Are You Using Your Potential?

I am posting this article from our monthly Reconnect with Food article--our practice newsletter.  What inspired me to send this in a business newsletter was a recent post on a number of list serves by dietitians feeling inadequate in their chosen field of eating disorders.  They expressed feeling threatened by a researcher who indicated that dietitians were not needed in the field of eating disorder treatment.  Instead of looking to their own, they looked to our association to come to the rescue.  My thought is the following, "Instead of reacting, how can you be the best dietitian that you can be in your field of specialty?"

The dietitian in our eating disorder treatment center, Darci Noonchester, MS, RD, brings in the world of functional nutrition to our patients.  Instead of calories and fat gram exchanges, our clients are inspired by the knowledge that Darci brings in order to heal from within.  Take a glimpse of what functional nutrition is all about and how you can use it to boost your potential in your field of specialty:

DEPRESSION...WHAT IS EATING YOU?  By Darci Noonchester, MS, RD, Registered Dietitian at Reconnect with Food® at Inner Door Center

When it comes down to it, eating disorders are not about "food."  However, what you eat can play a key role in improving your mental and spiritual health along with your physical health.  Eating disorders are symptoms of depression.  Depression can be helped through functional medicine which looks at your body as a whole by finding the cause of why you may be depressed.  Some of the causes of depression are related to the following:

Intestinal problems.  Your immune system may become compromised due food allergies, intolerances or sensitivities which result in intestinal problems, thus affecting your mood.

Low blood sugar.  Proper absorption of protein in your foods helps to balance mood by stabilizing blood sugar. 

Folic acid deficiency.  One third of the population cannot metabolize folic acid, which can cause depression.  Individuals with a personal or family history of heart disease or breast cancer run a higher risk of folic acid deficiency. 

Hormone imbalance.  Your hormones including estrogen, testosterone, adrenal and thyroid all communicate with neurotransmitters.  Neurotransmitters balance your mood and thought process.  When your hormones are out of balance, they have difficulty communicating with these neurotransmitters, therefore mood and thoughts are altered. 

Circadian rhythm.  When this rhythm is compromised, you may find it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep. 

Here are some general recommendations:

Know the foods which you are allergic, intolerant and/or sensitive.  An elimination/rotation diet may be helpful in pin-pointing offenders.  However, in the work that I do with saliva and urine testing, I have been able to hone in on specific offenders instead of playing a guessing game.  As mentioned above, food allergies and the resultant inflammation have been connected with depression and other mood disorders.  By eliminating offending foods, mood can be stabilized.

Obtain adequate vitamin D.  Deficiency in this essential vitamin can lead to depression. Supplement with at least 2,000 to 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 per day or exposing your arms and legs to the sun, for approximately 15 minutes per day, will produce 10,000 IU per day of vitamin D.  The latter may not be possible for those who live in cold climates.

Increase your intake of foods high in omega-3 fatty acid.