Integrative Mental Health: Food as Medicine
My journey toward understanding the impact of nutrition on our bodies’ well-being started when my firstborn was 5 weeks old. We discovered he could not digest the proteins found in dairy products that I was eating; these proteins were tearing up his tiny digestive tract. Can you imagine? Fast forward a few years, my second son struggled with frequent horrible chest colds for his first 3-6 years, he and I endured many long nights rocking him in a steaming bathroom to help his little lungs open up. As I continued my curiosity about nutrition and somatic symptoms, I learned how dairy contributes to increased mucus production and became curious about the impact of this on my son. The choice to eliminate dairy for him resulted in a little guy who never once got one of those chest colds again, he’s 22 now and continues to struggle with dairy though it manifests in different ways as an adult. These experiences were all the evidence I needed to make food-as-medicine a space of deep curiosity for the rest of my adult years.
For the next 20 years, I continued to explore various nutritional philosophies, never adopting current fad diets or any one perspective claiming to be “the right way,” but learning to listen to my body and be curious about how different foods impacted my digestion, energy, hormones, inflammation, and sleep. One universal truth is that eating closest to the source is the most nutrient-dense way to eat, but that’s about where it ends. Every person’s biological makeup is different and no one nutritional pattern is the “right” way to eat for all. Food as medicine is a deeply individual journey.
It wasn’t until I became a therapist that I began to understand the link between gut health and mental health. All of this nutritional curiosity, alongside my passion for emotional and relational health, felt like it came full circle. I learned that our gut is called “the second brain” as it hosts neurons, neurotransmitters, chemicals, and communication pathways that are in direct connection with the brain. When the gut-brain axis is off or the microbiome of the gut is compromised, symptoms of anxiety, depression, and brain fog can be exasperated. Nutrition, lifestyle, circadian rhythms, somatic awareness, spirituality, story, relational health, barriers to change, coping tools, and living environment are all integrative pathways for exploring steps to improve mood, mental clarity, empowerment, and the pursuit of emotional well-being and inner strength. My experience of working with clients in our Integrative Intensives has shown how impactful taking an individualized, empowered, step-by-step approach to the process is. Change is possible, and long-term results & gut healing can take time, but there are a few things you can do that may provide tangible results if those “things” are personalized to your body and your journey.
Exploring your food/mood patterns, lifestyle, barriers to change, and small accessible steps toward change that get results can be extremely empowering. Your story, your preferences, and your personal goals are important considerations if you’re curious about how nutrition and lifestyle might keep you from feeling your best physically, emotionally, and even relationally. Once we dive in you might be surprised at the sneaky ways the food you’re choosing is more menace than medicine for your mental health.
We are hosting our next free event on April 14th at The Art of Becoming office from 6-7pm. I will be facilitating a conversation about what it means to take an Integrative Medicine approach to mental health. All of these books and more will be available for you to flip through and consider as a resource for your own integrative mental health journey. Come join us! Details HERE.
