What is Nutrient Therapy and How Does it Help Mental Health Disorders?
For people challenged by behavior disorders, ADHD, anxiety, clinical depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and neurodegenerative disorders there is a drug-free approach that can alleviate symptoms. New advances in brains science show the impact of nutrient imbalances on brain levels of key neurotransmitters that affect these mood disorders. It is known that specific nutrients can regulate gene expression of transport proteins that dominate neurotransmission and techniques exist to enhance the body’s protection against environmental toxins.
Mental health protocols used at Renaissance Health Centre are based on Dr. Walsh’s database containing millions of chemical factors in blood, urine and tissues that have identified brain-changing imbalances in these disorders. Through understanding of epigenetic in mental health individualized nutrient therapies exist for five depression biotypes, three schizophrenia biotypes various ADHD conditions, and behavioral disorders such as ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) and OCD.
Good mental health requires proper neurotransmitter (NT) activity at synapses. A dominant factor is “reuptake” in which NT molecules are whisked away from the synapse and returned to the original brain cell like a vacuum cleaner inhaling dust particles. This process is enabled by transporter proteins embedded in the cell membrane that act as a conduit for the returning NTs. The population of transport proteins generally has a more dominant effect on synapse activity than the amount of NT present. An undermethylated person generally has reduced serotonin activity and a tendency for depression. In another example, an overmethylated persons may have excessive dopamine activity and a tendency for anxiety and paranoid schizophrenia.
There are a multitude of genetic and environmental aberrations that can produce abnormal nutrient levels in the brain. If the brain is presented with a severe overload or deficiency of a nutrient required for NT synthesis or activity, one can expect that mental problems will result. This understanding has given rise to a new medical approach for treatment of depression, anxiety and other types of mental illness called “biochemical therapy” or “nutrient therapy”.
The primary elements involved in this therapeutic approach involve (a) diagnosis of nutrient imbalances after a thorough medical history and testing of blood urine and tissues, and (b) nutrient therapies aimed at normalizing activity at serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and NMDA receptors.