A new approach to addressing children’s mental health: Focus on gut health
When a child has behavioural or emotional problems, the established route is to seek the help of a therapist. While talking about difficulties can be very helpful, it is not the only key to good mental health.
In the past, the brain and the body have been treated as completely separate spheres. The dividing line between the body and the brain (the blood/brain barrier) was assumed to be completely impermeable, so how could the body affect the brain?
Recent neuroscientific discoveries have, however, shown this assumption to be false.
The blood brain barrier is, in fact, permeable, with the immune system, toxins and excitatory foodstuffs capable of crossing it. In fact, some 60-80 per cent of our ‘neurotransmitters’ are manufactured in our guts. We now understand that the gut microbiome plays a pivotal role in healthy brain functioning.
Addressing behavioural and emotional difficulties without looking at the rest of the body, appears increasingly outdated.
A simple gut health programme may be all that is needed to improve mood/behaviour.
A healthy gut is a healthy mind
A good place to start is gut health. An unhealthy gut biome directly impacts behaviour, interfering with neurotransmitter production, releasing neurotoxins and causing brain altering inflammation. A simple gut health programme may be all that is needed to improve mood/behaviour.
For others, particularly those diagnosed with ADHD or autism, difficulty digesting gluten and milk may result in morphine-like molecules, crossing into the brain which can, in turn cause hyperactive behaviour. Eliminating these substances from the diet can be a game-changer.
A game-changing way to rebalance neurotransmitters
Walsh Nutrient Therapy is highly effective for working with mental health.
Perhaps most excitingly, The Walsh Institute’s work points to an alternative approach. They analysed the biochemistry of over 30,000 people with a range of behavioural and mental health diagnoses to look for patterns. Their reported analysis revealed that specific biochemical imbalances in the body produce neurotransmitter imbalances, making us more depressed, anxious, hyperactive or aggressive/violent.
Most importantly, their work showed that these imbalances can be tested for and targeted using high doses of vitamin/mineral supplementation, called Nutrient Therapy.
Walsh also identifies five distinct biotypes of depression, rather than one, each with a different biochemistry, requiring different approaches. This is why the ‘one size fits all’ approach of SSRI antidepressants does not work for everyone.
As numbers of childhood mental health problems continue to rise, it is heartening that new science is paving the way for an alternative therapeutic approach.
“It is nothing short of a miracle what you’ve achieved with our son over such a short time and I know that we’ve really only just started. Can’t wait to see what happens next! It’s staggering really how little is really known and understood about all of this. Having seen our son wrongly medicated I can really appreciate some of the more scary stats about consequences as we’ve almost been there. I’m spreading the word as widely as I can!” - Clare, Mother of 18 year old son, October 2022
Contact us today find out how we can help your child's mental health.