THINKWELL

AGEWELL

Rebuilding Brain Chemistry: How Amino Acids Restore Calm, Focus, and Memory

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (00:01.192)
Welcome back to this episode of the Think Well, Age Well podcast. I am your host, Dr. Heather Sandison. And today I have the pleasure of welcoming Lori Hammer, a functional medicine, nutritional therapy practitioner, excuse me, who specializes in targeted amino acid therapy and foundational nutrition to support specifically brain health, emotional balance, and cognitive longevity. You can tell already why I have invited her to be here today.

Laurie’s work is rooted in a powerful personal journey. Before discovering nutritional therapy, she spent years navigating anxiety, depression, and disordered eating, struggles that affected every area of her life. Everything shifted, however, when she began rebuilding her brain chemistry through targeted amino acids. That transformation not only restored her mental wellbeing, it ignited a passion for helping others experience the same stability, clarity, and resilience.

Now, Lori is blending cutting edge nutritional science with practical individualized strategies to help people strengthen neurotransmitter balance, reduce inflammation, and support healthier, sharper, more adaptable brains as they age. Her insights are offering a refreshing and empowering approach to emotional regulation and cognitive health no matter what stage of life. Lori, it’s a privilege to have you. Thanks for joining us.

Laurie Hammer (01:21.979)
It is such a privilege to be here, Dr. Heather. Thank you so much.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (01:26.326)
I want to start with definitions, basically. I amino acids are something a lot of people know about, especially as we talk about peptides. The GLP-1s have been such a big topic of conversation, and so think amino acids get brought up in that context, but also in kind of the protein craze. Somebody was telling me that whey protein is flying off the shelves. The wholesale producers can’t keep it in stock. It’s really become a huge…

trend. But amino acids are the building blocks of all this stuff. And so will you take us through what’s the difference? How do we find these? Where do these come from in our diet? And then just take us through it. What’s what?

Laurie Hammer (02:10.847)
Right, so amino acids make up proteins, peptide strains, whatever it might be, right? So proteins, amino acids, peptides, proteins. And so we get most of our amino acids from our food. I mean, that’s the goal. And if our body can break those proteins down correctly, then it breaks it down into all those individual amino acids, and then our body uses them.

wherever it needs them. So it’ll target some towards your hormones or your digestive enzymes or your hair, skin and nails or your organs, whatever it might be. So every single cell in your body needs amino acids in order to function well. And so the goal is the diet. But unfortunately, because we have our food system is a mess, people don’t eat really well. We have, you know, the standard American diet. We have poor digestion.

We have hormone imbalances, so we have a lot of dysregulation going in our body. That amino acid profile gets depleted. And part of what happens is your neurotransmitters in your brain get depleted. So you might end up with anxiety or depression or cognitive decline or whatever that might be. Your gut doesn’t heal well. You have leaky gut because you don’t have the repair mechanisms because your amino acid profile is low. So amino acids are essential to every aspect of our health.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (03:33.246)
And what, can you give us some examples of amino acids? Like are there ones that people, famous ones people might have heard of?

Laurie Hammer (03:41.437)
Well, a lot of people use branched chain amino acids, right? So valine, leucine and isoleucine to help you build your muscles. You know, that’s really important. A lot of people are just like, that’s what I use, right? One of the more famous amino acids, and I don’t know if people, they think about it because, is that in Turkey? Would be L-tryptophan, right? But most people don’t realize what L-tryptophan does in the body, especially what it does in the brain to your serotonin pathways.

Those would be some of probably the more well-known amino acids.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (04:13.227)
And creatine is getting a lot of street cut these days, especially for memory. Yeah, we spend a lot of time talking about creatine. yeah, connect the dots between amino acids and neurotransmitters for us.

Laurie Hammer (04:30.173)
Right, so you have neurotransmitters that affect your mood and those neurotransmitters depend on specific amino acids. I mean, they use them all, but there’s a really a specific amino acid. So L-tryptophan is the precursor to serotonin. So if your body is low in serotonin, then tryptophan will help your body to fix that deficiency, if that makes sense. Or if you’re low in, you know,

GABA, you can actually take the amino acid GABA and that helps your GABA pathway in your brain.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (05:04.203)
Yeah, there’s a bench of these. Glutamine also turns into glutamate, you can take as an amino acid. And so these single amino acids like taurine also is another amino acid that you might see. Lysine, glycine, which can be chlamine. So do you tend to use these in, of course, tyrosine becomes dopamine. Do you tend to use these in combination or do you use them

Laurie Hammer (05:29.417)
Yes.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (05:34.067)
here and there, like one at a time, in a really precise way, how do you decide which one might benefit you?

