Depression and Low Carbs Diets

JipsyJudy

A year or so ago I read a research study that was done in Australia that found that people on low carb diets suffer from more depression than people on other kinds of diets. I related to that. Because of a family tendency to diabetes, I've been on a low carb diets for years. I have periods where I crave carbs, and during those times, if I don't eat carbs, I tend to get mildly depressed for a day or so. I used to go off the diet at those times, and a dinner of pasta, even whole wheat pasta, would solve the problem. But my fasting blood sugar has kept on rising, even after losing weight, and I'm prediabetic now, so I've had to restrict my carbs even more. The result has been stronger feelings of depression on the days when it hits me (like yesterday). And no, I don't want to take an antidepressant! These depressed days only happen once a week or so. If I can start exercising, I feel better while the endorphins are flowing, but the blues come back an hour later. The good news is that the depression is always gone the next morning, and sometimes it will go away if I take a nap. Looking for suggestions from others who might be having similar experiences.

Healthyby30

Diabetics can eat healthy carbs, there is no reason you can't. Balance out healthy carbs with healthy proteins and you should be fine. Eat whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies. Just stay away from simple carbs like candy, cookies, cakes, etc.

Qarol

That study kind of sounds like hogwash to me...but there's probably a study to confirm or deny any theory. If you suffer from depression, I'd suggest talking to a therapist.

Silverkittycat

Loads of research done by Judith Wurtman at MIT, Harvard has quite a bit too. Sorry, I don't have access to the links (on phone) at the moment. I think it was Wurtman that gave the 20-25 carbs advice, it's been a while.

** wanted to add that my mother had similar problems a few years back while on a low carb diet. She increased her carbs to 25 or so per meal, 3-4 times daily and it did the trick.

Silverkittycat

Interview w/ Wurtman, includes advice - http://www.habitguide.com/judith-wurtman-interview

KavemanKarg

Diabetics can eat healthy carbs, there is no reason you can't. Balance out healthy carbs with healthy proteins and you should be fine. Eat whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies. Just stay away from simple carbs like candy, cookies, cakes, etc.

So you disagree with Dr. Bernstein, the world's leading doctor in treating diabetes, and with this lady's course of (sounds like) medically surpervised care?

If eating LOW CARBS is having her blood sugar remain to high, how is eating MORE CARBS going to improve her life and keep her from diabetes?

You are passing out really bad advice to someone at risk and you need to take stock of that. Protein and fat do not raise blood sugar, but whole grains or not, grains do, tremendously.

To the OP:

You are doing the right thing, I would continue with daily exercise, make sure you are getting lots of sunshine. Identify and deal with major stressors in your life. There is no way to know depression is caused by your diet but you are the best judge of that. To me, I would rather have to take an antidepressant over insulin. But I wish you all the best whatever you decide.

Healthyby30

Diabetics can eat healthy carbs, there is no reason you can't. Balance out healthy carbs with healthy proteins and you should be fine. Eat whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies. Just stay away from simple carbs like candy, cookies, cakes, etc.

So you disagree with Dr. Bernstein, the world's leading doctor in treating diabetes, and with this lady's course of (sounds like) medically surpervised care?

If eating LOW CARBS is having her blood sugar remain to high, how is eating MORE CARBS going to improve her life and keep her from diabetes?

You are passing out really bad advice to someone at risk and you need to take stock of that. Protein and fat do not raise blood sugar, but whole grains or not, grains do, tremendously.

To the OP:

You are doing the right thing, I would continue with daily exercise, make sure you are getting lots of sunshine. Identify and deal with major stressors in your life. There is no way to know depression is caused by your diet but you are the best judge of that. To me, I would rather have to take an antidepressant over insulin. But I wish you all the best whatever you decide.

So you're telling me people with diabetes shouldn't eat fruit? no veggies? THAT is ridiculous. I took care of my grandmother for YEARS and she has diabetes. I made all of her meals, and guess what? She ate whole grains, vegetables, fruits, etc, without making her blood sugar go sky high. Diabetics, just like EVERYONE else need well balanced meals. Telling someone not to eat whole grains and fruits and veggies is absolutely absurd.

Healthyby30

This, from the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes super foods, and look how many fruits and veggies there are? And oh wow, the whole grains?
http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/diabetes-superfoods.html

KavemanKarg

Diabetics can eat healthy carbs, there is no reason you can't. Balance out healthy carbs with healthy proteins and you should be fine. Eat whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies. Just stay away from simple carbs like candy, cookies, cakes, etc.

