There is an increasing body of evidence that nutrition, gut health, and diet are inextricably linked with mental health and immune function. Mental health and nutrition influence each other in a feedback loop that can spiral into a vicious cycle or a positive feedback loop that creates greater health, vitality, and energy. In working together we will change the direction of that loop from a vicious cycle to a positive cycle, ever increasing your physical and mental health. I offer an integrated and holistic functional nutrition approach to health and mental health to heal the mind and body.
RESEARCH BASED
Every day more research comes out documenting the connection between nutrition and mental health. Nutrition, gut health, and immunity interact in a complex system that influences our hormones and neurotransmitters and therefore our moods and mental health. Even with high quality, unprocessed organic foods, food today does not possess the same nutritional content as it once did because the soil is no longer as nutritive.
We now must supplement that lost nutrition through vitamins amino acids. But not all vitamins and amino acids are created equal. You not only need to know which vitamins and aminos to take, you also need to know which forms your body will effectively absorbed, which address your specific symptoms, and which brands provide the highest quality so that they will actually work.
Studies show amino acids can be as or more effective than anti-depressants!
Even suicide rates are significantly lower in places with higher mineral content in the water.
To learn more about the extensive research and studies that document the effects of diet and supplement protocol on mental health, please visit our Functional Medicine and Nutrition Therapy Research and Evidence page.
FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE AND HOLISTIC NUTRITION THERAPY CAN HELP WITH:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Auto-Immune Disorders
- Thyroid Issues: Hyperthyroidism, Hypothyroidism, and Hashimoto’s Disease/Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
- Substance Abuse: Dependence and Addiction
- Sleep Disorders: Insomnia
- Eating Disorders: Anorexia, Bulimia, Food Cravings, and Binge Eating Disorder
- Digestive Problems
- Crohn’s Disease, IBS (Irritable Bowl Syndom, and Celiac’s
- PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder)
- Bipolar Disorder: Cyclothymia
- Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
A NATURAL APPROACH TO HEALING
Nutrition Therapy is a wonderful alternative for those who aren’t quite ready to explore psychotropic medication but are in need of a biological approach to mental health as well as neurochemical and hormonal imbalances. All of our biological systems work together, which is why it is so important to take a holistic approach to mental health and physical health. Hormones (endocrinology/the endocrine system), neurotransmitters, and digestion/gut health are all intimately related and affect energy, mental health, and physical wellness/immune health.
HEALING THE ROOT CAUSE: BEYOND SYMPTOMS
Let’s get beyond the endless cycle of managing symptoms that reemerge endlessly only to cause other health problems and side effects. Functional Nutrition and Nutrition Therapy draw from functional medicine: they address and heal the root causes of the hormonal, neurochemical, and biological imbalances, rather than simply masking symptoms like medication does. This is a natural and holistic way to help you heal from your symptoms – bodily symptoms that may be connected to your mental health symptoms.
Neuronutrient and Functional Nutrition Therapy have been shown to address symptoms of individuals suffering from:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Auto-Immune Disorders
- Thyroid Problems
- Substance Abuse
- Hormonal/Endocrine Imbalances
- Sleep Disorders (Insomnia)
- Eating Disorders (Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating)
- PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder)
- Bipolar Disorder
- Dementia
Nutrition Therapy is a unique approach that goes beyond talk therapy and medication, but we may also integrate talk therapy as desired for additional support and help. Attacking this from all angles (psychological, nutritional, and biological) is the most effective way to restore energy, immunity, and mental healing.
NUTRITION THERAPY RESEARCH
Research Supporting Link Between Supplements and Mental Health
- Magnesium:
- Role of magnesium supplementation in the treatment of depression: A randomized clinical trial.
- Zinc:
- Effect of zinc supplementation on mood states in young women: a pilot study.
- Effect of zinc supplementation on antidepressant therapy in unipolar depression: a preliminary placebo-controlled study.
- Zinc supplementation augments efficacy of imipramine in treatment resistant patients: a double blind, placebo-controlled study placebo-
controlled_study - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19278731https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24193766_Zinc_supplementation_augments_efficacy_of_imipramine_in_treatment_resistant_patients_A_double_blind_placebo-controlled_study
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8914215_Effect_of_zinc_supplementation_on_antidepressant_therapy_in_unipolar_depression_A_preliminary_
- 5HTP:
- A functional-dimensional approach to depression: serotonin deficiency as a target syndrome in a comparison of 5-hydroxytryptophan and fluvoxamine.
- 5-Hydroxytryptophan: a review of its antidepressant efficacy and adverse effects.
- Management of depression with serotonin precursors.
- Multiple Aminos:
- Use of neurotransmitter precursors for treatment of depression.
- Plasma levels and membrane transports in red blood cell of tyrosine and tryptophane in depression. Evaluation at baseline and recovery.
- Effects of dietary supplements on depressive symptoms in older patients: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
- A pilot open case series of ethyl-EPA supplementation in the treatment of anorexia nervosa.
- Tryptophan:
- The role of serotonin in human mood and social interaction. Insight from altered tryptophan levels.
- Symptomatic relapse in bulimia nervosa following acute tryptophan depletion.
- Tyrosine:
- Tyrosine for depression.