Laurie Hammer (05:39.879)
Yeah, so I do use them in combination most of the time. when I’m working with brain health, I concentrate on five different areas. So that would be your serotonin, which is like our inner sunshine helps with anxiety, depression, OCD, weird kind of phobias, ruminating thoughts, all those kinds of things. And then there’s your endorphins. And so that’s like your inner joy. That’s what you just feel comfy. You feel grounded. You’re just like, hmm.

Life is really, really good. So you’re happy, you’re sunshiny, and you’re joyful. And then the catecholamines, and that gives us our drive, our focus, our mental energy, kind of the want to in life, right? And then we have GABA, and GABA just lets us take that deep breath and just let it out. It’s so amazing. And then glucose regulation, and that’s where the glutamine comes in. So there’s specific amino acids in all five of those categories that I’ll focus on.

to help people balance that brain out and address those neurotransmitter issues.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (06:42.059)
And how do you know which one you need? Is it just based on symptoms or are there tests that you can do?

Laurie Hammer (06:47.175)
So I use a symptom questionnaire, so an assessment and a really good health history. then based on those things, I actually send you a kit in the mail, Dr. Heather, of amino acids. And so you get the kit in the mail, we have our first appointment, and then we literally do sublingual testing via a Zoom call. And so you open up the capsule, we’ll say L-tryptophan, put it underneath your tongue, the powder. We stared each other awkwardly for a couple minutes.

And then we wait and see what is your brain going to do? What’s your body feel from this particular amino acid because they’re absorbed so quickly, especially sublingually into the body and your body is going to have a really fast, you know, response to these. So it might be you feel the anxiety lift. You feel this like heaviness of your chest lift off. Maybe your shoulders relax. Maybe the green is greener and the blue is bluer. But most of the time people have a response to at least one of the amino acids, sometimes all of

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (07:46.314)
So you’re saying that people can see responses within minutes.

Laurie Hammer (07:50.237)
Yeah, my goal is by the end of the appointment, you know which amino acids you’re going to respond to and you feel better within that hour and

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (07:59.074)
Wow, that’s incredible. How exciting. neurotransmitters, of course, are these amino acids and plus that help us regulate our focus, our attention, our mood, and through that, potentially neuroplasticity. So help us understand the connection between

Laurie Hammer (08:00.753)
It is. It is exciting.

Laurie Hammer (08:10.525)
Yes.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (08:24.523)
I think a lot of us understand that there’s a connection between our mood and our memory. When we’re stressed out, it’s really hard to remember. This is stage fright. But there’s more to it than that. connect the dots again between these amino acids, neurotransmitters, and then memory and cognition.

Laurie Hammer (08:32.852)
Yes.

Laurie Hammer (08:41.843)
Yeah, so when your brain, your nervous system is stuck in overdrive, so you’re super tense or you’re super anxious, you can’t sleep, you’re just super sensitive to everything, when we use those amino acids because they’re so gentle and it starts rebuilding those pathways in the brain, your body calms down, like really from head to toe. It’s not just the brain, it’s head to toe, your gut starts to calm down.

your vagal pathway works better, right? When that whole nervous system is calm and then your memory improves. So, you know, once your body is out of that fight or flight or, you know, stuck in overdrive, whatever you want to call it, then you’re like, oh, I remembered what I just said a minute ago and I can go do that thing or remember that conversation. Your focus is so much better. I mean, you’re just more be able to be more present and when you’re more present in the moment,

then your memory improves, your cognition overall, your working memory, what am I trying to say, executive function, know, all those things get better when your brain is nourished and it just shifts everything, Dr. Heather.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (09:53.518)
Yeah, we’ve seen this over and over again as well. So what are the early signs that you might see that tell you someone’s brain chemistry? One, needs amino acid therapy, and then two, is responding positively to the therapy.

Laurie Hammer (10:09.085)
Right, so first, what do you need? So you might, if we’re talking about serotonin pathway, you could be anxious, OCD, depressed, ruminating thoughts, hard time getting to sleep, maybe afternoon, evening cravings. You’re just kind of like just stuck, if that makes sense. And so once you start that neurotransmitter pathway, that tryptophan serotonin pathway gets better.

You’re just calm, you’re relaxed, you are, like I said, it’s your inner sunshine. Like you just, you’re not negative anymore, you’re not angry anymore. So if somebody who like snappy all the time, that could definitely be a serotonin deficiency. Or you know, your kids come up or you know, your husband is sitting next to you you can’t handle them chewing or breathing or you know, those things where you’re like, I just must be super sensitive to that. Probably a neurotransmitter deficiency, really.

And so we can address that. And I see that all the time in marriages. We’re like, he’s not annoying anymore. OK, he’s still the same person. If we’re talking with women, your husband’s still the same person. You’re just able to respond differently to him now because the physicality of what was causing those issues is, you know, we’ve remedied that. And so whatever is left over, you have to deal with that emotionally. But we can help with the neurotransmitter piece on that.

