Depression/anxiety

DittoDan

Your mood should improve ~ but a bigger influence on your mental well being may be the gut flora in your stomach.

YouTube:

GAPS diet

and watch the hour+ long video about how your psychology is affected by gut microbiome. Very interesting science.

I hope this helps,
Dan the Man from Michigan
Keto / The Recipe Water Fasting / E.A.S.Y. Exercise Program

lithezebra

I'm afraid to stop taking my meds completely, because I've heard of people not finding them effective if they need to go back on them, however I'm taking a dose that is less than half of my dose before I went low carb. I also no longer get withdrawal symptoms if I forget to take my meds. Keto is good for other neurological conditions. Maybe it's good for depression and anxiety too.

Kitnthecat

Well, I guess I should jump in here. I battled depression and anxiety in the past, and used to take anti-depressants, an anti-anxiety med, sleeping pill and another med for panic attacks. When I decided to take charge of my health 5.5 years ago, I gradually changed the way I eat at the same time.

I was able to kick all of those drugs gradually, and it's been almost 4 years now. At the same time, I started eating a higher fat, lower carb primal diet. I looked for more natural ways to stay healthy. Our brains need fat in order to work properly, and I believe this enables our moods to stabilize as well. But never did I see such a vast improvement in my feeling of emotional well-being as when I started eating a keto diet. The past year has seen much improvement in my moods. It is so empowering.

@DittoDan is also absolutely right in suggesting to take care of our gut flora. The way I explain this to people is to say that many of us have had moments of stress and anxiety which becomes evident through a nervous feeling in our gut, including tummy upset, even nausea, loose stools, vomiting, etc. There is a definite pathway linking the brain and the gut.

Just think...it works the other way round as well. If we take care of our gut flora, we will enjoy better mental / emotional health as well, and also take care of our immune system. I incorporate Kombucha, raw unpasteurized sauerkraut and kimchee into my regular routine and believe this is very beneficial for me.

It might be scary to think of cutting down on meds, or eliminating them. But I am proof that it is doable. I improved my nutrition at the same time that I weaned myself off the meds, under my Dr's monitoring. I will go further to say that eating a LCHF diet, along with intermittent fasting, is very helpful to one's mental health.