Key Points

The Brain and Body are absolutely interconnected: 

There has been a false belief that the mind and body were entirely separate entities. Professor Ed Bullmore, author of
The Inflamed Mind and Professor of Psychiatry at Cambridge Unversity, states that this was the 'Berlin Wall Mentality' where the so-called Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) could effectively seal off the brain from the rest of the body in terms of inflammation and immune cells and even prevent the undeniable effect of the gut microbiome on the brain and mood.

How very wrong was this thinking! It shows how closed minds can prevent progress, and even now, this very idea that the immune system and inflammation can alter mood and psychosis is challenged by minds resistant to change.

Like all interventionist thinking, it is as if disorders of the brain and body occur due to other-worldly factors that are remote to diet-lifestyle-environment and that any disorder is the result of a pharmaceutical deficiency that can only be fixed by an alien drug that at best is a sledgehammer approach to a complex system of biochemical, neurochemical, neuromolecular and microstructural defects⁸¹. Mental health disorders have their origins preconception and let's not forget that men make up 50% of the baby's outcome and so their sperm needs to be optimal and that both mum and dad need to be in great shape in terms of diet, exercise and avoiding adverse environmental factors so that epigenetic factors are not passed on that adversely affect mental health. 

This idea of a separation of the mind and body dated back over 300 years, to the philosopher Descartes, who stated that the mind (or soul) and body are separate thus ushering in the philosophy of Cartesian Duality of the mind-body divide. 

The concept of 'Immuno-Psychiatry' shattering the current model of mental health: 

Just think of these two terms 'Immuno' (Immunology+ and Psychiatry being placed side-by-side- when whould you have ever seen these two terms put together in the archaic world of Psychiatry a discipline in medicine that was caught up in a 'time warp'. We now know that Cytokines or small hormones created by the immune system can cross the Blood Brain Barrier to cause inflammation in the brain itself triggering off a range of mental health disorders including depression, other mood disorders and contributing to psychotic processes⁷⁷.

We can no longer see the brain as having any 'immune privilege' it is just as susceptible as any cell, tissue or organ system to inflammatory changes and damage. 

Functional Mental Health vs Interventionist Psychiatric Treatment: 

To see the diffence between between Functional Medicine and Interventionist (Conventional Medicine) and to see what we mean by Cellular Terrain in more detail  CLICK HERE

The big disappointment for me as a bona fide medical practitioner trained in interventionist medicine is the great neglect of the
Cellular Terrain, i.e. all the nutritional and environmental factors that impact on nerve cells and the brain in general. Managing the Cellular Terrains happens to mean looking at all dietary impacts on this terrain and ensuring you never have a micronutrient deficiency (vitamins, minerals and trace elements) and that your Omega-3's (DHA/EPA/ALA and GLA) are at absolutely optimal levels and we can measure if this is the case and correct abnormalities. 

The Cellular Terrain also is bombarded daily by toxic exposures such as pesticides, herbicides, pollution (environmental and in-home factors) and the Cellular Terrain is also damaged by poorly functional biotransformation pathways that gets rid of toxic compounds like alcohol, medications, drugs and hormones. Without effective excretion of these toxic elements produced in our own bodies and consumed in our diet or acquired from the environment, these toxic elements just accumulate and many of these toxic compounds accumulate in your fat reserves where they linger for life.

Without addressing these factors and their impacts on the Cellular Terrain, what hope does anyone have for the body or brain to repair itself with one 'arm behind its back' due to poorly available nutritional resources? The brain being such an incredibly active organ needs far more nutritional resources on a daily basis to stay healthy and heal. 

By using drugs, all we are doing is practising 'band-aid' medicine by using powerful psychiatric medications that will have limited effectiveness without optimising the cellular terrain for brain cells. Psychiatric drugs themselves are toxic compounds that have a powerful impact on metabolic processes with many (especially the Atypical Antipsychotics), causing insulin resistance, prediabetes or diabetes. 

