Eating Ourselves Into Madness

Over 324 Million people are diagnosed with Depression. We have seen an over 20% increase in the diagnosis of depression since 2005. Depression is the #1 cause of disability in the world. 264 Million people are diagnosed with anxiety disorders. 60 million people are diagnoses with Bipolar Disorder. 20 Million people are diagnosed with Schizophrenia. (World Health Organization 2017). Let’s assume these numbers are VERY LOW, given the amount of people not seeking treatment in traditional medical systems around the world. This isn’t even counting the other common mental health disorders such as PTSD.

One would assume given our modern medical advances in treatment and medication, added to the reduction of stigma surrounding getting help for these conditions (although not even close to where it should be), we would see a reduction in the numbers, but in fact it’s the exact opposite. So, what gives? Is it just because we are tracking better? Is it because more people have access to care, so we are counting more of the people who used to silently suffer? Is it because of faulty genetics? Is it because our global climate, lifestyles and way of functioning in the world is just more and more stressful, breaking ore and more people who other wise would have been just fine in a pre-technology, pre-covid, pre-all things modern era? All possibilities and most likely significant contributors to the increases.

I want to add another causal factor to the table that almost no one is talking about. Food. Yes, it has been scientifically proven over and over and over again over the course of scientific history that food has a significant impact on our mental health. Research has already established that nutrient deficiencies, body inflammation and oxidization, insulin resistance, hormonal imbalances and food sensitivities are all causal factors to mental health symptoms. But, I can guarantee you, that if you have been placed on a psychiatric medication at any pint and time in your life, your doctor did not once discuss you nutrition with you or even consider that any of these nutritional issues may be playing a role in your symptoms. They most likely just wrote a script for a pill, quickly reviewed the ways by which this pill could damage you, and sent you on your way with a “let’s check in about 30 days or so” and they flew out the door. Did I just describe to you perfectly what happened to you? I say this from experience because I have been on both sides of this scenario, not only as a mental health practitioner but as a patient getting treated for mental health symptoms. Sure, there may be some very well versed docs out there that do this kind of exploration, but I can say with confidence, this is not the case 99% of the time. And if there is so much staggering evidence already out there (and this is not new folks, this kind of research has been documented since at least the 1800s), why then do doctors not even consider it?

Well, we can go down the rabbit hole here of all the conspiracy theories such as big pharma and big food having a significant financial influence on how doctors do their daily business, the cover ups engaged in by governments to silence and discredit scientific studies showing these links (also at the same time showing how really ineffective their psychiatric meds are for most people), etc. I think it’s a combination of all of the above plus some additional issues like, our modern medical training system is focused on quickly masking and resolving symptoms, rather than taking the time (and the expense) of getting to the root cause, the inability of modern medical providers to take the time to keep up with new research (that is not put in front of their faces by big pharma and big food). Ever work in a hospital and get those drug rep “lunch and learns” with those high carb foods, sweets, free stuff and an attractive drug rep spouting all the (skewed and favorable) data about the magic of their drug? I have. It’s an extremely unsettling experience, bought and paid for by our modern medical billion dollar pharmaceutical and food industries.

The sad fact is, no one is funding the “let’s wine and dine the docs and show them how great omega 3 fatty acids (found predominately in fish) is for their patient’s mental health” and actually how it in fact, performs better as a treatment than many of those psych drugs. Nope, not happening. American’s are in fact up to 80% deficient in essential nutrients that have been shown in research to have a direct impact on mental health symptoms. What if, in a perfect world, you doctor wrote you a prescription to eat more healthy fats, stop eating processed junk and to consume more green leafy and colorful vegetables? Yes, you probably just laughed out loud. Our modern “give me an instant solution” society wouldn’t stand for it.

Or will they? More and more people are beginning to see the major faults in our modern medical system. They, like me, tried pretty much every drug, years of therapy, and just are not seeing any significant improvements consistently in their mental health and other medical conditions. Many of us or jumping off the modern medical bandwagon that has done us nothing but cost us money, suffering and stress over our lifetimes.

I would like to introduce you to the secret that so many are discovering. Food is medicine and the most powerful medicine on the planet. The fields of Functional Medicine, Nutrition Coaching and Mental Health Nutrition are exploding. Floods of people are finally getting off the hamster wheel of “try this pill, try that pill” and are actually taking control of their medical and mental health. I did this myself. After suffering from (get ready for a long list) migraines, panic attacks, depression, acne, hypoglycemia, heart palpitations, acid reflux, chronic constipation, joint pain, daily headaches, weight gain, insomnia, chronic fatigue and anxiety cumulatively getting worse since the age of 5 (yep), I was DONE. At the age of 30, I got off the crazy train (literally) and healed ALL, yes ALL, of the above conditions with one thing, FOOD. I experienced such a dramatic change in my health, that I had to get educated and become a health coach. I started my own company and now I focus on helping others heal their bodies and mind with food and movement. I couldn’t do anything else. This literally saved my life. I have helped hundreds of people finally see either full or significant resolutions in their weight struggles, mental health and medical symptoms. What is crazy (pardon the pun) is how simple this approach is and how quickly people who have been suffering for so long start to feel better.

So, if you are reading this and you were like me, decades of suffering, a long list of conditions and medications and you are actually ready to do the hard work to change your life (no quick fixes here, so if you are looking for a complete resolution of symptoms you have been suffering form for decades in 2 weeks, go ahead and just stick to what your doing, because that solution does not exist) go here, sign up with me for 90 days. Do the hard work. Let the healing begin.