Hi, it’s Mimi.

I am all about elegant, graceful, and “on the cheap” Solutions to health.  Working the keys  from spiritual and energetic practices has been more productive then I could EVER imagine.  (which lets me know I am on track!)

If there is something I could wish for you, it would be that you could begin to understand the importance of the connections between the gut and the brain and OUR BEHAVIOR to sabotage those connections so we don’t feel the discomfort and overwhelm that we have created.   When I beg you to reconnect with the feeling of the discomfort people run.  But that is only because they don’t understand!!!!

IF you knew that you could simply breathe through it, let thoughts and feelings flow through you, hold onto the positive regard and the Light for 2 minutes, we could get through the overwhelm without much issue.  More importantly,  than our own discomfort, we would protect our ability to perceive, think, feel, receive our feed back system, be able to move our smooth muscles, (like digestion, reproduction, waste removal) and the like.

This article is a tiny peek into your connection between the brain and the gut!  Give it flesh and blood in your body.  When you eat sugar, it inflames  your nerves.  It stops them from communicating.  Can you imagine, what you are stopping?  There is such a big life beyond the smallness of what we allow ourselves!

http://darouwellness.com/the-vagus-nerve-how-inflammation-can-be-controlled-by-the-brain/

The implications of such simple and basic practices on your overall health, and in particular on inflammation are far-reaching. If you suffer from an inflammatory condition, digestive upset, high blood pressure or depression, a closer look at vagal tone is highly recommended. We’ve known for years that breathing exercises and meditation are helpful for our health, but it is so fascinating to learn the mechanism by which they work. I hope this short article has inspired you to begin a meditation practice, as it has for me, and also to look for other means to manage the body’s inflammatory response.

1. Slow, rhythmic, diaphragmatic breathing. Breathing from your diaphragm, rather than shallowly from the top of the lungs stimulates and tones the vagus nerve.
2. Humming. Since the vagus nerve is connected to the vocal cords, humming mechanically stimulates it. You can hum a song, or even better repeat the sound ‘OM’.
3. Speaking. Similarly speaking is helpful for vagal tone, due to the connection to the vocal cords.
4. Washing your face with cold water. The mechanism her is not known, but cold water on your face stimulates the vagus nerve.
5. Meditation, especially loving kindness meditation which promotes feelings of goodwill towards yourself and others. A 2010 study by Barbara Fredrickson and Bethany Kik found that increasing positive emotions led to increased social closeness, and an improvement in vagal tone.
6. Balancing the gut microbiome. The presence of healthy bacteria in the gut creates a positive feedback loop through the vagus nerve, increasing its tone.
   1. See our products at www.bravocoop.com

I have been studying the procedures of making Bravo Probiotics.   It is expensive and I can use my sensitivities to make sure that the procedures actually create the conditions that are desired.  The goal is to increase the function of the intestinal flora to help us create things that we need for our body, our immune system and our intuition and greater consciousness.  Getting the powdered probiotics to our gut flora will restore it to the capacity that it can regain its ability to generate specific nutrition that restores our body to health.    Until now, health has been illusive because we are looking for clinical answers when all along, we needed more organic, circle of life type answers.

When the results of spontaneous healing show up, the results are usually found by doing decisive changes, by making steps to get stronger that are committed, consistent and pervasive.  By taking our diet into our hands and eating “for our bodies” the microbes that help us can live.  One can of soda can do lots of damage.  All sweeteners damage the flora.  We cannot be told what to do from the outside.  We need to take dominion of our inner awareness.  This dominion is not with an overbearing or negative approach such as control.  It is a sense of observation; a searching for the truth of what is right for us.

Food, oils, probiotics, exercise, and taking dominion of the energies in our field, emotions, and thoughts are all elements of how to walk through life as it happens to us.  Not wanting to participate leaves us wanting to hide, withdraw, and be unprepared for the simple things that come towards us.  This can lead to devastating illness.  Regardless of where we are, we can find our north star and lead ourselves back into a disease free life.

This article will help us get back on course.  Use your Light.  Use your gentleness.  Use your intention to heal your family!  Live in peace by working to clean yourself without the need for strong beliefs to hang onto.  Most importantly, connect to that which is your multidimensional self so that this “you” gets its senses back to run the show!

Mimi’s Research

This post is about making my Bravo Easy Yogurt.  It has been designed by a couple of Italian doctors to generate GcMAF, a compound made in the body which turns on the immune system.  Research has shown that this compound has been inhibited by various environmental factors which don’t allow the immune system to operate properly.  This probiotic contains royal proteins that allow the body to make the GcMAF once again restoring health.

Prior to culturing these expensive probiotics and updating the micro-organisms of my biome, I did some research on the Bravo Easy Kit and these “nobel strands” of acidophilus.  I looked up each latin name in the ingredients.  I analyzed other products to find the same probiotic and the quality of the strands and how to culture them.  Some of the cultures grow at room temperature, others work best at body temperature which is how yogurt makers are designed.  Thus the illusive results of the doctors who did hundreds of trials to find their best results point to generate GcMAF left me confused at best.  It took me weeks of simmering before the clarity developed.  See my musings here: http://simplymimi.net/archives/699

What I have done is to compile a range of various instructions and temperature choices, etc. based on many expert views available for making such cultures. I traded in my tense clinical approach for a gentler more organic approach.  Like gardening or training a pet, there might be techniques but there is still a living breathing partner in your training exercise who matters.  Thus, I approach it organically with loving and cooperation.

