Special Event (Show)
Bonnie Kaplan, PhD
The Emerging Field of Nutritional Mental Health
(Hear recorded show at the bottom of this article.)
The Liberty Beacon Media Network
It is amazing to contemplate the implications of the fact that at least 90% of the cells in and on our bodies are not human:
They are the microbial cells (especially bacteria) that constitute our microbiome. ~ Bonnie Kaplan, PhD
Bonnie J. Kaplan, PhD is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine (Department of Paediatrics, Department of Community Health Sciences) at the University of Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally from Ohio, she did all her training in the U.S. (Univ of Chicago, Brandeis Univ) in experimental and physiological psychology. Her interest in the biological basis of behavior led to postdoctoral training and then faculty research in neurophysiology at the West Haven (CT) VA Hospital Neuropsychology Laboratory, and Yale University Department of Neurology, until she moved to Canada in 1979. She has published widely on the biological basis of developmental disorders and mental health – particularly, the contribution of nutrition to brain development and brain function. Her nutrition-related studies have focused on 1) broad spectrum micronutrient treatments for mental disorders, and 2) the effect of intrauterine nutrition on brain development and maternal mental health.
Kaplan’s research institute profile can be found here: http://research4kids.ucalgary.ca/members/kaplan
Earlier this year Ms. Kaplan published an article entitled, The Emerging Field of Nutritional Mental Health – Inflammation, the Microbiome, Oxidative Stress, and Mitochondrial Function. I was so elated after reading the article, I immediately contact ms. Kaplan, whom I have interviewed before and we scheduled our interview. Her article is the feature post on my blog, Depression – The Emotional Response to Your Microbiome.
Ms. Kaplan made a profound statement in a previous radio interview that rocked my world: “Nutrition is the primary treatment, medication the supplement.” This is an empowering comment – because it puts our health back in our hands – instead of losing control of our lives to medications. Building up your nutritional reserve is giving your body the tools it needs to heal itself. If you still need some additional support, medication should be used as a short-term tool. Today 1 in 5 women are on psychotropic drugs.
A new organization has emerged called the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research. Ms. Kaplan was kind enough to send me their position statement recently published in Lancet Psychiatry. The para below is their opening:
Nutritional medicine as mainstream in psychiatry
Psychiatry is at an important juncture, with the current pharmacologically focused model having achieved modest benefits in addressing the burden of poor mental health worldwide. Although the determinants of mental health are complex, the emerging and compelling evidence for nutrition as a crucial factor in the high prevalence and incidence of mental disorders suggests that diet is as important to psychiatry as it is to cardiology, endocrinology, and gastroenterology. Evidence is steadily growing for the relation between dietary quality (and potential nutritional
deficiencies) and mental health, and for the select use of nutrient-based supplements to address deficiencies, or as monotherapies or augmentation therapies. We present a viewpoint from an international collaboration of academics (members of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research), in which we provide a context and overview of the current evidence in this emerging field of research, and discuss the future direction. We advocate recognition of diet and nutrition as central determinants of both physical and mental health.
If you are struggling with depression or anxiety – or know someone who is we invite you to listen to this interview by clicking on the TLB Radio logo.
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Leslie Carol Botha is an Author, publisher, radio talk show host and internationally recognized expert on women’s hormone cycles. Social/political activist on Gardasil the HPV vaccine for adolescent girls. Co-author of “Understanding Your Mood, Mind and Hormone Cycle.” Honorary advisory board member for the Foundation for the Study of Cycles and member of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research.
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TLB recommends you visit Leslie at HOLY HORMONES JOURNAL for more pertinent articles and information.
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