Archive for August, 2008
August 25, 2008 at 1:01 am
· Filed under Clinical Nutrition ·Tagged Alberta Mental Health Board, B.C., Brenda Leung, Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, Dr. Bonnie Kaplan, N.D., naturopathic, nutrition-based studies, nutritional epidemiology, Surrey
A few researchers around the world have focused on nutritions impact on maternal mood. Here is info on one such research team and their study, which is currently underway.
Brenda Leung is a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (N.D.) by training. Her interest in pure research grew while she was practising as a naturopathic doctor in Surrey, B.C. Intrigued by questions arising in her clinical practice—questions for which she had no answers—she decided on a period of further study. She chose the area of nutrition in maternal mental health as one where she could put her naturopathic experience to good use.
Combining her interests in nutritional epidemiology and mental health, Leung has designed a study to examine the link between nutrition and depression in pregnant women and new mothers. She notes that her work in the mental-health area is filling a gap. “Most nutrition-based studies deal with physical-health issues, such as diabetes and heart disease,” she says. Two aspects of Leung’s work break new ground: her long-term approach to this study of nutrition in depression; and her focus on pregnant women, who are often excluded in such studies.
In 2005 Leung began doctoral work under research psychologist Dr. Bonnie Kaplan in the Department of Pediatrics. Leung’s Ph.D. studies are funded by AHFMR (Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Resarch)and the Alberta Mental Health Board through a new and innovative partnership.
Leung began work on the first stage of this project in September 2006 and plans to have preliminary data by late 2009. Working with a seven-member team, including the directors of three prenatal clinics in Calgary, Leung is recruiting women who are in the first trimester of pregnancy to help her find out whether there is any link between diet and depression. Leung’s study will follow these women throughout their pregnancies and after their children are born. She hopes that it will determine what pregnant women are really eating, and whether there is any connection between certain nutrients (or combinations of nutrients) and mood.
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August 22, 2008 at 1:55 am
· Filed under Minerals ·Tagged amino-acid, anxiety, blood sugar, calcium, confusion, copper, depletion, exhaustion, fatigue, hallucinations, hypoglycemia, iron, irritability, lethargy, magnesium, manganese, nervous system, norepinephrine, paranoia, potassium, serotonin, stress, toxic, weakness, zinc
Here is more of the About.com article from Nancy Schimelpfening, edited by Dr. Stephen Gans.
Minerals
Deficiencies in a number of minerals can also cause depression.
- Magnesium: Deficiency can result in depressive symptoms, along with confusion, agitation, anxiety, and hallucinations, as well as a variety of physical problems. Most diets do not include enough magnesium, and stress also contributes to magnesium depletion
- Calcium: Depletion affects the central nervous system. Low levels of calcium cause nervousness, apprehension, irritability, and numbness.
- Zinc: Inadequacies result in apathy, lack of appetite, and lethargy. When zinc is low, copper in the body can increase to toxic levels, resulting in paranoia and fearfulness.
- Iron: Depression is often a symptom of chronic iron deficiency. Other symptoms include general weakness, listlessness, exhaustion, lack of appetite, and headaches.
- Manganese: This metal is needed for proper use of the B-complex vitamins and vitamin C. Since it also plays a role in amino-acid formation, a deficiency may contribute to depression stemming from low levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine. Manganese also helps stabilize blood sugar and prevent hypoglycemic mood swings.
- Potassium: Depletion is frequently associated with depression, tearfulness, weakness, and fatigue.
For a very insightful article on magnesium, click here.
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August 21, 2008 at 1:30 am
· Filed under Clinical Nutrition ·Tagged vitamin-B, Anemia, Amino Acids, confusion, vitamin c, asprin, birth control pills, inflammatory disease, lactation, pregnancy, stress, alcoholism, sugars, glucosse, blood sugar, energy, fatigue, irritability, anxiety, suicide, memory problems, insomnia, psychosis, pellagra, agitation, acetylcholine, proteins, hormones, serotonin, oral contraceptives, MAOIs, DNA, DNA synthesis, weakness, mania, hallucinations, paranoia, mood swings
Here is a well-articulated article on the role of vitamins in depression. Although it is not referenced, it is reviewed by Harvard professor of psychiatry, Dr. Steven Gans. This article is on general depression, but it cites conditions specific to pregnant women such as increased blood volume and DNA synthesis. Also noted is that the use of birth control pills is a common reason for low levels of B-vitamins. Other reasons for increased need for B-vitamins besides pregnancy are stress, breast feeding, or physical stress due to trauma such as vaginal childbirth or Cesarean section.
