Nutrition Information | familytiescounseling

Supplementation/Nutritional Information

Nutrition plays a big role in mental health! The following are some helpful suggestions for dealing with various issues.

MAKE SURE YOU SEEK THE ADVICE OF A QUALIFIED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL REGARDING USE OF ALL VITAMINS, OILS, OR SUPPLEMENTS.

Certain supplements may interfere with medications, or may exacerbate certain medical conditions. I am not a certified nutritionist or medical doctor and this should be taken into consideration. You are liable for any impact of supplements/oils that are not taken under the direct supervision of a qualified professional.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Make sure that you purchase a high quality supplement. Cheap supplements sold in grocery and chain stores tend to be of lesser quality, chemically made, and flush right out of your system. Look for FOOD BASED supplements wherever possible.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sleep Aids:

1. Melatonin. Helps people to fall asleep. Melatonin is very effective, however, there are concerns about regular use of melatonin (click here for Dr. Oz' take on this). Ideally, the body should create its own melatonin and there are many things we can do to get to sleep without melatonin.

2. Magnesium. Magnesium is a mineral that helps with relaxation and sleep. It can assist with sleep when taken a half hour before lights out. There are a variety of companies that provide high quality magnesium but here are few I have found to be helpful. Typically you should start at half-dose as magnesium also has a tendency to loosen stools. Work slowly to a full dose to make sure your body adjusts and can tolerate magnesium.

Trace Minerals Mega-Mag: Can be purchased at health food stores as well as online.

Natural Vitality Natural Calm: Can be purchased at health food stores as well as online.

3. Essential Oils: Lavender in particular is known to assist with sleep. You can do a google search and find many websites with applicable information.

http://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/uses-for-essential-oils.html

http://www.crunchybetty.com/21-things-you-should-know-about-essential-oils

Essential oils should be well researched, and many can be toxic if used incorrectly or combined with certain medical conditions or medications. Research well before attempting to use them. http://heritageessentialoils.com/pharmaceutical.php

If you live in Colorado Springs and want to get started with essential oils, I have a local Doterra contact. You can find her contact information on the page "Mental Health Resources". I do not gain any financial or other kind of benefit from guiding you to her.

4. Sleep Hygiene: As a part of your sleep routine, also stop using "blue light" (televisions, computers, phones etc.) one hour before you plan to sleep. When the sun goes down, the body creates melatonin which helps us sleep. Blue lights tend to confuse the body, making sleep more difficult. See the following article by Chris Kresser for more information.

Dr. Axe has many helpful recommendations at this website: http://draxe.com/losing-sleep-all-natural-ways-to-fall-asleep-and-get-more-sleep/

Dr. Daniel Siegel on using a cell phone in bed: http://www.businessinsider.com/health-brain-body-smartphone-before-bed-2015-4?utm_content=buffer5bbe3&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Depression/Anxiety:

Our mood is largely impacted by the food we put in our bodies, and by the amount of exercise we get. Exercise alone can be as, if not more, impacting than medications for depression and anxiety. While this is not true for everyone, it is important for anyone suffering from anxiety or depression to make healthy food and exercise a priority.

Supplementation

1. L-Theanine: This is an amino acid that helps calm us down. Because it is an amino acid, and not a psychiatric medication, it is a good thing to try particularly for those who are not suffering from severe complications of anxiety. It can be taken by children as well as adults.

2. Magnesium: Magnesium plays many important roles in the body. It promotes sleep, but it also is known to calm anxiety and can help with depression. See notes and links under "Sleep Aids" for additional information about Magnesium.

3. Multivitamin: Purchase a high quality FOOD BASED multivitamin. They are more expensive, but the body is able to use far more of the nutrients than the chemically made multivitamins. Food based vitamins also are less troubling to the stomach. Some of the highest quality multivitamins include "Garden of Life", "New Chapter", "MegaFood". http://www.naturalnews.com/029021_multivitamins_whole_foods.html

4. Probiotics: Healthy bacteria are essential to good gut health. Because much of our serotonin is made in the gut, when the gut gets unhealthy, we are unable to create all that is necessary to maintain a good mood. One of the best probiotic foods is homemade sauerkraut. For those who can't stomach that, there are plenty of probiotics that can be purchased in many forms including pills and liquids. Probiotics are finicky as they are live organisms. Make sure you buy a high quality probiotic and that it is not exposed to any kind of heat. Even moderate levels of heat can kill the beneficial organisms. The store should be able to tell you which probiotics were delivered in a temperature controlled environrment. Store the probiotics in your refrigerator.

5. Krill oil: Krill is more easily absorbed than traditional fish oils. The morst important thing is that you purchase high quality and that it has DHA.

6. Complex B: This can be purchased in pill and sublingual form. The sublingual form tends to be more quickly absorbed. B vitamins provide energy, and help with the production of seratonin. *Be careful with this vitamin if you are already on an SSRI as it impacts serotonin.

