Using Food as a Medicine Approach to Address Mental Health and Make Your Brain Hormones with Dr. Kate Henry, a Naturopathic Doctor and Wellness Speaker

"If I asked you, how do you make dopamine from food? Do you know?" 

This is the provocative question posed by Dr. Kate Henry, a naturopathic doctor with advanced training in mind-body medicine and functional approaches to mental health. Most people would likely be stumped - the connection between the foods we eat and the neurotransmitters that regulate our mood, focus, and overall mental well-being does not get much airtime. 

Yet this is precisely the information Dr. Henry aims to bring to the forefront through her "food as medicine" philosophy for addressing mental health issues like depression, anxiety, ADHD, and more. She says, "There are chemical reactions that your body uses to build neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and GABA. It's not a secret and it's not a mystery - it's right there on our biochemistry pages but somehow that's not making it into the clinic."

[signup]

The Key Ingredients for Dopamine, Serotonin, and GABA

So, what are the dietary building blocks we need to create these critical brain chemicals? As Dr. Henry explains, "If you're sitting there thinking 'Kate, what are you talking about?' - it's tyrosine and B6 for dopamine. Tryptophan, B12, folate and B6 for serotonin."

Let's break that down:

Dopamine is our "focus and reward neurochemical." It helps drive motivation, pleasure, and the ability to experience joy. People with low dopamine levels often struggle with concentration, lack of drive, and anhedonia (the inability to feel pleasure from normally enjoyable activities). The amino acid tyrosine and vitamin B6 are key ingredients the body needs to produce dopamine.

Serotonin helps regulate mood, and low levels are linked to depression and irritability. "If you're deficient in serotonin, you're also not making enough melatonin, which means you're up at night thinking about whatever was wrong during the day," notes Dr. Henry. To make serotonin, we need tryptophan (an amino acid), vitamin B6, folate, and vitamin B12.

GABA is our main "calming neurotransmitter" that combats anxiety, insomnia, and feeling tense or "wired." While the pathways are a bit more complex, Dr. Henry says, "You need B6 to turn glutamate into GABA." Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter that can cause agitation when present in excess.

Why Most People Are Deficient

The staggering reality is that even with this clear biochemical information, most people severely lack the nutrients required to optimize neurotransmitter production. As Dr. Henry points out, "The number one nutrient deficiency in the US is B6 according to national survey data... you need B6 to make dopamine, serotonin, and GABA from glutamine. Are we surprised that so many people are depressed, anxious and can't sleep when this core factor is deficient?"

On top of that, 90% of those struggling with obesity are deficient in vitamin D, while significant portions lack adequate folate, zinc, iron, and omega-3s—all critical players in mental health. Dr. Henry emphasizes, "Every person I see is deficient in at least five nutrients... if you don't check, you cannot know."

This is why comprehensive dietary analysis is the jumping-off point for all of Dr. Henry's patients. Using software that analyzes 2-3 days' worth of food intake, she can see how much of all 80+ nutrients someone is taking in from their diet - vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, and more. Glaring deficiencies immediately become apparent, allowing her team to strategically supplement while designing a "food as medicine" meal plan to help rebuild depleted nutrient stores.

The Brain is the Organ of Behavior

A core philosophical tenet underlying Dr. Henry's approach is the understanding that "the brain is the organ of behavior." Just like a poorly functioning liver elevates enzymes and causes fatigue or hormonal imbalances, suboptimal brain health manifests through symptoms we typically label as "psychological"—brain fog, lack of motivation, irritability, inability to focus or plan, and the like.

"If your frontal lobe isn't getting enough blood flow or dopamine, you won't be able to do things like planning for the future or remembering your schedule - it's not because you're lazy or disorganized, it's because your frontal lobe isn't working properly," she explains. "We can see anxiety, PTSD, and other mental health issues as blood flow and metabolic disruption in specific brain regions like the limbic system using imaging like SPECT scans."

In other words, many of the behavioral patterns and emotional experiences we associate with "mental illness" can be traced back to physiological imbalances in the brain. Since the brain is inextricably linked to the body through the nutrients, oxygen, and blood supply it receives, any attempts to heal the brain must also address the whole body.

Combining Functional Medicine, Therapy, and Coaching

This holistic, multi-modal approach is why Dr. Henry's clinic integrates functional medicine, nutritional psychiatry, therapy, and coaching under one roof. As she describes:  

"If you come in with a history of trauma or negative self-talk, you'll get an amazing food and supplement plan from me, but you also need therapy to help heal that trauma and reverse those negative thought patterns. You need support along the way - someone checking in weekly to keep you accountable and encouraged."

