Kresser Institute

Tools, Training & Community for Functional Health Professionals

Home
Knowledge Base
Cognitive Disorders

Cognitive Disorders

I have a patient with long-standing depression, episodes of suicidal thoughts. Chief complaints are morning fatigue, bacterial vaginosis, skin issues, and depression. She believes depression can change even after 24 years. Gluten and dairy free for years. Recent labs indicated anemia. Not sure if it’s B12, B6, folate, or iron. She’s responsive to eating more animal protein, which is good. She doesn’t seem to eat enough in general. Her mom requested OAT lab as they’ve tried everything else, including working with a functional medicine practitioner. I’d like your input on the OAT results below and any other thoughts.

Chris Kresser: Well, before we even get into OAT, anemia is absolutely associated with depression. And so if it’s iron-deficient...

Any thoughts about the Feingold diet, which eliminates artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, and foods high in salicylates for ADHD kids? If patient is already on Paleo and not eating grains or dairy, to eliminate salicylates makes the diet very restrictive and hard for a child to follow. Do you think salicylates are a problem for ADHD kids and worth removing to find out?

Chris Kresser: In some cases we have patients with salicylate intolerance, and they do benefit from reducing salicylates. But I...

The client has a very severe insomnia and anxiety for at least 40 years and no gut symptoms. He has a stool test that came back with insufficiency dysbiosis and a few Blastocystis hominis in his three samples. Would you treat Blasto, or is treating the insufficiency dysbiosis enough?

Dr. Amy Nett: Yeah, great question. He has no gut symptoms, but he does have severe insomnia and anxiety. Yes...

Twenty-four-year-old male presenting with depression for seven to eight years but also lethargy and poor digestion after a trip to India four years ago. Doctor’s Data showed susceptible amounts of beneficial bacteria, five species of commensals and 1+ or 2+. 1+ of candida and Saccharomyces boulardii, but Blasto and giardia in all three stool samples. If Saccharomyces boulardii could be used to treat these parasites, is it possible that they could coexist? Patient opted for a course of Flagyl with S. boulardii. Would this be redundant given he already has it, and would you follow with another month or two of herbal antimicrobial parasitic protocol, SIBO results still pending?

Chris Kresser: I would definitely treat the giardia, and probably the Blasto in this case as well, given the symptoms...

Are there any contraindications that you know of to treat with CBD?

Chris Kresser: I think we kind of addressed that. I’m not aware of specific contraindications in the literature, but I...