Nursing Corner Building Blocks: Brain Food

At our clinic, we love to bring it back to basics. We want to make sure that our patients know that any treatment modality is enhanced and made more effective by implementing lifestyle measures such as exercise, sleep, and nutrition in addition to their treatment. This is true of medications, therapy, and procedures such as EMDR and TMS (and true for people who are not currently receiving specific treatments). Sometimes these lifestyle medicine components are accessible to patients during the treatment process, and sometimes these treatments can provide patients with the bandwidth to access these nutritional, physical, and socioemotional aspects of their health. Whichever way the cookie crumbles, these functional medicine “building blocks” are essential supportive pieces for anyone looking to heal and feel their best.

Today I want to talk about nutrition: macronutrients and micronutrients that help support healthy brain function. Food is something I am incredibly passionate about as a nurse trained in integrative medicine and functional nutrition (and as a person who loves a good meal). There are many ways that we as providers can add in foods and supplements that are specific to each individual based on their symptoms and testing, but there are also some general recommendations that can be helpful for a good chunk of the population  (Disclaimer: I am a nurse writing a blog post, not a medical doctor, so always consult with your provider before implementing diet or lifestyle changes, especially if you are someone with a complex system)! With that in mind, I’m going to be talking about some of what the psychiatrist I work with calls “low hanging fruit” - otherwise known as things that we can do that are easy first steps in achieving our treatment goals (and will help streamline other interventions).

What we know is that our brains need certain essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to survive and function. One of the biggest players in brain health are the essential fatty acids (EFAs), or omega 3s. Every aspect of neurotransmission (AKA communication) in your brain is dependent upon essential fatty acids, so it makes sense that in studies we see an association between low omega 3 levels and depression/suicidality as well as a reduction in depression symptoms and decreased inflammation in the body with omega 3 supplementation. Inflammation is thought to be one of the root causes of neuropsychological symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and executive dysfunction (as well as a contributor in most if not all disease processes in the body), so addressing fatty acid levels can be a good place to start. Omega 3 supplements are widely available, but with any nutrient it is ideal to obtain it from food sources whenever possible. Things with the best bang for your buck in the realm of omega 3s are avocado, nuts and seeds, and SMASH fish (salmon, mackerel, anchovy, sardine, herring) - there are other foods that contain omega 3s, but these are the heavy hitters that can be of great benefit when added into your weekly rotation of foods!

Vitamin D is another key piece of the puzzle when thinking about brain health and symptoms such as depression, and when we think about the fact that Vitamin D is an essential cofactor for serotonin synthesis in the brain, it makes sense that there is such a strong connection between Vitamin D deficiency and depression. While Vitamin D supplementation should be implemented only after confirmation of deficiency via lab testing and at the direction of a medical professional, it can’t hurt to have a goal of getting some sunshine every day for a natural Vitamin D boost (with the added bonus of regulating your circadian rhythm if you get out there and get some rays between the hours of 7 and 11 AM). 

When thinking about neurological health, magnesium shouldn’t be overlooked.