Your Mental Health Can Be Greatly Affected By Nutritional Imbalances.
Dr. William Walsh has proven through extensive testing that your mood and behaviour can be dramatically influenced by your nutritional imbalances.
Do you Suffer from:
- ADHD
- Autism
- Behaviour disorders
- Learning disorders
- Bipolar
- Schizophrenia
How we think, feel and ultimately behave is very much dependant on key brain chemicals called neurotransmitters (NT). NT’s such as serotonin, dopamine, GABA, and norepinephrine must be in optimal levels for us to function at our best. Too little or too much can cause extreme fluctuations in mood, behaviour, focus, and cognition. The production and the re-uptake of NT’s in the brain are tightly controlled by specific nutrients that can be measured accurately via functional blood and urine tests.
The Walsh research institute has found over the past several decades of treating over 30,000 mental health patients with over 3 million lab chemistries that the blood/urine chemistries of patients suffering with mental health conditions are strikingly different from the rest of the population
Jason Loken ND, DO(Q), PhD (cand) has completed certified training courses with Dr. Walsh in targeted, individualized nutrient therapy for the treatment of mental health conditions.
He was blown away when he first attended Dr. Walsh’s physician’s training in Chicago on advanced nutrient therapy to treat mental health conditions. This is an area of health care that he has always been very passionate about, yet the challenge has always been in deciphering which layers of the mental health puzzle are strictly biochemical versus which ones are more mental/emotional?
If we can correct the brain biochemistry first, it becomes so much easier to then work on the other pieces. When you’re not constantly being triggered biochemically you start to naturally feel more calm and grounded inside your body. This calmness allows you to create the space necessary for making changes in your mental and emotional processing. For example, someone who is extremely anxious or depressed may not physically be able to incorporate mindfulness exercises or benefit fully from cognitive behavioural therapy until their biochemistry optimizes. It would be like someone drinking 6 cups of coffee and then trying to sit still and meditate…it just doesn’t work very well. Yet, if you can optimize your biochemistry and dial down the intensity of what you are feeling inside your body everything becomes more workable, allowing you to then make different choices that will favourably impact your life.
Medications have attempted to do this but without the biochemical individuality required for optimal success and minimal side effects. Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, etc… are primarily treated as a “one size fits all” approach. It is for this reason that many antidepressants, for example, don’t work on everyone and can make others much worse. It is essential to determine the patient’s individual biochemistry in order to treat them with the exact nutrients their body requires to normalize function.
For example there are 5 different “biotypes” or patterns that create depression/anxiety and approximately 7 that can create ADHD…and each one is uniquely treated based on their biochemistry.
Advanced nutrient therapy utilizes vitamins, minerals and amino acids to naturally correct imbalances in neurotransmitter activity. The clinical challenge is to determine the biochemistry of each patient and to develop an individualized treatment plan aimed at normalizing brain chemistry. For most patients, the benefits of advanced nutrient therapy result from the following:
- Normalizing the concentration of nutrients needed for neurotransmitter synthesis
- Epigenetic regulation of neurotransmitter activity
- Reducing free-radical oxidative stress
A major advantage of advanced nutrient therapy is the absence of serious side effects associated with psychiatric medications. This therapy uses natural chemicals rather than molecules that are foreign to the brain and induce an abnormal condition. Advanced nutrient therapy can be used together with medication and counselling providing great flexibility to the patient. As brain science advances, nutrient therapy may gradually replace psychiatric drugs as the treatment of choice for mental illness.
More About Dr Walsh:
Dr. Walsh has been a pioneer in the development of advanced nutrient therapies since his collaboration with Dr. Carl Pfeiffer of Princeton, NJ in the 1980s. This approach recognizes that nutrient imbalances can alter brain levels of key neurotransmitters, disrupt gene expression of proteins and enzymes, and cripple the body’s protection against environmental toxins. Dr. Walsh’s database containing millions of chemical factors in blood, urine and tissues has identified high-incidence imbalances in patients challenged by behaviour disorders, ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. The treatment protocol consists of a medical history, specialized lab testing, diagnosis of chemical imbalance, and individualized treatment aimed at normalizing brain chemistry. Dr. Walsh’s clinical system is used by doctors throughout the world and has produced thousands of reports of recovery. His book Nutrient Power provides the scientific foundation for this medical approach, including the emerging field of epigenetics.