"When we combine functional medicine, nutrition, and therapy, people get the best results. They get to thrive, not just heal. One day you're on the couch feeling depressed and unable to work, the next you're setting goals like running a marathon or climbing mountains - and we'll get you there."

For many patients, this represents a breath of fresh air after years of traditional treatment left them feeling stuck or like their depression/anxiety was an immutable part of their personality. "If you've been in therapy for ten years and you're still stuck thinking you're just a depressed or anxious person, I'd say 'therapy isn't your problem - let me introduce you to functional medicine,'" Dr. Henry states.  "We heal shame more than anything by showing people, through lab work and assessments, 'this is not your fault, these are the barriers keeping you from healing - and we can help remove them.'"

Behaviors to "Thrive," Not Just Survive

Of course, just as important as practitioner support and uncovering physiological roadblocks are patients' actions and behaviors to change their trajectory. Dr. Henry is upfront that "your behaviors get you well" when following therapeutic protocols.  

"You have to wake up and drink enough water to perfuse your brain. You have to feed yourself routinely and take supplements if prescribed. If exercise is part of your plan, you need to actually do it. When people first come in depleted, they might not even have the energy or motivation to make themselves a sandwich each day - that's when we use medication or supplements just to get your brain what it needs to start implementing healing behaviors."

To instill and reinforce those vital habits, Dr. Henry's team employs therapists, life coaches, and even simple tricks like setting phone reminders or engaging family to provide accountability. There's no judgment or dismissal of such supports as "hand-holding" - instead, it's about employing every science-backed strategy to reshape neural pathways and make lasting change.

Ultimately, the goal is to facilitate each person's journey from surviving to thriving. For Dr. Henry, that could mean "climbing mountains, running a marathon, doing art and painting, or just being able to keep up with your kids - whatever it is, we'll get you there." Because in her mind, healing happens through sparking an authentic joy and passion for living that comes from within.

The Democratization of Health

At the heart of Dr. Henry's "food as medicine" approach is a mission to democratize access to good health - something she believes is a birthright for anyone born into a human body.  

"You don't need a prescription or expensive treatment - the ingredients to build healthy neurotransmitters can be found in any grocery store if you know what to look for," she explains. "Your tax dollars pay for resources from institutions like NIH and the Office of Dietary Supplements to learn exactly which foods contain therapeutic levels of nutrients like B12, zinc, and amino acids. This information should be taught from pre-K onward - it's just a matter of making it accessible."

Of course, the reality is that most conventional medical training still lags sorely behind in educating practitioners (let alone the public) about the intricacies of using nutrition to prevent and treat mental health conditions. As Dr. Henry laments:

"We don't have a standardized nutrition curriculum in US schools, so you didn't learn this - it's not your fault. Nutrients also can't be patented, so companies selling them don't have big marketing budgets to educate consumers. That's why you haven't heard this information yet. You have to find a functional medicine doctor or nutrition expert who can teach you how to apply this knowledge."

Her goal is to help change that through advocacy, education and showing what's possible when you apply biochemical principles to mental health. "No one should end up with dentures from pregnancy, or think their depression is just a personality trait. Pregnancy is natural, and your brain is an organ - if it's not functioning well, we can fix that."

Using the Power of Nutritional Psychiatry

The emerging field of nutritional psychiatry provides a robust scientific backbone for Dr. Henry's "food as medicine" approach. Numerous studies have demonstrated clear links between nutrient deficiencies and mental health biomarkers.

As she describes, "There's a phenomenal paper from the National Institute of Mental Health titled 'The Role of Nutrients in Protecting Mitochondrial Function and Neurotransmitter Signaling: Implications for Depression, PTSD, and Suicidal Behaviors.' It shows you can predict how depressed someone is just by looking at their levels of nutrients like vitamin C, E, zinc, and CoQ10 - their 'total antioxidant capacity.'" 

People with major depression are far more likely to be deficient in those antioxidants compared to non-depressed controls. Other biomarkers like cholesterol, cortisol, and amino acid levels are also powerful discriminators of mental health status.

"Any practitioner dealing with mental health issues needs to read that paper and get trained in running the right lab tests," urges Dr. Henry. "It will point you towards identifying and treating root causes, rather than just putting a band-aid on symptoms."

Clinical studies back up nutritional approaches, too. For example, "You can treat depression with 4 grams of omega-3 fish oils per day - it's phenomenal," says Dr. Henry. Other research shows the benefits of zinc, B vitamins, amino acids, and healthy dietary patterns for conditions like ADHD, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and more.

