Connection between mental health and certain foods.

gazz777au

What a great thread. Thanks for raising this.

JLD81

Something else to think about: food allergies are more common than people realize. I thought I had bad seasonal and indoor allergies. Turns out I got tested and only tested positive for mold allergy and slight dog and cat allergy. Everything else I'm allergic to are foods. Food allergies and sensitivities can cause mood problems as well. I was allergic to a ton of stuff I was eating daily and I am cranky and irritable when I eat those things.

Howbouto

Serotonin is controlled in the gut not in the brain. So yes food help/hurt your moods.

Serotonin is NOT controlled in the gut. It is a hormone that works off receptors in the brain! Too little serotonin can cause depression. There are certain foods that have more serotonin in them which stimulate the receptors as does exercise and sex. However, there are certain people who are predisposed to depression as their receptors aren't working properly which means that unless they combat that with anti depressants or other such means, the food you eat won't make a damn bit of difference. It can help sure, but only a little.

Please cite information to back up that there is no link from your gut to serotonin. And I will do the same.....


http://www.enzymestuff.com/serotonin.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_8696693_balance-serotonin-levels-gut.html
http://www.puristat.com/braingut/serotonin.aspx

Maybe I mis-spoke, serotonin is not controlled by your gut but there are more neurotransmitters for serotonin in your gut than brain.

As quick as you are to dismiss a food connection, you must be a pharmaceutical sales rep :laugh: !

scrapper3131

Wow! I am definitely going to look into this. My teen has been moody and angry and possibly depressed since he turned a teen. I'm at my witts end with him. He eats nothing but junk and tons and tons of sugar.

itgeekwoman

I believe the gluten, soy and dairy in MY diet contributed to MY health changes. Once I removed them, I am without allergic symptoms, I have no depressive symptoms, I am not moody and I can deal with stress much better.

Life is so much better when I eat cleanly.

Unless it is all natural, gluten free and all the other great stuff, I don't buy it. I don't typically buy anything that has a label that needs to be interpreted.

No supplements aside from Turmeric for my knee.

amyjax

Thanks so much for this article, it's a really helpful read. I'm fighting the good fight against depression, have been since my teens, and I feel much better since starting - and sticking to - a regular exercise regime and a low-carb diet (I have PCOS too, joy!).

dhakiyya

Personally I find that both exercise and a healthy diet help to control the symptoms of the mental health problems I have (i.e. PTSD and stuff relating to it) However it is not a cure or a magic bullet that makes it all go away. Exercise can turn a crappy day into a not so crappy day and the wrong foods can make a crappy day into an unbearably crappy day. Some people think that all mental illness is from a bad lifestyle and can be cured by a good lifestyle, however my lifestyle is very healthy but I still have PTSD.

jenilla1

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2004/carbs.html

Just more reading on the topic at hand. (Study out of MIT on low carb diets and people with serotonin issues.)

Treesy72

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2004/carbs.html

Just more reading on the topic at hand. (Study out of MIT on low carb diets and people with serotonin issues.)

Thanks I'm going to check out the link

etc63

I completely agree that sugar reduction helps you in the mood department. Its a quick fix to have ice cream or in my case a cookie or two (or the the box) but afterwards I feel terrible. I lost 65 pounds a few years ago too quickly. But I felt great full of energy. It didn't last long so I am taking it much slower this time. Good for you for recognizing this.

dodihere

I have suffered from panic disorder for 15 years. I was on low does Klonopin for most of it. In April my husband and I flipped a home and we gutted the home and started rebuilding it, putting in new load bearing walls, etc. Some of the hardest work I have ever done. For the first time in 15 years, I forgot to take my medicine regularly. After a few months I was totally off of my medication. Now that I have been eating healthy for 3 - 4 weeks now, I feel even better. My once daily anxiety is gone. No tense feelings. My psychiatrist is thrilled and so am I because I hated taking the medication. I agree that food and lack of exercise increases anxiety. Unfortunately I am genetically predisposed - my panic attacks will never go away completely, but they can become more manageable.

professorRAT

Great thread. I can honestly say that regular exercise has pretty much cured me of my depression. I do eat healthier now, and that helps too, but my regularly exercising came before my change in eating and I was amazed at how I no longer fell into my deep dark long-lasting depressive episodes. It is all about hormones!

sunshine_gem

Serotonin is controlled in the gut not in the brain. So yes food help/hurt your moods.

Serotonin is NOT controlled in the gut. It is a hormone that works off receptors in the brain! Too little serotonin can cause depression. There are certain foods that have more serotonin in them which stimulate the receptors as does exercise and sex. However, there are certain people who are predisposed to depression as their receptors aren't working properly which means that unless they combat that with anti depressants or other such means, the food you eat won't make a damn bit of difference. It can help sure, but only a little.

Please cite information to back up that there is no link from your gut to serotonin. And I will do the same.....


http://www.enzymestuff.com/serotonin.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_8696693_balance-serotonin-levels-gut.html
http://www.puristat.com/braingut/serotonin.aspx

Maybe I mis-spoke, serotonin is not controlled by your gut but there are more neurotransmitters for serotonin in your gut than brain.

As quick as you are to dismiss a food connection, you must be a pharmaceutical sales rep :laugh: !

I'm not dismissing a food connection. As I said there are certain foods that contain serotonin, chocolate for example is a common one. I'm not a pharmaceutical rep. I'm a psychology student and have written several papers on depression and all of the different causes for it, particularly biological.

