The MindHealth360 Show Kirkland Newman

Awareness Is Not Enough: Reflections on The Staggering Statistics for Adolescent Mental Health: Dr James Greenblatt’s extract from IMMH Integrative Medicine for Mental Health Conference 2023. Dr. Greenblatt will be speaking at IMMH 2024: www.immh.org about Suicide Prevention Redefined: The Tragic Consequences of Ignoring Functional Medicine so come join us at the Gaylord National Harbor Resort in Washington, DC 10-13th October 2024 to hear him and our other fantastic speakers on the latest scientific research and best clinical practice around integrative mental health and functional medicine psychiatry. In this moving and important extract from child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Greenblatt’s presentation for the IMMH Integrative Medicine for Mental Health Conference 2023, Dr. Greenblatt, a pioneer in the field of integrative and functional medicine psychiatry with over 35 years of clinical experience, gives us the hard truth around the staggering statistics and crisis in adolescent mental health, the failure of current treatment models and the importance of taking an integrative and functional medicine approach which diagnose and treat the root cause and the individual biochemistry of patients to bring about sustainable healing. In this extract from IMMH 2023, he delves into the critical role of nutritional lithium in mental health, particularly focusing on the concept of lithium deficiency syndrome in children and adolescents, making a compelling argument about how low-dose lithium, a simple but often overlooked micronutrient, is essential for brain health and can significantly influence behaviours related to ADHD, autism, irritability, bipolar disorder, and aggression. In this presentation learn about: - The failure of current mental health treatment and the epidemic of mental health issues and suicidality in children and adolescents; - The correlation between aggression against self (suicide) and others (violent criminals) and low lithium levels; - Lithium as the anti-impulsive nutrient for ADHD, bipolar, aggression and road rage; - Lithium and other nutritional supplements as part of a more effective and sustainable treatment alongside, or even instead of conventional psychiatric treatments, allowing for the reduction of psychiatric medication such as antipsychotics, mood stabilisers and tranquillisers; - The clinical and research-based evidence supporting the use of low-dose lithium in treating and possibly preventing a range of psychiatric disorders such as autism, suicidality, irritability, bipolar 2, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, aggression, etc.; - Low dose micronutrient lithium and lithium carbonate both as anti-suicidality molecule according to 50 years of research; - The relationship between elemental lithium and lithium carbonate (used in conventional bipolar treatment); - Understanding functional Lithium Deficiency Syndrome due to genetics (which can be tested) and nutritional status; - Understanding who will be the most responsive to lithium supplementation, and how to test for lithium deficiency including hair mineral analysis, symptoms and family history; - Lithium’s effect on neurotransmitters including decreasing glutamate and dopamine which are excitatory, and increasing serotonin and gaba, which are inhibitory; - Lithium’s positive effects on inflammation, oxidative stress, and microglial activation ; - Best doses for nutritional lithium, side effects and best sources; - The effects of lithium on neurodegeneration and its role in dementia care. Find out more about IMMH and book your tickets for the IMMH 2024 conference: www.immh.org

Join Us for an Inspiring Episode of The MindHealth360 Show with Susi Amendola - How to Build Nervous System Resilience with Daily Practices.
We are excited to bring you an enlightening conversation with Susi Amendola, an internationally certified yoga therapist with over 40 years of experience in utilizing yoga and lifestyle practices for healing. She holds an ERYT 500 with Yoga Alliance as well as a C-IAYT with the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She founded Yoga Now in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1983, where she teaches and directs a 200-hour yoga certification program. She currently serves as a Stress Management Specialist for Ornish Lifestyle Medicine, a Medicare-approved intensive cardiac rehab program. Susi has developed yoga-based stress management programs for schools, businesses, and hospitals throughout the country. Additionally, she has written over 150 articles for Ornish Living Magazine, which reaches over a million subscribers, and is the author of 'The Centered Heart: Evidence-Based, Mind-Body Practices to Stress Less and Improve Cardiac Health'.
In this episode, Susi shares her profound insights into how yoga, meditation, and relaxation can bridge the divide between the body and the mind, and transform mental health by building nervous system resilience and reducing anxiety. In this helpful and fascinating interview,Susi challenges traditional approaches to mental health with more somatic ones, and offers practical, evidence-based techniques for integrating these powerful practices into your daily life.
Learn about:
The importance of training the nervous system for long-term resilience instead of just temporary stress relief
How daily practices can help switch from being in chronic sympathetic overdrive, which can cause harmful cardiovascular, immune and endocrine imbalances to being in  parasympathetic states which encourage rest, digest, growth, repair and restoration
Insights into the Ornish Lifestyle Medicine program and its success in cardiac health
The 7 evidence-based mind-body practices outlined in Susi Amendola's book, The Centered Heart: Evidence-Based, Mind-Body Practices to Stress Less and Improve Cardiac Health
The connection between trauma, dissociation, and the necessity of somatic practices like yoga to encourage re-embodiment 
Breathing exercises to help manage panic and anxiety
How our nasal tissue responds to circadian rhythms, and how each nostril connects to a different part of the nervous system
Why it’s essential to build your daily routine around stress management and relaxation rather than try to fit them into your daily routine
Deep relaxation practices and their benefits over and beyond sleep