Of course, fixing deficiencies is just one part of the puzzle. Dr. Henry's functional medicine protocols also aim to optimize factors like gut health, detoxification pathways, mitochondrial function, and chronic inflammation, which can disrupt neurotransmitter synthesis and brain functioning when imbalanced.

Making It Practical

It can feel overwhelming for those hearing this "food as medicine" message for the first time. How does one even begin to implement these insights into neurobiology and nutrition?

Dr. Henry's advice is simply: "If you don't check, you cannot know." She urges everyone to get a comprehensive nutritional analysis through an app like Cronometer or a functional medicine practitioner. Seeing the hard data on your personal nutrient intake and status levels is often an eye-opening first step.

From there, it's about changing habits in sustainable, supported ways tailored to your needs and abilities. "We build people a food plan that automatically gets them therapeutic levels of nutrients - you don't have to think about making a list of everything you need to eat," explains Dr. Henry. "We also look at potential gut issues, enzymes, and nutrients you need to absorb those foods."

The process is grounded in meeting people where they're at, not judging. As Dr. Henry says, "If you're someone who will never eat beef liver or spinach, no problem - we'll get your folate another way. If you can barely get out of bed, we'll use supplements while building towards dietary and lifestyle changes over time."

At every step, compassion and removing shame is paramount. "I always tell people 'this is not your fault.' We look at lab work to identify physical barriers keeping you from healing. My goal is to show you clearly, through data and assessments, that there are biochemical reasons for what you're experiencing - it's not a personal failing or just 'who you are' as a person."

The Power of an Interdisciplinary Approach

While nutrition is a powerful foundation, no component alone is the magic bullet. That's why Dr. Henry's clinic takes an interdisciplinary approach, combining functional medicine, nutritional psychiatry, professional therapy, coaching, and community support.

"If I just give you an amazing diet plan but you've got trauma, negative self-talk, and no accountability system, you'll likely struggle to stick with it long-term," she explains. "But when you get the nutritional intervention along with therapy to heal emotional wounds, life coaching to instill new habits, and groups to keep you motivated, that's where you see transformations."

For instance, a patient might get comprehensive bloodwork and a nutritional analysis to identify deficiencies and imbalances. They'd then be prescribed a "food as medicine" diet plan, targeted supplements, and possibly medication if needed as a short-term bridge to balance brain chemistry.  

Simultaneously, they'd begin working with a therapist to process any underlying psychological components like trauma, anxiety, or negative thought patterns. A health coach would help them implement prescribed diet and lifestyle changes sustainably.

As things progress, the team continues adjusting the individual's protocols based on new data, tweaking nutrient levels, addressing things like gut health or detoxification issues, and providing emotional support through the inevitable ups and downs. Group sessions or an online community could offer extra accountability.

The key is an integrated approach that leaves no stone unturned, addressing mental health from all angles instead of the typical subdivided, disconnected style of care.

[signup]

From Story to Transformation

While the science and testimonials speak for themselves, perhaps nothing encapsulates Dr. Henry's work better than seeing the real-life stories of transformation. Like the marathon-running CEO who had convinced himself his depression and lack of motivation were just inherent personality traits - until functional medicine revealed a cascade of nutritional deficiencies and physiological imbalances that had been weighing him down for years.  

Or the young mom who had been struggling with crippling anxiety and "mom rage" since her pregnancies, only to discover she was severely depleted of basic minerals and nutrients that allowed her brain chemistry to stay balanced. A few months of replenishing those deficits, combined with therapy and group support, allowed her to find joy in motherhood again without the frequent bouts of anger and panic attacks.

Then there are the clients who had been in traditional talk therapy for over a decade, feeling hopelessly "stuck" and fearing their depression or ADHD were permanent states - until functional medicine opened the door to new possibilities by addressing nutritional factors and physiological roadblocks their previous providers had missed.

In case after case, the transformations speak for themselves once physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual factors are all part of an integrated treatment approach rooted in dialing in the fundamentals of diet, nutrients, and lifestyle as powerful levers for positive neurological change.

As Dr. Henry summarizes: "We show people that thriving, not just surviving, is possible. One day you're on the couch unable to work from depression, the next you're setting goals like running marathons and climbing mountains. We give people the tools and roadmap, then get out of their way to go live their biggest, most joyful lives."

It's a renewed vision of what "health" and "well-being" can look like - one where taking control of your nutrition and lifestyle isn't an indulgence or temporary self-care fad but the permissive key to unlocking your best self and calling in this world. If that mission of facilitating deep, holistic healing and human thriving doesn't inspire hope, it's hard to imagine what could.