During pregnancy the mother’s own body donates all the nutrients required to grow the fetus. Women can be left with inadequate levels of vitamins for proper brain function. Read on…
A Good Vitamin Supplement Could Be Just What the Doctor Ordered
By Nancy Schimelpfening, About.com
Updated: May 29, 2006
About.com Health’s Disease and Condition content is reviewed by Steven Gans, MD
Did you ever wish that you could take a vitamin for depression? Well, for some of you it may be just that simple. There are a variety of vitamin deficiencies that can lead to depression symptoms.
The B-Complex Vitamins
The B-complex vitamins are essential to mental and emotional well-being. They cannot be stored in our bodies, so we depend entirely on our daily diet to supply them. B vitamins are destroyed by alcohol, refined sugars, nicotine, and caffeine so it is no surprise that many people may be deficient in these.
Here’s a rundown of recent finding about the relationship of B-complex vitamins to depression:
- Vitamin B1 (thiamine): The brain uses this vitamin to help convert glucose, or blood sugar, into fuel, and without it the brain rapidly runs out of energy. This can lead to fatigue, depression, irritability, anxiety, and even thoughts of suicide. Deficiencies can also cause memory problems, loss of appetite, insomnia, and gastrointestinal disorders. The consumption of refined carbohydrates, such as simple sugars, drains the body’s B1 supply.
- Vitamin B3 (niacin): Pellagra-which produces psychosis and dementia, among other symptoms-was eventually found to be caused by niacin deficiency. Many commercial food products now contain niacin, and pellagra has virtually disappeared. However, subclinical deficiencies of vitamin B3 can produce agitation and anxiety, as well as mental and physical slowness.
- Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid): Symptoms of deficiency are fatigue, chronic stress, and depression. Vitamin B5 is needed for hormone formation and the uptake of amino acids and the brain chemical acetylcholine, which combine to prevent certain types of depression.
- Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine): This vitamin aids in the processing of amino acids, which are the building blocks of all proteins and some hormones. It is needed in the manufacture of serotonin, melatonin and dopamine. Vitamin B6 deficiencies, although very rare, cause impaired immunity, skin lesions, and mental confusion. A marginal deficiency sometimes occurs in alcoholics, patients with kidney failure, and women using oral contraceptives. MAOIs, ironically, may also lead to a shortage of this vitamin. Many nutritionally oriented doctors believe that most diets do not provide optimal amounts of this vitamin.
- Vitamin B12: Because vitamin B12 is important to red blood cell formation, deficiency leads to an oxygen-transport problem known as pernicious anemia. This disorder can cause mood swings, paranoia, irritability, confusion, dementia, hallucinations, or mania, eventually followed by appetite loss, dizziness, weakness, shortage of breath, heart palpitations, diarrhea, and tingling sensations in the extremities. Deficiencies take a long time to develop, since the body stores a three- to five-year supply in the liver. When shortages do occur, they are often due to a lack of intrinsic factor, an enzyme that allows vitamin B12 to be absorbed in the intestinal tract. Since intrinsic factor diminishes with age, older people are more prone to B12 deficiencies.
- Folic acid: This B vitamin is needed for DNA synthesis. It is also necessary for the production of SAM (S-adenosyl methionine). Poor dietary habits contribute to folic acid deficiencies, as do illness, alcoholism, and various drugs, including aspirin, birth control pills, barbiturates, and anticonvulsants. It is usually administered along with vitamin B12, since a B12 deficiency can mask a folic acid deficiency. Pregnant women are often advised to take this vitamin to prevent neural tube defects in the developing fetus.
Vitamin C
Subclinical deficiencies can produce depression, which requires the use of supplements. Supplementation is particularly important if you have had surgery or an inflammatory disease. Stress, pregnancy, and lactation also increase the body’s need for vitamin C, while aspirin, tetracycline, and birth control pills can deplete the body’s supply.
In 2006, The British Journal of Psychiatry showed folate is a good complement to medical antidepressant therapy. For more information on using B-complex vitamins click here.
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August 13, 2008 at 3:42 pm
· Filed under Clinical Nutrition ·Tagged 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Health, Anne Dunnewold, coordinator, counseling, feminism, human relations, perinatal depression, perinatal mood disorders, perinatal support network, postpartum anxiety, postpartum bi-polar disorder, postpartum depression, postpartum obsessive compulsive disorder, postpartum psychosis, Postpartum Support International, Postpartum Support of Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma
Cheryl Jazzar has been working in the postpartum support field since 1998. She has four children and a wonderful husband and lives in both Atlanta, Georgia and Norman, Oklahoma.
In 1993 Ms. Jazzar experienced a psychotic break after giving birth to her first child and was hospitalized for six weeks. This illness led to a divorce and Cheryl losing custody of her precious young daughter, Angelica. When her second child was born five years later, Cheryl briefly experienced a severe, lethargic postpartum depression. This reaction was rapidly alleviated when Cheryl called on Sheryl Cozad of Postpartum Support International for support. Sheryl shared nutritional information taught by Postpartum Support International’s Anne Dunnewold and others.
