How NAC might help with depression, bipolar disorder, OCD, and anxiety

There is actually some decent evidence that NAC does a good job. So how does it work?

NAC is N-acetyl cysteine. If your brain gets stressed out, cysteine gets depleted which causes multiple problems. NAC can give your brain the cysteine it may need. Cysteine can also help reduce glutamate levels. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter, whose levels may be too high in bipolar disorder & OCD & anxiety. 

[NAC] is an easy way to deliver an amino acid called cysteine, which otherwise does not easily reach brain cells. … Glutathione (GSH, L-gamma-glutamyl-L-cysteinylglycine) is the predominant anti-oxidant in the cytoplasm of cells. Virtually all cells require glutathione for viability and function. Glutathione is synthesized from three amino acids in a two-step process, beginning with the combination of glutamic acid & cysteine and ending with the addition of glycine. … Glycine & glutamic acid are plentiful in cells, so it is the availability of cysteine that controls the reaction rate. 
http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/meds/n-acetylcysteine.htm

Cysteine assists in the regulation of neuronal intra- and extracellular exchange of glutamate through the cystine–glutamate antiporter. Whereas this antiporter is ubiquitous throughout all cell types, in the brain it is preferentially located on glial cells. The dimer, cystine, is taken up by astrocytes and exchanged for glutamate, which is released into the extracellular space. This free glutamate appears to stimulate inhibitory metabotropic glutamate receptors on glutamatergic nerve terminals and thereby reduce the synaptic release of glutamate. 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3044191/

What are some good nutrition tips to keep a healthy brain?

Very few foods actually boost neurogenesis (the production of new brain cells). 

brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) … plays a key role in creating new neurons. … The gene that turns on BDNF is activated by a variety of factors including physical exercise, caloric restriction, curcumin and the omega-3 fat, DHA.
http://drzarkov.com/blog/tag/curcumin/


Here are some specific foods with research showing how they help improve the brain’s performance.

1) blueberries (which contain anthocyanins)
“Animals treated with blueberries exhibited an 83 percent improvement on tests of memory within three weeks, and the improvement was maintained for the remainder of the 12-week study.” 
http://www.creators.com/health/rallie-mcallister-your-health/latest-research-touts-blueberries-as-brain-food.html
We show that a supplementation with a blueberry diet (2% w/w) for 12 weeks improves the performance of aged animals in spatial working memory tasks. This improvement emerged within 3 weeks and persisted for the remainder of the testing period. Memory performance correlated well with the activation of cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) and increases in both pro- and mature levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus. 
http://www.wellnessresources.com/studies/blueberries_boost_bdnf_production
2) omega 3 fatty acids (mostly found in fish, but also present in other foods)
Gómez-Pinilla analyzed more than 160 studies about food’s affect on the brain; the results of his analysis appear in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience. Omega-3 fatty acids — found in salmon, walnuts and kiwi fruit — provide many benefits, including improving learning and memory and helping to fight against such mental disorders as depression and mood disorders, schizophrenia, and dementia, said Gómez-Pinilla, a member of UCLA’s Brain Research Institute and Brain Injury Research Center.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080709161922.htm
3) turmeric (which contains curcumin, a BDNF activator)
Curcumin reverses impaired hippocampal neurogenesis and increases serotonin receptor 1A mRNA and brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in chronically stressed rats.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006899307012590
Other supplements:

Several foods also improve blood flow, which likely accounts for their positive effect on the brain, e.g. ginger and gingko.

Several foods increase energy levels which likely accounts for their positive effects on brain performance, e.g. caffeine, ginseng.

Just as creatine boosts energy availability in muscles, it boosts energy availability in neurons, which likely improves performance.

Several vitamins & minerals are likely helpful for brain function, e.g. folic acid, inositol, b-vitamins, iron, zinc, magnesium, etc.

Reducing fasting insulin levels has been linked to better health and longevity. Here's how you do it.

