The Wise Mind
“Addiction, self-sabotage, procrastination, laziness, rage, chronic fatigue, and depression are all ways that we withhold our full participation in the program of life we are offered. When the conscious mind cannot find a reason to say no, the unconscious says no in its own way.”
― Charles Eisenstein, The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible
One highly effective strategy in psychology that spread beyond its own domain is the concept of "the wise mind." The term was originally created in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) for individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). DBT is a mode of psychotherapy developed to help individuals better self-regulate their own emotions and improve their relationships when they are suffering from intense, sweeping emotions, as in personality disorders like BPD or Narcissistic Personality Disorders (NPD). The "wise mind" emerged as a regulating tool for individuals who are deep in their reactivity and self-protective modes. As it turns, this tool benefits most people, including those with anxiety, depression, disordered eating, and marital or relationship issues.
The structure of the wise mind concept is something like this: a person (everyone) has many constant, rapid thoughts and emotions. Most of these are rooted in the ego. The ego is the subconscious set of belief systems that each person develops for a multitude of reasons. The ego is protective, reactive, and highly emotional. It's also often not rooted in the present reality. And this part of the mind drives most people's emotions and behavior. Its a lot like standing in the middle of the highway with hundreds of cars flying by, and jumping into each one as it speeds by (believing and acting on the thought).
These ego-based thoughts/feelings include things like jealousy, quitting before we start something, competitiveness, fear of abandonment, attention-seeking, fear of failure, victimhood beliefs, low self-worth, comparison to others, wanting to be right, externalizing responsibility to outside forces/people, or trying to exert control on those around us. For some people, these emotions feel true and deeply consuming--they can't even see them or realize that's what they're doing.
This is where the wise mind helps. The wise mind is the viewer to these thoughts. The wise mind is the true version of us--the version that can step off the highway and watch the cars go by without believing them and acting on them. The wise mind marries rational, distant, and mature thought with self-witnessing abilities to learn more about one's wounds and ego. When we can watch our thoughts and let them pass, we are in our wise mind. Healthy people do this very, very well.
This wise mind can profoundly effect the way we show up in the world, take care of ourselves, nurture our relationships, and meet our needs. I use this tool often with my 1-on-1 clients, and we will be diving deep into tools like this one in our new Food Relationship Intensive, because cultivating the wise mind unlocks our behavior and opens the door to creating the life and health we want.
More Magnesium and Potassium for Heart Disease
A large study using data from the Framingham Offspring Study found that lower sodium intake (<2500 vs. ≥3500 mg/d) was not associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but increased potassium intake ≥3000 (vs. <2500) mg/d was associated with a 25% lower risk of CVD and increased magnesium intake ≥320 (vs. <240) mg/d led to a 34% lower risk of CVD. Magnesium and potassium are essential minerals that play key roles in hundreds of chemical function throughout the body. Their role in heart disease is likely multifactoral. Increased potassium levels in the blood help promote nitric oxide release, which relaxed and dilates blood vessels, which appears to reduce vascular stiffness. Potassium also seems to promote sodium excretion in salt-sensitive individuals--which is not a fully understood phenotype, but may be related to genetic predispositions. Magnesium is an extremely vital mineral that is involved in a litany of key chemical pathways, including glucose regulation, inflammation, blood pressure, inhibiting coagulation, and decreased oxidative stress.
This exciting research shows us that we can focus on nutrition of addition for heart health, by amplifying the presence of magnesium and potassium in the diet. Potassium is high in many fruits and vegetables, including potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, broccoli, and avocado. Magnesium can be found in foods like pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, spinach, almonds, and cashews. It can be a little challenging to get high levels of magnesium from food alone, so often a supplement is used to ensure we're consuming adequate amounts. I love when we find another powerful opportunity for nutrition of addition.
Preconception Micronutrients for Cognition and Nausea Prevention
A 2021 study found that preconception micronutrient supplementation benefited off-spring cognition. When women supplemented with 15 key micronutrients as opposed to folic acid alone, their children had better intellectual functioning at age six upon follow-up. While folic acid supplementation is absolutely vital in the first trimester of pregnancy due to neural tube development, other micronutrients seem to be playing less obvious but extremely important roles in development. Nutrients of interest include Vitamin D, B6, Omega-3 fatty acids, phospholipids, B12, iron, and other water and fat-soluble vitamins and minerals.
Many of my clients are at different hormonal stages throughout the lifespan. Its not unusual for me to provide nutrition support for clients in menopause, adolescence, or in the pre-conception phase of their fertility journey. I love female biology and the elegant, sophisticated networks of hormone communication and the amazing ways nutrition can support it.
When I'm supporting a client in her pre-conception phase, one of the first things we discuss is prenatal supplementation. Not only because of the mounting evidence that it benefits the developing baby, but beginning prenatal supplementation prior to conception has also been found to reduce incidence of nausea, vomiting, and morning sickness in the first trimester. For those of us in this phase of our hormonal and fertility journey, the use of multi-nutrient supplementation appears to be appropriate and highly beneficial.