Looking at Metabolic Health May Be the Answer to Mental Health Conditions

header image; brain to food

Cyndi O'Meara

Cyndi is about educating. Her greatest love is to teach, both in the public arena and within the large corporate food companies, to enable everyone to make better choices so they too can enjoy greater health throughout their lives. Considered one of the world's foremost experts in Nutrition, Cyndi brings over 40 years experience, research and knowledge.

Manic depression, known as bipolar disorder, has been treated with drugs and psychotherapy but a new study based out of Edinburgh University is seeing the mental health disorder as something quite different. Rather than treating it as a mental health issue, it is now being seen as a metabolic and circadian health issue.  And that’s good news.

520,000 people or 1 in 50 have a diagnosis of bipolar in Australia, in the UK the number is around 1,000,000 and the US above 7,000,000.  Approximately 2.3% of the population across these three nations have the condition. In the last decade this has increased exponentially. Bipolar symptoms include extremes in energy, mood and focus, oscillating between highs and lows.

At The Nutrition Academy we follow the philosophy of Vitalism, which dictates that the human body is an innate intelligence, give it all the right ingredients and take away interference and it can be the healthiest it can be. On the other hand, mental health is viewed in an opposing way with the philosophy of mechanism where the body is made up of parts: diagnose and then treat the sick part (brain and mind) with medications without any thought for the rest of the body or environment.

I don’t know if you have noticed but between the head and the body there is a giant neck. It is the physical representation of the bridge between the body and the mind. This bridge is part of the transport system of cell made chemicals for communication, feedback and stimulation, it also has a nervous system that is controlled by the brain that sends electrical impulses to every part of the body and then a feedback loop telling the brain what it needs to do for the body to be at homeostasis, physically and mentally.  There is also the gut-brain axis which shows the health of the gut is very much in alignment with the health of the body and mind and thought processes. 

The Vagus nerve, one of the cranial nerves, carries signals back and forth from the brain to the digestive system, thoracic (heart) and abdominal cavity. Vagus is Latin for ‘wandering’ as it makes its way through the body, communicating back and forth to the brain about the body’s vital organs.

When we treat the mind, brain or head as a separate entity not attached to a body (or an environment as psychiatry has traditionally done) then we miss out on valuable resources to help the person suffering from a mental health disorder such as bipolar to get well.

This new study out of Edinburgh spearheaded by Dr Iain Campbell, who is afflicted with bipolar and has lost family members to the mental health disorder, is redefining the disease as a metabolic disorder and thereby looking at the ketogenic diet and circadian health. In other words, they are beginning to see a link between mental health and physical health and environmental stimulus like light and sunshine.

It’s exciting times as I see an awakening to holistic health management that I didn’t see 44 years ago when I started my nutrition training. In fact, if you mentioned diet for any disease including mental health disorders you would be told that diet has nothing to do with the presenting condition of the patient. I would be so frustrated by this narrative and because I wasn’t a doctor, I was seen as someone who didn’t know what I was talking about.

I am now seeing more research showing that by looking holistically at the condition, body, mind and environment then significant leaps can be made in the long-term prospects of cure and prevention without the use of medications for the rest of the person’s life.

The trick is to look at everything.

Vitalism is not the only guiding principle of The Nutrition Academy and The Functional Nutrition Course. Anthropology and cultural anthropology are the second half of the guiding principle. We believe that anthropology can assist us in changing health outcomes. 

Dr Iain Campbell shows that the ketogenic diet is helpful in bipolar disorders.

Throughout the history of man, there has been an ebb and flow to the food supply. As hunter-gatherers, food was usually plentiful in the summer with lots of plants like fruit (carbohydrates) whereas, as the winter came, the plants became scarce and animals (fat and protein) became the main fare. Of course, this is a generalisation as there were many factors that changed this such as what altitude, latitude and longitude the human lived at. Closer to the equator, there were more plants, the further away from the equator and/or the higher in altitude the less plants.

The human body evolved to live with these extremes by being able to use carbohydrates, fats and proteins as sources of energy and building blocks.  If one of the macronutrients were missing, the body changed the fuel it used. If it was carbohydrates then the main energy was glucose to fuel the mitochondria to make energy.  If fats and protein were all that was available then the body would use ketones as its main source of fuel.  The brain also was fed by glucose and ketones depending on what was being eaten.  

