Types of therapy
At Paracelsus Recovery, our 360-degree treatment model features psychonutrition. The aim of our psychonutrition treatments is to identify the relationship between emotions and how you eat and address any issues which may be negatively impacting your well-being.
What is psychonutrition?
Psychonutrition is about feeding your mind. It is a therapeutic approach that uses diet and nutrition to treat mental and emotional health issues. Psychonutrition is an emerging field that merges together nutrition and psychiatry to focus on the impact of food on mental and emotional health. Due to the mind-body connection, our psychological states are affected by the food we eat. Similarly, our eating habits are influenced by psychological states. Whenever there are nutritional deficiencies, such as an imbalance of gut bacteria, neurotransmitters, hormones and vital micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and amino acids), this can contribute to mental health issues. By identifying and correcting these imbalances and deficiencies with nutrition, health can be restored.
At Paracelsus Recovery, psychonutrition works in conjunction with functional medicine, intensive laboratory testing and biochemical restoration treatment. Our team of highly skilled psychonutrition specialists will carry out comprehensive testing. Based on this information, they will develop a unique treatment plan to target nutritional imbalances using nutrition in the form of food, supplements and IV fusions. They will also provide you with the resources necessary to improve your relationship with food and make long-lasting, positive changes to your diet. However, nutrition is not a cure-all solution; correcting imbalances with nutrition is just one part of a bigger puzzle. To target the multiple root causes of mental health and addiction issues, a holistic approach to treatment is required.
How is psychonutrition helpful?
Psychonutrition is helpful in treating eating disorders, substance abuse disorder and various mental health conditions such as stress, depression, anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). As substance abuse dependency, eating disorders and mental health challenges are born, in part, from imbalance within the mind-body relationship, psychonutrition has a key role to play in facilitating recovery. Many individuals struggling with addiction or mental health conditions are often malnourished and lacking in vital vitamins and minerals. It is common to experience digestive issues, a weakened immune system, gut imbalance and non-bacterial inflammation. The gut, often referred to as our ‘second brain’, produces neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, which have an essential influence on mental health. As a result, restoring the healthy gut bacteria and removing damaged bacteria is essential to ensure a long-lasting recovery.
However, the benefits of psychonutrition treatment extend beyond this. It helps restore your health on a physical, psychological and cellular level. This works in various ways. For example, psychonutrition strengthens your mind-body connection, promotes a healthier attitude and provides resources and knowledge required for a long-lasting and robust recovery. For example, through receiving psychonutrition treatment, you become more informed about how your diet may contribute to mental health concerns. You can understand what dietary and nutritional adjustments to make to better support your mental and emotional health moving forward. This includes learning to eat more foods that are linked to good health, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, omega-3 fatty acids, nuts, seeds, fermented foods and so on. You will also learn to eat fewer foods that can damage your mental health, such as highly-processed foods.
Is psychonutrition evidence-based?
While psychonutrition is a relatively new field, there is a growing body of research into how nutrition and psychiatry intersect. Current evidence supports the fact that the foods we eat affect our mental health. For example, a review of the surge of studies done in recent years on the mental health impacts of diet concluded that there is promising therapeutic and preventative potential in dietary interventions. Another study into food and mood found poor nutrition to be a potential contributor to low mood, underlining the importance of using dietary measures to improve mental health.
In particular, the link between nutrition and depression has been well-studied to date. For example, one study on patients with depression found that taking a vitamin D supplement eased symptoms of depression. And another study found eating fruits and vegetables to be a predictor of life satisfaction, happiness and general well-being. A different study concluded that eating vegetables can reduce symptoms of depression in those with clinical depression. The same study found that increased fruit and vegetable consumption has a positive impact on psychological health. A study into psychiatric patients found the Mediterranean diet to be effective in reducing depression symptoms. It also found a positive relationship between a low inflammatory diet and depression. Also, the use of probiotics has been shown to help treat depression.
Despite such promising findings of studies into the link between nutrition and mental health to date, the use of psychonutrition as a treatment for mental health is not yet widespread. At Paracelsus Recovery, we are proud to offer our clients the benefits of this promising new therapeutic approach.
Sharing insight
