The importance of good nutrition

Good nutrition will help heal the body and the brain: “You are what you eat.”

“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use.
When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.”
Ayurvedic Proverb

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
Hippocrates

Do not underestimate the importance of what you eat, or the effects food can have on your health. Don’t complain you suffer from this and that and such and such if we are not willing to make changes to our nutrition to see if that can solve the issue.

Diet and mental health

Diet, nutrition, and chronic systemic inflammation are linked to health and mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, bipolar, and even schizophrenia.

Clean eating is all about finding healthy alternatives to unhealthy food. Then, as you clean up your eating habits, your tastes change and you actually crave healthy food.

These pages are all suggestions!

They are not advice. Some of the suggestions will conflict. Some will work, some will not.

Please do your own research

Please make your own decisions. There is plenty of research evidence available. Where the source or research is not available, that doesn’t mean it is to be taken less seriously.

Blood sugar fluctuations and nutrient depletion

Anxiety, irritability, anger, rage, cravings (sugar, food, alcohol), fatigue, and extreme hunger during withdrawal are linked to blood sugar fluctuations and nutrient depletion.

Try this: plan 5 small, protein-rich meals each day. Keep protein snacks on hand. This can help to keep your blood sugar level.

Avoid soy protein: it affects hormones. There are many plant-based (non-soy, non-dairy, non-meat) sources of protein.

Eliminate sugar, dairy, sweeteners, alcohol, simple carbohydrates and anything that converts directly to sugar when digested. Good carbs are found in products made from whole wheat and cereals, vegetables and fruits. The fiber content limits the amount of sugar the body produces after ingesting them.

https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/types-carbohydrates-turn-sugar-3322.html

Do not smoke.

Nicotine causes rapid spikes and dips in blood sugar.

Antidepressant-caused nutrient depletion

Medications cause the body to lose valuable nutrients. This is known as drug-induced nutrient depletion. There is much evidence of this in research studies.

The effect of drugs is to limit absorption and inhibit the transport of vitamins and minerals throughout the body. This may impair system metabolism, and most people are unaware that they may become severely deficient.

Examples: potassium loss from diuretics; co-enzyme Q10 (CoQ10) depletion from statins.

Psychiatric medications deplete selenium, melatonin, B vitamins, glutathione (the master antioxidant) and others.

Any addictive/dependence-inducing drug taken and then rapidly stopped, can cause protracted withdrawal.

Recovery is not just about getting the drug out of the body, but also healing the brain. (the neurotransmitters)

Proper nutrition, hydration, proper supplementation, exercise and sleep can dramatically shorten the time needed for healing and recovery.

Things to avoid

There are very many foods and drinks you should avoid. They do untold damage, especially when the body and brain are under strain.Taking medication, especially psychiatric medications, makes us even more vulnerable.

For full details, follow this (Link to Avoid post)

Consider these options

Try an alkaline diet:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3195546/

Treating mental disorders with nutrition:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LqT6EofPs0&list=PL321-bGRTfd-nXOvucWbf-SMedzgnJu08

The gut-brain connection of mental illness and disease:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201404/the-gut-brain-connection-mental-illness-and-disease

Probiotics may help with depression and anxiety:

https://blog.lifeextension.com/2015/07/probiotics-may-relieve-depression.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=normal&m=1

Fermented and cultured foods:

https://www.culturedfoodlife.com

Magnesium and depression, anxiety, PMS, headaches:

https://chandramd.com/magnesium-supplements-anxiety

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201106/magnesium-and-the-brain-the-original-chill-pill

https://www.healthline.com/health/magnesium-for-migraines#foods-that-contain-magnesium

PMS is helped by Magnesium

Magnesium and Migraine

Try this inexpensive, anti-inflammatory drink

Recommended 2-4oz a day, 4 to 6 times a day, with pepper and coconut oil

Ingredients:

2 liters of water
200 grams of ginger
2 organic lemons
2 tbsp. cane sugar
(possibly 3-4 cm turmeric which gives the beautiful color and is very healthy, containing curcumin).

Procedure:

Peel the ginger and cut into slices
Cut whole lemons into slices (must be organic lemons).
Water, ginger, lemon (and possibly turmeric) and sugar are boiled for 45 minutes.
Let sit and cool.

Great article about food for your brain

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/nutritional-psychiatry-your-brain-on-food-201511168626

Omega-3 may help your brain.

Ideally, you should be tested first: we are all different and have different needs.

There are several different kinds of magnesium.

They all have different purposes and will affect different people differently. This chart is a good guide. (Image for magnesium types) It may take some time to experiment with it and see if it helps. Age, gender, ethnicity and region are important factors.

Watch these movies

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead
“Focusing on two men whose bodies have been trashed by steroids, obesity and illness, this documentary chronicles the rigorous healing path – including a two-month diet of fruits and vegetables – that both attempt in a bid to rescue their health.”

Forks Over Knives
“The feature film Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods.”

Good Nutrition