Ask Me Help Desk - Depression

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Originally Posted by jurplesman

If this is PTSD it can be treated nutritionally.

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Cassie agrees: great article, I have known 4 people in the last year that committed suicide and was on anti-depressants, that certainly says something.

While sound nutrition is an essential part of it (I have been on the diet you are suggesting, Jurplesman) I don't believe it is the" do all-end all" to mental illness such as PTSD any more than drugs are (especially anti-depressants). Those kinds of expectations are totally unrealistic from what I have experienced firsthand and witnessed in many others. This is not to say they don't help, but the help may not be enough or sustainable without more help.

It takes getting to the "engine" mentally, emotionally and psychologically as well... which is often hard work that some people aren't willing to do these days and insurance companies (and some doctors) aren't keen on either. So the failures and suicides prevail (that may explain your friends Cassie) and we blame whatever half baked approach was used. That is bad science in my book. I can say with personal conviction that if I had not taken a multiple strategy approach to the severe PTSD I have, I would not have experienced nearly as much recovery.

As humorous as this will sound, LOL... I resemble a normal person most of the time, am presently off any psychotropic drugs and so have fulfilled the words of my first PTSD therapist in the "100% remission is as good as a cure". There have been many good posts here on this thread and the thing is, if you really WANT to get well, you'll use anything and everything you can find - prayer, nutrition, drugs, therapy, etc - until something or combination works for you. Anything less is playing games, especially the "Victim Game" which runs rampant in the mental illness arena. But if you don't really want to get well (and from what I've seen, mostly because that means taking responsibility for yourself), nothing will work well enough. That is the truth as I see it demonstrated in the world again and again.

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Originally Posted by valinorss_sorrow

While sound nutrition is an essential part of it (I have been on the diet you are suggesting, Jurplesman) I don't believe it is the" do all-end all" to mental illness such as PTSD any more than drugs are (especially anti-depressants). Those kinds of expectations are totally unrealistic from what I have experienced firsthand and witnessed in many others. This is not to say they don't help, but the help may not be enough or sustainable without more help

This is the kind of statement that is not very helpful for people suffering from mental illness. Science works by by setting up an hypothesis and testing the hypothesis and then applying it to cases in the real world. I know it is popular to believe that mental illness is 'multifactorial', but this nearly always means that the experts simply disagree as to what causes depression. It does not follow from this that it MUST be multifactorial. Most 'experts' do not know what causes depression because it is said to be endogenous.

It is not good enough to say that depression may be caused by X,Y,Z and the rest of the alphabet. We need specific causes! That is why we have scientific method.

You say that nutrition is not the "do all and end all" to mental illness. But what proof do you have to this statement. Have you read the article:

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Hypoglycemia

If you disagree then tell what do you disagree with? What alternative scientific explanation do you have for PTSD?

Fortunately there are explanations for most forms of mental illness but the reasons are outside the square box from which most people operate.

Having worked as a nutritional psychotherapist for many years I know that most forms of brain disorders can be treated quite successfully by nutritional means.

Please read:

Hypoglycemia is it a Cure-all for Mental Illness?

Thus we seem to disagree in the sense that I see a definite etiology in mental illness, whereas you seems to see it as a 'multifaceted' problem.

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Originally Posted by jurplesman

You say that nutrition is not the "do all and end all" to mental illness. But what proof do you have to this statement.

And on the flip side what proof do you have that nutrition IS?
Although I do not begrudge you for your beliefs and ideas, I feel that is not prudent to suggest a specific diet as a " cure" for almost every health issue, be it mental or physical. This seems to be your only advice. Your "cure all end all."

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Originally Posted by Stormy69

Although I do not begrudge you for your beliefs and ideas, I feel that is not prudent to suggest a specific diet as a " cure" for almost every health issue, be it mental or physical. This seems to be your only advice. Your "cure all end all."

Diet is NOT the cure-all for almost every health issue, be it mental or physical, but it certainly is for many forms of mental illness.

In fact, conventional therapy for mental illness will have us believe that the drugs and/or psychotherapy model is is "cure all and all" for mental illness. It is too simplistic. I believe that this attitude is responsible for the significant failure rate in treatment in the mental health industry. Most of our mental patients finish up in jail. I am just adding another dimension to the problem.

For more references see here.

Maybe most of the mental patients in Australia, where you are, end up in jail. But I hold to the belief that while the diet is good in itself, it is not a cure all. If that were the case then many who suffer from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or maybe even multiple personality disorder would be treated with this diet rather than medications along with diet.

Is this also a cure for OCD?

What about diabetics with depression?

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Originally Posted by jurplesman

You say that nutrition is not the "do all and end all" to mental illness. But what proof do you have to this statement.

I have already laid out what proof I have: my firsthand experience and yes, I have read the articles, actually I read some of that information from other sources long ago. I can state unequivocally that nutrition alone did not solve the problems I had with PTSD. I tried many many things as well and it ultimately required a multiple solution approach with an emphasis on getting to the core of it psychologically, as I already stated.

I could go into a long discourse here on what caused the PTSD in me and why I think it did, but that would be highjacking this thread, which is a rude thing so at this point I think enough has been said here. Look, we are supposed to be answering the concerns of the originally posted question and any debate needs to be a new thread in Member Discussions, okay?