The Gut Microbiome: Known as the Second Brain

How incredibly fast is this knowledge linking the gut and brain (Gut-Brain-Axis) being acquired. This knowledge is rapidly evolving and like any disruptor out there, it will leave physicians and psychiatrists "in the dust" just like the internet did or Social Media with professionals slow on the uptake being left far behind in medicine. Being incredulous to me shows ignorance of life being far more stranger than fiction. 

The Gut Microbiome is also known as your second brain. It has been estimated that a striking 95% of Serotonin, the feel-good neurotransmitter is produced in the gut⁹⁶. Gut serotonin is predominantly produced by the enterochromaffin cells in the gastrointestinal tract as these cells respond to chemical and mechanical stimuli⁹⁵.

Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) produced from dietary fibre intake, are potent stimulators of Serotonin production⁹⁵. The Activ8Health practitioners focus on a diversity of fibre intake and an Activ8Health Multifibre Blend has been designed to provide this fibre diversity and a robust production of SCFAs and to stimulate populations of beneficial microbiota. 

The Inflammatory Reflex. The brain directly dampening inflammation in the body through Acetylcholine produced from Choline 

That the brain senses inflammation cannot be doubted because the brain reacts to inflammation by controlling many organs in the body via the Vagus Nerve. The brain senses cytokines and other inflammatory molecules that infiltrate the brain. This triggers a cholinergic response through the Vagus Nerve to dampen down inflammation through various mechanisms, including an effect on the Spleen, which is a major immune system regulating organ⁹⁷. 

In this regard, any insufficiency of Choline an essential fatty compound will result in a decreased ability to synthesize phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin both vital cell membrane components needed for cellular structural integrity. Lower Choline intakes will also affect production of Acetylcholine the neurotransmitter used by the Vagus nerve (Parasympathetic System) to produce the anti-inflammatory effects as instructed by the brain. 

We discuss in this blog, how inflammation can damage cells and tissues and if we look at the fact that Choline is required in the diet to help dampen down inflammation, we can see how a nutrient deficiency can have profound impacts on cells, tisses and organ systems throughout the body including a significant impact on the brain. Many individuals in society consume far less Choline than that required and where 90% - 95% of pregnant women have inadequate Choline intakes⁹⁸ which could set the scene for mental health disorders for their offspring as Choline is vitally important to convert GABA a neurotransmitter from an excitatory form to an inhibitory form. This is discussed in more detail below. 

Our Activ8Health Dietitians can recommend a DHA + Choline combination to help augment this Inflammatory Reflex which cannot function without enough Choline being produced. In an article titled "Choline: The underconsumed and underappreciated essential nutrient." it states that we require Choline throught dietary or supplement intake but most of our Choline is found in animal products and this has its own set of problems and where Vegans and Vegetarians may not get enough⁹⁹. 

The Gut Microbiome, Inflammation. Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain and Mental Health: Tight Junctions The Missing Link

Tight junctions are the spaces between cells held together by molecular bridges which can become damaged and leaky to many toxic molecules such as cytokines triggering off microglial cells in the brain to become immunologically active. 

An enormous amout of research is now being carried out on Immuno-Psychiatry to find the mechanisms involved connecting the gut, systemic inflammation and the brain. Both the gut and brain share very similar
Tight Junctions⁸⁹.  The term 'leaky' seemed quaint, new age and fringe to interventionist (conventional) medicine. How wrong can medical practitioners be at times. The fact that an altered gut microbiome can affect the brain and mood is now not something anyone can argue with - it is an empirical fact that now puts the doubting medical practitioners on the fringe.  

Inflammation in the body can be driven by a large number of potential sources from the air we breathe to the effects of fat or just the Western diet on our gut microbiome producing Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) or Endotoxin or populations of pathogenic gut microbes that can produce toxic compounds. 

The bowel lining can become permeable (leaky) due to disruption of the Tight Junctions the molecular structure of which is now known in significant detail and of enormous interest to brain and mental health is the fact that these tight junctions also exist in the brain. The brain and the gut lining share similar tight junction structures and if these are damaged and leaky, many molecules like proteins, bacteria, cytokines etc. can cross these damaged spaces between cells^87,88,89. 