While making my first batch, I did a frequency test to see which of the offered ideas and variables were a good frequency match for me!   They included my intention for the desired outcome, the strains of probiotic themselves, the organic raw goat’s milk from my local friendly farmer, the tools, my attitude, and the environment I have to grow the cultures.  Then, there is another whole environment of thoughts, feelings, microbes, muscles, metabolic processes, food and water intake called; the inside of my body.  My job was to distill this into the very best results.

In this lab, something bigger happened than just making the concoction.  My quest to feel my way through also brought my awareness into a greater alignment with “myself” and who I am.  I needed my truth if I was going to discern my way.  In looking for my truth, I had to establish a consciousness that was not my microbes.  I had to check in with my divine tissues.  The truth of my being.  I found the frequency of my healing process.

Basically, in trying to find my way to helping and wanting my body to create GcMAF, I found in the past, I had stepped away from the flow of my heart because some experiences were too painful.  I went “off line” so I didn’t feel the pain.  Negativity of not being myself crept in.  I had to find my way back to being myself.  I think there is a story like this about Cain and Able.  If one part looses its way, bring it on back.

I found that any invading microbes, proteins or toxins rode on negativity that I could release and let go of.  Another way to say that is that I had stepped away from my own truth and true nature.  Returning to that true nature consciously allowed me to close the openings inside me, bring “myself” back on line, and begin creating an environment of  greater health.

So now I have a bowl of probiotic out on my back porch at 88 degrees for 24 hours.  I have some glass jars from the yogurt maker (at 110 degrees) and then will go in the fridge.  In my spirit of trying out my new ideas;  after some of my samples were cultured in the yogurt maker for 6 hrs, I let them cool slowly and sit at room temperature for a few hours.  It is important that their culturing temperature have a visit before they stop in the fridge.

I also have some samples in Miron Violet glass jars along side others in clear glass jars.  I find that the Miron glass creates more energy and holds freshness longer.  Now, there is an undeniable glow of energy in my fridge that comes from using the right stuff and getting the process right, both inside and outside.

Orientation for the Re-Culturing of Bravo Easy Kit

I wanted to learn to re-culture the Bravo’s nobel strains.  There are some types that can’t be re-cultured.  So I proceed with an open mind, knowing that in the past, GcMAF under it’s precedent versions had been recaptured.  I am all for getting it right.  But I am also a bit suspicious about conflicts of interests as new vendors come on the scene selling very expensive and over priced “noble strains”.

What I learned about the noble strains is this.  Your consciousness makes the culture noble.  Take a show dog.  If I leave two puppies from the same litter with two different people.  Bubba who has no interest and rich housewife who has resources and nothing else to do will give you very different results with those puppies. These strains are like that.  They can change them, rename them, but all this attention is what they wanted!  They will get better when they are loved.  Just like our kids.  And frankly, just like our health.

I allow myself to have the luxury of an expensive probiotic and chaff at the bit when my testing tells me only 3 tablespoons times 2 times per day.  I will know the feeling of my well cared for Bravo Easy Kit probiotics.  I will test their efficiency and learn how to hold it at those levels.  I will put the time and energy into keeping them well.

Keeping them well, is like any other upgrade project.   It makes everything else need a bit of polish.  I noticed the need for upgrades everywhere.  The food in my fridge, my gardens, some house projects like the patio I want to build, etc.  More raw foods, more cultured foods, and more fresh vegetables.  Its about relationships.  It’s always been about relationships!

The old instructions of MAF 314 included re-culturing.  Most strains can be re-cultured endlessly.  Some are called a direct culture which means the need starters each time to make them viable.  I was willing to learn and do whatever the nobel strains want to be their best.  Realizing of course that a happy tummy and home environment for the cultures is as important as cultivating the strains!

I am not done conclusively with the re-culturing process.   Until I get myself through it,  however, this is what I am clear about thus far.  I will update it as I go along.

The Mother

The “mother”,  which is a sample to keep and re-culture for the next batch, is made separately from the yogurt cultures.  You make a batch of mothers.  Then you make your yogurt from there.  You are going to make more than you need, so the unused mother cultures are also considered usable doses.

Tips for Re-Culturing:

• The difference between a mother and “yogurt” you eat, has to do with the exposure to invading bacteria from the environment.
•  The milk used to create the mother culture is taken to 160 degrees F.
• Shelf-life before needing to re-culture a fresh mother is 5-7 days.  Miron glass might extend that estimate a day or two.
• It is best not to take the re-culturing process past the second generation.  The third generation seems to loose about 30% of the noble strains.  What I notice is that to keep that third generation, you need to add a bit of milk and colostrum to the culture instead of the other way around.  It seems to not expand too much.  I will get more explicit with  my recommendations as I move through those generations.
• Which means I make a lot of mothers, and use them to generate the next few rounds of yogurt making each one of them fresh and second generation.  This way, the next round, second gen, of yogurts is still viable.  Make many mothers from the first round.  Keep using the mothers from gen 1 until day 9.
• Be prepared to start over from powder.
• For the GcMAF’s noble strains, they will want to feed on the elements of colostrum.  (4 oz of liquid per liter or 2 TBS of powder).  I bought this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BREOR2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00
• The MAF 314 instructions say once every 2 months to start over from powder.  (The instructions tend to have a percentage of lead time that they shorten)

Maintaining the GcMAF Yogurt

• The yogurt you make will last two weeks in the refrigerator.
• Plain glass will be fine for a few days
• Miron Glass is recommended for the ones that go longer.

