Need recruits for Depression/Sugar test!!

Here's the deal. I am 42 and have battled depression and anxiety my entire life. While some of it can be attributed to my toxic parents growing up, I have discovered over the past year that my a lot of my mood issues were alleviated when I cut added sugars out of my diet.

I would like to get a group of people together who battle the same issues, and also eat a lot of sugar during their day. I believe that there is a HUGE correlation and that sugar is poisoning us. I'm not a student of anything, but I want to get some stats for myself as to how sugar affects us in our daily lives. I know the science is out there, but I think there are a lot of people who depend highly on anti-depressants (like myself) now instead of fixing their diets. It's incredible what it can do to your head.

If you are interested, I would like you to cut out ALL added sugar from your diet for 30 days and record your results here in a weekly (or even daily) update as to what you are feeling with regards to withdrawal symptoms, mood changes, and cravings. You should aim to eat no more than 30 added grams of sugar per day.

Friend me if you like so we can keep tabs on each other.

Thanks and good luck!

I did this very thing 2 years ago. It helped immensely. I was able to get off 4 mental health medications within 4 months when I made dietary changes (I went Paleo) and have been stable since. If I start to eat too much sugar again, I notice a difference right away - within a couple of days.

During this the first year of my diet change, I quit running and lifting weights (I was a half marathoner) and simply walked 3x a week. I wanted to focus on the dietary changes and not try to do too much at once.

I think diet plays a HUGE role in our mental health status, and considering serotonin and norepinephrine are produced in the gut, it makes total sense that what we eat can control how we feel. Good luck with your study.

I'm intrigued and interested but not sure that I could commit, quite honestly. And think that signing up with a group will only add to my feelings of failure.

Clearly, I'm a trainwreck.

I don't think you're a train wreck. I think you're a wife and mother of 4. Trainwreck? No. A person worthy of praise and reverence? Yes. Maybe you could try your best and see how that goes. You never know. You may do better than you think, if you give yourself a chance.

OP: Good luck with this. I won't be joining, but I hope this thread survives. (Without all the "Sugar is good" riffraff that have already started popping up.) I'll be following your results.

This would be great!

Interesting experiment. I'm skeptical about the cut out all element and the focus on added sugar alone, but I don't think it hurts to experiment with how changing one's diet affects such things.

I also have had issues with mood-swings and depression, and I definitely noticed that cutting down on sugar overall (and carbs), but not to the point of following a low carb diet or ketosis or anything, seemed to help a lot. But at the same time I increased exercise, which I can tell has a dramatic effect and also started trying to sleep better (which has been only somewhat successful, but still). In that I can go for days without added sugar (or even fruit, carrots, etc.), I'm sure I could do it without withdrawal of any sort, but I doubt doing that would make a difference at this point. Also, for what it's worth, I didn't experience any cravings or withdrawal type symptions when cutting down.

A couple of things I have noticed--I used to want sugar/simple carbs when tired, and now I don't have that mid-afternoon crashing/need to eat something feeling, which I think is related to trying to eat a more consistent amount of protein vs. more carb-heavy breakfasts and lunches, and I used to find fasting (like for religious stuff, not for dieting) absurdly difficult and definitely hard on my mood and patience. This Ash Wednesday it was really easy and I was in a good mood all day.

I would be interested in trying this. I think I would be a good test subject. Mild depression, not on meds, addicted to sugar. I'm not sure I will get through those first few days, but I will give it a try! Cutting out sugar can only help.