Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 2143

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Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?

Posted by Janice on January 8, 1999, at 3:42:56

Anyone found a diet that helps their depression?
I'm thinking about trying the Zone, by Sears. What's
your experience as to what helps?

 

Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?

Posted by veronica on May 4, 1999, at 12:28:19

In reply to Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?, posted by Janice on January 8, 1999, at 3:42:56

> Anyone found a diet that helps their depression?
> I'm thinking about trying the Zone, by Sears. What's
> your experience as to what helps?
I am very new to the internet, 2 days. I suffer from sever depression.
I continue to search for alternate ways to treat this disease. Medication
helps but is not a cure all. Any information that you can give me would
be greatly appreciated. How is the Zone from Sears working for you? Have
you tryed it? Have you heard of any others? I am anxious to move forward.
I hope I have done this correctly. My first attempt at sending anything
over the internet. Veronica

 

Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?

Posted by andrew on May 5, 1999, at 11:15:51

In reply to Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?, posted by Janice on January 8, 1999, at 3:42:56

> Anyone found a diet that helps their depression?
> I'm thinking about trying the Zone, by Sears. What's
> your experience as to what helps?
I am on the zone now, more or less. I say more less because I stick to
it during the day and at dinner and beyond I eat what I want. I like the diet but
it doesn't effect my mood. It does help me keep consistant energy throughout the
day whereas before I'd often feel sluggish often after a meal. I suppose this was
because my blood sugar was fluctuating too much due to too many
simple carbohydrates. The diet is also great for keeping the pounds off and keeping healthy diet.
You might try eating fish regularly or taking fish oil supplements. The EPA's in these items are
supposed to help some people with their depression. B vitamin supplements can
also help with depression, especially B6 and B12.
Some people suggest that a high protien diet such as the zone can change the mood by elevating
increasing the amount of tyrosine in the diet. Tyrosine is a precursor to dopamine. Some antidepressants
works via dopamine pathways. Some alos claim that the increased dopamine make the more active or driven.
I read of one diet that suggested eating the protein during the day, increasing tyrosine intake and reserving
starches for the latter part of the day. The starches contain (or allow ofr the production of?) tryptophan, a precurosor
of seretonin. The idea was that the protien would give you the drive during the day and the starches would mellow you out during the evening.
This diet was accompanied tryptophan supplement on an empty stomach in the morning. I tried this diet but it improve my mood.

 

Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?

Posted by Elizabeth on May 10, 1999, at 8:42:23

In reply to Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?, posted by andrew on May 5, 1999, at 11:15:51

Umm...tryptophan-depleted milkshakes? :-)

 

Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?

Posted by jem on May 16, 1999, at 1:13:06

In reply to Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?, posted by Elizabeth on May 10, 1999, at 8:42:23

> Umm...tryptophan-depleted milkshakes? :-)

Where can you get tryptophan?

 

Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?

Posted by Ellen Brodie on May 20, 1999, at 5:56:17

In reply to Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?, posted by andrew on May 5, 1999, at 11:15:51

>When I was reccently diagnosed bipolar I went to a nutritionist to help me out. I am a personal trainer who until this illness hit was always active and thought I new everything there was to know about eating. Anyway Believe it or not higher carbohydrates and protien are essential but so is a little extra added fatt Omega 3 fatty acids. Ex; Fish Oils. Salmon. Stay away from any artifical sweetners and have as little artifical preservatives as possible. Other things to avoid are refined sugars and caffein. . Keep your foods as whole as possible. Whole grains fruits, veggies. Even low fat cheese's in moderation. I reccomend buying the Ameican Dietietics Book on Nutrition. It comes in Paper Back. ALso you might want to find yourself a good nutritionist. The zone is okay but you don't need that kind of pressure now to be on a so called "diet". Eat healty. I really do reccomend seeing a nutrionist, it helped me alot or you can e-mail me @ bodywizard@aol.com. Good luck! Ellen
>

 

Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?

Posted by john on May 22, 1999, at 19:53:53

In reply to Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?, posted by john on May 22, 1999, at 19:51:41

I've found that pasta is helpful in calming anxiety. All nutitionists I know tell me that variety is essentially the most important thing in a diet, overall.

 

Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?

Posted by JohnL on May 31, 1999, at 14:01:36

In reply to Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?, posted by Janice on January 8, 1999, at 3:42:56

> Anyone found a diet that helps their depression?
> I'm thinking about trying the Zone, by Sears. What's
> your experience as to what helps?

Janice, I've read a lot about diets and have tried a lot. I guess for some of us with tough depressions, diet doesn't help much, but it can make a subtle difference. The trick is to get tryptophan-rich foods in your system BEFORE the proteins. So the first half of the day eat things like whole-grains, vegies, bananas. Eat your protein with the evening meal. Turkey and chicken are high in neurotransmitter precursors. If you think about it, it's just a well-balanced healthy diet with carbs earlier in the day than proteins. All kinds of things like vitamins, fish oils, almonds, other nuts, grains, turkey, bananas, etc. can make some difference, but it's kind of like, well, you don't really notice much untill you STOP eating those things. Then you realize they helped some, but nothing dramatic. Somewhere on the net you can order tryptophan from overseas. I read somewhere that eating a lot of pumpkin seeds supplies a good dose of tryptophan too. Anyway, who knows. Eating healthy is better than not. JohnL.