Here are the various choices of instructions that I have complied:

1. Work clean.  Sterilize, etc.
2. Use 1 liter of finest quality milk available
3. Heat milk to: A.) Boil up the side  B.) small boil on the edge C.) 160 degrees for mothers D.) Raw milk for yogurt, not mothers, 110 degrees
4. Remove from heat immediately.  Don’t stir.  A.) Cool down slowly to room temp of 68-86 degrees B.) Put it in the sink in ice water to stop it cooking
5. Remove the “skin” from the milk and discard it.  It removes the Casein which many have trouble digesting.
6. Transfer to warm glass bowl
7. Add culture:  A.) 2 tablespoons of yogurt per cup of milk  B.) two envelopes of Bravo per liter of milk
8. Let it “set”:  A.) Cover loosely with foil and let it sit at room temperature for 24.  If not set, continue up to 48 hrs B.) Put it in the yogurt machine in either jars or a bowl for 8-9 hrs. C.) The starter in the machine and the probiotic at room temperature then mix them together at the end.
9. Move to the refrigerator A.) For at least 2 hours  B. For 12 hours
10. Storage:  A.) Up to 2 weeks in the fridge  Do not freeze
11. Consume: A.) 2 oz x 2 times per day B.) 3 Tablespoons for very clean people

Including the comfortable, happy attitude of taking the new puppy off of the shelf and now we are in the training stages.  are many happy alternatives.  The most important thing that happened is that I began to really hit my truth and stay in it.

Long-Term Storage

In the nomadic tribes before refrigeration, the women kept their family’s cultures viable by putting a small layer of soft yogurt culture on a clean cloth and letting it dry in the sun.  Then rolling up the cloth and carrying it with their things.

Today we use parchment paper and a dehydrator to stabilize live cultures for long term storage.  The Italian doctors who have developed the GcMAF yogurt are adamant about not freezing and not microwaving any part of the process.

Closing Remarks

We are co-existing as living and loving inter-species relationships that create the things we need within our bodies to live.  Pay conscious attention to the balance of the flora and the well being of the GcMAF inside you.   Do what you can for yourself to increase and sustain this type of balance.  During this process I noticed that I needed to pay way more attention to the relationships around me and how I participate with them.

We are to polarize the negativity energies that take out our guts.  Stress, loss, etc.  Finish your thoughts and feelings.  Finish those stressful events that have happened to you so that you are complete with them.  In all situations, find the loving and the good in all things.  Love the soul, positive energy and the lesson of each situation and individual. There is more than just one frequency in everything we meet.  Accentuate the Positive. Allow yourself to be present more and more until you can BE HERE NOW.  If we do our best to demonstrate how we love and to continue to love ourselves and those around us, we will create health, let go of the disease and make the best of it all.  ALL-WAYS.

While these nobel strains are around us, they demonstrate all of the Golden Rules.  If you pay attention, like I did, to what they want, they will help us.  They will show us what they want, who they are and how they live, who we are, what we need and how we need to live.  It is a microscopic version of creation all around us.

References:

Instructions for Using Raw Milk (generally)

• If you are using raw milk from the local farm, it will also last for 2 weeks
• Use these instructions to make the mothers and yogurt from raw milk http://www.culturesforhealth.com/make-thermophilic-raw-milk-yogurt/

GmMAF 314 Instructions

Older Bravo instructions when the encouraged re-culturing https://www.evernote.com/l/AGMblcD-J9BIy4-PZIP-g1bAXN0djLuoikU

Bravo Easy Kit Instructions

Here are the Bravo Easy Instructions: (current)

https://www.evernote.com/l/AGPEuKW-1LhCn60YM21qyRwSPZPwnmd1DSA

According to webmd and the FDA, GBL is both illegal and dangerous.  This happens sometimes when a substance really works and the drug companies want to figure out how to put a patent on it.  There is lots and lots of information on the web about how it has helped people.  Not so much self report about being harmful but you can’t buy it any more so that kills the streams of reviews.

GBL is changed in the body to one of these brain chemicals called GABA. This is one of the neuro transmitter that people need to stay calm and balanced.  If they trip out, this is the one they need.  It has to do with the PHP and the tiny metabolic assistance that the body needs to make GABA.  Usually when my clients come in who need this, they are in a basket.  (Basket case)  They are amazed that the simply elegant results of finding the right one on this list that they need to make GABA.  

If you get upset and anxious a lot, you can come back to balance with this information.  Not all bodies work the same, make the right things, or act the same internally.  People can’t see it so they don’t realize it is important.  Often, the gut flora is out.  This is where they make the things that they need.  Re-establishing gut flora resolves both physical and psychological syndromes that have been reeking havoc.

I like ELEGANT, EASY AND INEXPENSIVE solutions.  Like Food.

Foods that increase GABA & GBL are a safe ways to source these “feel better” increases.  One of the easy peasy ones that has a lot of bang for the buck is fava beans.  They are the largest source of human growth hormone precursors.  These are the long flat beans.  Specifically I am testing that the bean seeds are more significant therapeutically than the beens but they are both good food.  More specifically, when the bean seeds are sprouted, they turn into “activated” packages of enzymes that burst with potential.  Then you can either use them in salads cause they are sweet, or put them in the blender with some flavorful things and use it as a dip or a pesto.  The best thing about this protocol is that the beans are inexpensive, they are dried before sprouting so they are available all year round.  Did I say cheap?

So how come I have to fuss with myself and make bean sprouts?  Because you are worth it and it will give you a feeling of more youth (growth hormone), it will help your body move and detoxify.  How long does it take anyway.  Let’s look at it.