However, dietary factors are the biggest factor driving inflammation in the body through various mechanisms. Postprandial (after-eating) surges in glucose and triglycerides (fats) depending on the composition of that meal, results in systemic inflammation that lasts long after that meal is consumed and where high calorie intakes will result in large accumulations of deep body fat (visceral fat) due to this excess caloric consumption and sedentary lifestyles resulting in inflammatory cytokines being poured out from this toxic fat in large quantities 24/7. These factors are well within your control, and this is the domain of Activ8Health and our Dietitians who can provide Precision Nutrition guidelines.  

Type-3 Diabetes of the Brain: Insulin Resistance in the Brain. A missing link no more⁹¹ Magnesium Threonate (MgT) to the rescue

An Molecular Psychiatry article published in Nature stated that Insulin Resistance (IR) was a missing-link no more that this has been established. There is a distinct connection between Insulin Resistance (IR) and depression⁹¹.

It is interesting that the risk of Alzheimer's Disease in individuals suffering from the most common Type-2 Diabetes (T2D) is around 50% - 65% and Alzheimers is a mess of damaged proteins and inflammation leading to memory loss and death. There are striking metabolic clues of insulin resistance affecting the brain and Alzheimer's is just one outcome of the dangerous effects of insulin resistance on inflammation and glucose related damage to neural tissue. 

By consuming a diet that produces a dramatically lowered glucose response postprandially (after eating) and using food and supplementation to decrease inflammatory processes along with routine exercise which can make all human cells more sensitive to insulin are obvious ways to decrease the impact on insulin resistance on brain function and mood. 

A foetus born to an insulin resistant mother or an overweight or obese mother already has insulin resistane at birth¹⁰⁰. The baby has been epigenetically altered to most likely develop obesity and insulin resistance or diabetes later in life. Remember, 60% of Western populations are either overweight or obese. 

Magnesium Threonate (MgT) vital for Insulin to work  MgT has been proven to cross the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) and this has been researched at the Massacheusets Institute of Technology (MIT). It is well known that higher levels of brain magnesium are associated with increased synapse density and plasticity⁹². Low magnesium levels are strongly associated with rapid diabetes progression and many people with Alzheimer's and Mental Health Disorders have Diabetes of the Brain thus low magnesium will only accelerate this process⁹³.

When you see that Insulin Resistance may exist in vast numbers of individuals in society due to poor diets and genetics and then conventional medicine use anti-psychotics that can worsen insulin resistance, it makes you wonder if these fundamental metabolic processes are even understood. How inexpensive is magnesium and to potential is enormous when used for brain health. Around 40-50% of people in Australia are likely magnesium deficient⁹⁴ but in all probability far more may be affected if more detailed studies were undertaken where correlation of insulin resistance effects and testing of magnesium status were undertaken. 

This means a better functioning brain that is able to produce new brain cells (plasticity). What is poorly recognised by medical practitioners is the absolutely vital nature of magnesium that is involved in around 300 enzyme systems and thus metabolically vital. Without magnesium Insulin Resistance (IR) worsens as insulin signalling requires magnesium to work. However. magnesium absorption in the kidney is regulated by insulin and with worsening insulin resistance, kidney magnesium excretion increases. This you can see at a glance, causes a vicious-cycle of more and more magnesium depletion that makes Insulin Resistance (IR) progress dramatically⁹³. For brain health it is vital that a form of magnesium is used that penetrates the Blood Brain Barrier to increase brain levels of magnesium for all the wonderful effects this mineral has to offer. 

Make no mistake that insulin resistance is extremely common with around 4 million people just in Australia being insulin resistant and this does not include the other 2 million people with medically diagnosed Type-2 Diabetes. 

Systemic and Brain Inflammation and Mental Healt Disorders such as Schizophrenia, Bi-Polar, Depression, Anxiety

More and more evidence is accumulating that these Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) tight junction defects allowing cytokine (small hormone) mediated inflammatory changes in the brain can trigger a range of serious mental health disorders. Inflammation distorts the cellular structure of tissues including the brain damaging proteins and receptors due to oxidative stress and altering neurotransmitter production and action. 

