Mental Health and Functional Medicine - When Medication Isn't Enough.
“Are we going to talk about science? Of course, we are. But we are also going to talk about some things that you can walk home with today. Because as we'll talk about mental health issues are things that can completely destroy people's lives when they're not treated. I need you to know what to do today if you're someone still suffering or if you know someone in your life who's still suffering.
“Let's look at CDC: from 1999 to 2016 they did a study in every single state tracking the rates of suicide. It only went down in Nevada by 1%. This is why I share this, any good scientist knows correlation is not causation however the number one cause of suicide is untreated depression. So if the rates of suicide go up by 30 % is it just a problem of us recognizing mental health issues more in this country or is there actually something increasing. I'm gonna take a wild guess that it's both. I think we are getting better at addressing these things but I also think the rates of our mental health issues are getting a lot worse.”
Here are a few stand-out statistics from a 2011 report on antidepressants:
- 23% of women in their 40s and 50s take antidepressants, a higher percentage than any other group (by age or sex)
- Women are 2½ times more likely to be taking an antidepressant than men
- Less than a third of Americans who are taking a single antidepressant (as opposed to two or more) have seen a mental health professional in the past year
- Antidepressant use does not vary by income status. (I guess money CAN’T buy happiness).
“We have a real problem. What is going on, and how can we address it?
So, where should we begin when it comes to managing the mental health of ourselves and our clients, especially when it feels like we’ve tried “everything?” We’ll be covering 3 key things for getting even the trickiest case under control!
First to do this we kind of have to understand the philosophy of how we're approaching this stuff. Because it's different from conventional medicine which you know but I find that a lot of natural people or even biohackers wind up in this trap sometimes so we got to realize something simple.”
The first thing we're going to talk about today is light.
“Humans are the only animal smart enough to create artificfial light, and dumb enough to live under it.” - Dr. Jack Kruse
“I think it helps a lot when we get to see how much different what we're doing actually is. So this is daylight and mind you daylight's not steady, the sun's changing at all times throughout the day. The blue light changes even the red light fluctuating. You can't mimic the sun yet we're not even close to that.”
#1: Get Your Light Right
“Teens who go to bed past 12 AM are 42% more likely to be diagnosed with depression (and think about how many people stay up way later than that)! Adult “early-risers” are 27% LESS likely to be diagnosed with depression, and those studies showing this do not account for getting out in sunlight with bare eyes. They simply account for getting up at a certain time.
UVB light is what produces vitamin D using cholesterol when it hits our bare skin. Vitamin D status is one of the few measurements that we can associate all-cause mortality with. Vitamin D status is also directly linked to anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and suicide.
Certain studies have shown that 58% of people who attempt suicide have insufficient vitamin D levels.
UVA from the sun that “hits” either the NAKED eye or bare skin, both in the morning and throughout the day (but ESPECIALLY in the morning), increases a protein called POMC (proopiomelanocortin). “
Interesting Study by Dr. John Ott
- 4 windowless classrooms in Sarasota, Florida w/ hyperactive children.
- 2 rooms were left unchanged with cool white fluorescent tubes.
- 2 rooms received full-spectrum tubes.
- Some first-graders demonstrated nervous fatigue, irritability, lapses of attention, and hyperactive behavior.
- Within a week after the new lights were installed, a marked improvement in the children’s behavior began to appear. Kids who were once disruptive were entirely engaged in work,
- Shockingly, the improved lighting resulted in one-third the number of cavities, which correlates well with the results of similar experiments performed with laboratory animals (as reported by S. M. Sharon, R. P. Feller and S. W. Burney).
Get Your Light Right - ACTION STEPS:
- Catch sunrise everyday
- Block blue-light, day and night
- As much sun as safe/possible
- Ott lamps when inside
- Computer programs such as IRIS
#2: Diet and Targeted Nutrition
“Amino acids are really our only hope for quickly reversing not only the epidemics of anxiety, but of depression, compulsive eating, and obesity.” - Julia Ross, MFT
Do you think NSAIDS (ibuprofen, naproxen, indomethacin, etc.) help or hurt our mental health? A new study found that anti-inflammatory medications provide "reasonably safe" relief from depression. The meta-analysis discovered that 26 out of 30 studies showed the efficacy of NSAIDs, omega-3s, and others help combat mental health issues.”
“The world thinks we need SSRIs/SNRIs to treat mental health conditions. It’s JUST a serotonin problem, right? But, does the meta-analysis with the NSAIDs really suggest that? Do you think NSAIDs happened to just boost serotonin levels by sheer luck, or is MORE likely that neuroinflammation plays a bigger role in depression/mental health issues than most realize, and NSAIDs, as a result, provide temporary relief for people…? At FDN, we have a proven system for helping people figure out the right food and supplements for THEM.”
Nutritional Ketosis
“Among the many nutritional factors with potential anti-inflammatory properties, the ketone beta-hydroxybutyrate (BOHB) is emerging as both highly potent and uniquely safe as a long-term treatment for inflammation. Blood sugar issues, which have been WELL known to contribute to or even cause anxiety, depression, and a host of other mental health issues, can be reduced or even fixed with a ketogenic diet. Naturally, most people following a keto diet will be more prone to eating animal protein + fish. This will help long-term by providing the body with the essential amino acids it needs, as well as omega-3 fatty acids. Be sure to keep electrolytes up and supplement with a multivitamin. Most people are nutrient deficient as it is, ketosis done incorrectly will not help with this.”
Temporary Amino Acid Therapy
“When dealing with ourselves (or clients/patients) who have mental health conditions, especially depression, we MUST give ourselves some grace. Remember that most mental health conditions will have some hint/mix of depression with it, and depression can be a truly debilitating disease. Mental health issues are the LARGEST cause of disability worldwide. So, sometimes we may need a little boost. I don’t care if you have the best labs, knowledge, or program. If your client can’t get the motivation to DO the things you’re recommending, the best knowledge means nothing to them.”
Given that new energy and motivation, it allowed your client to start doing the DEEP work that he needed to do in order to prevent the mental health crisis from happening again. FDN comes to the rescue!
#3: The Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Philosophy
We don’t treat or diagnose anything specifically. In fact, we don’t diagnose or treat at all. Instead, we identify HIDDEN stressors in the body using a proven system that has worked for 10s of thousands of clients.
Trainee and Graduate Benefits
As a trainee:
- 100% Online
- 40 hours of cutting-edge clinical education content
- 12 hours of 1:1 mentorship
- 1-hour oral final exam
- 5 personal lab tests INCLUDED in tuition
- Expert analysis, and personalized protocol based on your labs
- Weekly 1-hour group study sessions for trainees only
- Monthly live mentor Q/A sessions
- Interactive student forums
- Extended mentoring available
As a graduate:
- Access to over 60 labs (and counting)
- Clinical advising sessions with all labs
- Board-certification opportunities
- Recognized practitioner CEU’s
- Best-in-industry post-graduate support
- FDN insurance program
- Post-graduate continued education
- Post-graduate preceptorship and on-the-job training available
- Lifetime access to course updates
- Legal resources to start and run your practice
- Business and marketing resources
BiohackingCongress Team is very grateful to Evan Transue, FDN-P, Co-host of The Health Detective Podcast by FDNthrive, for joining the BiohackingCongress and giving a life-changing lecture.
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Based on the lecture by Evan Transue
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