You will need a colander and something under it to capture water.  A plate or cloth of any kind, like plastic plate over it to keep the petrie dish effect off of your food.  You will be depending on the holes in the colander for air so keep the beans at a thin layer all the way around and don’t let them pool in the middle or they won’t get air and will mold.

• Soak the beans over night.  (not extensive output there)
• Rinse them the next day.  You might do this a lot so put it in your routine.  They will need rinsing several (3) times per day to keep the toxins they excrete off them and to give them fresh water to clean with.  Then spread them in the colander to give them air. They are busy little guys.
• Then after 3 days, they should have tails.  Eat one to see if they are sweet.  (They will turn to sugar as soon as they start to become plants.)
• When they are sweet, they are done being sprouted.  (times may vary with temperature, humidity, altitude, your loving attitude etc.)
• Eat some, put the rest in the refrigerator like any fresh veg.

Okay, how long did that take.  Soak, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse,rinse, rinse, rinse.  Put in the fridge, Prepare.  If it takes 15 mins per week to prepare an awesome youth and brain power food, that costs, $2. per pound that makes you feel fantastic.  Huh?  I am down!

Here is more extensive info on the mechanisms of GABA.  (I would be able to test these things and customize a remedy.)

Using these nutrients really works great and takes the basket case away. I am more relaxed and effective.   I don’t run out of brain power and get fatigued.  If I don’t take them, I am sorry I didn’t.  I think of it as “showing up for the job with the proper tools”.

I like this article about GABA

http://www.vitalityandwellness.com.au/health-blog/low-gaba-levels-increase-gaba-naturally

Now let’s see if I can find out more about GBL which is similar but not the same and I agree; a wonderful product to feel younger.   I always tend to do these things through food if possible.

A few berries, some magic beans and a mushroom capsule, probiotic by cultured food, continue the culture so it isn’t expensive.  Build the gut flora that makes all these ingredients naturally once the body off loads the stress.  Then try to eat what the body needs and ask honestly to your body to see if a food you want to eat,  interferes with a valuable step in the process to “feel good”.  Then determine which is more important but don’t use your mind.  Get above it.

Fava beans might as well be the number one food for Human Growth Hormone production, as they’re filled with L-Dopa which is the precursor to Dopamine (another neurotransmitter like GABA).  It has been shown to generate a huge increase in Human Growth Hormone, making us feel younger and more vital and creating a body environment of being younger, while also boosting dopamine and testosterone.   Even women need this to get through a busy day.

From http://www.anabolicmen.com/foods-that-increase-human-growth-hormone-naturally/

That’s it.  What I learned is that I am going to be using fava bean sprouts all day long for vegetables at dinner, in salads, and as pesto, sauces and salad dressings.

I have already worked out most of the GABA builder nutrition and have the ingredients on my bench ready to make customized capsules.  They are all over the counter things.   It is just a matter of realizing that you need it to support the metabolic pathways.  I even gave many of them to my kids when they were growing up.  I had calm happy children with clean livers so that while they did that at my house, they existed peacefully in a state of cooperation.

I need to deeply consider the new ones for this purpose and get them for my bench incase someone wants it in a custom remedy.  Here is what the article mentions: (I included the below)

• Theanine
• Inositol
• Magnesium
• Noni Fruit
• Chamomile
• St John’s Wort
• Valerian
• Kava
• Ginkgo Biloba
• Passion fruit
• Skullcap
• Hops
• Lemon balm
• Magnolia bark
• Phellondendron bark

All are well-known to have calming and relaxing properties that improves moods, insomnia and anxiety, but their mode of action is not exactly known.

Mimi

Article below

G’day friends and welcome!

Well, its becoming a popular little word this GABA, and rightly so, as many people are now realising the benefits it has for the body. Now GABA shouldn’t be confused with the cricket ground in Brisbane, Australia called ‘The Gabba’! However, some might argue that watching a live cricket match at ‘The Gabba’ might be beneficial for raising your GABA levels, but for other people it might very stressful and down right boring – which is not good for your GABA levels.

Ok, cricket and my rambling aside, this brain chemical GABA is really important for your health, so lets get down to it;

What does GABA do?

GABA, short for gamma aminobutyric acid, is your major inhibitory or relaxing neurotransmitter (brain chemical). Normalisation of brain GABA levels leads to a reduction in stress, anxiety, nervousness and an improvement in insomnia resulting in a more restful night’s sleep 1,2,3. GABA prevents nerve impulses associated with anxiety from reaching the motor centres of your brain (by filling your benzodiazepine receptors with GABA) 1,4,5. Besides binding to your GABA and benzodiazepine receptors, GABA decreases your beta brainwaves and increases your alpha brainwaves 1.

Beta brainwaves are important brain waves required during periods of concentration, attention, alertness and can enhance your memory, but excess or high concentrations that occur during times of stress can lead to more stress, anxiety, insomnia and depression. Alpha brainwaves on the other hand are produced when you go into a meditative state such as meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, when you focus your attention on one task, or as you begin to fall asleep. Alpha brainwaves are involved in memory but their major function within your body is to calm and relax you.

Alertness can stimulate production of both alpha and beta brainwaves but it is the type of alertness that determines which brainwave is produced. When your body is in a relaxed state of alertness alpha brainwaves are produced, but when you are alert and stressed beta brainwaves are produced. Both can be beneficial, but excess beta wave production eventually reduces concentration and focus ability and contributes to an array of nervous disorders such as anxiety and stress.