A number of studies have shown that high carbohydrate diets increase plasma triglyceride levels, VLDL cholesterol, insulin and glucose concentrations in NIDDM40,41 and in post-menopausal women

Diets high in saturated fats and trans-fatty acids have been shown to decrease membrane fluidity and decrease insulin receptor binding, thus promoting insulin resistance. Interestingly, a high omega-6:omega-3 EFA diet is also detrimental to insulin receptor sensitivity. …

… Very good studies indicate that trans fats interfere with insulin receptors and therefore with insulin resistance.

Physical activity reduces insulin resistance.

Weight loss reduces insulin resistance.

Alcohol reduces insulin resistance.

Minerals such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc, chromium, and vanadium appear to have associations with insulin resistance or its management. Amino acids, including L-carnitine, taurine, and L-arginine, might also play a role in the reversal of insulin resistance. Other nutrients, including glutathione, coenzyme Q10, and lipoic acid, also appear to have therapeutic potential.?

There is also evidence that the amount and range of carotenoid-like pigments in an individual’s blood is inversely related to fasting serum insulin levels,65 suggesting a diet low in vegetables might contribute to insulin resistance.

Dietary micronutrient deficiencies might also promote insulin resistance. Chief among these deficiencies appear to be minerals including calcium, magnesium, potassium, chromium, vanadium, and zinc.68-74 Intake of sodium, either too high or two low, appears to negatively impact insulin sensitivity.

Linoleic acid, the major n-6 fatty acid, is metabolized into pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid, which, in turn, gives rise to leukotrienes and protaglandins. N-3 fatty acids, found in plants and in fish, reduce the levels of arachidonic acid, thereby lowering inflammatory mediator concentrations and increasing insulin sensitization.

a saturated fat metabolite called ceramide contributes to the development of insulin resistance. … Ceramide is a lipid molecule made in the body from something called sphingosine and a fatty acid (which could be oleic acid, a so-called good fatty acid). This molecule is used to make sphingomyelin, which is one of the structural elements in the lipid bilayer, as well as being a cellular signal molecule. Sphingomyelin is one of the lipid building blocks of the myelin sheath so important for nerves.

Coconut Oil as a Hair Conditioner and Anti-Dandruff Product

What coconut oil can do for your skin it can do for your hair.  It is wonderful to use as a hair conditioner.  Beauticians who are familiar with coconut swear by it.  It softens the hair and conditions the scalp.  Using the coconut oil as a pre-wash conditioner can rid a person of dandruff better than a medicated shampoo.

Our skin is home to many tiny organisms, most of which are harmless;  some are beneficial.  At least one variety of bacterium is essential to the healthy environment on our skin.  It feeds on the sebum, breaking down the tryglycerides into free fatty acids.  
The bacteria actually feed on the glycerol part of the triglyceride. This leaves fatty acids which are now “freed” from the glycerol unit that held them together. Medium chain fatty acids which are bound to the glycerol unit as they are in coconut oil have no antimicrobial properties. However, when they are broken apart into free fatty acids, they become powerful antimicrobials.
So these bacteria convert the medium chain triglycerides (in the sebum or on the skin) into free fatty acids that can kill disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The combination of the slightly acid pH and medium chain fatty acids provides a protective chemical layer on the skin that prevents infection from disease-causing organisms. Due primarily to the action of bacteria, the oil on the surface of your skin and hair is composed of between 40 and 60 percent free fatty acids. The medium chain fatty acids in the sebum provide the protective layer on the skin that kills harmful germs. Coconut oil is nature’s richest source of medium chain fatty acids.

So I’m going to try coconut oil on my hair as a conditioner. I may cut out using apple cider vinegar, as I don’t really want to inadvertently dye my hair red and I’m also concerned about the harsh acidity of vinegar curling or otherwise funking my hair.

Of course I hate traditional shampoos because most contain SLS which causes all sorts of health problems. Shampoos also contain other compounds which might be just as damaging but just haven’t been well studied yet. Your skin is like your second mouth, so if you wouldn’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin.