Nutritional Deficiencies
"Poor nutrition and mental health The relationship between nutrition and mental health is a strong one. As the example above shows, as a healthy diet can support your mental health, a poor diet can negatively impact your mental well-being. Studies show that a poor diet can worsen symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions." https://www.betterup.com/blog/nutrition-and-mental-health
"Lack of certain vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients can lead to conditions affecting the mind. This then can cause overmedicating, dependence on drugs and alcohol, sleeping excessively, and a list of other unfavorable results leading to an even faster downward spiral."
Physical Symptoms of Nutrient Imbalance
Brain
Ears
Eyes
Nose
Teeth & Gums
Lungs/Breathing
Heart & Lymphatics
Digestive System
Skin & Nails
Nervous System
Thyroid Dysregulation
Symptoms Nutritional Deficiencies
Allergies/Food Sensitivities
Adrenal Dysfunction
Imbalanced Moods
Sleep Disturbance
Low Immunity
Specific Nutritional Deficiencies & Mental Health
Vitamin A
"Retinoid acid, the bioactive metabolite of vitamin A, is a potent signaling molecule in the brains of growing and adult animals, regulates numerous gene products, and modulates neurogenesis, neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity. " https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20077419/
B Vitamins
"Deficiencies in B vitamins, including Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2), and B12, can lead to depression, anxiety, fearfulness, and irritability. B12 and folate (B9) are important vitamins for maintaining a healthy nervous system. Vitamin B12 and folate are needed for producing norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine." https://sageclinic.org/blog/vitamins-and-mental-health/
Vitamin C
..."scientists have revealed that the deficiency of vitamin C may lead to motor deficit, cognitive impairment and aberrant behaviors, whereas supplement of vitamin C has a potential preventive and therapeutic effect on mental illness, such as major depressive disorder (MDD), schizophrenia, anxiety and Alzheimer's disease (AD)." https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30074145/
Vitamin D
"Vitamin D receptors and vitamin D metabolizing enzymes are present in the central nervous system. Calcitriol (the active vitamin D hormone) affects numerous neurotransmitters and neurotrophic factors, relevant for mental disorders. In the case of depressive disorders, considerable evidence supports a role of suboptimal vitamin D levels." https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20800506/
Vitamin E & Cognition
Vitamin E
"In terms of brain health, studies are ongoing and show promising results when it comes to maintaining a vitamin E-rich diet. It may protect cognitive function and prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease, anxiety and even depression as you age. Antioxidants remain important for preventing heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other serious diseases." https://www.blunt-therapy.com/focus-on-vitamin-e/
Melatonin
"Melatonin is believed to work by improving the quality of sleeping, sleep/wake scenarios, and sleep onset. Melatonin for anxiety shows progress in reducing anxiety symptoms such as nervousness, complicated breathing, extreme tiredness based on improved quality and amount of sleep." https://anxietyalliance.org/melatonin-for-anxiety/
Omega 3 EFA
"...mental health problems may result from a deficiency of omega-3 pufas. 70 specifically, since individuals with psychiatric disorders were successfully treated with flax oil, which is rich in ala, it was proposed that omega-3 fatty acids may be useful in the management of mental disorders." https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S241464472030004X
Zinc
"Zinc plays an important role in neurotransmission, metabolism of brain cells and integrity of brain cell membranes. Lack of Zinc impairs DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis during brain development. A deficiency in zinc may make one feel emotionally unstable and make it difficult to handle stress." https://blog.yanginstitute.com/zinc-for-mental-and-brain-health
Copper
"Anxiety and depression- copper is needed for neurotransmitter production, however in excess it blocks serotonin (the happy neurotransmitter) and melatonin (your anti-oxidant sleep hormone). Cancer - copper destroys key antioxidants: Vitamin C and Vitamin E." https://www.truefoodsnutrition.com.au/metal-plays-mind/
Toxins and Detox Pathways
What is Toxic Overload?
Toxic overload is when the body is unable to rid itself of toxic by-products caused by ingestion of foods, exposure to environmental contaminants, exposure to medications, or sluggish detoxification Pathways which leads to an accumulation in the body. Our main detoxification Pathways involved the skin, the respiratory tract, the gastrointestinal system, the liver, and the urinary system. Build-up of toxic materials leads to an overflow in the body affecting multiple organ systems including the brain. It's often compared to a sewer system backing up.
Detoxification
Detoxification is how the body heals and repairs itself. Our body keeps us healthy is through the multiple detox pathways. These pathways are used to eliminate toxins and chemicals that the body does not need. The detoxification pathways include the liver, colon, spleen, lungs, kidneys and skin (lymph). All of our systems are connected and support each other to ensure the body is detoxing efficiently.
Gastrointestinal
The gastrointestinal system was designed to absorb nutrients and to rid itself of toxic build up leftover from the byproducts of what we had eaten or what we've been exposed to environmentally. When this system is sluggish, we experienced bloating, excess gas production, abdominal discomfort, weight gain, and difficulty with constipation or irritable bowel symptoms. We need our gastrointestinal system to be functioning efficiently to feel at our best and have balanced Mental Health..
Liver & Gallbladder
The liver helps filter out a large number of toxins among them build up of alcohol. When the liver is functioning poorly, we experience fatigue, decreased energy, bloating in the upper abdomen, weight gain, and mood symptoms. "The liver's main job is to filter the blood coming from the digestive tract, before passing it to the rest of the body. Both the liver and gallbladder helps our body metabolize nutrients, eliminate harmful chemicals, heavy metals, alcohol, and drugs."
Lymph System
Health Providers who work with supportive methods, find causes of fatigue, disease, and cell degeneration, along with premature aging, is related to poor lymphatic circulation in cells and tissues. "Keeping the lymph flow stimulated is really important if you want to keep your body free from disease". https://thenakedchemist.com/lymph-and-detox/
Respiratory
A respiratory system is a major organ that helps us excrete toxins through breathing. Contaminants we breathe in can be excreted 3 respiration. Respiratory infections, mucus build-up, coughing and sneezing, are all symptoms that the respiratory system is trying to rid itself of contaminants. Toxic overload often manifests as frequent illnesses and allergies.
Urinary
The urinary system includes the bladder in the kidneys which are designed to remove contaminants from the body. When it is sluggish it is unable to offload extra some oz of water which often contains toxins. Drinking large amounts of water help flush out toxic waste through this system. Frequent urination infections and water retention are indications that this detox pathway is not functioning efficiently.
Skin
Your skin’s role is to excrete toxins that entered into the body and to protect the body from bacteria, viruses, and chemical toxins. Skin is the body's largest organ; extremely susceptible to toxins through exposure to toiletries, cosmetics, household cleaners, and others, which contain harmful ingredients that get absorbed into our bloodstream.
Causes of Toxic load