Low levels of GABA can cause or contribute to a variety of health issues such as anxiety, panic disorders, depression (including postpartum depression), epilepsy, convulsions, stress, insomnia (especially waking with a racing mind or waking and not being able fall back to sleep), Tourette’s syndrome, muscle spasms, hypertension, emotional issues associated with premenstrual syndrome, dry skin and wrinkles. GABA stimulates secretion of your digestive enzymes and low levels of digestive enzymes are associated with poor digestion, bloating, flatulence, poor bowel motions and malabsorption.

How does the body manufacture GABA? 

The amino acid L-glutamine, the most abundant amino acid in your body, is the precursor to GABA production. What occurs is that glutamine is first converted within your body to glutamic acid or glutamate, which is your body’s most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter. Glutamic acid is responsible for your attention span, memory, brain energy, learning ability, staying awake and the metabolism of carbohydrates. From there the enzyme glutamate decarboxylase (big word I know……means nothing to most people, only nerds like me) converts glutamate to GABA. Now for this enzyme to work effectively Vitamin B6, or more importantly the active form of vitamin B6 – Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate (P5P), is essential to increase it’s production 42,43 while the amino acid taurine increases the communication and productivity of that big worded enzyme 6, 7. Interestingly,  studies have shown that anxiety may occur as a result of taurine deficiency 10, 11. Zinc on the other hand has been shown to enhance the release of GABA from its receptors. Both zinc and vitamin B6 are essential for the production of your other brain chemicals such as serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, adrenaline and histamine 43.

Nutrients required to increase GABA levels 

All of your cells, organs, metabolic processes, hormones, blood and neurotransmitters require a variety of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and phytonutrients to function effectively. Without these nutrients all of your essential body functions or processes won’t work effectively, resulting in a variety of diseases and illnesses.

So for your body to manufacture GABA effectively it requires specific nutrients to achieve this. As we have already mentioned some of the main nutrients required are glutamine, Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate, taurine and zinc, but there are some other equally important nutrients also involved in the process that can enhance the production of GABA.

Theanine a plant-based amino acid found only in tea increases levels of GABA within the brain 8, 9, increases the production of alpha brainwaves 12, 13, 14 and enhances GABA A receptor response 60.  Studies have shown that theanine is useful in the treatment of anxiety due to its ability to sedate the central nervous system as well as improving the quality of sleep and counteract the toxic effects of stress 15, 16. How smart were the generations gone before us……when someone was stressed their initial response was “come inside and sit down, I’ve just put on a pot of tea”……not coffee which can be stimulating and have the opposite effect!

Inositol, a B group vitamin may help alleviate anxiety and depression, by enhancing the ability of GABA to bind to the benzodiazepine receptors within the brain 35, 36, 37, 38, 39. Inositol may also help to stimulate poorly sensitive serotonin receptors within the brain 20. and facilitate a good night’s sleep 40.

Magnesium deficiency is common in western society with up to 80% of women and 70% of men having some form of magnesium deficiency. Magnesium binds to and activates GABA receptors 54. Anxiety, panic disorders, apathy, poor attention span, depression, insomnia, irritability and nervousness may all result from magnesium deficiency 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52. Magnesium may also improve the length and quality of slow wave sleep 53.

Noni Fruit, a herb native to French Polynesia and traditionally used to help with many ailments including issues associated with the nervous system, was found to help alleviate anxiety by binding to the GABA receptors within the brain 33. Animal studies have shown that Noni may reduce the toxic effects on the body of excessive stress 34.

Chamomile, a medicinal herb used for thousands of years and commonly found throughout the world as a tea has been shown to have sedative effects due to the flavonoid apigenin that binds to the benzodiazepine and GABA receptors within the brain 67. Traditionally chamomile has been used to help alleviate anxiety and improve insomnia by sedating the central nervous system 21, 22, 23, 24. Chamomile may also assist in normalising moods 25.

St John’s Wort may inhibit the reuptake of GABA (which leads to increased GABA levels and GABA activity 75.

Valerian is known to prevent or reduce the breakdown of GABA within the brain 71, 72, 73, 74

Kava inhibits noradrenaline (norepinephrine) uptake (too much noradrenaline causes you to feel like your are out of control and running around like a headless chook and leads to anxiety, panic attacks, schizophrenia, blood clots, hypertension, depression and  elevated stress)59.

Ginkgo Biloba has been found in to increase GABA in the hippocampus region of the brain. The hippocampus plays an important role in long and short term memory it is also one of the first area affected by Alzheimers disease hence memory loss and disorentation 70.

Other herbs such as passionflower, skullcap, hops, lemon balm, magnolia bark and phellondendron bark are well-known to have calming and relaxing properties that improves moods, insomnia and anxiety, but their mode of action is not exactly known. It is believed that these herbs act either as a GABA receptor agonists (fancy word that simply means to stimulate the receptor, thus having a calming effect) or they boost GABA levels 59.

Other well know foods called, Fermented foods, also help with GABA levels. Foods such as fermented cabbage, fermented milk and fermented juice contain naturally occurring GABA 61, 62, 63. as does fava beans, tomatoes, sunflower seeds and reishi mushroom 64, 65, 66.

Glycine, another amino acid, may help with GABA function and alleviate anxiety and panic attacks by reducing the stimulatory effects of noradrenaline within the brain 17, 18. Glycine functions as a calming neurotransmitter within the nervous system and it does this by causing a relaxing effect when it binds to and activates the glycine receptors within the spinal cord 19. Glycine may also help alleviate insomnia due to its role as a relaxing neurotransmitter 20.

Potassium is required to help stimulate the release of GABA within the brain 68. Potassium deficiency may be responsible for anxiety, depression and irritability 50, 55, 56, 57. Potassium may improve the quality of sleep and reduce the frequency of awakenings after the onset of sleep 58.

