Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Chronic tiredness, brain fog, and low mood may be linked to impaired mitochondrial function. Mitochondria produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the cell’s primary energy currency, and the brain consumes approximately 20% of total body energy output. When mitochondrial ATP production is disrupted, neurotransmitter signalling,…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Copper-zinc imbalance may contribute to the “wired but tired” pattern experienced by some individuals with anxiety. Copper serves as a cofactor for dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), the enzyme that converts dopamine to norepinephrine. When copper is elevated relative to zinc, this shift in catecholamine…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Mouth breathing may activate the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), potentially contributing to heightened anxiety, disrupted sleep, and reduced oxygen delivery to tissues. Nasal breathing, by contrast, can promote parasympathetic balance and increase nitric oxide production, which is associated with improved blood pressure regulation,…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Straw breathing is a vagus nerve activation technique that may help reduce anxiety by extending exhalation, which stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. Inhaling through the nose and exhaling slowly through a narrow straw can shift autonomic nervous system balance away from sympathetic “fight…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Chronic low-grade inflammation may be a significant biological driver of depression and anxiety. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), have been consistently associated with depressive symptoms and may impair neurotransmitter synthesis, HPA axis regulation, and treatment…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Treatment-resistant depression, which may affect up to one-third of people on antidepressants according to the STAR*D trial, can be associated with unaddressed nutritional deficiencies, impaired methylation via the MTHFR pathway, and chronic neuroinflammation. Because SSRIs and SNRIs recycle existing neurotransmitters rather than producing…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Cyclical fluctuations in oestrogen and progesterone across the menstrual cycle can significantly worsen ADHD symptoms in the premenstrual (late luteal) phase. Oestrogen supports dopamine signalling in the prefrontal cortex, so when oestrogen declines after ovulation, dopamine activity may drop in parallel, intensifying brain…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Late-diagnosed autism in adults—particularly women—is increasingly associated with chronic fatigue, sensory overload, and emotional exhaustion. Research published in Biological Psychiatry and Physiological Reviews suggests these experiences may be linked to gut dysbiosis, immune activation, and low-grade neuroinflammation via the gut–brain axis. While autism…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Anxiety and insomnia form a bidirectional cycle: anxiety activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system, raising cortisol and norepinephrine levels that prevent sleep onset. Poor sleep then impairs prefrontal cortex function and emotional regulation, increasing next-day anxiety. A functional medicine approach…
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Chronic low-grade inflammation may contribute to depression by activating the kynurenine pathway, an enzyme cascade that diverts the amino acid tryptophan away from serotonin production and toward neurotoxic metabolites such as quinolinic acid. This immune-driven biochemical shift, mediated by pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin-6…