Or if you’re deficient in GABA, you’re super tense and you’re responding inappropriately to situations like everything feels overwhelming. No matter what it is, you have this overwhelming response. Everything is bigger than it should be. And so then your response is inappropriate or bigger than it should be. And you’re probably driving people crazy around you because you’re constantly trying to micromanage everything because everything is overwhelming. And so when your GABA is sufficient,

You’re relaxed. You can let things roll off. You’re not micromanaging anymore. And so, you know, those are a few examples. I could go a lot more in depth, Dr. Heather, but those are some things that would happen.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (12:12.907)
some things for people to be kind of on the lookout for, particularly in these mood pieces. And I think for caregivers, this has a role to play because we need to be fortified, right? We need to have our patients. We need to get our sleep. We need to be able to take care of ourselves so that we have the patience to deal with a pretty difficult situation.

Laurie Hammer (12:20.479)
it.

Laurie Hammer (12:25.183)
on.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (12:34.977)
You know, as I think through neurochemistry, glutamate to GABA is one of these neurotransmitter pathways that’s pretty simple and straightforward. So when we take glutamine, we can absorb that glutamine. It can turn into glutamate, which is a very abundant neurotransmitter in the brain. And then that glutamate can be transformed into GABA. And when we take oral…

I guess your sublingual GABA probably gets absorbed. But GABA, my understanding is it’s not meant to cross the blood-brain barrier. And I know some people get benefit from oral GABA, water-soluble GABA, and others don’t. On the GABA pathways, some of the more aggressive GABA agonists include alcohol and benzodiazepines or Xanax and Valium and those sorts of Gabapentin.

Laurie Hammer (13:20.511)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (13:23.957)
And then these in this category, the medications and substances that bind GABA really tightly. Now, water soluble GABA is a little different and doesn’t always cross the blood brain barriers. Some people get benefit and others don’t. And I know in my circles, we kind of go, if you’re getting benefit from GABA, you might have a leaky gut, leaky brain issue going on. And we should probably address that.

But glutamine can be absorbed, and then glutamate can turn into GABA in the brain. But you need B6 and zinc to make that happen, and magnesium is helpful as well. So I’m wondering, in that context, how do you support the cofactors? Amino acids are one building block, certainly an essential one that many people are deficient in. But what about the other things that are necessary to make all this metabolism work in the brain?

Laurie Hammer (13:51.711)
Mm-hmm.

Yes, you do.

Laurie Hammer (14:06.271)
Mm-hmm.

Laurie Hammer (14:13.181)
Yeah, so we definitely address those as well. So it’s not just amino acids alone, although some people honestly do really well with just the amino acids alone and they don’t always need a supplemental co-factor. So if we can get your diet really good and your gut feeling really good, a lot of times you don’t have to take the extra co-factors, but sometimes you do. So making sure people have sufficient B6, B vitamins in general.

all of the electrolytes, the minerals, healthy fatty acids, those are all foundational for your body being able to use amino acids effectively and for healing from head to toe.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (14:51.245)
Great, great, great, great. And is there any risk with amino acid therapy?

Laurie Hammer (14:57.427)
So sometimes we do have to navigate some medications. And so you can take the amino acids, like we’ll use SSRIs for example. So if you’re on an SSRI, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, you’re gonna wanna take the amino acids just tryptophan or 5-HTP, know, six hours away from that medication, just so there’s not a little interaction in that. You know, maybe some MAOA inhibitors, there’s some navigation there, but most of the time,

there’s not an interaction issue.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (15:30.631)
And I’d love to hear an example if you’ve got any clients that stand out where their cognition, you’ve seen their cognition improve with just basically lowering the stress of the brain chemistry and getting in the amino acids that they need.

Laurie Hammer (15:45.917)
Yeah, it happens all the time. So I get a lot of paramental palsy, post-mental palsy women, and cognition is a huge issue, you know, because we start to feel like we’re losing our mind and our memory is struggling. I have a client, her husband wouldn’t even let her drive past noon because her cognition declined so much. So one, she was so, so tired, but then she just couldn’t think straight. She couldn’t remember like,

Really, not where she was going, but kind of the purpose of everything. you know, and it took us about three months and then her husband was like, okay, you can go to the grocery store today. And then, you know, about within six months, she let me know, she’s like, I drove to Wisconsin, which is like five hours from where we live. So that was a big deal for her. Yeah, huge deal. You know, I have a mom that I’m just thinking about right now and she came to me, she’s like, I just can’t remember. She’s a homeschooling mama and she was just,

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (16:31.219)
she was pretty dilatated.

Laurie Hammer (16:43.603)
you know, kind of the end stages of that and kind of transitioning into that menopause area as well. And she’s like, I just don’t remember anything. I can’t help my kids with their math. Like I can’t even think, you know, to get them to help with their math. And we started working with amino acid therapy and she’s like, my kids like, mom, you got your brain back, you know? So there’s a lot of things that happen. My mom, we used amino acid therapy with her for a really long time and it kind of, you know, helps sustain her brain.

