The Intersection of Mental Health and Gut Health with Dr. Oscar Coetzee

Conversations for Health

Dr. Oscar Coetzee has been a pioneer in the field of nutritional science and research for more than 25 years and currently serves as the Senior Director of Clinical Education at Designs for Health. He is an Associate Professor at the Maryland University of Integrative Health, Associate Director of the DHSc program at the University of Bridgeport, and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Medical School. He is a Certified Board Supervisor for the Certified Nutrition Specialists and is on the National Board Exam Committee for the National Association of Nutrition Professionals. Dr. Coetzee has been on the Designs for Health Scientific Advisory Board since 2016. His professional career began at Fair Oaks Hospital in New Jersey, where he served as a drug counselor, suicide intervention advisor and co-dependency specialist.

In our conversation, return podcast guest Dr. Coetzee brings to light the metabolomic component of GI health and how it relates to mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, and ADHD. He offers insights into the world of psychogenomics, key underrated nutrients that can help with managing anxiety and depression, and the importance of first mastering the circadian rhythm, inflammation, and understanding gene function and expression. Dr. Coetzee shares the one test would run if he only had a few dollars to spend on determining baseline mental health from a functional perspective and reminds listeners of the importance of meeting that standardized baseline before moving to advanced stage interventions.

I’m your host, Evelyne Lambrecht, thank you for designing a well world with us.

Episode Resources:

Dr. Oscar Coetzee https://naturalhealthcarecenter.com/dr-oscar-coetzee-ph-d-dcn/

Webinar: July 2024 - Sports Performance and Its Association with Psychonutrigenomics - https://www.designsforhealth.com/research-education/library/webinar/sports-performance-and-psychonutrigenomics

Design for Health Resources:

Designs for Health - https://www.designsforhealth.com/

Spotlight Functional Wellness Tests - https://www.designsforhealth.com/spotlight

Science Blog: Recent Review Investigates Association Between Mood Health and Gut Microbiome - https://www.casi.org/review-investigates-association-between-mood-health-gut-microbiome

Lifestyle Blog: Digging a Little Deeper into Depression - https://www.casi.org/digging-a-little-deeper-into-depression-0

Research Blog: The Latest on Vitamin D and Mood Health - https://www.casi.org/vitamin-d-and-mood-health

Research Blog: Supporting Mental Health with Healthy Homocysteine - https://www.casi.org/supporting-mental-health-with-healthy-homocysteine

Visit the Designs for Health Research and Education Library which houses medical journals, protocols, webinars, and our blog.

https://www.designsforhealth.com/research-and-education/education

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

02:44 The impact of Dr. Coetzee’s early work as a drug counselor, suicide intervention advisor and co-dependency specialist on his career.

06:10 The value of leaning into the intersection between psychology, psychiatry and nutrition.

09:39 Psycho-nutrigenomics benefits can be optimized as physicians focus both on the mental and physical health of their patients.

13:05 Key underrated nutrients that can help with managing anxiety and depression.

17:50 A personalized approach to determining deficiencies through bloodwork, blood sugar levels, gut microbiome, inflammation levels, and more.

21:34 Dr. Coetzee shares memorable experiences with tackling patient thyroid levels, psychobiotics, and anemia.

24:47 Gene function, SNPs, and genetic expression when assessing B vitamins for optimal mental health.

31:06 Anxiety and depression — the circadian rhythm, inflammation and LPS, and the Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor.

37:28 Does inflammation cause anxiety and depression or does anxiety and depression cause increased inflammation?

42:25 The importance of meeting a standardized baseline before moving to advanced stage interventions.

45:02 Conquering the circadian rhythm piece of anxiety and depression with psychobiotics.

48:46 Determining how and when to work with neurotransmitters when approaching ADHD.

54:15 Dr. Coetzee’s aggressive approach to dosing when oversaturation is needed.

58:33 If Dr. Coetzee could spend his money on any design related to mental health, this is where he would focus his efforts.

01:01:11 Sporebiotics as they relate to intestinal permeability and psychobiotics as they support brain health.