348 | id == 348
348 | category_id == 21
348 | category_order == 18
348 | category_name == Anxiety
348 | category_color == #C47AC0
348 | slug == GSK3beta-anxiety
348 | title == Does This Signaling Gene Play a Role in Anxiety? (GSK3β)
348 | meta_description == Variants of GSK3β are associated with anxiety. Click here for some diet and gene-based tips!
348 | summary == <p style="text-align:justify"><strong>The GSK3&beta; gene plays a role in a number of signaling pathways and seems to be affected by serotonin. Does it affect anxiety in any way? Read on to find out!</strong></p>
348 | overall_score_text == Your Anxiety Score (based on GSK3β)
348 | image == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/background/GSK3-Anxiety.jpg
348 | author_id == 15
348 | author_name == John Williams
348 | author_title == B.Sc
348 | author_order == 3987
348 | author_photo == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/author-photo/sinan_pic.png
348 | author_intro == <p>John received his BSc from the University of Toronto.&nbsp;John has spent the last several years teaching high school science and math to English-language learners, which has forced him to learn how to simplify difficult concepts as much as possible. He has also worked in two different research labs and has experience as a student intern working and studying under doctors in hospitals and clinics to help diagnose and treat patients, interpret lab results and fill out mountains of paperwork.</p>
348 | reviewer == None
348 | medical_reviewer_id == 11
348 | medical_reviewer_name == Puya Yazdi
348 | medical_reviewer_title == MD
348 | publish_date == 2020
348 | publish_date == 9
348 | publish_date == 24
348 | avg_rating == 5.0
348 | tags_id == 112
348 | tags_name == Anxiety
348 | tags_id == 737
348 | tags_name == GSK3β Gene
348 | tags_id == 309
348 | tags_name == Serotonin
348 | tags_id == 694
348 | tags_name == Tryptophan
348 | permissions_favorite == False
348 | permissions_rate == False
348 | content_article == <h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Summary</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">GSK3B</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">&nbsp;encodes the protein glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta. Variants that produce more </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">GSK3&beta;</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> protein seem to be associated with an increased risk of anxiety. Lifestyle, diet, and supplement modifications can counteract the effects of these variants by either decreasing the amount of GSK3&beta; directly or by increasing serotonin, which reduces GSK3&beta; through a mechanism involving a different protein called Akt.</span></span></p> <h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>GSK3B and Anxiety</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The GSK3B gene encodes a protein that plays a role in many different pathways and is highly active in the brain. Variants that produce less GSK3&beta;, such as the &lsquo;T&rsquo; variant of </span><a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs12630592/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">rs12630592</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, are associated with having decreased risk of anxiety</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23030648/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23598903/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25826379/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://www.nealelab.is/uk-biobank/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The GSK3B gene is turned off by Akt (also called protein kinase B). Since serotonin activates the Akt pathway, it follows that increasing serotonin levels should cause less GSK3&beta; and therefore less anxiety. This is the same mechanism used by certain drugs (SSRIs) that are used to treat depression and anxiety</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19926313/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9068931/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Your <em>GSK3B</em>&nbsp;Results for Anxiety</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>*1455066217432965*</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Primary SNP:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>GSK3B</em></strong><strong>&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs334558/"><strong>rs334558</strong></a></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;A&rsquo; = associated with increased risk of anxiety</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;G&rsquo; = not associated with anxiety</span></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Other Important SNPs:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>GSK3B</em></strong><strong>&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs6438552/"><strong>rs6438552</strong></a></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;A&rsquo; = associated with increased risk of anxiety&nbsp;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;G&rsquo; = not associated with anxiety</span></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>GSK3B</em></strong><strong>&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs12630592/"><strong>rs12630592</strong></a></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;G&rsquo; = associated with increased risk of anxiety&nbsp;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;T&rsquo; = not associated with anxiety</span></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em>GSK3B</em></strong><strong>&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs7633279/"><strong>rs7633279</strong></a></p> <ul style="text-align: justify;"> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;A&rsquo; = associated with increased risk of anxiety&nbsp;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;T&rsquo; = not associated with anxiety</span></li> </ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>*5438289807476568*</strong></p> <h2 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Recommendations for Improving Anxiety</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>*7160527393581366*</strong></p> <h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Lifestyle</strong></h3> <h4 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Meditation</strong></h4> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">One way to increase serotonin in the brain is through meditation. While meditation has numerous health benefits other than increasing serotonin, the serotonin increase is useful for your genetic variant because serotonin will activate Akt (protein kinase B) thus causing GSK3&beta; levels to go down [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/789821/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24719001/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">Meditating on a regular basis may help with stress and anxiety.</span></p> <h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Diet</strong></h3> <h4 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Tryptophan</strong></h4> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">By building serotonin, </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/tryptophan-health-benefits-tryptophan-deficiency/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">tryptophan</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> may help reduce </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">GSK3B </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">activity and support mental health. Tryptophan deficiency correlates with anxiety. Increasing tryptophan intake through diet or supplements improved anxiety in different studies [<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10775890/">R</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3376328/">R</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10755058/">R</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393508/">R</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10023508/">R</a>].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Good tryptophan sources include dairy, chicken, tuna, oats, and peanuts [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2908021/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">Increasing your tryptophan intake may prevent or improve anxiety by increasing serotonin levels.</span></p> <h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Supplements</strong></h3> <h4 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Zinc</strong></h4> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Zinc inhibits GSK3&beta; in cells at concentrations similar to what your body is used to [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12083774/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Several studies have noticed an association between low zinc levels and elevated anxiety. Since most zinc in the American diet comes from red meat and chicken, vegetarians and vegans are especially at risk of having low zinc levels and should consider this option [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30991676/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32359749/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27825785/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7440860/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">Consider supplementing with zinc as it has been associated with both lower GSK3&beta; levels and reduced anxiety.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /></p>
348 | content_snp_table_1455066217432965_key == 1455066217432965
348 | content_snp_table_1455066217432965_blur == True
348 | content_snp_table_1455066217432965_hidden == False
348 | content_learn_more_5438289807476568_key == 5438289807476568
348 | content_learn_more_5438289807476568_blur == True
348 | content_learn_more_5438289807476568_hidden == False
348 | content_learn_more_5438289807476568_text == Based on the variants we looked at, your GSK3β gene makes you somewhat more likely to develop anxiety. However, this doesn't necessarily reflect your overall risk of anxiety; it’s just one gene related to it. Meditation, eating complex carbohydrates, and zinc supplements may help. Keep scrolling to find out more.
348 | content_recommendation_7160527393581366_key == 7160527393581366
348 | content_recommendation_7160527393581366_blur == True
348 | content_recommendation_7160527393581366_hidden == False
rsIDs = rs12630592,rs6438552,rs7633279,rs334558
rsStatus = rs12630592,GSK3B,chr3,120049399,G,A,T,,21,0,Normal
rsStatus = rs6438552,GSK3B,chr3,119912967,A,C,G,T,35,0,Normal
rsStatus = rs7633279,GSK3B,chr3,119866843,T,A,,,20,0,Normal
rsStatus = rs334558,GSK3B,chr3,120094435,A,C,G,T,31,0,Normal