A long time, she had a pretty traumatic head injury, so the end stages were not good, but prior to that, the amino acid therapy really helped her cognition to keep her sharp so that she didn’t decline so fast.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (17:27.745)
Are there simple ways, so you’re doing targeted amino acid therapy. I’m wondering if there are simple nutrition-based steps that kind of foundationally our listeners can take away today to give them the resilience and potentially get some mental clarity and energy with it. Using this approach. Yeah.

Laurie Hammer (17:46.015)
Yeah, simple diet, we’re just, yeah. Just, know, we were just talking about protein, right? So it’s just making sure you have enough protein, because most of the people that come to me barely eat any protein, you know, all day long. So the worst women with the worst cognition, you know, maybe they have 20 or 30 grams of protein a day. That’s not enough. I mean, even if we just double that for them, all of a sudden the light bulbs come on. You know, I’ll have women that go home and they’re, you know, more plant based.

rarely eat meat, maybe eat some fish, some eggs. I’m like, go home, let’s have a hamburger today, or let’s have a chicken breast. And if they literally will tell me their brain tingles, like it’s just getting nourished. And so just increasing your protein even by a little bit can make a profound difference. You know, really watching those healthy fats and getting those bad fats out, that has a lot to do with your cognition. If you’re not able to utilize

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (18:24.84)
wow.

Laurie Hammer (18:43.527)
the amino acids well in your body, you need those extra fats to help with that for digestion and absorption and conversion and all those things. And then honestly, like here, I have sitting on my desk, this is so easy, this is salt, this is real, real salt. And so I just take my finger and I dip it in salt all day long. It’s like tiny little spark plugs to your brain.

And it makes a profound difference. I had a client text me this morning. She’s like, my goodness, you were right about the salt. I slept deeper and better because I had her dip her finger in salt before she went to bed, right? And so most people are deficient in minerals and electrolytes too. So those are some easy things to start implementing.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (19:20.705)
Yeah.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (19:28.587)
Yeah, love that. The real salt, that’s the one from Utah, right? Yeah, the Redmond sea salt. I love that one too. I will often tell patients aim for a teaspoon and a half per day. And you can sprinkle it on food, you can put it in your water. If you put it like you, I love you have that little dish and I’ll say that like get a little, a little bowl or a little dish, a little ramekin, whatever you’ve got in your kitchen and measure out a teaspoon and a half.

Laurie Hammer (19:33.011)
Yeah, Threadmint Seasalt.

Laurie Hammer (19:47.647)
Mm-hmm.

Laurie Hammer (19:54.687)
Yes.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (19:54.926)
Put it on your eggs, put it on your salad, put it on whatever you’re eating throughout the day, and then whatever’s left, throw that in some water before you go to bed, or in the evening. I don’t want people up all night going to the bathroom. But get those minerals in, and yeah, you see big differences in energy. So simple.

Laurie Hammer (20:05.567)
I’m have to pee here.

Laurie Hammer (20:10.687)
And it’s so easy and it’s inexpensive. Like to buy a bag of salt is nothing. I mean, because you’re only a teaspoon and a half that thing will last you a very long

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (20:17.669)
yeah.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (20:22.667)
And instead of buying some expensive fancy mineral or even some expensive fancy electrolyte powder, you can just use the sea salt, is ideally, like the ratios are perfect and designed for our body, right? That divine design in concert with the world around us, the natural world around us. It’s like sea salt is what we’re meant to be absorbing. So that’s really exciting. I’m glad we’re on the same page there.

Laurie Hammer (20:47.209)
Absolutely. We are, because I get irritated with those electrolyte packets. They’re full of junk and they’re not balanced. No.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (20:53.011)
yeah, they’re full of junk and they’re so expensive. No, it’s just potassium and sodium and you’re not, and maladextrin, it’s not, it doesn’t have the trace minerals, it doesn’t have magnesium. There’s a lot that’s missing from those. Yeah, I’m so glad we’re on the same page. And I think part of what we’re doing is we have to unwind these years of people being told salt is bad for you, salt is going to give you a heart attack, or it’s going to make you retain water and be all puffy.

Laurie Hammer (21:16.929)
Yes.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (21:22.241)
What you want is a balance, right? A lot of people I think don’t absorb the salt. They don’t absorb water because they’re not getting enough salt. Yeah.

Laurie Hammer (21:28.927)
No, chronic dehydration. Yeah, yeah. I know someone who’s been chronically dehydrated for years and it’s a challenge. I think more people are chronically dehydrated than we realize and that will decrease your cognition. It doesn’t take much. What is it? 2%, Dr. Heller, 2 % lowered hydration in the body reduces your cognition.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (21:45.461)
Of course.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (21:54.786)
had a patient yesterday and his wife was telling me, yeah, if he drinks enough water, I see the difference, especially in the afternoon. If he’s dehydrated, he can’t remember anything. And if he has enough water, it’s like he doesn’t even have dementia. So it does, it makes a huge difference.