In this fascinating interview for The MindHealth360 Show, Dr. Leslie Korn discusses the connection between our biochemistry and our psychology; between trauma, nutrition, and mental health. With extensive expertise in integrative medicine and somatic and psychological therapies, Dr. Korn explores the impact of trauma and chronic stress on our biochemistry, and tells us how to balance our biochemistry for better nervous system resilience and better health. She explains how dietary choices, specific nutrients, plants and herbs, and personalised nutritional strategies can be vital for recovery from trauma, PTSD and mental and physical well-being. She underlines the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, especially when integrated with traditional healing rituals, and uses her extensive experience of working with indigenous cultures to suggest tried and tested approaches to improving mental health and resilience. 
Dr. Leslie Korn is an expert in integrative medicine with over 40 years of clinical experience, focusing on stress, trauma, cognitive function, and chronic physical illness. She began her training in Mexico where she worked extensively with indigenous cultures, and continued at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Korn holds a PhD in Behavioral Medicine, an MPH from Harvard, and an MA in cross-cultural health psychology. She has developed the Brainbow Blueprint®, an individualized integrative approach, and has trained over 30,000 health professionals. Additionally, she directs the Leslie Korn Institute of Integrative Medicine, has pioneered somatic therapies at Harvard, and is an author of 10 books on related subjects including Nutrition Essentials for Mental Health, Rhythms of Recovery: Integrative Medicine for the treatment of PTSD and Complex Trauma, The Good Mood Kitchen, Natural Woman, and The Brainbow Blueprint: A Clinical Guide to Integrative Medicine and Nutrition for Mental Well-Being.
 
In this interview learn about:
Dr. Korn’s key principles for better mental health (eat breakfast, nourish both brains, eat only when relaxed, eliminate toxins, etc.)
The best nutrition for your gut (foods that damage, foods that heal) and the link between gut health, mood and brain health
The importance of circadian rhythms, exercise and other movement in combination with the right nutrition
Key herbs and plant therapies for healing
The importance of community for physical, emotional and spiritual healing
Biochemical and psychological stressors which hamper our innate capacity to heal
How trauma and PTSD impact our biochemistry (inflammation, gut dysbiosis, poor nutrition, difficulty with self-care, immune and neuro-endocrine imbalances, metabolic dysfunction, difficulty with detoxification)
What we can learn from indigenous cultures about healing, nutrition, sacred rituals, and mental health
How addictions and eating disorders are dissociative disorders and the link with trauma and control  
Why eating more fats and proteins and less sugar is so crucial to brain health and mood stability; and sugar addiction, food cravings and their link with trauma and stress
The connection between dysregulated cortisol rhythms and mood, anxiety and sleep, and how chronic cortisol exposure can cause neuronal death
The best biochemical tests for mental health (toxins, nutrients status, etc.)
Key nutrients for mental health (vitamin D, omega 3 fatty acids, B vitamins, magnesium, chromium, lithium)
How trauma creates an altered state of consciousness, and how psychedelics also create an altered state of consciousness, but one that can help us heal   
Why it’s so important to use psychedelics in their traditional and sacred contexts, and how the ritual of therapy is crucial to the experience 
How psych drugs such as SSRIs, sleeping pills and antipsychotics as well as other medications such as statins and NSAIDs can suppress mitochondrial function and harm the gut, thereby exacerbating menta

In this illuminating extract from his IMMH 2023 presentation, Dr. Porges takes us on a fascinating tour of his groundbreaking polyvagal theory, the connection between our nervous system and mental health, and the role of the vagus nerve in regulating emotions and responses to trauma. With a distinguished career spanning multiple institutions and numerous accolades, Dr. Porges shares insights on how understanding and managing the nervous system can revolutionise mental health treatment.
Dr. Stephen Porges is a distinguished university scientist at Indiana University, the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium at the Kinsey Institute, and a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina. He is also a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. With over 400 peer-reviewed scientific papers and several influential books, Dr. Porges has significantly advanced our understanding of the nervous system's role in mental health. His latest book, Our Polyvagal World: Health, Safety, and Trauma, co-authored with his son Seth Porges, further explores these themes.
In this episode, learn about:
Mechanisms of the autonomic nervous system: an in-depth exploration of the ventral vagal complex and its role in modulating physiological responses to stress and safety
Polyvagal Theory in clinical practice: practical applications of Polyvagal Theory in therapeutic settings, including strategies for enhancing autonomic regulation and resilience in patients
The concept of neuroception and its implications for understanding how the nervous system detects and responds to environmental cues of safety and threat
Advanced therapeutic interventions based on Polyvagal Theory, focusing on how to effectively engage the parasympathetic nervous system to improve outcomes in trauma and stress-related disorders
The significance of assessing and modulating autonomic state to optimise therapeutic interventions and improve patient outcomes in mental health treatment
How the evolution of the autonomic nervous system supports social behaviours and the implications for mental health treatments
Understanding the physiological underpinnings of emotional regulation and dysregulation through the lens of Polyvagal Theory
Cutting-edge methods for assessing autonomic state and bio-behavioural reactivity to enhance diagnostic accuracy and personalise treatment plans
Dr. Porges will be elaborating on this theory and putting it into practice at the Integrative Medicine for Mental Health Conference (IMMH 2024) in Washington, DC, October 2024. There he will be presenting his new polyvagal music initiative, designed to regulate the nervous system using musical interventions. He will be teaming up with Seth Porges, his son and co-author of “Our Polyvagal World” and celebrated Music Producer Anthony Gorry to present  The Transformative Power of Music Scientifically Composed to Signal Safety to the Nervous System. For more details, visit IMMH
 

