brain health — writing pieces — Unspoken Nutrition

Thyroid hormones are essential for brain development.

Thyroid hormones influence neurogenesis (neuron processing), neuronal migration (pathway of neurons from origin), neuronal and glial cell differentiation, myelination (formation of the myelin sheath), and synaptogenesis (formation of synapses). Thyroid hormones (which includes TSH, T4 and T3) are essential for brain maturation and functioning all throughout life. When someone has a thyroid dis-ease, the functioning of the brain is also affected and it can lead to a variety of clinical manifestations.

Hypothyroidism causes lethargy, hyporeflexia, poor motor coordination, bipolar affective disorders, depression, and loss of cognitive functions, especially in the elderly. It can also cause mood disorders, dementia, confusion, and personality changes.

Subclinical hypothyroidism is often associated with memory impairment

Hyperthyroidism causes anxiety, irritability, hyperreflexia, mood disorders, dementia, confusion, and personality changes. (NBK285549)

The good news is that most of these disorders are usually reversible with proper treatment and care.

When thinking about treating the thyroid, many mistakenly think to treat the thyroid first. What should be nurtured first, especially in the case of someone newly diagnosed, is the state of mental health and any neurological symptoms that person may be experiencing. This is one of the reasons why thyroid disease often goes undiagnosed, because if we’re looking at just the neurological symptoms without adequate lab work, someone could be categorized under a general category and not given the care they truly need.

If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms at minimum and have a history of thyroid disease on either side of your family, I urge you to ask your doctor to fun a full thyroid panel on you. A full thyroid panel includes:

TSH
Total T3
Total T4
Free T3
Free T4
Reverse T3
TBG (transporters)
TPOab (for Hashimotos antibodies)
TSI (for Graves’ antibodies)

Furthermore, if you have been diagnosed with thyroid disease and haven’t turned your attention towards nurturing your brain health, here is where you can start.

Ways to Holistically Support Your Brain Health

Nutrition

The foods you eat, play a large role in your brain health. Having a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, healthy fats such as olive oil and avocados and a limit on red meat contributes to a healthy mind.

Movement

Your brain is a muscle, therefore practicing in movements to support this muscle is key to optimal brain health. Regular exercise increases the number of tiny blood vessels that bring oxygen-rich blood to regions of the brain that are responsible for thought. Exercise also helps to develop new nerve cells and increases the connections between synapses, brain cells. Aim to practice a form of movement daily, even if for 20 minutes a day. This can include walking, yoga, pilates, swimming, aerobic exercise such as tennis or dance. Find something that you love, practice a variety of movements and have fun with it.

Mental Stimulation

If you brain is a muscle, then you need to use it. Keeping your brain sharp and in shape helps stimulate new connections between nerve cells and may even help the brain generate new cells, developing neurological "plasticity. Challenge and activate your mind, any mentally stimulating activity will help to build up your brain. Reading, taking courses, word puzzles, drawing, painting and card games are all accessible ways. Challenging your mind may have short and long-term benefits for your brain.

Quality Sleep

Those with hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, often have trouble with sleep. Sleep plays an important role in brain health, with some theories stating that sleep can help clear abnormal proteins in your brain and consolidate memories, which boosts your overall memory and brain health. Aim to get 7 to 8 consecutive hours of sleep per night. Creating an evening ritual is just as important as a morning ritual. Use tools such as candles, essential oils, sound therapy and meditation to create a tranquil environment. Keep electronics away at minimum 30 minutes prior to sleeping and make sure your bedroom is cool, dark and comfortable.

Communication and Socialization

For those struggling with depression or anxiety especially, having a safe and supportive outlet is so important and vital for deep rooted healing. Having a support system that you can turn to as a sounding board and shoulder to lean on can do wonders for supporting the health of your mental landscape. If you feel that you need emotional and mental support beyond friends and family, seek professional help through therapy or coaching. As someone who suffered from debilitating anxiety for years, I wasn’t well until I dealt with the “stuff” going on up there *points to head*

Social interaction can also help ward off feelings of depression, anxiety and overall stress. Remaining socially active can help strengthen the health of your brain. Pursue activities that are meaningful to you - join a club, charity program, sign up for a class or simply share activities with friends and family.

Sources: Harvard Health, Alzheimer’s Association, MayoClinic

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Women are more likely to experience depression and anxiety than men. However this does not dismiss that one average, 1 in 8 men will experience depression and 1 in 5 men will experience anxiety at some stage of their lives.

And even though men are less likely to experience both, they are also less likely to talk about it, which increases the risk of their anxiety and/or depression going unrecognized and untreated.

**I’m moving away from using the term mental health, because of the stigma surrounding it.**

Stigma can often times lead to discrimination. And whether that looks like someone making a negative remark about a mental illness or treatment or perhaps avoiding someone because they might seem unstable or dangerous due to a mental illness, can all be harmful.

According to Mayo Clinic, there are several harmful effects of stigma towards mental health:

Reluctance to seek help or treatment
Lack of understanding by family, friends, co-workers or others
Fewer opportunities for work, school or social activities or trouble finding housing
Bullying, physical violence or harassment
Health insurance that doesn't adequately cover your mental illness treatment
The belief that you'll never succeed at certain challenges or that you can't improve your situation

So instead of mental health, I prefer to call it mind health.

Mind health is a balanced mental and emotional state. When someone is able to nurture their mental and emotional bodies in ways that best support them, they’re able to achieve that very balance.

Below are 4 ways to achieve a balanced mind health.

Be aware of your thoughts and emotions, and how they affect you

Usually when an unwelcome thought or emotion comes up, it sits in our physical bodies. Usually people will feel a tightness in their throat, pain or discomfort in their chest or an ache in their stomach. Becoming aware of how these thoughts and emotions affect you can help you to understand what or where the stress is coming from and how that trigger manifests itself in your body. Once you’re able to draw an awareness, you’ll gradually be able to focus more deeply on what you can do to alleviate those emotions. Which takes us into number two…

Recognize and have healthy ways to cope with stressors when they arise

Now that you’ve recognized what your stressor is (work deadline, family dynamics, a disagreement with a significant other, bullies at school) what are your go to ways to alleviate that stress? For some it means slowing down and coming back to their inner selves. This can be achieved through practices such as meditation, breathwork or yoga. Others need to physically burn off the extra cooped up energy, so they’ll look to running or boxing. While others will choose to turn to someone they know and trust to converse with and have as a sounding board to help them navigate their thoughts. Number three…

Have strong relationships with people who are important in your life

For men in particular, only 7% of men discuss health issues with their male friends. And about 22% do not discuss private topics, such as health or relationships, with anyone. I cannot stress enough the importance of having people around that can hold a safe and supportive space for you to feel your feelings. Women do this really well, as they tend to have a number of friends on speed dial that they can turn to at any given point. I believe that this is why movements for men’s groups are on the up, because men are realizing that they too need that emotional support - outside of family, romantic partners. Whether these relationships be with friends that you can be open and vulnerable with, or perhaps a men’s groups with other like-minded men, seek out that support.

Regularly do things that are meaningful and compliment your interests

When we act out of love, the ripple effect of that love turns inward. Giving thought to some of your interests (community, adventure, collaboration) how can you live in them more fully and more thoughtfully? For example, if one of your passions is community, perhaps you can bring together a group of like-minded individuals to have raw conversations and hear each others stories. Creating a space for others that is valuable can help them to discover what’s meaningful