by Chris Shugart
Metabolism vs. Mental Health
There might be a brand-new way to lift us out of bad moods and even treat depression, and it doesn't involve drugs or a therapist's couch.
Are you carrying around too much body fat? Then you're statistically more likely to be sad, but not for the reasons you might think.
Yes, being fat sucks, but it goes beyond self-esteem and social issues. That metabolic dysfunction (insulin resistance, systemic inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, etc.) affects how your brain works. It can lead to depression and even something we now call bipolar depression – low-energy episodes mixed with manic episodes.
Fit people too can suffer from these mood disorders. Around 11 million Americans experience bipolar-related issues at least some of the time. Emerging research sheds some light on this topic, and it may help everyone, from those diagnosed with severe issues to folks who just sometimes find themselves in a gloomy funk.
The New Field of Metabolic Psychiatry
To treat depression, psychology and psychiatry have relied on two main tools: therapy and drugs. "What's making you unhappy? Tell me about your overbearing mother." Or, "You have a chemical imbalance. Here's a drug."
Both tools have their drawbacks. Talk therapy doesn't address the physiological side and can make things worse by having you ruminate on negative experiences or thoughts. Drug therapy often dismisses the emotional side. But now, there's a new approach: treating depression not as a mood disorder but as a metabolic disorder, a malfunctioning of your body's energy regulation system.
Researcher Iain Campbell is at the forefront. He believes depression is linked to metabolism disturbances. Fix those issues and depressive symptoms are alleviated or more easily managed. His primary tool is the ketogenic diet: the very low-carb, high-fat diet you know well from the fitness world, but also used to treat epilepsy.
The idea is to encourage the body to produce ketones for energy. Ketones, Dr. Campbell says, help stabilize mood by improving brain metabolism, reducing inflammation, and providing an alternative energy source for neurons that are otherwise dysfunctional in bipolar people.
He also prescribes exercise (for fat loss and endorphin production), fixing sleep problems, talk therapy, and filling in nutritional gaps. Correcting circadian rhythm disturbances plays a role, too, since people with bipolar depression seem to be more sensitive to light and seasonal changes. Research is underway on all these things, and it looks hopeful.
How to Use This Info
Most of us don't have a diagnosable mood disorder, but just about all of us go through emotional slumps. Yes, the emotional side of things is real, but the severity of how we react to those bad feelings and crappy situations is rooted in physiology and, according to Dr. Campbell, our metabolic systems. Here are our takeaways:
- If light and metabolism are related to depressive symptoms, maybe the whole "bulk in the winter" thing is a bad idea. When taken too far, your mass phase can trigger multiple metabolic disturbances linked to mood disorders. Combined with shorter days, the odds of having a mood crash are higher.
- While I'm not a huge fan of keto diets for fat loss (other approaches work just as well and are easier), their role in mood disorders is intriguing. At the very least, it could provide a relatively quick way to lift someone out of a depressive state.
- Dr. Campbell acknowledges the impact of nutrient imbalances on mental health, but it's not his main focus. He might be missing something:
- Magnesium: Magnesium should be called "the mental health mineral" due to its role in brain function and mood regulation. It supports neurotransmitters like serotonin, which affect mood, and magnesium deficiencies are linked to depression. Magnesium also helps you sleep. To ensure absorption, supplement with Albion-chelated magnesium, 400 mg daily. Elitepro Vital Minerals (Buy at Amazon) contains just that.
- Vitamin D: Dr. Campbell discusses light and circadian rhythms, which are important, but part of "light" is vitamin D, which is hard to get in the winter. Low levels of vitamin D are strongly associated with depression and the accumulation of metabolism-disrupting body fat. Supplement with microencapsulated D3, which is more bioavailable and lasts longer in the body. D Fix High Absorption Vitamin D (Buy at Amazon) contains 5000 IU of this form.
- Omega-3s: Low levels of DHA and EPA fatty acids are linked to brain inflammation, neurotransmitter dysfunction, and depressive symptoms. Take a high-DHA fish oil supplement like Flameout (Buy at Amazon), which uses a pharmaceutical delivery system for maximal absorption.
- B Vitamins: B vitamins support neurotransmitter function and energy metabolism. Deficiencies, especially in B12, B6, and folate (B9), are associated with an increased risk of mood disorders. If you're an anti-animal-product person, supplement with B12. If you don't eat many plants, you might need some supplemental folate.