Laurie Hammer (22:13.011)
Huge difference.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (22:13.615)
this is so exciting. So I’m wondering what it would sleep. Sleep is such a big deal when it comes to cognitive function. We see this. think that we, know, as moms, we certainly have experienced the brain effects of sleep deprivation. Yeah, care part caregivers experience this all the time. So for any of us looking to

Laurie Hammer (22:24.211)
Yes, yes. You’re like, I can’t think.

Yes.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (22:35.957)
resolve that waking up tired or being wired in the middle of the night, that easy overwhelm. You kind of mentioned this, but again, I want to connect the dots. Where do you recommend they start if sleep is one of the biggest issues?

Laurie Hammer (22:40.703)
I’m.

Laurie Hammer (22:51.647)
Yeah, mean, L-tryptophan can make a huge difference. So if we’re talking amino acids, that’s the one that I would start with. Maybe even tryptophan and GABA together can make a profound difference. Or theanine is super helpful. Again, salt at night. Maybe even just a little fat or a little bit of nut butter before you go to bed. Some ghee, something like that. I find makes profound differences for people’s ability to sleep.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (23:18.549)
And do you recommend tryptophan sometimes and 5-hydroxy tryptophan other times? how do differentiate between those two?

Laurie Hammer (23:27.161)
Honestly, we do the sublingual testing. Which one do you respond to the best? So if you respond to 5-HT to the best, that’s the one we use. If you respond to tryptophan the best, that’s the one we use.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (23:37.016)
So 5-HTP becomes only serotonin, but tryptophan can become melatonin or serotonin. And the way I think through it is that melatonin helps you fall asleep and serotonin helps you stay asleep. So sometimes we’ll kind of guide people to do more 5-HTP if they are waking up in the middle of the night, wired and not able to get back to sleep. Do you find that that can be beneficial?

Laurie Hammer (23:43.956)
Yes.

Laurie Hammer (24:01.143)
It can definitely be beneficial. Yeah, and like taking GABA during the middle of the night is helpful too. I have a lot of people that wake up and their mind just starts going, right? And so the GABA really helps to calm down the mind or maybe just eating some lithium orotate. Lithium orotate is amazing for sleep, staying asleep and just helping your brain feel grounded. It’s so healing to the brain.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (24:16.001)
Yeah.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (24:25.109)
It’s also great for memory. five milligrams of lithium orotate is on a very, and the typical treatment plan for anybody that we are seeing in the clinic. So I love hearing you say that. Do you use five milligrams? I know for sleep, I’ve seen as high as a hundred milligrams. What kind of dosing? Okay.

Laurie Hammer (24:26.779)
It is amazing for memory. Amazing for memory.

Laurie Hammer (24:35.913)
That’s awesome. Yeah.

Laurie Hammer (24:43.187)
I have never gone up that high with lithium or a Tate. mean, most people are 20 or under for the most part. Yeah. Sometimes I think a little bit more than that. A lot of people just get a little agitated with too much lithium or a Tate.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (24:48.767)
Okay, yeah, interesting and see good benefit.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (24:55.917)
Interesting. Okay, good to know. And then have you, I mean, you have seen clients transform their lives through amino acid therapies. And how do you see this being more integrated into integrative approaches, but even beyond integrative approaches, dementia prevention, cognitive restoration, at kind of a bigger impact level?

Laurie Hammer (25:20.863)
Mm hmm. Yeah, it’s really taking off in the mental health space. So in the psychiatric world as well, which I think is really, really encouraging. And I just went to a conference in September and it was all integrative mental health. And they’re really opening up to that. So I’m encouraged by that because a lot of people, the cognitive decline end up on medications for the anxiety, the depression, you know, all those things. And, you know, finally, finally, finally, I’ve been, you know, trying to get this out for so long.

they’re noticing that those medications cognitive decline. So, you know, if we can find something that will help with those mental health issues, and I don’t really think it’s a mental health issue, I think it’s a deficiency issue, it’s, you know, a lifestyle issue, and we’ve just decided to medicate that, and you can’t medicate away a nutrient deficiency.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (25:53.837)
Yeah.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (26:09.227)
Right. Yeah. What do you think about plant-based diets or vegetarian diets? Are you, are you strongly in favor or strongly against?

Laurie Hammer (26:17.969)
I think they have their place in like anything. think diet variation is the key. We’re not meant to eat one way all the time. I definitely lean towards more of a paleo type diet. So I want something a little more balanced, less, less grains, less toxic foods, and get your get some more protein and get those healthy fats in. Let’s start just eating whole foods. You know, I don’t think there’s one

I don’t subscribe to carnivore, don’t necessarily subscribe to paleo, you know, vegan, vegetarian. So I really think we need animal proteins in our diet. We’re omnivores, so we’re created to eat both, and so I think we should.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (27:02.187)
Yeah, I would agree. Do you have any experience with the ketogenic diet? Yeah.