The strategy of Functional Mental Health is to ensure that inflammation is tackled at the Cellular Terrrain level with critical factors known to dramatically dampen inflammation both systemic and within the brain. This comes down to providing the body with the necessary nutritional resources such as Prebiotics (Fibre), Probiotics (Friendly Bacteria), N-Acetyl Cysteine (Powerful generator of Glutatione a vital antioxidant in the body), a range of essential fatty acids (DHA, EPA, GLA, ALA), Multivitamins and Minerals to ensure optimal cellular metabolism as many vitamins act as co-factors in enzyme reactions and so do minerals like Magnesium which is critical for the production of energy (ATP) 

Fatty acids in your diet and critical brain and nerve cell (neuron) fat composition: DHA, EPA, GLA, ALA  

How can any brain suffering from mental health issues heal if you cannot provide the fundamental macro and micronutrients for the brain and nerve cells to function?

How can any psychiatric medication ever fix an essential fatty acid deficiency or fix a biochemical enzyme fault due to a vitamin co-factor deficiency?

In fact, medications may make things far worse. The use of medications and optimising the Cellular Terrain are NOT mutually exclusive concepts. By optimising the Cellular Terrain, less medication may be required for more severe cases, and the side-effect profile should be significantly better. 

The brain is 60% fat⁷⁸ and out of this fat an Omega-3 fatty acid, DHA makes up 40% of this brain fat composition⁷⁹.

Of interest is that the myelin sheath has an 80% lipid (fat) content⁸⁰ and in myelin, for every one (x1) molecule of protein there are 186 molecules of lipid including cholesterol and lipid compounds⁸⁰. 

DHA is critical for brain impulses to occur but from DHA is also produced - resolvins, protectins and maresins (specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs)) and these are critically used to dampen down (resolve) inflammation at many inflamed sites in the body including the brain. All inflammatory processes need an 'off' switch and these are the SPM's. 

Just this dietary derived brain fat component and the enormous dietary acquired brain essential fatty composition (DHA/EPA) made up of Omega-3's (rich in fish and krill), shows how vital dietary intake is or indeed how vital supplementation can be to provide the resources needed by the central nervous system for it to work. Discuss this with your Activ8Health Dietitian. 

Dietary macronutriets and micronutrients and the brain, mental health 

Protein is also critical for the amino acids, many of which are used for neurotransmitter synthesis, and these neurotransmitters are how messages are passed along the nervous system.

It is surprising that doctors are to a large extent oblivious to this fact of how vital amino acids are to neurotransmitter levels and that somehow a drug will fix inadequate protein or amino acid intakes. A case in point is Serotonin produced by the amino acid Tryptophan. The antidepressant SSRI's (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) will work poorly if not enough Tryptophan is available even to create Serotonin! The knee-jerk reaction of interventionist medicine (conventional medicine) is to keep on boosting the SSRI to 'force' it to work and thus dramatically increasing the risk of toxic drug effects. The concept of lowered Tryptophan making matters worse is not exactly unknown in medical science as this paper states: "This study confirmed that tryptophan depletion was significantly related to a worsening of mood in SSRI-treated, remitted depressed patients⁸²." 

Using a blend of Essential Amino Acids (EAAs) Where Tryptophan is a part of this EAA blend makes absolute sense when treating mood disorders. Such an ignorant attitude by interventionist medicine with regard to the use of supplements such as EAAs is truly unfortunate and results in many undertreated individuals even when there is an evidence base to show the effectiveness of combining Tryptophan with regular medications. How absurd! When the risk of any natural and necessary intervention such as EAAs would have a risk potential that is 62,000 times less than a pharmaceutical and where mood-altering pharmaceuticals are some of the most toxic given to individuals. It beggars belief that this thought would even enter the heads of interventionist medical practitioners when hospitals are full of people who have suffered major drug reactions, many of which can be life-threatening. This incredibly distorted view of the potential side-effects of natural supplements versus pharmaceutical side effects can be seen in these famous charts at a glance that drugs can be as dangerous as war! 

Risk of Natural Compounds vs Risk of Pharmaceuticals (Click each graphic below)
View as a Bubble Chart	View as a Bar Chart

The brain may be complex but is still simply organic matter made up of proteins, lipids and Excess consumption of Omega-6 fatty acids found in abundance in the Western diet totally throws off the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio and as a result, primes anyone who consumes such a diet for inflammation.

