Health and Psychology

I'm starting to think that I should start every single clinical health psychology evaluation with a detailed examination of what someone eats and drinks and just save myself some time.

I usually ask people why they came to see me and review their current medical condition, treatments, issues with their treatment, family history, and past experience with psychology and health psychology or any therapy and any experience with alternative care and then by session 2 or 3 get into something about what their diet is like and what their consumption of fluids is like.  It's just late in the evaluation process. 

So here is some basic information.  The human body consists of a large percentage of water.  Your brain is composed of about 85% water.  It requires water to run effectively.  The amount of water it needs is about 1/2 ounce per pound of body weight per day.  So if you take your weight in pounds and divide it in half you get the amount of water in ounces from all sources.  So if you weigh 200 pounds you need to drink about 100 ounces of water a day.  If you drink 8 eight ounce glasses of water and weigh 200 pounds you will be dehydrated. If you weigh 100 pounds and drink 8 eight ounce glasses a day you will be overhydrated.  Neither dehydration or overhydration is good.  Both conditions if carried out to anextreme will cause problems with the body functioning normally.

The body also consists of protein.  There are a variety of ways to get enough protein in food.  You can mix vegetable sources of protein.  You can eat meat, dairy, poultry, and fish. Protein is present in 45% of the entire body.

Protein has a range of essential functions in the body, including the following:

Required for building and repair of body tissues (including muscle)

Enzymes, hormones, and many immune molecules are proteins

Essential body processes such as water balancing, nutrient transport, and muscle contractions require protein to function.

Protein is a source of energy.

Protein helps keep skin, hair, and nails healthy.

Protein, like most other essential nutrients, is absolutely crucial for overall good health.

Some people have stopped eating "food."  They have diets that consist of little more than seeds, sprouts, and grains.  They will tell me they are doing this to be "healthy."  It seems the cautions about eating too much fat, cholesterol, red meat, and other concerns about pesticides, and the political conditions of animals used for food, laborers used for harvesting, and idiosyncratic food sensitivities combine to lead people to restrict their diet to the nutritional equivalent of bird seed.

And they get sick. 

So I end up having to explain what food is and what they should eat and how much fluid they should drink.  I also tell them to keep a list of what they eat and drink and take that in to their physician(s) so that the treating doctors involved in their care will have an idea about how nutrition is factoring in to the illness and treatment models of decision making.

Before suddenly changing what you eat or drink, or before starting on an exercise program you should consult with your physician.