Post by Jurriaan Plesman BA (Psych), P on Apr 2, 2013 13:23:40 GMT 10
If you believe that conventional treatment for mood disorders by way of drugs and/or talk-therapy is good for you, then don't read this article. However, if you are looking for an alternative view in the treatment of mood disorders, then this may be a good option.
All our feel good hormones, neuro-chemicals, enzymes and co-enzymes, vitamins and minerals come from the food we eat. Our bodies are genetically programmed to transform all these nutrients into the various neurotransmitters that make our brain operate the way they should, as for instance in the conversion of an amino acid - tryptophan - into serotonin, and hence into melatonin (sleeping hormone). This knowledge have encouraged some people to believe that in fact you can treat "mental illness" with specific nutritional supplements along the line of how psychiatrist use singular drugs.
But studies have shown that treatment of mood disorders with nutritional supplements have also been very disappointing and that is for very good reasons.
In order to produce serotonin from tryptophan you need a whole orchestra of other nutrients to complete the conversion ranging from various vitamins. 1.2.3.5.6. and minerals, vitamin D. magnesium, zinc, too many to enumerate. Because of our biochemical individuality, each person need their unique combination both in kind and amount of nutrients, so that what may be good for gander may not be good for the goose.
Furthermore, it is often overlooked that in order to convert one molecule into another molecules as in biochemical machinery of cells, we need biological energy called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This is like a battery floating around in our body ready to discharge its energy whenever required. Without that energy the body cannot produce serotonin and we will experience depression for lack of energy in the brain.
This energy is mainly derived from carbohydrates in our food in the form of glucose, that is converted to ATP via glycolysis. The brain is entirely dependent on the steady supply of glucose as its source of energy. When the brain is starved of energy, it will die in minutes and it will send a hormonal message to the adrenal glands to pour stress hormones into our blood stream - adrenaline and cortisol.
These hormones function to convert glucose stores in our body in muscles and liver called 'glycogen' into glucose to replenish the brain again with energy. However, these hormones also trigger the feelings of anxiety in the absence of any stimulus in the environment, thus causing "irrational" fears, commonly called "Anxiety Attacks". This is at the basis of PTSD too. After some time the adrenal gland become exhausted and it is then followed by depression again without any obvious cause in the environment.
A major disease causing energy starvation in the brain is hypoglycemia, a disease still not recognized by the medical profession. This is one reason why doctors have such trouble treating mental illness. Dr George Samra of Kogarah Australia has devised a test for hypoglycemia as distinct from diabetes and described at:
Testing for Hypoglycemia.
You can also test yourself with a question and answer test called the NBI (see above).
Studies show that about 20% of adults ages 20 years or older had pre-diabetes (hypoglycemia)—50 percent of those ages 65 years or older. Thus a large proportion of the population suffer from hypoglycemia, which explains in part the ever increasing incidence of depression in our society. Source.
Fortunately, this disease can be treated without resort to drugs and/or psychotherapy by simply adopting the hypoglycemic diet.
This is not to say that hypoglycemia is the sole factor to be considered in mood disorders. There are numerous "silent" diseases, that are associated with depression, but fortunately hypoglycemia is the major one.
And psychotherapy can be of great help, once you have treated the biological factor first. It is a cardinal principle in psychonutritional therapy that you FIRST treat the biochemical aspect of mood disorder before considering "psychological" factors. A physical disease cannot be treated by talk-therapy.
For further reading:
Depression is a Nutritional Disorder
I hope that this outline will throw a different light on the treatment of "mental illness".
For references see: Research Evidence for Hypoglycemia
All our feel good hormones, neuro-chemicals, enzymes and co-enzymes, vitamins and minerals come from the food we eat. Our bodies are genetically programmed to transform all these nutrients into the various neurotransmitters that make our brain operate the way they should, as for instance in the conversion of an amino acid - tryptophan - into serotonin, and hence into melatonin (sleeping hormone). This knowledge have encouraged some people to believe that in fact you can treat "mental illness" with specific nutritional supplements along the line of how psychiatrist use singular drugs.
But studies have shown that treatment of mood disorders with nutritional supplements have also been very disappointing and that is for very good reasons.
In order to produce serotonin from tryptophan you need a whole orchestra of other nutrients to complete the conversion ranging from various vitamins. 1.2.3.5.6. and minerals, vitamin D. magnesium, zinc, too many to enumerate. Because of our biochemical individuality, each person need their unique combination both in kind and amount of nutrients, so that what may be good for gander may not be good for the goose.
Furthermore, it is often overlooked that in order to convert one molecule into another molecules as in biochemical machinery of cells, we need biological energy called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This is like a battery floating around in our body ready to discharge its energy whenever required. Without that energy the body cannot produce serotonin and we will experience depression for lack of energy in the brain.
This energy is mainly derived from carbohydrates in our food in the form of glucose, that is converted to ATP via glycolysis. The brain is entirely dependent on the steady supply of glucose as its source of energy. When the brain is starved of energy, it will die in minutes and it will send a hormonal message to the adrenal glands to pour stress hormones into our blood stream - adrenaline and cortisol.
These hormones function to convert glucose stores in our body in muscles and liver called 'glycogen' into glucose to replenish the brain again with energy. However, these hormones also trigger the feelings of anxiety in the absence of any stimulus in the environment, thus causing "irrational" fears, commonly called "Anxiety Attacks". This is at the basis of PTSD too. After some time the adrenal gland become exhausted and it is then followed by depression again without any obvious cause in the environment.
A major disease causing energy starvation in the brain is hypoglycemia, a disease still not recognized by the medical profession. This is one reason why doctors have such trouble treating mental illness. Dr George Samra of Kogarah Australia has devised a test for hypoglycemia as distinct from diabetes and described at:
Testing for Hypoglycemia.
You can also test yourself with a question and answer test called the NBI (see above).
Studies show that about 20% of adults ages 20 years or older had pre-diabetes (hypoglycemia)—50 percent of those ages 65 years or older. Thus a large proportion of the population suffer from hypoglycemia, which explains in part the ever increasing incidence of depression in our society. Source.
Fortunately, this disease can be treated without resort to drugs and/or psychotherapy by simply adopting the hypoglycemic diet.
This is not to say that hypoglycemia is the sole factor to be considered in mood disorders. There are numerous "silent" diseases, that are associated with depression, but fortunately hypoglycemia is the major one.
And psychotherapy can be of great help, once you have treated the biological factor first. It is a cardinal principle in psychonutritional therapy that you FIRST treat the biochemical aspect of mood disorder before considering "psychological" factors. A physical disease cannot be treated by talk-therapy.
For further reading:
Depression is a Nutritional Disorder
I hope that this outline will throw a different light on the treatment of "mental illness".
For references see: Research Evidence for Hypoglycemia
