Natural Highs Top Tips

Natural Highs Feel Good all the Time

Hyla Cass, MD and Patrick Holford

1. Top Tips for a Natural Chill-Out

If you come home from a hard day’s work, stressed and in need of chilling out, here’s what to do: Take any of the following natural ‘chillers’, based on your own experimentation. The suggested doses are guidelines only, since each of us has our unique biochemical make-up. You can start with kava 60 – 75 mg (kavalactones), increasing to two if that’s what works for you. If you still don’t feel relaxed, try, or add, any of the following, preferably one at a time to gauge your response. (If you do end up taking them all, reduce the dose of each by one-half, or take a combination formula.)

  • Take about 60 mg of valerian
  • 100 mg of hops
  • 100 mg of passion flower
  • 500 mg of GABA
  • 500 mg of taurine
  • Do a vital energy exercise – yoga, t’ai chi or any form of movement or dance.
  • Take a bath with essential oils of lavender, orange, marjoram and/or chamomile oil dispersed in the water, or scent your room with them.
  • Meditate, listen to biofeedback tapes, or do a breathing exercise.
  • Listen to relaxing music.
  • Have someone give you a massage or give yourself one.
  • Light your room with candles or blue or turquoise light.
  • If you have a partner, have sex.
  • Take a nap if you need one.

2. Top Tips for a Natural Energy Boost

If your ‘get up and go’ has ‘got up and went’ and you need a natural energy boost, here’s what to do: Take the following energy boosters, based on your own experimentation. The suggested doses are guidelines only, since each of us has our unique biochemical make-up.

  • You can start with Siberian ginseng (400 mg)
  • Licorice (500 mg)
  • Pantothenic acid (100 mg) (These) last two are more for adrenal support that actual energy)
  • Or take the amino acid tyrosine or DLPA (500 mg).

Depending on your response, you can add in any or all of the following to create your own personal energy formula, preferably one at a time to gauge your response. This can differ from day to day, too, depending on how you are feeling. If you do end up taking them all, reduce the dose of each accordingly, about one-third to one-half:

  • Take about 100 mg of Asian or American ginseng
  • 300 mg of ashwaganda
  • 3,000 mg of reishi mushroom
  • 100 mg of rhodiola
  • 100-250 mg of DLPA
  • 100-250 mg of tyrosine

Other Tips:

  • Take a bath with essential oils of lemon, eucalyptus, cinnamon or peppermint dispersed in the water, or scent your room with them.
  • Do aerobic exercise.
  • Do a vital energy exercise – yoga, t’ai chi or any form of movement or dance.
  • Listen to stimulating music and boogie to the beat.
  • Maximize the light in your room with natural daylight or full-spectrum lighting.

3. Top Tips for a Natural Mood Lift

If you’re feeling low and need to perk up to get back on track, here’s what to do: Take the following mood boosters:

  • 100 mg of Pantothenic acid (B5)
  • 20 mg of Pyridoxine (B6)
  • 10 mcg of B12
  • 100 mcg of Folic acid
  • 50 mg of 5-HTP (increasing gradually to 300 mg)
  • 300-900 mg of St. John’s wort – Remember: St. John’s wort may take a few days or even weeks to kick in, but it’s worth the wait.

Your mood-boosting formula could also include some or all of the following. Add one new product at a time to see how you respond:

  • 500 mg of Tyrosine, 500 mg
  • 500 mg of DLPA 500 mg
  • 200 mg of SAMe or 600 mg of TMG
  • 40 mg of Niacin (B3)

Other Tips:

  • Do some aerobic exercise and/or a vital energy exercise – yoga, t’ai chi or dance.
  • Do the Light Exercise.
  • Listen to inspiring music, the kind that goes right to your heart and soul.
  • Take a bath with essential oils of bergamot, geranium, petitgrain or neroli oil dispersed in the water, or scent your room with them.
  • Maximize the light in your room with natural daylight or full-spectrum lighting.

4. Top Tips for Natural Mind Enhancement

If your razor-sharp intellect is blunted and your memory is failing you, here’s what to do for that extra mental edge:

  • Take a B complex supplement that provides 50 mg each of vitamins B3, B5, B6, 50 mcg of B12 and 400 mg of folic acid (in addition to what’s in your multivitamin); also take 1,000 mg of DHA/EPA or eat fish three times a week.
  • Your mind-boosting formula can contain any or all of the following. Experiment with the individual products to get your own special mix.
  • Start with 60 mg of ginkgo
  • add in 200 mg of phosphatidyl choline
  • 200 mg of DMAE
  • 10 mg of vinpocetine
  • and 50 mg of phosphatidyl serine. These doses are acceptable in a combined formula, but again, use your own response as the measure.

Other Tips:

  • Do some aerobic exercise to oxygenate your brain, raise endorphins, and as an added bonus, burn some fat.
  • Take a bath with essential oils of lemon, eucalyptus, cinnamon or peppermint dispersed in the water, or scent your room with them.
  • Listen to stimulating music.
  • Maximize the light in your room with natural daylight or full-spectrum lighting.

Top Tips for Getting Connected Naturally

If you’re feeling disconnected and you’ve lost your sparkle, here’s how to get reconnected and back in the flow, take the following “connectors”:

  • Start with kava, the heart and social-opener, 60 to 75 mg of kavalactones in a standardized extract
  • Always take a B complex supplement providing 50 mg each of vitamins B3, B5, B6, 50 mcg of B12 and 400 mg of folic acid in addition to what’s in your multivitamin
  • Add 200 mg of SAMe (taken separately), then 50 mg of 5-HTP.
  • Your ‘connector nutrient’ formula can include 50 mg of 5-HTP, 200 mg of SAMe or 600 mg of TMG, 60-75 mg of kava, and 100 mg of sceletium.

Other Tips:

  • Listen to heart and soul-inspiring music.
  • Do a Vital energy exercise – yoga, t’ai chi or movement of any sort.
  • Meditate or listen to biofeedback tapes.
  • Have someone give you a massage or give yourself one.
  • Take a bath with essential oils of lavender dispersed in the water, or scent your room with it.
  • Light your room with candles or violet, magenta or blue light.

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