I checked out the links and on the first one, your idea is shot down. I quote one of the lines 'serotonin.....a chemical in the brain which promotes calmness'. There are no serotonin receptors in the gut. The food gets broken down and the enzymes get mixed into the blood stream which goes all around your body. This stimulates the serotonin receptors in the brain. You're even using the word neurotransmitter. Neuro is the brain. Every single thing that happens in your body is controlled by the brain. You can't have neurotransmitters in your gut but you can have nerves which travel to the brain stimulating the neurotransmitters there. It's not just food that stimulates the receptors. Exercise and sex do too and I don't see how they cna be controlled by the gut.

You obviously did not read my post properly. What I said was that if the receptors in the brain aren't working properly for whatever reason, then food won't make a difference. This is not everyone. For some, certain foods can make a difference, but it's still nothing to do with your gut. It's the brain. It's always the brain. I repeat, if the receptors aren't working properly in the brain, the food won't stimulate it right and therefore there will be no benefit.

Try reading Biopsychology by Pinel. It's an actual book not a webpage. The internet has to be one of the worst things ever created sometimes. It's information at the fingertips yeah, but just because it's written down there, doesn't mean it's right.

professorRAT

Serotonin is controlled in the gut not in the brain. So yes food help/hurt your moods.

Serotonin is NOT controlled in the gut. It is a hormone that works off receptors in the brain! Too little serotonin can cause depression. There are certain foods that have more serotonin in them which stimulate the receptors as does exercise and sex. However, there are certain people who are predisposed to depression as their receptors aren't working properly which means that unless they combat that with anti depressants or other such means, the food you eat won't make a damn bit of difference. It can help sure, but only a little.

Please cite information to back up that there is no link from your gut to serotonin. And I will do the same.....


http://www.enzymestuff.com/serotonin.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_8696693_balance-serotonin-levels-gut.html
http://www.puristat.com/braingut/serotonin.aspx

Maybe I mis-spoke, serotonin is not controlled by your gut but there are more neurotransmitters for serotonin in your gut than brain.

As quick as you are to dismiss a food connection, you must be a pharmaceutical sales rep :laugh: !

I'm not dismissing a food connection. As I said there are certain foods that contain serotonin, chocolate for example is a common one. I'm not a pharmaceutical rep. I'm a psychology student and have written several papers on depression and all of the different causes for it, particularly biological.

I checked out the links and on the first one, your idea is shot down. I quote one of the lines 'serotonin.....a chemical in the brain which promotes calmness'. There are no serotonin receptors in the gut. The food gets broken down and the enzymes get mixed into the blood stream which goes all around your body. This stimulates the serotonin receptors in the brain. You're even using the word neurotransmitter. Neuro is the brain. Every single thing that happens in your body is controlled by the brain. You can't have neurotransmitters in your gut but you can have nerves which travel to the brain stimulating the neurotransmitters there. It's not just food that stimulates the receptors. Exercise and sex do too and I don't see how they cna be controlled by the gut.

You obviously did not read my post properly. What I said was that if the receptors in the brain aren't working properly for whatever reason, then food won't make a difference. This is not everyone. For some, certain foods can make a difference, but it's still nothing to do with your gut. It's the brain. It's always the brain. I repeat, if the receptors aren't working properly in the brain, the food won't stimulate it right and therefore there will be no benefit.

Try reading Biopsychology by Pinel. It's an actual book not a webpage. The internet has to be one of the worst things ever created sometimes. It's information at the fingertips yeah, but just because it's written down there, doesn't mean it's right.

@justgemmy: Keep fighting the good fight. Lack of evidence based reasoning will surely be our downfall. I feel your pain.

sunshine_gem

@justgemmy: Keep fighting the good fight. Lack of evidence based reasoning will surely be our downfall. I feel your pain.
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lhulewsky

Awesome article. Thanks for sharing.

mstorvik

Balancing Omega 3 with my Omega 6 has helped WONDERS!

That is fascinating. I'm researching that now and I can see how it could be so benefitial but it also looks like a challenge. Has it been a difficult task or is it easier than it looks?

Easy... I just started taking fish oil and try to work fish into my diet more, too! I have had less pain in my shoulders and neck, too! I love it!

erikafjfrey

Uhm... Serotonin is a neurotransmitter. There are receptors for it in the brain and the gut. This explains when starting treatment you can get GIT upset, and withdrawal symptoms are mostly gut centric also: diahorrea, vomitting etc.

Serotonin is responsible for mood in the brain. Dopamine is responsible for pleasure, while Noradrenaline (or Norepinephrine for our USA friends) is responsible for drive. Most antidepressant therapies centre around Serotonin and Noradrenaline, as they are the neurochemicals that are mostly responsible for mood and action.

Curvygirly22

I go to a doctor who believes in 'foods for your moods'. I was suffering from anxiety, was always tired, having mood changes from being really happy to getting real pissed in a matter of minutes, was having trouble breathing, terrible memory and crappy blood circulation. After taking my blood work he told me that foods with high histamine levels and gluten were triggering all these horrible feelings. I was also severly dehydrated (im bad with drinking my water) . He gave me a vitamin regimine and told me I'd have to change my eating- but it's not a diet- it's a lifestyle change. Unless I want to feel horrible constantly I have to stay away from these foods from now on. It's been hard to completely change my eating from what it was, but I'd rather eat a bit diffferently then feel the way I've been. Within the first 2 weeks I lost 6 pounds, stopped using my inhaler, and had a significant change in energy and mood. I feel absolutely amazing.

Hey right now that is me constantly getting sick, common colds etc. I work at a daycare and I use to never get sick and now I get sick all the time, suffer from anxiety, I mean basically your post is me how I feel now to the t. How were u able to find such a great doctor??? U r so lucky my dr could give 2 craps about me, all they wanna do is write a bunch of scripts. Im from long island too... If u don't mind sharing your dr name info, or how can I find a dr like yours who helped u, private message me.
Thanks! Appreciate it sooooo much!