For more information I recommend visiting the Walsh Research Institute at:www.walshinstitute.org
FAQ
What research is there around the Walsh Therapy for mental health?
The Walsh research institute has one of the world's largest chemistry database for autism, depression and behaviour disorders. This database has been accumulated over more then 3 decades and includes laboratory testing of well over 30,000 patients struggling with mental health concerns, over 3 million lab chemistries and over 2 million medical histories.
Dr. Walsh also has several articles in peer-reviewed journals that have been published specifically on these findings.
How Do Nutrients affect mental health?
There are over 300 important nutrients in human biochemistry but when it comes to brain chemistry there are fewer then a dozen that dominate mental disorders. Some of these nutrients can have a profound effect on the synthesis and regulation of key neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, GABA, norepinephrine and others. Imbalances in these neurotransmitters can affect how we think, feel and act.
How is my specific treatment determined?
There are two parts necessary to determine your specific course of treatment. First, during your initial visit Dr. Jason Loken ND will go through an in depth case history and symptom analysis in order to identify potential biochemical imbalances. Secondly, specific blood, urine and possibly hair laboratory tests will be assessed to objectively identify key biochemical imbalances affecting neurotransmitter synthesis and regulation.
What conditions are treated using the Walsh Nutrient Therapy?
A wide array of mental health conditions can be treated using the Walsh nutrient therapy. These conditions include and are not limited to:
Anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism, learning and behavioural disorders, bipolar and schizophrenia. Other conditions that can benefit from this treatment include Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease.
What is the role of oxidative stress?
Oxidative stress tends to accompany every single mental disorder we see. Every one of them seems to have extraordinary oxidative stress — schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, a violent child or an autistic child. It is essential to support antioxidant pathways in order to reduce the oxidative stress on the body. Oxidative stress not only affects the brain but can have a deleterious impact on every system in the body.
What is the cost of Labs and what is required?
Laboratory testing of blood, urine and possibly hair can range substantially depending on the tests required. In the world of functional medicine patients can often spend thousands of dollars on elaborate tests that don’t always narrow down a specific treatment regime. The Walsh testing may cost anywhere between $400 - $650 and is necessary to create an individual targeted nutritional program to help optimize your specific biochemical imbalances.
How do I make an appointment and get started?
You can book on-line at any of my clinic locations or call the clinic directly and our office manager will schedule your appointment. Your initial consult will be booked under Naturopathic Medicine for insurance purposes and will be called a First visit – Integrative medicine consultation.
Can everything be treated with diet or do I need supplements?
Diet is always an important part of ones overall health and factors such as improving blood sugar and supporting biochemical pathways via diet will be addressed yet diet alone will not correct epigenetic imbalances. Imbalances in biochemistry that are uncovered using the Walsh treatment approach require targeted nutritional therapy at often much higher levels then you would be able to access through food alone.
How long do I have to take supplements for?
Depending on the imbalance supplements may be required for several months at the full dosages. Once symptoms improve and lab parameters optimize we will then reassess the supplement regime. The goal is ultimately to be on as little supplements as required to feel good and prevent future problems from returning.
How long does it take to feel better?
Treatments are not a strict protocol. Depending on your individual case the degree of follow up appointments and adjustments to your program can vary slightly. Different imbalances take different amounts of time to normalize. Some imbalances can be corrected within 6 weeks with symptoms beginning to improve within as little as a week or 2 while other conditions may take 2-3 months before symptoms begin to improve and up to 8-12 months to see the full benefits. The goal is to correct underlying biochemical imbalances that are at the root of your condition not to merely mask symptoms.