7. Vitamin D: The "sunshine" vitamin helps in many ways. A vitamin D deficiency is common in people with anxiety and depression and therefore supplementing can help improve the mood.

8. Essential Oils: There are several essential oils that are found to help with depression and anxiety.

A few websites with information:

Dr. Fuhrman is a nutritional expert known to be able to help reverse many conditions and diseases with nutrition: http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/natural_depression.aspx

Mental Health Foundation: http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/mental-health-a-z/D/diet/

http://dominatedepression.com/supplements-for-depression/

http://www.foodforthebrain.org/nutrition-solutions/depression/about-depression.aspx

Article relating gut health to anxiety and depression: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150728110734.htm

Children with Trauma

1. Probiotics: Probiotics are a MUST supplement for a child of trauma. Because trauma causes a child to live in fight - flight or freeze, their immunity and gut are effected severely. Most children of trauma will benefit from probiotics. The healthy bacteria are essential for healing. Because much of our serotonin is made in the gut, when the gut gets unhealthy, we are unable to create all that is necessary to maintain a good mood. One of the best probiotic foods is homemade sauerkraut. For those who can't stomach that, there are plenty of probiotics that can be purchased in many forms including pills and liquids and I believe gummies. Probiotics are finicky as they are live organisms. Make sure you buy a high quality probiotic and that it is not exposed to any kind of heat. Even moderate levels of heat can kill the beneficial organisms. The store should be able to tell you which probiotics were delivered in a temperature controlled environrment. Store the probiotics in your refrigerator. For children, the dosing can also be finicky. The dosing indicated for a younger child may not be high enough for healing to occur. I recommend probiotics be used for a minimum of a year. More time is needed for a child with excessive trauma. With probiotics, start with half of the dose that is recommended on the bottle for a minimum of one week. Probiotics can cause problems with loose stools so giving the body time to adjust is essential.

Article relating gut health to anxiety and depression: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150728110734.htm

2. Multivitamin: Purchase a high quality FOOD BASED multivitamin. They are more expensive, but the body is able to use far more of the nutrients than the chemically made multivitamins. Food based vitamins also are less troubling to the stomach. Some of the highest quality multivitamins include "Garden of Life", "New Chapter", "MegaFood". http://www.naturalnews.com/029021_multivitamins_whole_foods.html

3. Krill oil: Krill is more easily absorbed than traditional fish oils. The most important thing is that you purchase high quality and that it has DHA.

4. L-Theanine: This is an amino acid that helps calm us down. This amino acid has been found to be very helpful for children that are highly dysregulated. It can be very calming and enable the child to handle stressors that may otherwise have caused a meltdown.

5. Magnesium. Magnesium is a mineral that helps with relaxation and sleep. For children of trauma it can, as with adults, be used for various things. It can help with both calming of anxiety and assist with sleep. It can assist with sleep when taken a half hour before lights out. There are a variety of companies that provide high quality magnesium but here are few I have found to be helpful. Typically you should start at half-dose as magnesium also has a tendency to loosen stools. Work slowly to a full dose to make sure your body adjusts and can tolerate magnesium.

Natural Vitality Natural Calm: Can be purchased at health food stores as well as online.

6. Essential Oils: There are a number of essential oils that can help children with trauma and stress. Research CAREFULLY especially if your child has medical conditions or is on medication. Essential oils (especially high quality), are powerful and can cause toxicity if not researched correctly. In general, a child should NEVER take essential oils internally, and oils should be used with a carrier oil, or diffused.

Essential Oils for the Chosen Child: This blog is written by an adoptive mother who have years of experience using oils both as a mother, and professionally.

7. Blood sugars: Children with trauma benefit from having snacks every 2 hours to stabilize their blood sugars. Snacks should be high in protein, low in carbs.

8. Food sensitivities: Many children with trauma have significant food sensitivities. The top two are gluten and dairy. I recommend that a parent starts with one at a time. If possible, completely remove gluten from the child's diet for AT LEAST 6 weeks to see how a gluten free diet impacts their behavior. If there is NO change, add gluten back. If there are benefits, after 6 weeks, also remove dairy for another 6 week period. Again, if there is no impact, feel free to add it back. I encourage parents to maintain a food diary which tracks how the child is responding to the removal of the food item. Sometimes it is difficult to tell the impact over time if a diary has not been kept.

Research regarding the impact of food dyes on children: http://m.cpj.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/11/24/0009922810384728.abstract

Research regarding the impact of elimination diets for children with ADHD: http://www.zoelho.com/ZoelhoNL/Publish/Pelsser-The-Lancet-2011-Publication-INCA-study.pdf

Further information on nutrition for adopted children: http://adoptionnutrition.org/