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Bipolar Protocol
🕑 Added 2022-06-29 16:45:03 +0000 UTCIMPORTANT NOTE: None of the following should be construed as medical advice, I am simply sharing information on bipolar pathology and pathways to research further on your own or to discuss with your medical professional. If you are a harm to yourself or others, please do stick to your medications as prescribed.
I've mentioned this many times before both in previous articles and on my Twitter page over the last several years, but it is important to reiterate with any of these psychiatric and almost all neurological disorders as well: It is not only the brain that is bipolar, but the entire body is also bipolar.
This is exactly where modern psychiatry fails right off the bat, synthesizing new drugs to target the brain specifically, while never addressing the rest of the body as a holistic unit. The commonly prescribed lithium is useful because its' mechanisms target the entire body rather than solely the brain. However, I do believe after experiencing lithium toxicity and kidney damage myself, that commonly prescribed lithium dosages are overdosed.
I've helped a LARGE handful of people with both types of bipolar disorder safely come off their medications and live a normal and healthy life long-term, but it is wise to ensure you are stabilized before considering tapering off ANY medications.
The real cycle going on with these bipolar folks is that they produce extra excitatory adrenaline, cortisol, dopamine, calcium-glutamate, and testosterone/estrogen (sex and episode phase-dependent).
They are high-powered (mania) on these until they are used up and converted to toxic inflammatory neurotransmitter waste, and then they crash hard and can’t detox/clear the wastes. This results in a major depressed and bedridden state for 2 to 6 weeks, depending on how much detox and regrowth support they get in the meantime. Sometimes even longer dependent on these factors.
It is all the recreational substance consumption (drugs including caffeine, nicotine, cannabis, alcohol, refined sucrose/carbohydrates, and blue light/nnEMF) that ruins their entire body, not just their brain. Because their whole body is Bipolar, not just their brain.
So.... implement the zero-tolerance dietary framework for ALL stimulants and refined CARBOHYDRATES that have any resemblance to sucrose or alcohol. They need lots of inositol (myoinositol and IP6) paired with lithium (chloride or orotate if unable to get a low dosage of carbonate), and multiform magnesium saturation, and it really is important to stick to a ketogenic/low carb diet as a base foundation. This can be returned to if symptoms ever arise, but it would be wise to continue until you are at a more stabilized point in your life.
Aside from this, restoring your mitochondrial function and redox status is crucial to recovery and remission. There are no two ways around this one. The means to repair the downregulated GABAergic receptor system is mentioned in this article here. Fixing your sleep quality and schedule is crucial to everything mentioned below, and what do you know, there's already a comprehensive article on this here. Cognitive dysfunction is another common symptom of bipolar disorder that can be managed effectively after establishing a baseline foundation for yourself. The gut microbiome and integrity are also important to recover in this protocol, a generalized article can be found here, with additions included here. This one can be helpful if you are currently overweight or obese, as a result of metabolic dysfunction.
Your diet should consist of quality seafood, shellfish, organ meats, eggs, red meats/game meats, poultry, and seasonal fruits and vegetables. This will cover the primary nutrient cofactors that go into redox status (glutathione-reduction cycle), which are magnesium, zinc, phosphorus (myoinositol and IP6), glycine, cysteine, glutamic acid, lysine, selenium, thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin, then ensure you're following the mitochondrial restoration protocol linked above. Anything else you'd like to eat to avoid a significant restriction is fine, especially if an eating disorder is present, just ensure you avoid the refined sucrose/carbohydrates.
The above-mentioned niacin is important to correcting the tryptophan-kynurenine metabolism pathway I will mention more about it below, as well as sufficient riboflavin/B2 and pyridoxine/P5P/B6.
These nutrient cofactors will cover the detox support necessary to clear the neurotransmitter and hormone wastes, but including a daily grapefruit or apple, followed by fresh ground chia or flax seed soaked and blended into goat/cow/coconut/water kefir would be a wise addition for additional liver detox support. The quinone molecules I've discussed in several other articles are useful for a myriad of reasons here, thymoquinone in black seed oil being a major contender. I also enjoy herbal bitters with a dietary source of fiber to bind anything detoxed for elimination. Milk thistle and Andrographis may be helpful here as well.
