Thinking about the problem a little differently…

It is all well and good talking about dietary changes and biochemical imbalances but what does nutritional therapy actually look like? I think this is why I love nutritional therapy, it is a big problem solving exercise. I get to use my brain that always asks ‘Why? and ‘How?’ and apply it to a person’s health concerns to try and find the root cause.

So here is an example of why…

You go to the doctor feeling really low and they put you on a SSRI anti-depressant. This is great, you should always seek medical help and doctors know crazy amounts of very clever things. (Nutritional therapists always work in support of your primary health care team).

So, SSRI stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Serotonin is a hormone and neurotransmitter involved in many actions throughout the body and heavily influences your mood. When your body has finished with a serotonin molecule it takes it to be excreted and your body makes more. The SSRI is effectively blocking your serotonin from being excreted helping to keep more of the hormone in circulation and working its happy magic. That’s great and you feel better.

This is where we, as nutritional therapists now flip the question and ask ‘Why aren’t you making enough serotonin in the first place? Why do you need to keep hold of your old hormones instead of making shiny new ones?’

There could be many reasons and this is why we will look at your personal health history and ask lots of questions during the consultation. Your body needs to make serotonin from specific amino acids found in protein. Are you eating the right kinds of protein? Are you really stressed? Stress can impact your ability to digest your food and absorb the amino acids, therefore potential reducing the amount available to create serotonin. Have you had multiple courses of antibiotics or a gut infection? A balanced gut microbiota can play a huge role in your neurotransmitter signalling to your brain.

The human body is amazingly complicated and these are just a few of the considerations so you can get the idea. There are other nutrients involved in the conversions above or genetics that could be playing a part too.

Working together we can identify the underlying imbalances that are specific to you and form a plan to address them, with food, supplements and lifestyle changes.

References:

PMID: 8021435, PMID: 25078296, PMID: 21488845, PMID: 30275700