Laurie Hammer (27:05.631)
I do. And it can be profound. It can be profound for people with cognitive issues. But again, not a long-term diet that I think people should stay on.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (27:15.787)
Yeah, I couldn’t agree more that’s, because we see such profound benefit for cognition, we typically start people on a ketogenic diet and most people have never been in ketosis. And so the experience of feeling what your brain, how your brain performs, yeah, it can be so eye-opening. And then also understanding how your brain responds to blood sugar spikes and drops, can be really eye-opening.

Laurie Hammer (27:29.562)
And actually, yeah.

Laurie Hammer (27:39.123)
Yes, that metabolic flexibility is something that has to happen for people. know, we’re also metabolically damaged in this country. And that leads to cognitive decline. So if we can help people, you know, shift their metabolism. And that’s why I love glutamine. We know we’ll go back to glutamine, Dr. Heather, because that’s so great for glucose regulation, for healing the gut, for cognition. You know, it turns into GABA. There’s so many beautiful qualities. So if you were going to try any of the supplements that we’re talking about, I would try it.

I would try glutamine. Yeah, it’s amazing.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (28:09.521)
with glutamine. When I was just at a school, I worked with a doctor who gave every single patient a tub of glutamine powder. No one got out without a tub of glutamine powder with the instructions to have a scoop in water first thing in the morning, right when you wake up on an empty stomach. So do you tend to do most of these as powders? I sometimes we’re talking like when we do creatine for memory.

Laurie Hammer (28:28.296)
Yeah.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (28:35.309)
We’re talking five to 20 grams. These are big doses that you probably wouldn’t want to put in a capsule. And then you’re also talking about sublingual dosing. So how are you typically dosing this? it, and administering it, is it under the tongue? Is it swallowed in a capsule? Is it powders? Is it a combination?

Laurie Hammer (28:53.535)
Most of the time is capsules, but I will do combinations because a lot of the amino acids taste really bad like tryptophan 5-HTP They taste horrible. So we’re not gonna put those in a powder for people to like put in their drink It’s gonna taste awful. I’m you can hide it with some chocolate You know those kind of things if you’re gonna if you’re gonna give these to kids But most of the time is capsules like Gulu may not just use it as a powder taurine tastes good

You know glycine tastes fine. You know if you want to use those in powder form I think that’s great, but the other ones just taste really bad so most people do a combo Capsules are just easy because they you can take them with you and especially when you’re taking them multiple times a day So you know morning noon at night two to four times a day I have people take the amino acids when we’re working on you know restoring that brain health

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (29:38.615)
Yeah, wow. Okay, so pretty big doses, but they fit in the capsules.

Laurie Hammer (29:42.683)
Yeah, so I mean sometimes it’s 500 milligrams of tryptophan four times a day. Other times it’s, you know, two to 3000 milligrams. Just depends on the person.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (29:51.342)
Gotcha. And so your personal story, are you comfortable kind of diving into that, your struggles? yeah, I’d love to hear, yeah, how you arrived here. We briefly mentioned it in the bio in your introduction, but I’d really love to hear that story.

Laurie Hammer (29:58.203)
Absolutely, you can ask me anything, Dr. Heather.

Laurie Hammer (30:10.751)
Yeah, so I struggled with anxiety, depression, OCD, suicidal thoughts, know, all those things for a long time. So it kind of started when I was in junior high, I went through my early twenties and I was really, I don’t think I should be here today because I was on such a path of destruction. So I binged and purged every single day. Once I got to college, it was the worst. And so I had to drop out of college because it was so bad and you know, it was just very dark, dark time in my life.

And I couldn’t get into any eating disorder program. And I was due in therapy. was, you know, doing all the things that you’re supposed to do. And I couldn’t get into the programs because my weight wasn’t low enough. I wasn’t suicidal enough. You know, I answered all the questions correctly, right? So I couldn’t get the help that I needed. And I was in nursing school at the time and I had dropped out and I had a psychiatric nursing professor that kind of took me under her wing. And she’s like, we’re gonna figure this out for you.

and she ended up getting a random GNC magazine in the mail that her husband had bought something there like two years prior. And so she gets this magazine and in the magazine is an article about ED disorders and cravings and amino acids and that you are addicted to what your body is sensitive to. And so I called out to this place, it was an outpatient clinic in Mill Valley, California, and I said, this is what’s going on with me. They’re like, come out, we can help you.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (31:37.983)
Wow. And so when you got to Mill Valley, what did they do?

Laurie Hammer (31:38.974)
And.