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Originally Posted by J_9

Maybe most of the mental patients in Australia, where you are, end up in jail. But I hold to the belief that while the diet is good in itself, it is not a cure all. If that were the case then many who suffer from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or maybe even multiple personality disorder would be treated with this diet rather than medications along with diet.

Is this also a cure for OCD?

What about diabetics with depression?

My experience is working with literally thousands of treatment resistance mentally ill people in the Corrective Services Department of NSW. It is well documented that about 75% of prisoners have an addiction problem as a comorbid condition of their offences. Addiction is a mental illness. Other non-addicted prisoners are usually typically depressed, people who commit fairly serious offences such bank robberies, rape, people with uncontrollable violence and so forth. Gambling addiction have led some people to steal huge amounts of money from employers. People with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder form an other percentage of prisoners. Schizophrenic and Bipolar people generally cannot always be helped with nutritional therapy alone, but most do benefit from the hypoglycemic diet. Nutritional therapy helps reduce many of the side effects of psychotropic drugs. For details please consult:

Werbach,M.R.(1991), NUTRITIONAL INFLUENCES ON MENTAL ILLNESS, A Sourcebook of Clinical Research, Third Line Pres, Inc.Tarzana. Cal.

I consider Multiple Personality Disorder a phantom diagnosis. It is better to call it Personality Disorder, which usually involves a metabolic disorder.

You will find that if you test people with mental illness (a misnomer BTW) with the four hour Medical Test for Hypoglycemia, that about 90% will be found to be hypoglycemic.

Another worthwhile test that can be used by non-medical people is the Nutrition Behavior Inventory Test (NBI) . If you score high you are likely to be hypoglycemic. This can also be confirmed with the medical test.

Most conventional doctors are not familiar with this medical test, because most doctors test for diabetes with a single hemoglobin A1C test.

The understand the connection between depression and hypoglycemia, one need to understand that hypoglycemia is one form of prediabetic Insulin Resistance.

A proportion of people tested with the hypoglycemic test may show "normal" blood sugar levels and yet have hypoglycemic symptoms. This is due to an imbalance between zinc and copper levels. This is type 6 hypoglycemia (or cerebral hypoglycia). (See here).
Here the obstruction in sugar metabolism occurs within the mitochondria right within the ten step glycolysis.

Most depressions occurring among diabetics have the same etiology as those with prediabetic insulin resistance (hypoglycemics). It is the insulin resistance causing depression. The association between insulin resistance and depression is shown in many studies.

Depression and Insulin Resistance.

The question naturally asked is how can hypoglycemia or insulin resistance cause depression and many of the other "mental illnesses"?

The reason is that for the body to manufacture the feel good neurotransmitters like serotonin, it needs an inordinate amount of Biological Energy called (ATP). Without that energy the body cannot produce the feel good hormones that can make us feel happy and content when we normally should.

Since ATP is derived form the sugars we eat, it is no wonder why the hypoglycemic diet can be a virtual "cure all" for mental illness. This diet needs to be adjusted to the individual nutritional biochemistry of the person with the help of a Nutritional Doctor or a Clinical Nutritionist. Just being on a "healthy diet" is not good enough.

Of course it should be realized that there are many other biological reasons the body cannot produce serotonin, because of an untold medical conditions that also contribute to depression. Most of these medical conditions relate to the digestive system, interfering with nutrient absorption which is the source of our neurotransmitters.

As to OCD, this too is one of the testable symptoms of the hypoglycemic syndrome. In OCD we have an overproduction of adrenaline that sets in motion the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) with its varied physiological symptoms. Adrenaline is not only the hormone of fight and flight but also a focusing hormone, forcing us to focus on the "enemy". It can cause us to ruminate, have "racing minds", to have compulsive thoughts, rituals and this is very hard to control by conscious cognitions. Hence talk therapy is usually ineffective to eradicate this illness.

Knowledge of Nutritional Biochemistry will add a very effective weapon in the hands of therapists dealing with mental illness.

Ditto Nasra. You took the words right out of my mouth.

Please, please follow-up on changing your prescription. Remember it takes approximately 6 weeks for you to begin the initial effects of the meds. Some side-effects do suck, but sometimes are necessary.

Please take care and keep us up-to-date.

People here seem to be so enamored with conventional medicine and psychology, that they have to stoop to personal attacks on my integrity and sincerity. The views expressed here seem to be one-eyed and biased by people with blinkers on and with a particular ideology.

Please show me where I get any financial interest from my "promotional stint" and "his ad for his book", when all the information I give is completely free of charge. Tell me if anybody has ever paid any money for reading my book or for information given? And then tell me whose financial interests YOU are serving?

But please let me also know what sponsorship you seem to receive from the medico/pharmaceutical industry (or any other interest group) enabling you to attack a poster here because he expresses an opinion that is not in the commercial interest of medico/pharmaceutical industry or of YOUR particular interest.

Thus this discussion board may be very disappointing to anybody seeking any self-help "alternative approaches" to outdated, ineffective, conventional, expensive treatment modalities dating back to the last century. This leave so many people suffering from "treatment resistant" mental illness due to widespread IGNORANCE about the real causes of mental illness, as exemplified by some posters here.

It also shows that progress and reform for the treatment of mental illness is not merely a scientific matter, but one of economics - threatening the financial interests of the profit driven psycho/medical industrial complex - and of politics, the financial power behind psycho-medical propaganda

Please see the announcement on this board and the rules link at the bottom of every page.

This is sound advice.