So you disagree with Dr. Bernstein, the world's leading doctor in treating diabetes, and with this lady's course of (sounds like) medically surpervised care?

If eating LOW CARBS is having her blood sugar remain to high, how is eating MORE CARBS going to improve her life and keep her from diabetes?

You are passing out really bad advice to someone at risk and you need to take stock of that. Protein and fat do not raise blood sugar, but whole grains or not, grains do, tremendously.

To the OP:

You are doing the right thing, I would continue with daily exercise, make sure you are getting lots of sunshine. Identify and deal with major stressors in your life. There is no way to know depression is caused by your diet but you are the best judge of that. To me, I would rather have to take an antidepressant over insulin. But I wish you all the best whatever you decide.

So you're telling me people with diabetes shouldn't eat fruit? no veggies? THAT is ridiculous. I took care of my grandmother for YEARS and she has diabetes. I made all of her meals, and guess what? She ate whole grains, vegetables, fruits, etc, without making her blood sugar go sky high. Diabetics, just like EVERYONE else need well balanced meals. Telling someone not to eat whole grains and fruits and veggies is absolutely absurd.

Not just me, before insulin, the number one, and quite successful treatment for diabetes was a ketogenic diet.

Dr. Bernstein treats the worst cases from across the globe and is invited to speak at hospitals and medical schools everywhere. He recommends 33g of carb a day on average.

With that you can eat lots of vegetables but we are talking about people with a disruption of normal biology, THEY HAVE TROUBLE WITH SUGAR AND STARCH.

I wonder how much better your grandpa would have done, although he did fine by your account, if he at romaine instead of bread, with his lunch meat.

I have angels on my side here, it is common medical knowledge that even whole grains greatly increase blood sugar. How on earth is that ideal for a pre-diabetic under any circumstance?

No wonder actual diabetic rates are staggeringly high when we tell pre-diabetics to eat more food that drives up their blood sugar.

KavemanKarg

This, from the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes super foods, and look how many fruits and veggies there are? And oh wow, the whole grains?
http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/diabetes-superfoods.html

And every single year since they incorporated that advice, the rate of diagnosed insulin dependent diabetics goes up.

You are proving my case for me.

littlemount

Truly carbs and protein has to be in balance for diabetes. The book "Insulin Resistence Diet"clearly states this balance. I have read the book called "Serotonin power" diet definetely low carbs do give rise to low mood.

Healthyby30

No one is saying to eat an excessive amount of carbohydrates. I, myself, who does not have diabetes, still watch my carbs from whole grains. Like I said before, eating WELL BALANCED meals is the healthy way to go. I would never tell anyone NOT to eat whole grains at all. Fruits and Vegetables as well are important to ANYONE.

The number of people with diabetes goes up because people DON'T eat well balanced diets. They eat junk. They drink soda. Look at the number of people in our country that are overweight. It's because they eat JUNK. People aren't taking care of their health the way they need to. Saying that it's because they put out information that you should eat healthy carbs is ridiculous.

PrimalMorningMoon

I take some issue with terming this "depression."

A down day once a week or so isn't depression. Sorrow, stress, fatigue, hunger, overwhelm, who knows really. No one can expect to be happy and energetic all the time.

I deal with clinical depression with meds (yay!), therapy, diet, and, what I would recommend for this person, ACTIVATION.

ACTIVATION is the exercise, it's distraction, it's taking your mind off it...whether it's once a week or daily for weeks or months. If that means a nap, that's great. A run, a workout, a movie, a phone call to a friend, or a date for coffee...whatever moves you out of yourself for a time.

On the other hand an introspective time, when energy is low, can be a very useful thing for balancing our lives. Perhaps scheduling that instead of waiting for it to bring you down might cut down some of these inconvenient down times. Someone who commented has a great quote from Lubbock...rest is good.

Elizabeth_C34

OP: Have you had your thyroid checked? Sometimes thyroid issues can manifest as depression.

Akjenn89

I know when I'm off my depression medication, the first thing my body does is crave carbs.. because the break down of carbs can lead to an increase in serotonin. So that totally makes sense to me.

