Mental Health

Addressing Mood From A Functional Medicine Perspective

Anxiety and depression have many “root causes”. When addressing these symptoms, we will look at patterns in your medical “story” and other symptoms that may seem unrelated to mood but in reality, might be the direct triggers and/or exacerbators of various mood disorders. Based on these patterns, we’ll then order an appropriate workup (testing to look at underlying imbalances), and do trials with various dietary factors, and supplements such as vitamins and/or herbs.

It’s rarely just one factor, but rather, most commonly, a compilation of several factors. A few things we consider are:

• Lifestyle imbalances. The most common examples are inflammatory foods, excessive alcohol and/or caffeine intake, abnormal patterns of exercise, stress, or isolation, and lack of sleep.
• Blood sugar imbalances. Some people are sensitive to dips in blood glucose which prevents enough sugar from reaching the brain for energy. If this is a trigger, for example, intermittent fasting can make things worse. High-sugar foods may also trigger mood imbalances.
• Gut-brain connection. The health of our gastrointestinal system is intimately related to our mental/emotional health. Just think about the times you had to run to the bathroom when you had a stressful event coming up. Or insatiable hunger or loss of appetite when dealing with some stressful situation.
• The brain-gut axis is composed of the central nervous system (CNS, represented by the brain), the enteric nervous system, and the digestive system. It is involved in gut motility, secretion of hormones, and production of acid, bicarbonates, and mucus. The Vagus nerve is the longest-running nerve of your nervous Parasympathetic Nervous System
• The vagus nerve connects the gut and brain through the gut-brain axis. It communicates information from the gut to the brain using neurotransmitters (such as serotonin and glutamate) and gut hormones, all of which play a vital role in sleep, mood, pain, stress, and hunger.
• If you feel that your digestive system is not functioning properly (frequent bloating, gas, bowel movement irregularity, abdominal pains, IBS or IBD), there is a good chance that it plays a big role in your mood imbalance.
• Recent advances in research have described the importance of the gut microbiome in influencing not just your gut function, but emotional health and your overall gut-brain axis.
• Neurotransmitter imbalances such as Serotonin, Dopamine, Catecholamines, and Endorphins.