- Tyrosine loading enhances catecholamine excretion by rats.
- Neurochemical and behavioral consequences of acute, uncontrollable stress: effects of dietary tyrosine.
- Tyrosine and its potential use as a countermeasure to performance decrement in military sustained operations.
- High Carb, Low Protein, Low Fat, Low Calorie Diets Contribute to Depression:
- Alterations in mood after changing to a low-fat diet.
- Impaired regulation of brain serotonin function during dieting in women recovered from depression.
- Low dietary protein is associated with an increase in food intake and a decrease in the in vitro release of radio labeled glutamate and GABA from the lateral hypothalamus.
- Effects of dietary tryptophan variations on extracellular serotonin in the dorsal hippocampus of rats.
- The role of nutritional factors on the structure and function of the brain: an update on dietary requirements.
- Association of Western and traditional diets with depression and anxiety in women.
- Amino Acids Benefit Winter Depression:
- L-tryptophan augmentation of light therapy in patients with seasonal affective disorder.
- Current perspectives on the management of seasonal affective disorder.
- Amino acids are routinely combined with antidepressants to improve results in Great Britain and elsewhere:
- The ‘Dalhousie Serotonin cocktail’ for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder.
- Pharmacological choices after one antidepressant fails: a survey of UK psychiatrists.
- The treatment of depression in general practice: a comparison of L-tryptophan, amitriptyline, and a combination of L-tryptophan and amitriptyline with placebo.
- The Herb St. John’s Wort Is An Effective Antidepressant:
- Equivalence of St John’s wort extract (Ze 117) and fluoxetine: a randomized, controlled study in mild-moderate depression.
- Comparison of an extract of hypericum (LI 160) and sertraline in the treatment of depression: a double-blind, randomized pilot study.
- Omega-3 Fats Have Potent Antidepressant Effects:
- A dose-ranging study of the effects of ethyl-eicosapentaenoate in patients with ongoing depression despite apparently adequate treatment with standard drugs.
- Addition of omega-3 fatty acid to maintenance medication treatment for recurrent unipolar depressive disorder.
- Research Review on All of the Above Natural Antidepressant Strategies:
- Selected integrative medicine treatments for depression: considerations for women.
- Psychotherapy is an Effective Treatment for Depression:
- Cognitive-behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy as a maintenance treatment for chronic depression.
- School-based prevention of depressive symptoms in adolescents: a 6-month follow-up.
- Differential responses to psychotherapy versus pharmacotherapy in patients with chronic forms of major depression and childhood trauma.
- Exercise and Bright Light Are Effective Antidepressants:
- Effects of fluoxetine versus bright light in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder.
- Mood and energy regulation in seasonal and non-seasonal depression before and after midday treatment with physical exercise or bright light.
- Exercise treatment for major depression: maintenance of therapeutic benefit at 10 months.
- Bright morning light reduced depressive symptoms in seasonal affective disorder.
- Management of depression with serotonin precursors.
- Some Vitamins Have Antidepressant Effects:
- Vitamin D vs broad spectrum phototherapy in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder.
- Folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine in major depressive disorder.
- Nutrition and depression: the role of folate.
- Alterations in serotonin parameters in brain of thiamine-deficient rats are evident prior to the appearance of neurological symptoms.
COMPREHENSIVE NEURONUTRIENT THERAPY ASSESSMENT PACKAGE
Your Comprehensive Neuronutrient Therapy Assessment Package includes:
- Comprehensive and holistic health and nutrition therapy assessment
- Customized protocol to address individual health, energy, and mental health symptoms
- Customized protocol to improve immune and gut health
- Customized Amino Acid recommendations
- Customized Vitamin and Mineral recommendations
- Individualized dietary recommendations
- Diet plan-friendly recipes provided upon request
- Unlimited nutrition therapy phone, text, and email support
- Unlimited adjustments to protocol as needed
- Recommendations to further tests if necessary
- Test analysis and specialized protocol to address test results
Please call, text, or email Brooke Sprowl, LCSW for a complimentary consultation regardin about Functional Nutrition Therapy and package pricing. Ongoing psychotherapy clients may be eligible for discounts on Nutrition and Neuronutrient Therapy Packages.
To learn more about the research and studies that document the effects of diet and supplement protocol on mental health, please visit our Functional Medicine and Nutrition Therapy Research and Evidence page.
ABOUT YOUR FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION THERAPY SPECIALIST
As a licensed psychotherapist as well as a Functional Nutrition and Neuronutrient Therapy Specialist, my goal is to increase your awareness of the connection between body and mind and decrease symptoms. When we find the balance between our bodies and brain chemistry, we are able to experience more light and joy in our lives. I will explore and heal the root causes of your mental health symptoms. In addition, I will help you understand the what’s a physiological, biological, hormonal, or neurochemical imbalance versus what’s an emotional problem based on the way you are processing information and dealing with your feelings, past, and relationships.
Often these things are entangled so this allows me to approach your healing and mental health from all sides for maximal efficacy. I understand biological connection to symptoms and will help you create healthy solutions to psychological issues. If you are unsure of why your behavioral patterns, emotions or physiological problems continually persist, I can help you find answers.
Please call, text, or email Brooke Sprowl, LCSW for a complimentary consultation.