Well, they tested me for celiac disease. They tested me for other food sensitivities. I had adrenal fatigue Yeast overgrowth. I mean, I’ve been bingeing a purging for 12 years on nothing but sugar and gluten. So my body was a wreck and And then they did the amino acid therapy testing on me. They they did the symptom questionnaire they did the sublingual testing and Literally within minutes I could feel the anxiety like kind of dissipated in my brain. It was crazy

and it stopped the craving cycle. So I wasn’t craving the foods anymore. So when your neurotransmitter is depleted, you’re depleted in amino acids, you’re gonna crave a bunch of garbage because you’re wanting that dopamine hit, you’re wanting that endorphin hit, you want your serotonin to raise. And so, you know, I found out that I had celiac, so I was sensitive to dairy. Everything I binged on was dairy and gluten, right? And it was crazy.

And so it stopped that crazy cycle for me. And then I was able to see what’s leftover. Like what emotional stuff do I still need to work through? And I realized I didn’t have as much drama and trauma as I thought. Once your brain can process things correctly, like you can take life as life comes to you. It’s like, know, like I said, just taking that deep breath and letting it go. Not that there weren’t things to work through, but it wasn’t as big as I thought it was. And then I could like…

I could navigate life. I mean, I used my eating disorder to navigate life. If things were stressful, I binged and purged. If things hurt, I binged and purged. It was my coping mechanism. So I had to learn different coping skills, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was. And I’m still here. I was having seizures because I was so depleted. I passed out in the nursing dorm room in the bathroom and would have a seizure and end up in the ER. And it was just because my body was just so out of balance.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (33:27.773)
wow. But what an inspiring story to find. I mean, it sounds like meant to be, right? Like this one magazine article in the right place at the right time with the right information. And then, you know, you were also open to getting help. You were open to taking the steps because no one can do it for you, right? You have to decide that you’re ready and then put in the effort. What, where did you find like the conviction and the hope and the energy?

Laurie Hammer (33:34.409)
Yeah.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (33:57.462)
to, and were you already in Northern California? Were you in the Bay Area? my gosh. Okay. So, then the resources, right? Like you had to buy a plane ticket and go out there. So how did you, how did you find that? Were you relying on family and getting support from other people or was it like, no, this, there was just willpower?

Laurie Hammer (34:01.085)
No, I was in Iowa.

Laurie Hammer (34:18.163)
Yeah, I mean, it was a little of both. I mean, I asked my parents for help to start with, because, you know, I didn’t have the money. I barely had a credit card with like $500 limit, you know. But, and I was in such a state of despair and they were like, okay, yeah, go ahead and go. They didn’t believe in it. And it caused a lot of problems, to be honest with you later, because they really didn’t believe the diagnoses and those kinds of things. But that’s fine. But they did help me get out there.

And then I picked up an extra job so I could pay for supplements. I picked up an extra job so I could eat, you know, eat better. And I just decided this is, this is going to work. I’m going to live. I didn’t want to die. Right. And one of the biggest things was I, I, I grew up in the church, but I didn’t have a relationship with Christ and I got saved. And then this is when, my nursing professor, you know, shared.

everything with me and I got to go out there. And so I feel like the Lord really orchestrated all of that. I had a bigger purpose and a bigger meaning in life because I wanted to serve God. I wanted to help people. I got that inner sunshine, that joy that I had just been so longing for.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (35:29.709)
You know that you bring up such a great point here and this is the importance of purpose and meaning in our lives. And it sounds like you work with a lot of moms, right? And that there’s obvious purpose and meaning raising kids. But as we grow older and are more at risk for cognitive impairment, I think one of the big things that affects people is this lack of purpose and meaning. Why am I still here? What do I have?

Laurie Hammer (35:40.703)
Yes.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (35:58.594)
to offer, what is God’s plan for me in this phase of life? And I’m curious, how did you navigate finding that? And then what do you do to kind of remind yourself of that purpose and meaning? I’m just curious, I’m just gonna open it up to you. I don’t know that I have a specific question, but.

Laurie Hammer (36:17.023)
Yeah, you know, in the beginning it was just, I just felt like I cried out to God all the time. like, what am I supposed to do? mean, why am And this was in my early 20s. Like I had no idea who I was or who I was in him. You know, why did he create me? And so it was just crying out to him and, you know, talking to mentors and diving into the word and, you know, all those things. And then sustaining that over the years is just, honestly, just going back to the word, reminding me of myself all the time.

who he says I am and why he created me to be here right now. And then you look in the face of your kids and your husband and then he’s blessed me with so many amazing clients and that’s my mission, that’s my purpose. When I see somebody light up after having an amino acid under their tongue for three minutes, I’m like, this is still my purpose, right? And it’s just coming alongside of people and helping them understand you’re not done yet.