Ms. Jazzar gained her B.A. in psychology and her Master’s of Human Relations from The University of Oklahoma. Her focus during her master’s work included and counseling, group dynamics and contemporary feminist thought .
Cheryl co-founded Postpartum Support of Oklahoma in 1999 along with Sheryl Cozad, MFA. She served as the OK state coordinator for Postpartum Support International from 2003-2008. As a PSI coordinator, Cheryl provided volunteer telephone support for hundreds of mothers suffering with mental health challenges. As part of their resource list Postpartum Support of Oklahoma shared a nutritional protocol that alleviated most mood symptoms for women who called in experiencing mild to moderate postpartum depression and anxiety.
The nutritional protocol used by PSO is outlined in a book chapter, authored by Cheryl Jazzar, entitled 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Health (Self Improvement Online, Inc 2007). This book chapter is available for free here.
In 2002-2003 Postpartum Support of Oklahoma served with various Oklahoma maternal health groups to host the state’s first conference on PPMDs.
“Healing the New Mother’s Mind, Body and Spirit” resulted in Cheryl Beck training 170 social workers on the proper use of her screening scale, Jane Honikman delivering the keynote speech and organizing further state structure and an array of on-site support and training options for mothers in attendance.
Ms. Jazzar has been interviewed for various Oklahoma news outlets and also produced a statewide newsletter on PPMDs for the statewide perinatal support network developed by Postpartum Support of Oklahoma.
Ms. Jazzar and Ms. Cozad have provided numerous in-service trainings on perinatal mood to groups such as Cleveland County and Oklahoma State Department of Human Services, Mental Health Association, Tulsa, two state perinatal coalitions, various community counseling centers, Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, Central Oklahoma Association for Women’s Health in Obstetrical and Neo-Natal Nursing, various collegiate and university graduate programs, several mother’s groups, breastfeeding support groups, Greater Tulsa Community Service Council, and was also a panel moderator and presenter on PPMDs for The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) state conference, Oklahoma chapter.
Cheryl is privileged to have developed WellPostpartum Weblog into a resource for both providers and consumers to have a better understanding of state-of-the-art integrative care for maternal mental wellness.
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August 9, 2008 at 8:30 pm
· Filed under Clinical Nutrition ·Tagged complimentary medicine, Clinical Nutrition, alternative, ayurvedic medicine, traditional chinese medicine, hypnotherapy, chiropractic, aromatherapy, energy healing, acupuncture, confusion, studies, alternative medicine, alternative therapy, alternative treatment, postpartum depression, perinatal depression, postpartum anxiety, depression in pregnancy, CAM, physicians
Are doctors or their patients curious about complementary care? The answer is yes.
For a long time now there has been a storm of confusion over alternative and complementary care for perinatal mood changes. Are Omega-3s safe? Do vitamins give me “expensive urine”? Is there anything I can do if my meds don’t work? Professionals and consumers alike have questions- a lot of questions!
A recent study by a firm in my own backyard confirms that providers are leaning hard on the idea of opening their practices to include CAM, complementary and alternative medicine.
How do some providers decide what to offer? Here are their responses:
- “I draw the line on anything that isn’t proven scientifically. Unacceptable are those treatments that only target the practice’s bottom line.”
- “Yes, only those that have stood up to the test of controlled studies are accepted.”
- “No. It seems to me to be driven almost entirely by personal preferences / exposure.”
- “Doctors are not properly trained in the use of alternative medicine and therefore are very reluctant to use them in their practice.”
- “I believe that most physicians are fixed in their mind set about ’scientific medicine’ and ‘alternative medicine,” and it is difficult to change their mind set.”
- “Probably not. From my experience, physicians who discount CAM tend to lump all CAM modalities together regardless of their actual credibility (or lack thereof) and toss out proven methods such as acupuncture regardless of the results.”
For the full article click: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/07/prweb1130784.htm
So, the problem seems to be that consumers WANT alternative care and providers WANT TO PROVIDE IT, but it has to be on their own terms. It must be proven advice, they must be familiar with its use, and they have to believe in its effectiveness.
This blog will focus on providing current thinking on the treatment of perinatal mood disorders using clinical nutrition. It’s a well-documented field with a great amount of promise, and it is a complementary approach, not an alternative one. That means after checking with their doctor, women can choose to incorporate some of the approaches outlined in this blog into an existing medication program. Or, for women who do not care to use medication, these options can serve to reduce or eliminate mood reactions by themselves. Many mothers have experienced a great deal of relief by supplementing their nutrition.
Navigating the very large field of Alternative Medicine will be a secondary focus. This includes areas like ayurvedic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, hypnotherapy, chiropractic, aromatherapy, energy healing, acupuncture; etc.
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