Kristin Kirkpatrick Discusses Nutrition for Improving Mental Health

Our friend, Kristin Kirkpatrick joined our 2022 Achieving Optimal Health Conference to discuss the benefits of a diverse and colorful diet and how it can help reduce depression and anxiety. Kristin speaks to us about Nutritional Psychiatry and how this emerging field has been instrumental in improving mental health. Listen in!

More on Kristin Kirkpatrick:
Website: www.kristinkirkpatrick.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/fuelwellwithkrissy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fuelwellwithkrissy

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Quotes:
Trauma, whether it's coming from years ago or it's recent, can impact your microbiome which in turn impacts your overall mental health.
Kristin Kirkpatrick

There are certain foods that can help your mental health and certain foods that will actually inhibit good mental health.
Kristin Kirkpatrick

Sugar offers the hallmarks of addiction: binging, withdrawal, and craving. So we don’t just eat the sugar or the refined carbohydrate, we crave it.
Kristin Kirkpatrick

Show Notes:
Kristin Kirkpatrick: A lot of my patients have still been experiencing some of the trauma of the pandemic.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: The emerging field of nutritional psychiatry. This is a field that has been really in existence for about ten years.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: There is something called hyper palatability in foods. And it really is the reason why we can't stop eating the potato chips or the pretzels or the pizza, but we can stop eating the broccoli.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: There are certain foods that can help your mental health and certain foods that will actually inhibit good mental health.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: I'm all about focusing on eating food and that's something that comes from nature, is fed from nature and will eventually rot.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: It's okay to have that chocolate chip cookie. My point is, I don't want you to have that organic chocolate chip cookie and think it's a good choice simply because it's organic.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: I actually work with a mental health and a behavioral health organization that deals with addiction on all levels with trauma. And I work with them simply to change the food that they're giving to their patients and simply to present to their patients on how their dietary choices can actually enhance the therapy that they're getting.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: Trauma, whether it's coming from years ago or it's recent, can actually impact the microbiome and how that actually impacts your overall mental health.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: There are certain differences that we see in the microbiome for people that are highly anxious, highly stressed, depressed people that are overweight or obese.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: We are snacking more. We are turning to food to help emotion. We are also turning to alcohol more and we have studies to show that.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: Let's eat more food, let's eat more like people in the blue zones.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: We gave them a three-week dietary intervention, so more of a Mediterranean diet approach after that three-week intervention, their depressive symptoms, their scores went down.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: When you think about eating real food and this is why I have this picture here, I want you to think about color.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: Getting more DHA and EPA, those are the marine-based forms of omega-three fatty acids really did make a huge difference in being able to reduce those depressive symptoms.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: Lots of associations with vitamin D and depression, some associations with anxiety as well. 

Kristin Kirkpatrick: Substantial improvement in the symptoms of depression after they received treatment for vitamin D deficiency.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: Speak with your health practitioner. See if you can get some sort of genetic testing to determine if you have a methyl deficiency. Again, almost 50% of people do. And then you can go on a methyl folate.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: Every food that we have with addictive property also happens to be a food that we know contributes to worsening mental health.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: Sugar also offers the hallmarks of addiction: binging, withdrawal, and craving. And so we eat the sugar or the refined carbohydrate. We crave it.

Kristin Kirkpatrick: If we look at the overall aspect and high level of what has the greatest impact on microbial diversity and biodiversity, it is having variety in your diet, getting plenty of fiber, getting plenty of prebiotics, of probiotics, getting that diversity.


Tags:

TriciaReillyKoch, DoroBushKoch, HealthGig, Longevity, Wellness, PhysicalHealth, MentalHealth, Health, HealthCare, KristinKirkpatrick, Nutrition, Depression, Anxiety