JipsyJudy

I've been restricting my diet to good carbs since 2001, and I've been restricting myself to 1500 calories a day for a year, and still my fasting blood sugar keeps going up. I exercise at least an hour a day, and most days it's two hours, and I lost 16 pounds between March and September, and still my fasting blood sugar goes up. A lot of prediabetics can't consume more than 30 grams of good carbs per meal, and some of the hospital websites recommend only 15 grams of carbs per meal. My doctor wants me to try 30 carbs per meal for three months, and then we'll do another blood test. I've also added some blood sugar-reducing supplements.

I don't think the link between carbs and seratonin is bull****. I don't need an antidepressant. This is a phenomenon that hits me about once every 7 to 10 days. I used to simply take a day off from diet and exercise when it happened, and that would solve the problem. But at this point, I'm scared of this looming diabetes monster. I need to stay rigidly on my low carb plan until the next blood test.

The person who mentioned slow thyroid is right on. I'm about one point under being slow thyroid, but my MD doesn't want to put me on thyroid meds at this level. Apparently thyroid meds contribute to osteoporiosis, and I'm 65.

Littlemount you might be onto something - I might well need to eat more protein. Graysgirl you're right too. The problem is I'm already very active. I kayak, bike, hike, swim, walk two Standard poodles two miles a day, and do dumbbell exercises and Qi Jong at home. I hate being inactive. Absolutely can't stand it. I probably need to schedule a rest day once every week or so, but I dislike sitting around!

JipsyJudy

http://m.psychologytoday.com/articles/200404/low-carb-state-mind

JipsyJudy

http://www.geneva-health.com/sciencehealth/lowcarb.html

JipsyJudy

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Low-carb-diet-may-land-you-in-depression/Article1-475166.aspx

JipsyJudy

That last link I posted is about the Australian study.

brookjodie

Humans are omnivores (eat plants and animals). That's how we have evolved as long as we keep it healthy and as natural as we can. What we aren't made to eat are these chemicals that we can't pronounce that are in way too many of our foods we eat. That's depressing if you ask me.

JipsyJudy

Thank you Kaveman. You've given me good advice in a couple of threads here, and you are right. No way my MD is going to put me on antidepessants because I get the blues really bad once every week or ten days, especially since it completely disappears the next day. And I haven't gone off the program since I joined MFP. Just would like to find a way to make days lie yesterday turn into better days.

busywaterbending

No one is saying to eat an excessive amount of carbohydrates. I, myself, who does not have diabetes, still watch my carbs from whole grains. Like I said before, eating WELL BALANCED meals is the healthy way to go. I would never tell anyone NOT to eat whole grains at all. Fruits and Vegetables as well are important to ANYONE.

The number of people with diabetes goes up because people DON'T eat well balanced diets. They eat junk. They drink soda. Look at the number of people in our country that are overweight. It's because they eat JUNK. People aren't taking care of their health the way they need to. Saying that it's because they put out information that you should eat healthy carbs is ridiculous.

nope, don't agree. I've been religiously raw foods and primal diet since 2004, and was gaining weight. I havent touched processed foods or sodas or gluten since 2004. I'm the person you say can't get diabeties. I was diagnosed Prediabetic hypoglycemic in June 2011, I was gaining weight with a 1k a day calorie diet of nothing but veggies, fruits, gluten free nuts, and fish and eggs. I was 124 lbs and the doc wanted me to EAT MORE CARBS to fix my problem? wtf? Actually prescribed potatoes and cereals and pastas to my diet and I was becoming sicker and more diabetic. I was also Anemic to the point of hospitalizaiton and megadoses of liquid supplementation by August kept me going.

Well, what do you know, I told the doc. to go to hell, started eating fat and low carb in Sept. when I started researching how the body NEEDS fat, and DOES NOT NEED carbs. You should research it yourself!

I now have a new doctor, and new tests, and I'm better, feeling better - and for the first time in over 5 years I can eat more than 1k calories a day of chicken, sweet potatoes, and cilantro with out gaining weight. And no hypoglycemia. AND I now weigh 113. That's from 124 in June of this year by eating MORE!

Hmm. in only 4 months, this drastic a change going from a high carb to a primal to a paleo diet? Paleo all the way! I'm sold. So is my Indian gastroenterologist here in town.

JipsyJudy

Busywaterbending, that sure got my attention. I'm going to add a little more good fat to my diet and see if that helps the blue days go away.