Grief and Nutrition: What I Learned After Losing My Daughter

Physical injuries, such as broken bones, are very visible injuries. But emotional “injuries” are frequently invisible. We often look for therapists to talk about these kinds of issues, but I learned firsthand that nutrition plays a huge role in supporting the body during times of grief after the loss of my daughter in 2016.

Losing a loved one is often an extremely stressful event. Our bodies have very specialized ways of processing stress which involves the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). This intense processing can require huge amounts of nutrients.

Unfortunately, as it was in my case, most people start in a place of significant nutrient deficiency. As a busy mom of five, unaware of my nutrient needs, I often turned to sugar (I’m not a coffee drinker!) to help me get through the busy days. What I didn’t know is that I was eating every day, but starving my body of what it truly needed to fully thrive. I will be forever thankful for the clinical nutritionist that taught me how to feed my HPA axis to support my body during the initial stages of grief. Here are a few of those ideas:

Minerals and the Stress Response - Minerals play a role in helping to calm our systems down. The more stressed we are, the more we need to calm our system down. If you find that you are exhausted but when you lay your head on the pillow at night, your mind is racing, this is a key indicator that your mineral reserves are too low!

Protein and Neurotransmitter Support - Protein provides the amino acids your body needs to make neurotransmitters. In times of grief, people often don’t feel like eating or they crave “comfort” food. This can lead to significant protein deficiencies. If you are dealing with low mood or brain fog, these can be indicators of a need for more protein to balance your neurotransmitters.

Glandular Support and Nutrient-Dense Foods - Glandular support is a little less known but may be the most important area of deficiency. This is because glandular support, support for the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenals, is best done using organ meats and these are non-existent in our culture, which means that we almost exclusively need to get these nutrients from supplements.

Herbs and Additional Nutritional Support - Herbs can provide more immediate relief during times of stress and grief. For me, this made an immediate impact helping to improve my mood and motivation.

Addressing these nutritional deficiencies gave me a renewed sense of strength and motivation from which I continue to grow and thrive. I invite you to join me on this journey!

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