Top Nutrient Imbalances in General Health & Mental Health

If you want to improve your general and mental health you have to intercede at a basic level and adjust body systems that are in imbalance.

TOP BODY SYSTEM IMBALANCES AFFECTING YOUR GENERAL & MENTAL HEALTH

If you want to improve general and mental health you have to intercede at a basic level and adjust body systems that are in imbalance. Nutrient imbalances are the most common body system imbalances. Getting the nourishment you need for the cells of your body and brain can improve your physical health as well as mood, concentration, and memory. Food is an obvious source of nutrients that are a mainstay of treatment but we often require supplementation to meet the demands of the body and brain. The stress of life is always taking us back a step and our body chemistry suffers. Industrial pollutants for example induce internal chemical stress and release toxins (e.g. heavy metals) that weaken our ability to maintain healthy physical and mental functioning. The improvement attained by correcting body system imbalances can be profound.

“Positive responder patients are better able to meet their goals, get along with family, friends and society, and return productively to previous occupations and interests.”

The following top body system imbalances are linked to physical and mental health issues such as aging (longevity), tiredness, digestive upset, food intolerance, stress intolerance, cognition (mental performance), nervousness, cardiovascular health, poor immunity, insomnia, cancer susceptibility, chronic disease prevention, weight problems, menstrual conditions, irritability, slow metabolism, thyroid sluggishness, kids health, low blood sugar, anxiety, depression, bipolar, ADD/ADHD, OCD, PTSD, and schizophrenia.

Imbalance

Thyroid & Adrenal Imbalance

(includes hyperthyroid states, not described here)

Symptoms

Low thyroid symptoms include fatigue, poor concentration, brain fog, constipation, muscle pain (fibromyalgia), joint pain, psychosis, depression, anxiety, bipolar depression (high to low thyroid pattern), over-weight, hair thinning, muscle weakness, dry skin, and high cholesterol.Low adrenal symptoms often overlap low thyroid symptoms but also include waking in middle of the night, mid-afternoon fatigue, and lower back pain.

Description

A low thyroid state results in sluggish body and brain metabolism. When you have encountered continuous stresses in life your thyroid glands give out on you. Iodine is needed to make thyroid hormones and deficiency is quite common.Low adrenal or adrenal exhaustion states are very common and often coexists with a low thyroid state. The adrenal gland manufactures and regulates the release of stress, sugar, and electrolyte hormones.

Heavy Metal Toxicity

(Including Copper Toxicity)

Heavy metals are associated with poor memory (mercury), poor learning (lead), rapid up/down fatigue, headaches, allergies, nervous irritability, high blood pressure, and joint pain. Copper toxicity is associated with paranoia (frontal brain cortex stimulation), psychosis, anxiety, hormonal cyclic depression, PMS, rheumatism, bipolar disorder, OCD, ADD, gum bleeding, poor verbal-intellectual learning, and irritability.

Lead, mercury, cadmium, and aluminum destroy brain tissue. They are widespread in air, industrial waste, dental fillings and household chemicals.Copper excess can over-stimulate the brain. Copper is found in dental fillings, cigarettes, animal feed, and plant sprays (vegetarian consumption). After WWII, homes built with copper water pipes and birth control pill use led to greater copper toxicities. This is a zinc deficiency syndrome.

Under-Methylation

Fatigue, poor concentration, heart disease, strokes, delusions, seasonal allergies, and medication burn-out.

In this condition you basically do not make neurotransmitters or proteins on demand. This is associated with liver sluggishness, and B12 and folic acid deficiency.

Protein Breakdown or Deficiency

ADD, irritability missing meals, bone matrix problems, tired after meals, anxiety in stomach, not reaching developmental weight/height, problem putting on weight, depression, and hair loss.

Most brain chemicals are made from the protein from the diet. Kids and adults also often break down their protein too fast. North American diets are high in carbohydrates, low in protein. Patients who do not eat 3 solid meals a day are often protein deficient.

Niacin & Vitamin C Deficiency

Niacin deficiency symptoms include high cholesterol, poor circulation, hallucinations, delusions, time distortions, scattered organization of ideas, depression with seclusion, bright people who take a sharp downturn in the prime of their life, suicidality, denial, and poor insight. Vitamin C deficiency symptoms include viral infection, lethargy, muscle/joint pain, bruising, weight loss, cancer, dental/gum/skin health, mood vacillation, irritability, and poor stress response.