The anxiety/OCD protocol (quantum GABA revitalization) covers herbal medicines that support the GABAergic receptor system, as well as liver detox function.
As always, resistance and/or endurance exercise is important in ANY health protocol, as a means to support the mitochondria and detox functions, but also just to give you an outlet to keep your mind and emotional state stable. Don't sleep on exercise, get moving.
- Circadian dysregulation and/or blue light toxicity - This plays a key role in bipolar pathology, with links to the severity of both manic and depressive episodes, as well as their susceptibility altogether. The cited article mentions this only applies to female patients, but in my experience and work, it applies across the board although hormone status may also influence susceptibility and severity as I'll mention more about below.
- Metabolic disorder and/or mitochondrial dysfunction - You'll notice all psychiatric disorders have this in common, especially if you've seen the case reports in the ketogenic/carnivore communities of total resolution of symptoms. Like other disorders, bipolar disorder also shows cerebral glucose metabolism abnormalities. This is often linked to the above issue. Refined sucrose and refined carbohydrate addiction/overconsumption are very common in these individuals. Mitochondrial function and/or poor redox status (ties into glutathione-reduction cycle mentioned more below) is a MAJOR factor that influences all of these other forms of pathology.
- Migraines, eating disorders, anxiety/depression disorders, and drug/alcohol addiction or abuse is also extremely common and it's often due to the underlying pathology and biochemistry occurring rather than merely a symptom of manic/depressive episodes.
- Childhood trauma and/or PTSD - Childhood trauma and the now chronic stressful state of PTSD/CPTSD results in severe downregulation of the GABAergic receptor system, namely in the amygdala. This allows glutamate, norepinephrine/adrenaline, dopamine, cortisol, inflammation, oxidative stress, etc. to run rampant within the brain and the rest of the body. Hyperactivation of the sympathetic nervous system, if you will, and lack of parasympathetic nervous system activity. This plays into the function of the vagus nerve connecting the brain to the gut, where a lot of our neurotransmitters are produced. This is where essentially all psychiatric and neurological disorders link together with past traumatic experiences, and why they all have this factor in common. This chronic stress hyper-biochemistry state also lends itself to malnutrition
- Excessive saturated fat and O6 PUFA intake and biological levels - As with other psychiatric and neurological disorders, such as schizophrenia, DHA/EPA (O3 PUFA) intake is commonly deficient, which also links back to the blue light toxicity and mitochondrial dysfunction issues.
- Gut microbiome dysbiosis, SCFA deficiency, and/or leaky gut - You've likely noticed by now with past articles and tweets that leaky gut and gut microbiome dysbiosis is another overlapping pathological factor between all psychiatric and neurological disorders. Bipolar disorder is no different, with a distinct deficiency in butyrate-producing bacteria. It is merely the bacterial profile that can differ between each disorder.
- High calcium-glutamate, adrenaline, cortisol, dopamine,, and testosterone/estrogen biochemistry - All neurotransmitters and hormones must be metabolized to be cleared from the body, as the wastes become highly inflammatory and toxic when accumulated and unable to be detoxed efficiently. This ties back into liver genetics, blue light toxicity, and malnutrition, as we require nutritional cofactors and natural light from the sun for the glutathione cycle to take place effectively. One example is via tryptophan-kynurenine metabolism, resulting in high quinolinic acid (hyper calcium-glutamate activation). More on that subject here.
- Decreased COMT and MAO genetics - Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and Monoamine oxidase A and B (MAO-A and MAO-B) enzymes are responsible for metabolizing the above-mentioned neurotransmitters and hormones into their respective waste metabolites. Bipolar disorder will often display low function in at least one of these enzymes. You will require proper mitochondrial function/redox, a healthy light environment, and nutritional surplus from a nutrient-dense whole-food-based diet for these to function more properly and begin to mitigate and even reverse epigenetic expression. More on other related genetic factors here.
