Treating depression with LCHF ?
fknlardarse
Posts: 210 Member
Hi my hubby has clinical depression, treatment resistant, chronic for many years. He has been watching all the YouTube videos I’ve been binging on about LCHF which I’m absolutely loving. He’s never seen me happier on a diet and his interest is piqued. Some videos briefly mention that this WOE can help depression but we’d like to know more. Can anyone recommend some further reading/videos exploring LCHF and depression?
Thank you
Thank you
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Replies
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I wasn't able to find anything specific to LCHF, but if you google "ketosis and depression" you will find a lot of stuff.1
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Thank you, I’ve been having a google, you’re right there are a few references to Ketosis and depression. I wonder if the same principles apply to LCHF or if it’s not powerful enough? Like for diabetes you need to be in Ketosis really.
I found videos by Dr Georgia Ede, a psychiatrist, on low carb down under, Ill watch them later and hopefully get some more info 😊0 -
If one believes food choices can be mind/mood altering (and I personally believe that to be the case), I'll suggest if one is on medication for their depression they consult their physician prior to making extreme changes in diet.3
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Reaching ketosis depends a great deal on activity level. Some very active people can be in ketosis with upwards of 200g of carbs per day.
I know for my migraine issues, they stay under control up to about 100g of carbs per day. For me the biggest improvements hit about 100 days into keto. I originally started keto with a 2:1 ratio, so much more strict than is normally done for weight loss, and it's a challenge to do the ratio versions of keto.
I'm not sure if depression is a neurological thing (like migraines) or more of a hormonal thing. There also seems to be some indication that blood sugar swings can be a depression trigger. LCHF does help with blood sugar swings, and it also helps with hormonal things. I would imagine there is more than one cause for depression and it's not going to be easy to figure out what the individual trigger is for any given person.
There's really nothing to lose trying LCHF. If desired results are not achieved, then full keto is still an option, and it's probably and easier transition from SAD to LCHF to keto than straight from SAD to keto. If desired results are achieved, then it's a win all around.
Magnesium deficiency can also trigger depression, so maybe a mag supplement would help if that hasn't already been tried?1 -
One of my childhood friends has treatment-resistant clinical depression, and it's very hard...not just for her, but very much so for her family as well. I'm sure you have your struggles because of this, @fknlardarse, and that you have ways to take care of yourself while also caring for your husband.
That being said, while virtually everybody on mfp has everyone else's best interests at heart, you don't know, really, who we are. Other posters on the message boards could be bored middle school students or online trolls who get some sort of kick out of creating divisions and unhappiness. Or we could all be board-certified doctors (but probably not, haha!) or people who get paid to spread false information for large corporations.
Please don't make changes that could affect your husband's very serious disease from strangers without a huge grain of salt, please consult with his psychiatrist/medical doctor first. And best wishes for improved state of mind and body to your husband.
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Thank you all for talking to the time to reply and your kind words it is very much appreciated.
For anyone with similar issues stumbling across this thread in the future I can definitely recommend YouTube videos by Dr Georgia Ede she is a psychiatrist interested in nutrition and I watched 2 fascinating talks by her today. Very informative 😊3 -
I didn't save most of my links, and I wasn't researching depression, but TBI/RHI, which is why I'm trying low carb (not keto) to see if it helps with some of my minor-but-annoying symptoms. I'm not finding it hard to stick with the diet, and tracking has me staying on top of my calories (actually needing to make sure I eat enough since so many carbs are fairly high calorie for their volume), which obviously has worked in my weight-loss favor.
I've only been at it about 2 1/2 weeks, so still really too early to tell if it's helping or not, but I don't feel like I'm suffering or struggling with the diet, either. My workouts have been great, and overall feeling pretty awesome after the first week of cravings passed (I was pretty careful to make sure I was eating enough and getting the electrolytes and such).2 -
Eating high fat changes the chemicals in the brain (why keto lchf diet is used to treat autistic, alzheimers, and epileptic patients, along with more and more clinical research for other diseases affecting the brain).
These results are from consuming high fats (not just from cutting carbs alone).
There's no harm trying keto for any medicinal reasons. If you don't see the results you're looking for after a few weeks, change it or stop keto. Same mentality applies as prescriptions, if not seeing results or experiencing bad side effects, doctor will stop or change prescriptions.
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Anecdotally I feel it (keto) has helped me over the last nine months, it’s worth trying in my humble opinion.1
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Check out 2 Keto Dudes podcast. One of the "dudes" ( Carrie) is symptom free from bi polar using keto.3
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