In this compelling extract from IMMH 2023, Dr. Robert Lustig, a globally recognized  paediatric neuroendocrinologist, delves into the intricate connections between diet, metabolic health and mental health. Dr. Lustig, with a career marked by extensive research and advocacy, shows us how dietary choices profoundly influence brain function and neurochemistry and contribute to various mental health disorders. His pioneering work underscores the critical role of metabolic health for maintaining optimal mental well-being.
Dr. Lustig has a stellar academic and clinical career, with a BSc in Nutritional Biochemistry from MIT, an MD from Cornell University Medical College, and an MSL from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
He is Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and throughout his career has made significant contributions to the understanding of the adverse effects of sugar and processed foods on public health, and has been instrumental in advocating for changes in dietary guidelines and public health policies aimed at combating the global epidemic of chronic metabolic diseases.
Dr. Lustig’s extensive research portfolio includes over 125 peer-reviewed articles published in renowned journals such as Nature, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism and The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. He is also an acclaimed author, with notable books including Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease, The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains, and Metabolical: The Lure and Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine.
In this episode, learn about:
The alarming rise in global metabolic and mental health disorders and their intricate connections
Mechanisms by which sugar and fructose function as mitochondrial toxins and cause oxidative stress in neuronal cells, contributing to neurological and psychiatric disorders
The therapeutic potential of ketogenic diets in treating neuropsychiatric conditions, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
The effects of insulin resistance on neuronal energy metabolism and its implications for mental health
The impact of gut microbiota and the gut-brain axis on mental health, emphasising dietary interventions to support these systems
Evidence-based dietary interventions for improved metabolic and mental health outcomes
The role of chronic low-grade inflammation in mood disorders and the influence of dietary factors in modulating inflammatory states
We are thrilled that Dr. Lustig is one of our keynote speakers at the IMMH 2024 Conference in Washington DC from 10-13 October, and will be giving two presentations on Technology Addiction in Children and "Amygdala Unchained" Ground Zero for the Syndemic and the Meta-Crisis
For more information and to register, visit IMMH. www.immh.org
 

In this enlightening episode of MindHealth360, Dr. Sharon Hausman-Cohen, a visionary in the field of genomics, delves into the transformative impact of genetic insights on mental health treatment. As a co-founder of IntellxxDNA, she explores how understanding an individual's genetic profile can lead to highly personalised treatment strategies that can help prevent, treat and even reverse  mental health issues. Dr. Hausman-Cohen discusses the integration of genomics with traditional mental health approaches, highlighting the potential for revolutionising diagnoses and treatments.
Dr. Hausman-Cohen is not only a respected researcher but also a trailblazer in applying genomic data towards practical, clinical solutions. With over two decades of experience in integrative medicine, she has dedicated her career to enhancing patient outcomes through innovative medical practices which involve cutting edge genetic research with targeted personalised treatment strategies. In an approach unique to Intelxxdna and due to an extensive library of research applied to her genetic findings, she is able to match lifestyle, dietary and supplemental interventions with specific genetic variations for personalised and effective treatment plans. Her expertise and commitment have positioned her as a leader in the field, particularly in the area of cognitive health, where she has made significant contributions to understanding and treating conditions such as Alzheimer’s and other cognitive disorders.
This comprehensive discussion with Dr. Hausman-Cohen not only sheds light on the scientific aspects of genomics but also offers hope and actionable advice for those seeking to understand and manage their mental health through cutting-edge medical advancements.
In this episode, learn about:
The foundational role of genomics in understanding and treating mental health conditions.
How personalised genetic information is used to tailor mental health interventions.
The synergy between genetic data and environmental/lifestyle factors in managing mental health.
Case studies and personal insights on the impact of genomic understanding in clinical practice.
Future directions in mental health treatment with the advancement of genomic technology.
 
Guest’s Social Media Channels:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-h-26185718 
Resources Mentioned:
IntellxxDNA: Visit IntellxxDNA's website for more information on Dr. Hausman-Cohen's work.