I had just gotten into bed after a long Saturday that saw me checking off a bunch of my Gotta-Do list when my phone started pinging. Message after message came in from a benzo buddy across the country. It was late his time, but clearly his excitement kept him from sleeping. “Read this!” he wrote. “Is this the cure for benzo withdrawal?” The link he sent propelled me down a rabbit hole of some very interesting findings.
Researchers have been studying how to minimize the damage of alcohol on GABA receptors. it’s been noted that an HDAC (histone deacetylase) inhibitor seems to protect and possibly upregulate damaged GABA receptors. At least in mice, that is. One drug, in particular, an antibiotic/antifungal drug with HDAC inhibiting properties, seemed to have the best efficacy. There was also an experiment done on mice regarding benzodiazepines, with the outcome stated, “… furthermore, understanding the role of HDAC inhibitors in benzodiazepines tolerance and the downregulation of GABAA subunit expression may uncover new therapeutic targets to prevent tolerance, dependence and/or withdrawal syndrome.” But before you get your hopes up that a cure for benzo withdrawal has been found, let’s first look at the obstacles, then move on to what’s more possible.
First, the experiments are being done on mice. Human’s aren’t mice. There is no way to know if we’d respond the same to the drug. Second, we don’t know if the drug comes with its own side effects or longterm damage. Third, the drug hasn’t been used on humans (some trials are being done, but the drug isn’t in widespread use). Those obstacles seem pretty insurmountable, and any promise of helping repair our damaged GABA receptors seems out of reach. But don’t despair. There is good news.
There are published reports of HDAC inhibitors found in…ready for this? Plants that we eat! Right now, your refrigerator and pantry probably have a few food items that are known to be HDAC inhibitors. For over a year now, I’ve been encouraging my clients to go whole-food plant-based. (I went WFPB over a year ago and the results have been amazing!)The health benefits are extraordinary: plants don’t create inflammation as animal protein does, and they don’t turn on the sympathetic nervous system response of fight or flight. You read that right. Eating eggs, dairy, or flesh, activates the sympathetic nervous system. No one in benzo withdrawal needs that! A whole-food plant-based diet has been proven to reverse heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, autoimmune disorders, even early-stage Alzheimers. It’s the most healthy diet anyone can eat. And now we have this wonderful new research that may (fingers crossed!) mean that eating a whole-food plant-based diet will help in some way to upregulate our GABA receptors.
Foods that have HDAC inhibiting properties are garlic, turmeric, onions, broccoli, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, kale, and a variety of fruit, to name a few. When we eat a whole-food plant-based diet (no cooking oils, nothing from an animal, minimally processed foods) we give our body what it needs in order to heal and possibly have the best chance to upregulate our damaged GABA receptors. I’ve been working on an anti-anxiety cookbook, The Gentle Kitchen, but now, with this new research, I will also include recipes that will be focused on helping with GABA repair.
I might add that after I went whole-food plant-based, a decades-long digestion problem righted itself. Nerve pain that would wake me from my deepest slumber completely disappeared. I gained more energy and stamina, my mind was much clearer, and I felt a lightness of being that is hard to describe, but was noticeable to my friends and family. They could tell something had changed for the better.
Along with the cookbook, I’m creating YouTube content for overcoming anxiety and how to prepare whole foods. It will launch in the next few weeks. I hope that you will follow along for some tips to helping your nervous system, and recipes for eating the foods that help, at least in theory, reboot your damaged GABA receptors.
Research links: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4210916/#!po=0.471698 (The Role of Dietary Histones Deacetylases (HDACs)inhibitors in Health and Disease
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Histone+deacetylases+benzodiazepine+withdrawal&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3D3AmVlKEEKN4J (Histone Deacetylases Benzodiazepine Withdrawal)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29520058/ (Histone Deacetylases mediate GABA A receptors expression, physiology, and behavioral maladaptations in rat models of alcohol dependence)
Because if more than 40 years of severe IBS, I am unable to eat a plant based diet. I was vegan for a while and it made me very sick. I am also allergic to a lot of plant based foods.
what am I supposed to do.
Now I eat mostly turkey, chicken breast and lactose free cheese with very few vegetables and almost no fruit
Dear Jen,
This is very interesting! Another study found out that heart problems increase tremendously by takind Benzos and Antidepressants! The heart looses the ability to modulate the heart beeting rate under those medicaments: a desasterous thing!
And I understand that a whole food plant based diet has a positive effect on both heart and brain!
I really hope that more studies will show the terrible effect of Benzos to our heart and brain!
“garlic, turmeric, onions, broccoli, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, kale” – I can’t eat any of these. They’re very high in sulfur.
I was diagnosed with IBS 25 years ago. The first few weeks of going plant-based I was extremely gassy, bloated, crampy at times. But it all settled down as my gut flora changed. We need fiber, for so many reasons. My IBS is a thing of the past now. Many chronic gut problems are cured by eating plants. You may want to go to challenge22.com and join the next challenge group. You’ll get a mentor and have access to a licensed dietician who can help you go plant based. Free. You may want to search the nutritionfacts.org website for info about IBS. I’m thrilled my IBS went away. Hopefully yours may too!
What happens if you eat these? Sorry they don’t agree with you. They are incredibly good for our health.
IBS here too. I eat salads with those foods all the time but am on the toilet 3-5 x’s daily. My stool looks just the salad did before eating it.. Small tiny pieces. Stool becomes a texture of a baby; like pudding,
I had IBD-D while I was on a benzo, it immediately cleared up once I was off. In the meantime my gastro doctor recommended the FODMOP cookbook, you might want to look into that as well
Thank you for your suggestions. I agree. Its difficult to change. Fortunately some in my family have gone whole food plant based and we have evidence that it works. There are allergies to certain foods, like soy and gluten and nuts in our family. But we have learned how to work around these and use alternatives.I am very excited to buy your book when you finish it. I think it is very important. The foods we have eaten that are processed or raised in a chemical environment have destroyed our very important gut “garden” . I am trying to restore it. “Let food be thy medicine” said Hippocrates. Our body is the throne of the soul. We have forgotten how to treat it with respect and thankfulness. I know i did and still struggle to eat right. Thank you again for all your encouragement. I also love the You Tube channel and website called Healthytarian by Evita Ochel.
This would be great as I’ve been reading and listening to podcasts about the benefits of plant based diet for gut health,
disease, wellbeing, etc. …..however……many people in wd suffer from histamine intolerance which pretty much cuts out that diet completely as you won’t be able to eat the protein items needed in a wfpb diet and you can’t tolerate histamine until you heal. So I’ve come to the realization that unfortunately I can’t even try this which I would loooovvvveee to do……..one day I guess! Really stinks though……
Do you have a website for a listing of these hdac foods? Ive been searching for awhile and cannot find anything without reading a medical research paper for hours and hours which I can’t do right now….thanks so much!