Depression Archives - Your body ~ Your brain ~ Your diet

How to Combat Depression… With Fat

June 27, 2022September 1, 2022 MariaC bipoloar, Depression, DHA, EPA, MDD

The human brain is often likened to a computer. I don’t know why; it’s nothing like a computer. Break open a head and you will see that the organ within is just a lump of wobbly fat. Yet it took millions of years of human evolutionary biology to fine tune that lardy lump. It runs entirely on what you feed it.
The dry weight of the brain is 60% fat. The rest of it is cholesterol (also very important) and protein (ditto). No other organ contains so much fat or needs it so much. Without it, the brain simply cannot function.

Feed Your Brain

Does a Vegetarian Diet Cause Depression?

November 8, 2021September 1, 2022 MariaC Depression, Meat-free diet, myelopathy, plant-based diet

A study published in October 2021 found that “a meat-free diet was associated with poorer psychological health.” This review may be highly significant, but it does not prove that a vegetarian diet causes mental health problems. It just highlights a strong relationship between two factors. Association is not causation, after all.
This review may be highly significant, but it does not prove that a vegetarian diet causes mental health problems. It just highlights a strong relationship between two factors. Association is not causation, after all.

Feed Your Brain

Do You Have leaky Brain Syndrome?

June 7, 2021September 1, 2022 MariaC Alzheimer's, Blood-brain barrier, Depression, gluten, inflammation, leaky gut, Parkinson's

Your brain is like a powerful command centre, surrounded by a wall to prevent enemy elements from breaching security. Damage to the wall undermines the strength of the command centre. The blood brain barrier is that wall. If compromised, the brain is left vulnerable to assault and subsequent mental health problems

Feed Your Brain

How Exercise Changes Your Brain and Your Mood

February 1, 2021September 1, 2022 MariaC BDNF, bipolar, dementia, Depression, schizophrenia

Beyond the runner’s high lies a biochemical process that is part of the brain’s growth and repair system. Central to that process is a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF protects existing brain cells from damage. It strengthens the synapses (a synapse is the structure between nerves, through which messages are transmitted), and helps form new synapses. BDNF is also involved in a process called neurogenesis, the creation of new brain cells.

Feed Your Brain

Why Giving Up Sugar Is So Good For Your Mental Health

January 7, 2021September 1, 2022 MariaC Depression, diabetes, dysglycemia, glycemic index, Insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, schizophrenia

Sugar makes you fat, which is bad enough. But can it really make you depressed? Clinically depressed, even? The evidence is compelling, and it’s a journey that starts with a mild blood sugar imbalance and can end with serious mental illness. Each step of that journey is fuelled by sugar, or more specifically, glucose.

Feed Your Brain

The five best diet hacks to transform your mental health

September 7, 2020September 1, 2022 MariaC anxiety, blood sugar, Depression, DHA, microbiome, NCGS, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, vitamin D

There are many dietary factors that can affect brain function. Here I focus on the five that I encountered most frequently in clinic. The clue to identifying the right one(s) often lies in the accompanying physical symptoms. If you suffer from depression and anxiety, you too might spot the clues. Here’s a guide to nutritional sleuthing for mental well-being.

Feed Your Brain

Brain on Fire — How Inflammation Damages Mental Health

May 18, 2020September 1, 2022 MariaC amyloid-β, cytokines, dementia, Depression, dysbiosis, lutein, metabolic syndrome, omega-3, omega-6, probiotics

Inflammation is often visible and painful. Red, angry swellings make their presence felt. Yet sometimes inflammation is invisible and painless; you would never know it was there. When inflammation flares in the brain, it does so silently. Chronic, low-grade inflammation in the brain is a factor in the development of many neurodegenerative diseases, including depression and dementia. It is also seen in Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and Huntington’s disease.

Digestive health Feed Your Brain

How Your Gut Talks to Your Brain and Changes Your Mood

April 27, 2020September 1, 2022 MariaC Depression, gut microbiome, IBS, serotonin, SSRIs, tryptophan, vagus nerve

It is a curious fact that antidepressants are a common treatment for irritable bowel syndrome. But why give Prozac to someone with abdominal pain? Antidepressants work because the gut and brain are inextricably linked. What happens in the gut does not stay in the gut — it travels to the brain. More than half of all patients with IBS are affected by a mood disorder.

Feed Your Brain General health

The four stages of vitamin B12 deficiency

September 29, 2019September 1, 2022 MariaC cyanocobalamin, dementia, Depression, homocysteine, megaloblastic anemia, myelopathy, neuropathy, subacute combined degeneration, vitamin B12

If you recently switched to a 100% plant-based diet, you can relax for quite some time. The adult liver can store enough vitamin B12 to last 1–5 years. But after that, and without “careful planning”, your health could suffer serious and irreversible damage.

Feed Your Brain

The physical symptoms of mental illness

September 3, 2019September 1, 2022 MariaC ADHD, autism, Depression, DHA, dysmenorrhea, EPA, inflammation, oily fish, omega-3, omega-6, schizophrenia

Alicia was certainly different, but she was typical in one regard: she had a combination of physical and mental symptoms. And, as it turned out, there was one underlying cause. Alicia’s brain lacked fatty acids, and this deficiency was manifesting in other parts of her body.

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