why it helped calm my post-talk jitters so quickly).

GABA in the brain is synthesized from glutamic acid, found abundantly in foods like soy, meats, chicken, fish, eggs, dairy, and wheat. An enzyme called glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) is involved in converting glutamic acid into GABA. If there is a genetic variant (called a single nucleotide polymorphism or SNP) associated with the function of the GAD enzymes a child might be chronically low in GABA and thus particularly prone to symptoms associated with an aroused nervous system like anxiety, hyperactivity and insomnia. Another theory is that a disturbance in GABA receptors leads to chronically low GABA and a propensity towards anxiety.

 

How Can We Boost GABA? 

The amino acid L-theanine found abundantly in green tea has been shown to boost GABA levels, as has the bacteria Lactobacillus Rhamnosus found in some fermented foods.

Early research on GABA suggested that when taken orally as a supplement GABA cannot cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain in amounts substantial enough to have a calming effect. The implication was that if supplemental GABA has a calming effect on the nervous system, there was likely a breach in the blood brain barrier - the so-called “leaky brain”. 

That's still a possibility, but new evidence raises the idea that GABA’s effect on mood stability might be due to its influence on the peripheral nervous system or, as these researchers review, through its effect on the vagus nerve or the enteric nervous system of the gut.

There is now so much clinical evidence showing how GABA can ease anxiety symptoms that its mechanism of action warrants further research.

 

How To Use GABA Safely With Kids

I find GABA to be particularly helpful for kids who are prone to panic, social anxiety, separation anxiety, fear, worry and tension around new situations.

As I say, it can work quickly.

I suggest you try it at home at first, just to make sure it's well tolerated and you can figure out a dose that works well for them. Then, if it's helpful, you can give it before they head off to school for the day to ease the transition.

GABA can be found in powder and chewable forms and it doesn’t taste particularly bad, which makes it easy to give to kids. 

I suggest starting at a very low dose of about 50-75mg to see how it’s tolerated. You can move up from there until you find the amount that works.

 

Cautions About GABA

In some cases I have seen GABA cause increased agitation. Mostly this happens when the starting dose has been too high but it can also happen if that genetic SNP I mentioned (GAD) is present. In that case, it seems that supplemental GABA can be turned back into glutamate and excite the brain.

So go slowly to see if this is right for you. It's not a perfect fit for everybody.

If you do see a negative effect, don't worry... it will wear off. I have seen no evidence that GABA is addictive, so just stop the supplement.

As it is with all amino acid supplements, GABA is best absorbed when it's allowed to dissolve in the mouth. So have your child suck on the lozenge or, if giving a powder have them let it dissolve in their mouth for best results.

We still have a lot to learn about how and why GABA can help reduce anxiety and panic but it is well worth considering. In some case studies, supplemental GABA has been shown to work as well as Benzodiazepine medication (which also targets GABA production) but with little to no risk. 

Research as to its mechanism of action is its infancy, but I have had sufficient success with GABA to feel confident in recommending it to my clients at low doses, particularly to ease acute panic and anxiety.

 

This is a Facebook Live session I did as part of our COVID checkins in the spring of 2020, 

UPDATE: The Advanced Nutrition For The Brain resource I mention has been replaced with the Amino Acids (with kids!) Quickstart Program. Click Here. 

 Learn about the Amino Acids (with kids!) Quickstart program here

 

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Selected References

Low GABA

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ana.410400613

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/016503279500025I

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920300197

Possible mechanism of action & GABA-related causes of anxiety

Neurotransmitters as food supplements: the effects of GABA on brain and behavior

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4303399/ (animals)

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171103085308.htm

L.Rhamnosis and GABA

https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1517-83822013000100028&script=sci_arttext&tlng=es
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S105381191501040X

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/gaba-uses-and-risks

Stories:

https:// www.everywomanover29.com/blog/gaba-calming-amino-acid- products-results/

GABA and the gut

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26365138/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25526825/ 

 

Related posts: 

Back To School Transition Tips

 How To Ferment Foods For Your Kids

 

About Jess Sherman, FDN-P, M.Ed, R.H.N

Jess is a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® Practitioner, Registered Holistic Nutritionist and a trauma-sensitive Family Health Educator specializing in brain health & resilience for kids. She is also a teacher, with a Master's degree in education. Her Calm & Clear Kids introductory course, her Amino Acids (with kids!) Quickstart program, and her signature Resilience Roadmap,  along with her book Raising Resilience, have helped families in at least 44 countries improve the lives of their children with learning differences, anxiety, ADHD, and mood disorders and reduce their reliance on medication. She is the 2019 recipient of the CSNNAA award for Clinical Excellence for her work with families, and she continues to bring an understanding of the 5 Core Needs For Resilient Health to the mainstream conversation about children’s mental health, learning, and overall resilience through her blog, courses, workshops and as a contributor to print and online magazines. 

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The content on this website and in the guides and courses offered here is meant to provide information so that parents can make informed decisions and discuss these issue with their health care teams. It is not intended as, nor should it be considered a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or individualized care.