Functional Medicine for Mental Health

May, 2023

If you struggle with anxiety, depression, PMS or other mental health imbalances, you’re not alone.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. At Whisper Health Functional Medicine, we practice nutritional psychiatry. This means we look at food & nutrients as a way to heal the body & balance mental health.

1 in 5 Americans suffer from some level of mental illness.

Did you know that NUTRIENTS have the power to:

1. Make neurotransmitters

2. Regulate epigenetic gene expression

3. Adjust neurotransmitter uptake

4. Protect against oxidative stress and DNA damage

Nutrients are able to adjust neurotransmission of Serotonin, Dopamine, and norepinephrine receptors —just like medications without the side effects.

Nutritional psychiatry is a movement towards normalizing the brain rather than the use of powerful foreign molecules.

70% of all mentally ill patients exhibit a methylation imbalance. Accurate diagnosis of methylation is essential to effective treatment!

Our Method, using the Walsh Research Institute Fundamentals:

1. We take a thorough medical history to identify symptoms and traits consistent with specific nutrient imbalances.

2. We diagnose based on medical history and lab values.

3. We create a treatment aimed at normalizing neurotransmitters.

I am in the final steps of completing the Walsh Research Institute Mastering Brain Chemistry course! In completing this training I am one of a limited number of physicians experienced in diagnosis and treatment of methylation imbalances, metal-metabolism disorders, heavy metal overload, pyrrole disorders, fatty-acid deficiency, malabsorption, glucose disorders, and other biochemical conditions that adversely impact brain function.

Where to start?

Get Proper Comprehensive Testing (we can help!)

Prioritize Gut Health, to properly break down, absorb and convert the nutrients to be used by the body)

Consume a Nutrient Rich Diet, to create the neurotransmitters needed for stable mental health

Cut out the “CRAP”: conventionally raised, refined, artificial and processed foods, which are “toxic” to the brain and nervous system, causing stress and inflammation in the body

MOVE your body: Movement and Exercise, specifically cardiovascular activity, has been shown to improve neurotransmitter production to support stable moods (they call it a “runner’s high” for a reason!)

Add in these TOP FOODS for Mental Health:

- Top Quality animal protein: wild caught fish, grass fed beef, pasture raised organic chicken or turkey
- Organic grains: quinoa and brown rice
- Legumes & Beans
- Avocado
- Hemp hearts, chia and flax
- Whole free range organic eggs
- Green veggies: spinach, asparagus, kale, sprouts
- Mushrooms
- Berries
- Fermented foods (kimchi, sauerkraut)
- Dark chocolate or cacao
- Adaptogens, herbs and spices: rosemary, peppermint, ashwaghanda