5HTP is a precursor to serotonin, and serotonin is well know to enhance the effects of GABA.69

A lot of technical jargon I know, sorry about that, but if it has put you to sleep there is a positive in that….your GABA levels may have increased!

Why not just take a GABA supplement?

I know it sounds quite feasible that if you have low GABA levels and are suffering from anxiety, insomnia or depression that taking a GABA supplement makes sense. Even though the theory may sound good, how much GABA does your body actually need? One person may need 200mg a day, while another person may need 500mg, but they may both be taking a standard 750mg supplement. What does the body do with the excess GABA?

The toxic effects of too much GABA is that it may cause nausea, numbness, impair learning and memory, while inhibiting the release of serotonin. Serotonin is your ‘feel good’ neurotransmitter and low levels are associated with depression, anxiety, anger, insomnia, low melatonin and carbohydrate cravings.

Like a car, your body, or more importantly every single cell within your body, needs the right fuel to function properly – not too many petrol cars run well on diesel fuel, so its best to feed your body the nutrients it needs to produce GABA by itself naturally. This to me makes a lot of sense as does the old adage “you are what you eat” meaning that your diet is the number one thing that you need to do to maintain great health.

In our clinic we recommend ‘Be Calm’, a pleasant tasting, vanilla berry powder and GabRelax a natural herbal blend, both of which contain many of the nutrients mentioned above in therapeutic doses, to assist the body in increasing it’s GABA levels naturally.

How to test GABA levels?

Diagnostic Testing is by far the best way to check your GABA levels and we offer a GABA Test that measures not only the amount of GABA, but also other important neurotransmitters including serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, adrenaline and glutamate. We find testing for the whole range of neurotransmitters gives us a greater understanding of the persons neurological or mental health status. This is a simple urine sample test that is sent away to pathology for analysis.

For more information 

– Visit our website pages on Low GABA Levels.

end of article ***

What if we are creating GLB in our stress state?  What would the effects of that be?

This article was insightful!  http://www.mensjournal.com/expert-advice/the-worst-supplements-of-all-time-20131216/gbl

Interesting article:

https://www.supplementcritique.com/63-foods-that-boost-testosterone-naturally/

Some lovely Italian doctors have set their intention on deep healing and have created some working partners you might not expect.  They have trained some noble probiotic into being   divine probiotics!  Yeah!!

The first thing I did when I found out about this probiotic was that I bought it.  Even though it was $400.  Because the surrounding information was sound and true inside me and I didn’t want this one to slip away from me so I bought it, shared the expense with some friends and then started to study it.

This article is more the musings of what I had to get through to begin to  understand what to do.  There is another article with instructions here: http://simplymimi.net/archives/722

Some things contradicted themselves so I needed to learn more about culturing yogurt in general.  I also needed more on the specific probiotics in general.  I didn’t understand why the Bravo Easy said NO Yogurt machine and Bradstreet’s instructions for Bravo said, “Use a yogurt machine.” Now I understand.  There are basically two groups of probiotic types.  Those who grow well at 70 to 80 degrees (room temp) and those who grow well around 98 degrees. (body temperature).

The probiotics in our Bravo Easy Kit envelopes and bottles are a mixture of both.  Truth is, they are probably just fine in either a warm corner covered and set for 24 hours or in a yogurt machine (they run around 110 degrees for 6-8 hrs).  Or perhaps both.  Maybe as it cools down, the other strains can culture.

I eventually ended up in the middle.  The 110 degrees seems too hot and stressful and the low, although recommended, was hard to get a set and harder to figure out when it is done because temperatures vary.  I settled for 93 degrees for 12 hours.  I could do that by adjusting the space with cardboard between the yogurt machines heating coils and the bottom of the jar until I could get a solid reading of 93 degrees.  Then it was easy to figure out 12 hours.  Perfect every time.  I adopted that as my “beginners recipe” and helped others to get their sea legs making yogurt.

What I found out is that the temperature “doesn’t much matter none”.  It might matter clinically, but what is more important is the organic energy of love and consciousness that you put into them.  Start being a conscious observer and interact with what your probiotics want and need.  These strains of probiotic are alive and respond to love and attention.  If I treated them too clinically or formally, they reminded me to stay in range of just plain folks.  So I did.

I wanted to get it right.  I had to let go of my fear. I had to relax and become a person instead of a ball of tension that couldn’t be related to.  I wanted to make very precise recommendations that we could follow,  sterilize everything and have a perfect batch.  But that isn’t the most important thing.  The most important thing is to have a happy belly where the stains of acidophilus can grow happily and populate in their favorite environment – you.

I learned the opposite as well.  When I used antibiotics for my black widow spider bite, I went over the top into all kinds of insecurity, OCD and mental illness traits that I hadn’t seen for a long time.  I lost most of them when I did my GAPS diet for 6 months and repaired my leaky gut.  Since then, I forgot that I used to fret so much and how much  I needed to do it right.  I am grateful to loose it and got a reminder.  I also was given a very important key.  That the gut flora was so very important.   I have learned to say, “relax”!

The Probiotic Super-Stars!

We know these strains of probiotic.  They aren’t unattainable.  However, they have been cultured.  What is the difference between a really good singer and a mega-star.  That’s the difference here.  We have taken good solid product and given it lots of training and attention.