God still has a plan for you. And all of us have a mission and a purpose in life. And it’s just, we get so bogged down, things get so hard and we get depleted. And it’s just helping people to unwind all of that is so exciting every single day.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (37:31.926)
Yeah, I love it. Amazing. It’s so inspiring. you are a therapist, a nutrition therapist, a functional nutrition therapy practitioner, but therapies and that word and the word therapist, it reminds me of Theropos is the Greek mythology, right? And as you said, you’re alongside people and Theropos was, you the warriors.

were going into battle and Theropos handed them the arrows, was alongside them, giving them the tools that they needed to be successful on this mission. And I could just see you doing that, right? Like you’re handing people these arrows of amino acids to help them do their work in the world, right? Whether it’s being a great mom or whatever their purpose and meaning is.

Laurie Hammer (38:03.421)
Yes.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (38:25.643)
And it’s such a, can really relate to that. I’ve remembered that Greek mythology story for so long because I hope to embody that, right? Like we’re here to give people those tools. So it’s really fun and great to hear. I ask everyone, and you’ve sort of alluded to this already, but I ask everyone on the show, what brings you joy at this stage of life?

Laurie Hammer (38:35.603)
Late, yeah.

Laurie Hammer (38:50.559)
Oh gosh, just spending time with my family is so amazing. I am a grandma. our grandbabies… Oh, bless your heart. love you. I love you. It’s the amino acids. I mean, it’s a piece of it, but it’s just healthy lifestyle and stuff. But our grandson just turned a year old and we have the second one on the way. They’re due in the end of March. I…

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (38:57.581)
Well, you’ve got to tell us all your anti-aging secrets because I would never have thought you were old enough to be a grandma.

Laurie Hammer (39:18.451)
I loved that and I love, everybody’s like the grandkids are the best and they’re amazing. But watching your children be parents, my goodness. It’s just amazing. I got to be at the birth of our grandson, like in the room, I got to catch him. To watch my son serve his wife in that aspect, they had a home birth and all this kind of thing. was incredible. So my family brings me so much joy. My clients bring me joy.

I just love the mission God has me on right now. If I start to feel down, I have to smack myself in the head. like, my goodness, you have so much to be grateful for and thankful for today. So yeah, life is just good right now.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (40:00.408)
Yeah, we’re given the gift of life, right? It’s a little bit, I’ve had that. Yeah, yeah, and you have chosen the gift of life too, right? Yeah, yeah, I was in a meditation not that long ago and had this experience of like, how could anyone ever be upset? Like, we get to be here in these mood suits doing this thing of human interaction. And like, what a gift.

Laurie Hammer (40:02.845)
Yes, yes, I’m still here and breathing. Let’s go.

Laurie Hammer (40:11.071)
Yes.

Laurie Hammer (40:20.063)
I know.

Laurie Hammer (40:27.771)
It is such a gift. And we didn’t get into this and we don’t have to get into it, but I was healed from cancer. And so that is such another motivating factor 18 years ago that I shouldn’t be here. The type of cancer I had, I shouldn’t be here. And so I never want to, and it makes me mad when I’m like grumpy in a day and like wake myself up. like, no, the Lord saved you from, you know, not being here. Like he saved your life. So I never want to waste a day.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (40:37.505)
Wow.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (40:54.357)
Yeah, and I think I appreciate that I need the constant reminders as well. Like things get hard. And I think especially to people struggling with dementia and Alzheimer’s, like it’s okay to have ups and downs. Like there are going to be days that are hard. There are going to be days that are frustrating and there are tools. There’s community. There’s reminders to help us keep it all in perspective.

Lori, I want everyone to know where they can find out more about you. I know you have a podcast as well. So please tell our listeners where they can find out more.

Laurie Hammer (41:25.609)
I do. Yes, so my podcast is Take Back My Brain. So Take Back My Brain, you can find me on all the major podcast platforms, on Instagram, Facebook, everything I’m at, Take Back My Brain. So find me there, send me a message, I would love to hear from you.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (41:40.215)
Fantastic.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (41:44.425)
Laurie, thank you so much for taking us on this compelling tour of how targeted nutrition and amino acid therapies in particular can help reshape our brain. This has just been a really, I think, eye-opening experience for people to listen because it’s so simple for us to restore stability from the inside out and really translate. I think today we’ve hopefully helped to translate neurobiology into really practical steps.

Laurie Hammer (42:03.646)
Yes.

Dr. Heather Sandison, ND (42:14.125)
for people to feel a bit better. I really love and appreciate your vulnerability and willingness to share your personal story. And I think hearing how you’ve transformed your struggles into this very inspiring profession, not only a profession, but just the way that you live is an inspiration to serving and supporting others. And so thank you, thank you for what you’re doing.

for what you’re sharing and certainly for sharing your time with us today and being here with us. Thank you, thank you.

Laurie Hammer (42:45.279)
It’s been a pleasure. Thank you. Thank you so much.