 

Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?

Posted by Erin on March 22, 2000, at 20:23:21

In reply to Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?, posted by JohnL on May 31, 1999, at 14:01:36

> > Anyone found a diet that helps their depression?
> > I'm thinking about trying the Zone, by Sears. What's
> > your experience as to what helps?

Try the book "The Healing Power of Whole Foods" by Beth Loiselle. I purchased my copy from Amazon.com but I believe you can get it anywhere.
Search this site for information on the whole foods diet http://www.bcn.net/~stoll

 

Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?

Posted by kathy on March 25, 2000, at 0:47:54

In reply to Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?, posted by JohnL on May 31, 1999, at 14:01:36

Hello to all!
The best diet for depression,can be found in a book by Julia Ross called "The Diet Cure" it is easily obtained from her web-site The diet cure.com or from Amazon.com. This is an easily read, and even easier to follow...try it, it works. I know I have been using it for the past 6 months...the best months of my life.
Plus she also explains why "The Zone" whilst being a good diet is not the way to go...

cheers

Kathy

 

Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?

Posted by Terry on April 21, 2000, at 17:50:11

In reply to Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?, posted by Janice on January 8, 1999, at 3:42:56

I found three diets in a book entitled
"Winter Blues" about seasonal affective disorder.
The high-carbohydrate diet is very helpful to me;
the two other diets listed were quite different,
but I chose by gut feeling.
I would recommend this book highly, as it has
other suggestions helpful to those who suffer
any form of depression, including SAD.

 

Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?

Posted by Diane on April 23, 2000, at 18:01:41

In reply to Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?, posted by Janice on January 8, 1999, at 3:42:56

*What helped me the most was CUTTING OUT the CAFFEINE. That alone made me less likely to become easily frustrated, impatient, angry, short tempered, which for me at this time in my life is a blessing.

*A month later I CUT OUT ALL SUGAR. I use Splenda and Stevia instead. Sense I stopped eating sugar I no longer need PEPCID-AC. No more heart burn. My stomach is happy.

*I CUT OUT ALL SALT and increased my potassium via the use of NoSalt. Get rid of that excess water in your system.
*I CUT OUT ALL DAIRY products 10 years ago. Milk makes me bloaty. I love Soy Milk & Rice milk. In fact I just bought a couple pounds of dried soy beans so as to make my own milk.

*I take NutraMega softgel supplements twice a day. I won't buy hard tableted supplements. It's either capsules or gel.
*I eat FLAXSEED, whole and the whole ground up. I can no longer afford fish so I use flaxseed for the Omega-3. Buy flaxseed whole not pre-ground because oils go rancid fast.
*I eat all fresh vegetables, whole grains, oat bran, etc. etc. Rarely to I eat preprocessed food, only when I have no choice. No more constipation. But be sure to drink plenty of water.
*I have increased my water intake via Crystal Light Lemonade flavored drink ( 5 calories per 8 fluid ounce serving). Normally I don't crave liquids. I'm never thirst. So this is the only way I can get myself to consume water, which they recommend you get 8 glasses a day.
*I cut out most red meat. I use ground chicken, ground turkey instead of ground beef. Ground Chicken tastes superior to beef in my opinion. Turkey is very dry.

I love all food. I love to eat all the time. I can't 'just eat one' so I have to cut things out completely. I don't know what it is but I've always wanted to be a chewing on something. Thank god I don't chew gum.

I also take the amino acid Tyrosine. And 7-KETO™, which I have found to be a great natural diuretic.

After all that, I do feel better. At the very least I feel I am being and doing something positive for myself. I started this diet regimen to loose the 25lbs I rapidly put on after quitting smoking last January. I've lost maybe 5lbs is all.
I definitely recommend you cut out caffeine if nothing else.

Yesterday at the library a new book came in.
The Antidepressant Survival Program : How to Beat the Side Effects and Enhance the Benefits of Your Medication by Robert J. Hedaya. Hardcover (February 2000)

I checked it out but haven't cracked it open yet BUT it deals with the issue of diet.

Check it out at Amazon.com (my second home)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0609604651/qid=956529159/sr=1-1/002-6871232-8321017


 

Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?

Posted by ruth on April 24, 2000, at 12:01:45

In reply to Re: Any suggestions for a 'depression' diet?, posted by Diane on April 23, 2000, at 18:01:41

Thanks! I just ordered the book on-line from
Barnes and Noble...I hope it's good...
are you changing your diet, and taking ad's, or
are you relying solely on your dietary changes to
treat your depression? I noticed the book was
geared towards improving the effects and lessening
side effects of ad users, but not suggesting
giving up ad's.


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