Anxiety, Depression & Sugar:
The Evidence

Online Course / 18 CE Hours / $179

Relationships between diet and mental health have been debated since at least the time of the Greeks. Widespread anecdotal support for this idea has not been supported until recently by convincing research. Yet in the last decade the tide has begun to turn.

This 18 hour online course examines evidence supporting the idea that sugar can set in motion neuroendocrine changes that combine with early trauma and other influences, giving rise to mood disorders in at least some individuals. Nine peer-reviewed published studies are presented in downloadable .pdf format along with short online videos highlighting each study's main points. Another video colorfully gives the Cliffnotes version of the endocrinology of sugar addiction and how it can destabilize mood. The course wraps by reading Sugar Blues, the classic 1975 work by William Dufty examining the history of sugar in the development of western civilization.

The video may take 15-60 seconds to load, depending upon the speed of your connection.

Relevance to
MFT/LCSW/LEP Scope of Practice

CB&P Code §4980(c) states that BBS licensees must complete "36 hours of approved continuing education in or relevant to the field of marriage and family therapy in the preceding two years..."

This course is relevant to the scope of practice of BBS licensees as set forth in CB&P Code §4980.54(h)(3): "Training, education, and coursework ... shall incorporate ... (3)Aspects of other disciplines that enhance the understanding or the practice of marriage and family therapy."

The provision of nourishment is a basic family function, and, as the studies cited in these courses and elsewhere on this website make clear, there is a substantial body of published, peer-reviewed evidence supporting the idea that diet and nutrition can have a substantial impact on mental health status. This course is not intended to encourage BBS licensees to prescribe outside their scope of practice. But it is important for mental health professionals to:

• understand the full range of referral options available to their clients, especially those that are oriented toward Complementary and Alternative Medicine (about 40% of the US population) ...
• ... in order to be in a position to respect the cultural values of their clients,
• and in a time when large segments of the population are unable to access conventional care, it's important for mental health professionals to be at least as conversant in the use of non-conventional methods as their clients ... if only to be capable of noticing signs of abuse or misuse and avoid being perceived as less than fully informed.

Course Objectives

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

• explain three ways sugar can impact mood in sensitive individuals,
• explain sugar's short-term and long-term effects on mood, and why they can be opposites
• apply the principles of this course to their own lives to improve their ability to perform professionally.

To register online for the course now, click here