Micronutrient, dietary antioxidant and dietary phytochemical deficiencies just exacerbate this problem. The Western-type diet is calorie-rich but nutrient-poor, and the mythical optimal diet is never to be seen as over 60% of Western populations like Australia the USA and UK are overweight or obese, and where survey after survey shows only around 5% of these populations come anywhere near the recommended intake of vegetables and fruit - yes 95% have suboptimal intakes of fruit and vegetables which are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, trace elements and phytochemicals.  

Mental health disorders begin preconception through epigenetics and in a developing baby's brain in the uterus and through post-birth influences including micronutrient deficiencies and poor diet: 

The developing baby's brain within the uterus of a mother is subject to disastrous outcomes and anything less than active and thoughtful consideration of what a mother eats, drinks and the supplements she (and her partner) takes even before falling pregnant, should be encouraged at every turn.

That preconception (epigenetic) factors have a lot to do with mental health is not challenged⁹¹. Poor quality sperm in the man and eggs in a woman may be the result of  a dreadful Western diet, sedentary lifestyles and a multitude of micronutrient deficiencies set the scene for intellect and mental health disorders in the future. Such a pity as all it takes is a good diet and good supplementation program. 

In fact, preconception supplementation should be commenced months before, at least 3 to 6 months prior to conceiving with the best of diets in place as possible and an effective exercise routine and avoiding all preventable toxic exposures in this period (alcohol, drugs, smoking). High-quality preconception supplementation is available for both HIM and HER for this critical period. To find a practitioner, click the graphic below.  

We know that even one alcohol drinking session may have significant harmful effects on the brain and tissues of a developing baby and taking drugs during foetal development is just criminal as that poor child will carry those sad toxic effects throughout their lives. 

Inadequate Choline during pregnancy linked to many mental health disorders including Schizophrenia later in life

There is ia critical window of opportunity where a certain neurotransmitter called GABA is in an 'excitatory state' and needs to be switched to the calm 'inhibitory state'. Without choline executing this switch, there is significant risk for mental health disorders developing in an individual that can manifest even in the baby or toddler stage^{12, 20, 86}. This is the world of molecular psychiatry and amazing reseach is pointing the way to how optimal pre, during and post pregnancy nutrition can be critical to brain development and preventing mental health disorders. For more details on the vital nature of Choline in pregnancy, Click Here 

Iodine deficiency in the baby's development stage in the uterus and the first 1000 days⁸⁵

Iodine affects nerve development and can interrupt the cyto-architecture of the brain and this may cause mental health disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder⁸⁵. Medicine often only thinks of severe iodine deficiency but rarely the effects of even mild deficiencies causing major impacts on cells, tissues and organ development. 

Iodine deficiency, even mild, can produce a dreadful outcome in terms of intelligence. More than 50% of pregnant women are iodine deficient⁸³. One research paper stated:

"This study provides preliminary evidence that even mild iodine deficiency during pregnancy can have long-term adverse impacts on fetal neurocognition that are not ameliorated by iodine sufficiency during childhood⁸⁴." 

 The statement above simply states that no amount of iodine given after the damage occurs will fix a brain-damaged child. It is vital to have enough iodine throughout pregnancy and over the first 1000 days of childhood. 

Essential Fatty Acids in Pregnancy esp. DHA, EPA 

The importance of the Omega-3 DHA is summed up in this sentence:

"On the other hand, omega-3 fatty acids and DHA are credited to reduce cellular and vascular inflammation in the brain, and ensure integrity of brain cell membranes to keep them soft and pliable. Fish oil and DHA are credited to reduce the level of thromboxane (TXA2) and increase prostacyclin (PGI2) level leading to enhanced tissue perfusion and oxygen delivery due to vasodilatation and decreased blood viscosity. Apart from its role in fabrication of synaptic communication centers, DHA is credited to increase the level of "feel good" neurotransmitter serotonin and "memory boosting" chemical acetylcholine. DHA is also credited to neutralize oxygen-free radicals⁷⁹." Figures for the graphic⁷⁹.