• It isn’t a sleepy horse grazing under a tree in Tennessee could be but isn’t a race horse until he is trained, shows that he loves it and wants more and more to run.  He is a special horse but still a horse.
• The redheaded snowboarder champ, Shawn White is from my town. He is about the age of my kids but my kids are never ever going to do what he does.  He has worked himself to the point where he has grown wings.  He is a mega super-star.  He is just like our kids? NOT.

We have met these strains of probiotic before.  We can buy the strains in bottles and culture them.  I will do that to see how they compare.  It is easy to culture probiotics.  I must say, that there IS a difference to get these big, highly trained, charismatic celebrities called Bravo Yogurt starting powder in the mail.

Shall we explore?  

Don’t be fooled.  The probiotics in Bravo are very complete and very broad in their spectrum.  There is a nice coverage and the Swiss are caring for them well and feeding them what they need.  (The cows in Switzerland yodel.)  The strains in Bravo are available at the top of the line probiotic vendors in their top of the line product.  (Not cheaper either even at wholesale prices.). However, even then, there were a few energetic things going on in Bravo yogurt that keep going towards goodness.  Some are added, others are energy embedded.  This is besides the part where it creates ideal conditions to support the immune system.

There is a “starter” in a silver envelope which is a yogurt starter base.  This forms a bit more consistency so you aren’t getting a liquid.  Once you understand the basics of making yogurt, it really is easy to get a yogurt going.  Yet what Bravo does is between the lines.  It isn’t what one or another add, it is the whole event and the subtleties in between.

There are also some broader ranges of fungus and yeast in Bravo that aren’t probiotic bacteria at all.  They didn’t fit in the description a top of the line probiotic product.  However, these extra yeasts are easily added!  No worries.  Now that we have met the expensive package, we can duplicate the line up.  If we have the talent to train them, then we have a much less expensive product.  But getting the ratios is a more costly matter. The proof will be in the pudding (quite literally).   See my chart.  (my chart shows that we can find the strains of probiotics through a few sources, even at half the price.  More importantly, readily available and not going anywhere. That is if we can’t get Bravo any more.) https://www.evernote.com/l/AGP5RWQ4fztIqY1WRtwSyC5JcBeXKVJ8r84

It says that we can reduce the cost of 1 packet from $33. to $15. (without the hassle of a shared purchase)  The lactic acid yeast comes in wafers and can stay that way.   This product establishes proper pH balance which is vital for the promotion of nutrient absorption, integral in maintaining the proper environment in which normal intestinal flora thrive, and beneficial for the overall healthy functioning of the gastrointestinal system.   Another important add-on is S. Boulardii which is also a yeast used as a probiotic.

I have not yet worked these strains to see if I can get them to perform into the wonderful glowing energy of the Bravo Easy Kit.  However, I will be doing that shortly.

Add on from 2017: After direct communication with Dr. Ruggiero and with other biochemistry individuals and healers, I have come to the conclusion the Dr. R is light years ahead of my thinking in this article.  He has diligently designed this formula for a specific result. The testing was about 324 tests to get what he wanted.  That’s Bravo Yogurt.  Over the years it has changed a bit here and there as well.  I trust Dr. Ruggiero and I am not personally going anywhere unless Bravo became unavailable.  It feels to me like it is too good to miss.   I can be strong enough to deserve it and allow it to received.  (A big key to respecting ourselves enough to get well)

Bravo is a Direct Set – One time Starter

Bravo is saying that this is one time cultivation rather than one you can continue. I am in pursuit of seeing what it can and cannot do, using what is told to me as a guideline and pursuing my own truth.  There is always the scientific info that is unknown and the marketing and selling of a product which is unknown.   It is easier and safer for them to not encourage this line of thinking incase people make themselves sick, etc.  Even cultures that are meant to be everlasting can get moldy.  We are working with milk on our counter after all.  Besides, they are the ones selling the product which is perhaps overly expensive.  That all makes me want to find out for myself.  http://www.culturesforhealth.com/make-mesophilic-raw-milk-yogurt/

The basic idea is that you can culture the yogurt and make a pasteurized starter that will stay clean and can be able to be continued at the same level of quality as the Bravo Easy Kit culture without competition from environmental bacteria.  This is a reasonable goal.  However, it must be explored so that we understand the components, including the energetic ones.

2017:  Since this article, I did take the product out to 4 generations, etc.  I found out that the yeasts grow much faster than the probiotics.  They can’t be grown separately either because they change in form.  You can’t substitute bark for leaf tips.  The. yeast gets bitter. I found the 2nd generation to be 80% effective and fine for a second dose per day.  The third generation was so bitter but I could if I had to take it.  The forth generation was a waste of milk.  I recommend and love Bravo Yogurt.  I hope you can give it to yourself and more importantly stay with it.

These are my musings.  If you want my instructions to make Bravo Easy Kit, look for that post.  http://simplymimi.net/archives/722

Practice!

I recommend going to the grocery store, buying a small plain yogurt and a half gallon of the best milk and doing a trial run.  This will allow you to know if you have the right pans, space and state of mind before you unleash your Bravo Easy Kit.

• Are you prepared?
• Are you relaxed?
• Are you letting the force/organisms be with you?
• Are you present and observing

In my trial run,

• I bought raw milk.  I learned that pasteurization is a violent process these days (not gentle like the vat process of old) that leaves the milk with broken proteins that can resemble intolerance and allergy when ingested.
• I used a 2 quart pyrex dish that sits into a large stock pot and used some jars to hold up my glass dish.  But first, my dish, spoons, spoon cradle, even my silicon pot holders all went into boiling water.
• Once that was done, I poured the organic raw milk into the glass dish to heat up
• I cooled it down and added the probiotic powder from some capsules I had at home

There were a few things that I didn’t have.  Enough spoons, jars for the mother, a spoon cradle so I didn’t put it on the counter and somewhere nearby to put the ice water bath so the Bravo wouldn’t keep cooking.