It’s interesting to note that when your brain is fuelled by ketones you are more adventurous and curious. This was important as animals moved and migrated and we had to have energy, adventure and curiosity to survive. Whereas when the brain is fuelled by glucose we are more subdued, calm and happy to just sit.  This was also advantageous to our survival as plants don’t move and we would stay around a tree until all the produce was eaten.

Due to the changing seasons, migrations and food availability there was a constant changing and adaptation to these different fuels.  This is how it was. But with the modern supermarket we can eat carbohydrates all day, every day, all year our whole life without having to adapt and change our energy source. Stage right anthropology. Our body needs the ebb and flow of macronutrients as a source of information about the environment, about seasons, about sunlight availability. All these allow the body to receive the right signals for health, longevity and perpetuation of the human species. Without it we would not have survived to now.  

Yes we can live on carbohydrates and ultra-processed foods, but are we really living when the WHO predicts by 2048 between 88 and 90% of the world population will die from a chronic disease. This means that if we continue to treat chronic disease like bipolar with medication as opposed to a more vitalistic approach then we live with the condition for the rest of our lives with pain, reduced function, and worsening mental health issues to name a few, and that to me is no way to live.

Anthropology also shows an outdoor life punctuated by the sun rising and the sun setting with different light frequencies communicating with the cells of the body throughout the day.  Nature also was a part of our anthropological times; plants and the ground contribute significantly to the body’s need for minerals and ions. For instance, we know plants give us oxygen, but if you sit under or brush by a giant tree fern, magnesium is given off. All plants circulate certain minerals and release them to the soil or air.  As you walk through a forest spore biotics surround you which then help the keystone microbes in your microbiome and when you walk barefoot on the natural ground, ions pass through the soles of your feet to fuel the electron transport chain to make energy, as well as fuel the communication of all your cells. 

When science catches up and proves the merit of these two amazing philosophies, such as this research on bipolar disorder with the ketogenic diet and light, I know that the guiding principles of the nutrition academy will stand the test of time.    

Are you prepared to wait for science, or can you take the leap now and make changes in your lifestyle that emulate in this modern world living a more hunter gatherer lifestyle.  It doesn’t mean you have to live in the woods and catch and gather your food, you just have to emulate some of the principles.

There are so many factors to consider but for starters if you do suffer from a mental health disorder, begin with a diet change.  The Ketogenic Diet is a great place to start.  I’ve written a book on it called The Ketogenic Way. Once you have taken that leap and have found a balance in energy then it is about seeing the sun rise and sun set, getting out into the sun even if under the shade of a tree in the middle of the day, go barefoot on natural ground surfaces, take a hike in the forest, woods, or rainforest, swim in a creek or ocean, create good sleep patterns and reduce screen time 2 hours before bed time.

In March of 2024, The Nutrition Academy had a Melbourne Summit.  We invited respected circadian rhythm researcher Dr Sean Cain from Monash University to present. His talk emulated the research by Dr Iain Campbell and his question on circadian health and bipolar.  Dr Campbell notes that bipolar disorders become more severe in the autumn and winter because this is when the sun is moving toward the equator and less light and more night is inevitable. Dr Sean Cain shows the individuality of light sensitivity of humans, in other words we are all different.  

Considering the anthropological principle most people lived in locations of constant environmental changes, their skin colour changed, their light exposure changed, and their wake and sleep cycle changed.  There may be genetic factors involved and with the constant migration of modern humanity to climates unlike the climates of origins this may be something that Dr Campbell will scientifically show that for some people more outside time and nature time may be the one catalyst that shifts their bipolar severity in the autumn and winter.  I look forward to following his work.

There are many scientists and doctors now discovering that we cannot fix the mind and body with a lifelong prescription of medication.  All we do is mask the symptom and never get to the root cause. Most of the things I’ve talked about don’t cost any money, they are far cheaper than a lifetime prescription of medication with dubious side effects. There are times for medication, but diet and lifestyle must become the overarching treatment for mental and physical health issues.

If you are a professional or an individual that wants to help your clients or take responsibility for your health then arming yourself with the proven principles of our functional nutrition course can help your clients and/or yourself to become the best you can be.  Education is the key but more importantly putting it into action is what makes the difference. 

Cyndi O’Meara

Founder of The Nutrition Academy

Founder of The Changing Habits Farm ( a place to reconnect in nature)

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