Manage anxiety and low mood the Functional Medicine way
We all encounter stress from time to time but for many people, occasional stress develops into anxiety and low mood. Why does this happen for some people and not all? The answer lies in what makes you a human being: your very own individual blend of genetics, diet, lifestyle, and environment. Think of it as your unique health fingerprint. If we want to effectively manage anxiety and low mood, we need to work with this information. This is why I use a Functional Medicine approach in my clinic.
How does Functional Medicine work?
Functional Medicine (FM) is a way of looking at the body as a whole. It considers your unique:
Genetic inheritance.
Family health history.
Environmental inputs like nutrition, hydration, sleep, exercise levels, exposure to toxins.
Social relationships and networks.
Physiological processes like digestion, energy production, immune defences, toxin elimination, circulation, and cellular repair.
FM addresses the underlying cause of a symptom or condition. Only by tackling the root cause can we resolve an issue. If we just deal with the symptoms, we never really achieve lasting wellness.
Managing anxiety and low mood: different parts of the health puzzle
During an initial consultation I’ll ask lots of questions about your diet, lifestyle, health history, and current health issues. Gut health is important here as your microbiome heavily influences mental wellbeing. Many clients notice their anxiety is worse when their gut symptoms flare up.
For some women, anxiety and low mood come and go as part of their menstrual cycle and during perimenopause and menopause. Recognising this means they can make space for some extra self-care at this time and we can work on nutrition support for hormone balance.
We can also look at different testing options such as:
Stool testing to explore the balance of your gut microbiome. [hyperlink here to “Do I need a gut microbiome test” blog]
Genetic testing to explore the genes that influence mental wellbeing.
This approach means I can build a holistic view of your health and uncover the possible underlying causes of anxiety and low mood.
Diet and nutrients
When it comes to managing anxiety and low mood there are some key nutrients to consider:
B-vitamins are essential for a biological process called methylation. Methylation acts like a switch, facilitating thousands of biochemical reactions. Around 30% of the population have slower methylation and this percentage is higher in people with depression.
Folate, B12, and B6 are needed for healthy methylation. However, a diet rich in ultra processed foods is low in these vitamins, and any inflammation or imbalance in the gut will compromise their absorption.The whole family of B-vitamins work together in the nervous system to support mood balance and neurotransmitter function. When stressed, your requirement for B-vitamins increases and this can be hard to meet if you’re not eating well.
Omega 3 essential fats are another nutrient frequently missing in modern diets. If you have difficulty digesting and absorbing fats (e.g. due to low levels of pancreatic enzymes, sluggish bile flow, or gallbladder removal) this can affect your omega 3 levels even further.
The omega-3 fats help reduce inflammation and aid cell-to-cell communication in your brain. Persistent low-grade inflammation is linked to anxiety and depression [1] which is why nutritional interventions that help manage inflammation are beneficial for mood and anxiety.
Zinc and iron can be lacking in a vegan diet or if you have a long history of using proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) medication for acid reflux. These minerals are vital co-factors for enzymes involved in methylation and neurotransmitter function.
Magnesium levels can also be affected by stress and medications. Widely known as the “anti-stress mineral”, magnesium works with vitamin B6 to support neurotransmitter formation and function and has a general calming effect in the nervous system. Low levels are associated with low mood, anxiety, and depression [2].
Vitamin D is notoriously low in the UK population, especially during the winter. There are vitamin D receptors in every cell of the body, including parts of the brain involved in mood regulation and the development of depression [3]. Low levels of vitamin D are associated with low mood and anxiety as well as increased inflammation.
Stress
Stress comes in many forms. There’s the typical work, money, or relationship stresses but we also need to consider internally generated stress from inflammation, infections, or hormone imbalances like under or overactive thyroid, menopause or pre-menstrual syndrome.
Stress affects the balance and diversity of your gut microbiome. In turn, this influences signalling on the gut-brain axis and the regulation of mood balancing neurotransmitters [4].
Genetic SNPs
Nutrigenomics studies the interplay between nutrition, lifestyle factors, and genetic expression. Each of us carries genes for all manner of health conditions but it is our lifestyles that determine which genes will be expressed i.e. “switched on” and which won’t.
Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are slight alterations to how a gene may express. SNPs on genes that regulate neurotransmitter production, such as COMT (Catechol-O-Methyltransferase) and MTHFR (Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) can affect serotonin and dopamine levels and are associated with anxiety and depressive disorders [5].
I offer nutrigenomic testing to investigate these and other SNPs and put together an action plan based on the results.
Lifestyle factors
Exercise, movement, medications, trauma, exposure to environmental toxins: these factors all influence your mental wellbeing. Some of them, like where you live or the medications you need to take, are not easily changed, but we can still look at ways to modulate their impact on your health.
Others are much more modifiable. Ideas to start with include:
Swapping plastic water bottles and food containers for glass, ceramic, or stainless steel. This reduces your exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in plastic.
Switching to organically grown fruit and vegetables to minimise pesticide exposure.
Using household and bodycare products based on natural ingredients.
Gently increasing the amount of movement in your day.
Any step you take, no matter how small, is a step in the right direction for your physical and mental health.
If you’d like to know more about gut testing, nutrigenomic testing, or how the Functional Medicine approach may benefit your mental wellbeing, get in touch today to book your FREE 15-minute discovery call.
You might also enjoy reading
7 Food and Lifestyle Tips for Stress and Overwhelm
References
Ye, Z., Kappelmann, N., Moser, S., Davey Smith, G., Burgess, S., Jones, P. B., & Khandaker, G. M. 2021. Role of inflammation in depression and anxiety: Tests for disorder specificity, linearity and potential causality of association in the UK Biobank. EClinicalMedicine, 38, 100992. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.100992
Botturi, A., Ciappolino, V., Delvecchio, G., Boscutti, A., Viscardi, B., & Brambilla, P. 2020. The Role and the Effect of Magnesium in Mental Disorders: A Systematic Review. Nutrients, 12(6), 1661. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12061661
Akpınar, Ş., & Karadağ, M. G. 2022. Is Vitamin D Important in Anxiety or Depression? What Is the Truth? Current Nutrition Reports, 11(4), 675. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-022-00441-0
Foster, J. A., Rinaman, L., & Cryan, J. F. 2017. Stress & the gut-brain axis: Regulation by the microbiome. Neurobiology of Stress, 7, 124-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynstr.2017.03.001
Gabriela Nielsen, M., Congiu, C., Bortolomasi, M., Bonvicini, C., Bignotti, S., Abate, M., Milanesi, E., Conca, A., Cattane, N., Tessari, E., Gennarelli, M., & Minelli, A. 2015. MTHFR: Genetic variants, expression analysis and COMT interaction in major depressive disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 183, 179-186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2015.05.003