My powder stuck to the bottom of the spoon and was like glue.  I don’t think I got it off with a scour pad.  Plus the product sat on the counter and came out really, really sour, slimy and thin.  It wasn’t at all interesting and I just threw it out after keeping it in the refrigerator with no interest in it.

Temperature Research and Preparations 

We need a therapeutic level of GcMAF.  All of us do.

Let’s introduce you to the doctors:

http://www.bravousa.com/#!physicians/cipy

Here is a 55 minute video given at an autism conference recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPsVpuYw11c

After seeing this video, we purchased the product and split it 4 ways. Since the product was $429.00, we each paid $107.25 plus shipping. We each got 3 envelopes.  Making them about $35 each.  Shipping consists of overnight shipping and an ice pack.  USPS express shipping is $18.

Now that I have lots of mother cultures around, I can ship you one.  It would be just a small sample of a few ounces in a Miron glass jar running over night with an ice pack.

If you want to split an order, please contact me.  I will type out my phone number because of the web crawlers:

76zero-44zero-8zero44

More resources:

These are the instructions that came enclosed with the product: https://www.evernote.com/l/AGPEuKW-1LhCn60YM21qyRwSPZPwnmd1DSA

This is the instruction page on the website (www.bravousa.com) (basically the same)

http://www.bravousa.com/#!/c1pna

The following information is copied here from Dr Bradstreet’s website:

www.naturalnews.com

Healthy Energetics may not agree with or take the side of Natural News however, for the other side of things, we recommend that you stay informed.

Check out the news here:

https://www.evernote.com/l/AGNhtpUL4XpNk4VaB2kxJor6ShtpdleS_3c

Check out protocol:

https://www.evernote.com/l/AGMRH73_piFBQaqaSU6ViYLozS5UBYaqjvo

More on probiotic

http://simplymimi.net/archives/693

Chaya plant
© Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization, 2009

Updated in October, 2009

“Here is a contribution of the unforgettable Maya Indians, whom we have abandoned,” is the wistful introduction to a pamphlet on the chaya plant, from Desarollo Integral de la Familia (DIF), which goes on to call chaya“an ideal food and medicine.”

According to the National Institute of Nutrition in Mexico City, ingesting chaya will:

• Improve blood circulation,
• help digestion,
• improve vision,
• disinflame veins and hemorrhoids,
• help lower cholesterol,
• help reduce weight,
• prevent coughs,
• augment calcium in the bones,
• decongest and disinfect the lungs,
• prevent anemia by replacing iron in the blood,
• improve memory and brain function and
• combat arthritis and diabetes.

A nutritional analysis (see chart) shows that chaya is richer in iron than spinach, and a powerful source of potassium and calcium.

It’s also incredibly easy to grow and an attractive addition to the garden with its maple-like leaves and tidy growth pattern. It limits itself to about six feet in height. Plant a row close together and you’ll soon have a hedge. The plants tend to be open toward the bottom, so you can create a border with low- and medium-growing herbs.

Despite the near-miraculous claims for it, I’ve run into very few Mexicans who are familiar with chaya, and have never seen it in the market. To grow your own, stake branches of about 40 centimeters in sandy soil with good drainage, and water regularly. It grows well in a median annual temperature of 25 C. or higher, and at altitudes of 0 to 1000 meters above sea level.

It needs to be cooked well.  No aluminum.

See more by googling Chaya Tree or at

http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/982-chaya-the-maya-miracle-plant

Professionally know as sublexation, a blockage in the energy flow can be found anywhere in the body/mind/spirit.  It can be caused by the three T’s.  Toxins, Thoughts, Trauma. (DD Palmer 100 years ago).  He called thoughts “auto suggestions” or what we tell ourselves about what is going on.  All three of these causes need to be treated with separate modalities, however, addressing them, it can take only a few weeks to release it.

Peter Karencito practices in Canada.  He sees something called retracing is the body healing on a deep level.  If you are not getting retracing, you are not healing.  It can come out physically, emotionally, or even in dreams (thoughts/vivid pictures).  All are possible.

Retracing is the release of emotion, toxins and trauma from deeper levels of the tissue including highly energetic images of emotional history which has not yet been processed.  When we work with emotions, we work with the posture of the blockage.  When you go into that energy, your blockage will appear.  We want that.  We want to bring out the stress.  Highly paid athletes can improve their performance by going through the motions of their sport and clearing the various positions of all trauma.

Be prepared to hold the painful position with the trauma, so that you can work out the blockage.  Move in that direction so the blockages appear.  Be aware that you can adjust it yourself but it is easier than doing it yourself until you get stronger.  We break the neuro-somatic blockage or interference even with learning disabilities.

This kind of work is finally fashionable in the chiropractic and acupuncture fields.  It is a relief for me!  I have been doing this work since 2003.

Toxins are easily addressed by allowing the body to remove them by not taking in new toxins in your food (limiting or omitting difficult foods).  This allows the body to get rid of the toxins that the body has not had a chance to get to.  You make the time for it to be done.  You make it a priority.  The opposite of flow is stagnation.  We cause stagnation by not paying attention.  So we make elimination a priority.

Ervin Core worked with osteopaths. He says the body reflects the mental state.  Posture and attitude apply to and reflects the physical and emotional

Challenge – Ask the body.  They body says yes or no. Many techniques for you to do this.  Find your own.

Check –

Correct –