Does the answer to mental illness lie in our gut??.....

One of the biggest advancements in medical science in recent years is the recognition of the role that what we eat plays in health.  Many times the connection between diet and physical health is obvious.  For example, if you have high blood pressure, salt should be limited in your diet.  Another obvious example is that diabetics have to keep a close eye on their intake of carbohydrates and sugar.  Is it any surprise that medical professionals and scientists would look at food intake as a factor in mental health?  I have been introduced to this idea through the following article: http://bit.ly/1367DY1  This article discusses a particular diet that can be used to deal with mental illness.  But first they explain how this diet might make a difference in mental illnesses such as ADHD, depression, and autism.

The doctor who developed this diet is Dr. Campbell-McBride.  She did a study in which she noticed that patients with mental disorders had high levels of ‘gut bacteria’ resulting in “digestive disorders, malnourishment, allergies, asthma, chronic cystitis, and fussy eating habits”.  Because they had poorly functioning digestive systems, there were high levels of “toxic substances” in their stomachs.  And the high levels of toxic substances contributed to behavioral problems and mental illness.  The diet she came up with to deal with these issues is called the GAP diet.  It relies on fermented and cooked vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds because they are easily digested.  It also uses probiotics to repair the gut and decrease the behavioral problems.  They would use meat, fish, dairy and eggs in this diet to provide protein and build up tissues.

The final interesting point is that serotonin is very present in your stomach.  While I knew that serotonin had an impact on mood when we were talking about the brain, I wasn’t aware that serotonin is present in other parts of your body.  The article says that 80% of your serotonin is located in your stomach in order to regulate intestinal movements.  Which leads me to wonder how much of an impact your digestive health has on your mental health?  Is this the future of mental health treatment?  What do you think?  I find the idea fascinating. 

What if severe cases of depression could be eased simply by changing diet?  How would that impact the lives of depressed people?  How do you see diet playing a role in the lives of those dealing with ADHD or autism?  The potential for healing seems huge as we come to more complete understandings of the connection between nutrition and mental health. Personally, I think this has terrific potential.