Hi everyone! I am back again with my next installation of
how I am using the generous Hill College Faculty Research Grant I was awarded
this summer. I finally got brave enough to
venture into my lab test biochemistry course again. I figured out that I learn much better when I
am using the learning as a distraction from something else….I am trying to
distract myself from the joy of selling my house…so this time the course seemed
much easier to me compared to my previous post, where my self-confidence was taking
a bit of a hit from the complexity of the course. So not only did I learn a bit of biochemistry
and functional lab analysis, but I also learned something about myself and how
I learn optimally.
So, this installation was
fascinating because it took what I usually teach in Bio II about the nervous
system and overlaid it with nutrition, enzyme function, and modern health
issues. I love interdisciplinary stuff
like this because it really stimulates ideas on how I can take generally boring
topics like enzymes (a’hem, I love enzymes, just sayin’) and make it extremely relevant to even my non-majors students (plus, my Holistic Wellness Pathway
students will really benefit from this info).
So, usually the coverage of
neurotransmitters in the nervous system looks like this:
Pretty much just “what are the neurotransmitters and what do
they do” type stuff. However, when you
overlay this with the biochemistry of what it takes to make these neurotransmitters
actually work, it looks like this (taken from the Metabolic Healing course I am
in):
Figure from Metabolic Healing lab analysis training course.
Now we are talking about enzymes, because students must
understand that in order for serotonin, for example, to actually be created,
they need to consume amino acids like tryptophan and co-enzyme vitamin B6 from
veggies. This can take a Bio 1 lesson
about parts of an enzyme and enzyme pathways and merge it with something super
relevant like depression and anxiety.
From a nutritional standpoint, sometimes it takes spelling out exactly
why our food is necessary for optimal function for us to really prioritize
healthy eating. And from a holistic
health coach perspective, the last column provides the products of these enzyme
pathways that can be seen on blood and urine tests to elucidate patterns that
are going on in a client’s body.
For example, sticking with the serotonin neurotransmitter,
if one of the Hill College Holistic Wellness Pathway students does a urine test
on a client and finds high 5-HIAA in a client with insomnia, that can indicate
a pattern of low serotonin to melatonin conversion.
Figure from Metabolic Healing lab analysis training course.
Or, if a client with depression, anxiety, and insomnia has
urine test results high in xanthurenate, this could indicate a B6 deficiency
plus another factor shunting tryptophan conversion to inflammatory quinolinic
acid instead of serotonin and melatonin (like long-term stress, inflammation,
or a gut infection with bacteria that increase LPS).
Figure from Metabolic Healing lab analysis training course.
While students of the Holistic Wellness Pathway aren’t
qualified to diagnose, being able to use critical thinking to assess patterns
between client presentation of symptoms and lab results is crucial to
recommending nutrition and supplement protocols best suited to each individual
client. I don’t know of any
NANP-approved holistic nutrition school that provides this level of rigor, and
I am honored to be using the Hill College Faculty Study grant to obtain the
training that will allow Hill College students this type of education before
they go on to become holistic nutritionists, herbalists, and wellness
coaches. Plus, now my Bio 1 and 2
students will have a much more interesting time learning about enzymes and neurotransmitters!
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