Niacin use is associated with longevity. Schizophrenics are so deficient that they are dependant on it; excess neurotransmitters not eliminated break down to substances similar to the hallucinogen LSD which requires niacin neutralization. Vitamin C deficiency is important to resolve here as well. Your adrenal glands which regulate stress response have high concentrations of vitamin C. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant involved as a cofactor in the efficient production of adrenal stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline).

Iron Deficiency

Flat fatigue, poor attention, poor cognition, difficulty swallowing pills or food, sallow complexion, weakness, dizziness, hair loss, and shortness of breath.

Iron deficiency is quite common and more so in women with menstrual blood iron loss. Iron is needed for thyroid hormone production and oxygen transport for energy production.

Mal-Digestion

Constipation, diarrhea, bloating, stomach or duodenal ulcers, food intolerance, candidia (fungal infection), parasitic infection, IBS, Crohn’s disease, colitis and global physical and mental health compromise.

With poor digestion we deplete nutrient minerals, vitamins, fats and proteins essential as building blocks for hormones and brain chemicals. We also get toxic build-up and consequent poor nutrient absorption.

Low Blood Sugar

Sugar, drug, and alcohol sensitivity or addiction, nervousness, great irritability especially between meals, criminal behaviour, tiredness after meals, and constant hunger.

Low blood sugar is called hypoglycemia. Carbohydrate dominant North American diets cause spikes in sugar followed by sharp drops. Body organs, glands, and the brain in particular are intermittently starved when sugar drops down.

Vitamin B6 & Zinc Deficiency

Poor mental health, stress intolerance, poor dream recall, poor memory, acne, nail white spots, poor appetite, lax joints, and starvation states.

B6 and zinc are together involved in basic manufacturing of proteins needed for the body and the mind. Zinc helps keep heavy metals at bay and is involved in over 200 enzyme reactions in the body.

Essential Fat Deficiency

Reduced skin integrity, poor cardiovascular health, poor mental health, brain tissue structure compromise, heavy metal stress, depression, anxiety, and psychosis.

Essential fats (EFA’s) are important components of nerve cell walls and are involved in neurotransmitter electrical activity.

Copper Deficiency

Fatigue, muscle/joint pain, cherry red skin bumps (angiomas), bacterial infections (H. Pylori), bleeding gums, easy bruising, and brain aneurysms. Without copper, mood and motivation can be disrupted.

Copper is needed for blood vessel integrity and catecholamine neurotransmitter production and regulation.

Magnesium Deficiency

Nervousness, anxiety, sleep disturbance (problems staying asleep), clumsiness, depression, muscle cramps/tension, blood pressure changes, & bed wetting.

Magnesium deficiency is extremely common. Your bone matrix is magnesium dependant. Too much fiber and too few vegetables will deplete magnesium.

Calcium & Vitamin D Deficiency

Fast metabolism, external bone structure loss, winter blues, psychosis, anxiety, bipolar depression, frequent infection, and thyroid conditions.

Vitamin D helps to maintain calcium levels. Women under 40 can use these nutrients to restore bone tissue. Vitamin D helps form that feel good chemical serotonin.

Food Intolerances

(& Brain Allergies)

Any physical or mental health symptom provoked by eating foods or upon exposure to a toxin.

Foods that you do not tolerate can be partially ‘digested’ and form substances that are toxic to your brain.

Virus, Bacteria, or Fungal Load

Fatigue, muscle pain, respiratory issues, cold sores, brain fog, headaches, skin diseases, meningitis, or any variety of pathogen specific symptoms.

Some viruses lay dormant and come out during times of stress (e.g. herpes) or are eaily transmitter via environmental exposure. We have beneficial bacteria all throughout our body. Bacteria, viruses, and fungi can attack healthy tissue and can be deadly. Most fungus is not harmful; fungus has an affinity for the skin, lungs and less commonly, can cause meningitis or bloodstream infections.

Disclaimer: Information provided here is not to be used for self-assessment, diagnosis or treatment. We advise readers to discuss these topics with their health care provider. Content published prior to October 2026 were authored during active clinical practice and serve as an educational archive.

Naturopathic Medical Research Clinic