The Bvitamins are essential for a healthy nervous system and alleviating depression. Therefore taking a multivitamin could prove useful as a transitional step for those who aren’t getting enough whole plant foods and nutritional yeast for B vitamins. A comparison of vegan multivitamins can be found at the website (www.DrGreger.org). Please see “Vegan B12 bliss? Not.” No matter how well researchers may plan the amounts in such supplements for our needs, the researchers are not present in our bodies to direct the usage of the nutrients. While such supplements can help a great deal if no other changes are made from the SAD diet, they have the impact of watering a garden with a water pistol in comparison with getting plenty of the organically involved vitamins in whole plant foods that our bodies naturally know how to use.
Having said that, taking a multivitamin as a back–up to a supportive diet provides at least a bare minimum of many essential nutrients, to avoid becoming deficient for example in minerals.
Many people may need to take B-complex daily due to the intensive modern lifestyle taxing the nervous system. When I was 20 years old, I suffered from depression frequently. My mother–in–law suggested a B-complex. After I started taking it, my mood evened out within a normal range of ups and downs. My conclusion was that I’d probably been deficient in B-complex most of my life. Even now I do take B-complex daily. Multivitamins usually contain relatively little B-complex.
If one takes a large dose once a day, the excess gets eliminated in urine after say half a day because B vitamins are water–soluble. For the rest of the day one might not have enough. Therefore taking a small amount several times a day may support the nervous system optimally. For that reason, I often use the low dose supplement from New Chapter, Coenzyme B Complex. I have no business interest in the company, but have found it beneficial.
Flaxseed or walnuts provide Omega-3s vital for all cell membranes, including those in the brain. Depression may be caused by a deficit in Omega-3s or by reduced efficiency in generation of the longer chain Omega-3s such as DHA. (Please see “Outstanding Omegas”.)
Animal products can lead to a deficit in vitamin B6, one of the nutrients needed to make the neurotransmitter serotonin, as well as a deficit of the amino acid tryptophan, also needed for serotonin. A deficit of serotonin can lead to depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. Complex carbohydrates (not simple sugars) increase tryptophan in the brain, thus increasing serotonin. Serotonin has been shown to reduce pain, depress appetite and facilitate a sense of calm, all effects that can lead to improved health.
If tests show a deficiency in lithium, one could supplement chelated lithium as directed on the bottle or by the doctor.
Depression is a side effect of Valium. (Please see “Pharmaceuticals: better living through chemistry?”)
HypoNatremia can cause depression. Please see “Diuretic disorders” for a discussion of hypoNatremia.
Exposure to full spectrum light is essential for hormonal health, immune system, mood, even for fertility. In winter or for the house-bound, lamps are available (BioLight 800-222-DAWN).
A very unusual cause of depression is Wilson’s disease, which can be detected by testing for excessive copper in a 24-hour urine sample.
An excellent section with many very worthwhile tips regarding depression can be found in Balch (Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A. Balch MD, ISBN 1-58333-077-1, available at many large health stores).
Allergies to dairy (milk products) may manifest as depression. (Please see “Dairy dubious for health”.)
When people metabolize grain gluten or the dairy protein casein from cows or goats incompletely, high levels of opioid protein fragments appear in the urine. This finding is more common in autistic and schizophrenic individuals, with the symptoms often improving after elimination of gluten and dairy.
If one decides to reduce dosage of anti-depressants, the brain’s chemical balance can be maintained better by reducing a little at a time. Radical changes in dosage may cause withdrawal effects such as dizziness, flu-like symptoms, insomnia, anxiety, irritability, or tingling sensations.
Concerns about possible suicide can be shared via a 24 hour hotline found in the phone book under “Suicide Prevention”.
The dietary transitions for improved health described in this book apply to depression. It may prove wise for those who have undergone severe crises such as commitment to a hospital or self-injury during a depressive low point, to make changes step by step. Dealing with health challenges during intensive detoxification can prove quite challenging, even when one is otherwise of a more or less even-tempered disposition. (Please see “Tricks to transitioning one’s diet.”) Nevertheless, the benefits of moving more towards a healthy diet could prove very rewarding indeed.
Every few hours another child in this country is diagnosed with Crohn's disease (www.colitis-crohns.com, www.crohns.org). At least 1.4 million people in the USA suffer from Crohn’s and Colitis, with possibly a further 50 million from inflammatory bowel syndrome and gastroenteritis.
Dairy usage has been correlated with Crohn’s, Colitis, and inflammatory bowel syndrome (also called intestinal neurosis, mucous colitis, spastic colitis, or spastic colon). A person may not be able to tolerate either lactose or casein dairy protein. Growing evidence shows that the “auto-immune” response of Crohn's disease can be triggered by the mycobacterium paratuberculosis, which can survive pasteurization within pus and fat micro-globules in milk. (By US federal law, Grade A milk is allowed to have over a drop of pus per glass, almost twice the international standard of allowable pus cells. That means about 10 million pus cells per cup.)
All fried and grilled foods, caffeine and alcohol are also major offenders to the digestive tract.
Stress reduces production of the neurotransmitter serotonin found along the nerves of the intestines as well as throughout the nervous system. (Several relaxation methods are described in the chapter “Centering during crises.”) Other triggers include sugar, dairy lactose, grain gluten, smoke and fumes.
Hard fibers such as toasted wheat bran irritate and inflame the colon. (Please see “Consuming constipation”.) Boiled grains may present much less of a problem.
Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are vital for all cell membranes, including those in the digestive tract, and may well help postpone or eliminate remissions. (Please see “Outstanding Omegas”.)
A half-cup of aloe vera juice daily may well have a healing effect on the intestinal tract. Slippery Elm is also reputed to sooth inflammatory bowels.
For those who have had their colon removed as for anyone with any of these disorders, probiotic supplements aid digestion. The beneficial probiotic bacteria help normalize intestinal flora, fighting toxic bacteria and yeast, and reducing risk of further potential infections in the colon, as well as helping protect gastric mucosa. (Please see “Powerful Probiotics”.)
Probiotics compete with candida yeast, usually dominating. The SAD diet unfortunately often creates conditions that promote yeast fermentation, with the toxins and alcohol produced by the yeast irritating and inflaming the linings of the entire digestive tract. Dietary changes can minimize such fermentation. (Please see “Candida, the yeast-beast.”) Sugar, dairy lactose, refined flour and alcohol exacerbate yeast infections.
If one is eating any animal-sourced flesh, it’s especially important to chew it thouroughly. Poorly chewed chunks may rot while traversing our long digestive tract, just as flesh left out of the refrigerator rots. The pathogenic bacteria rotting those chunks produce toxins that irritate and may eventually damage the epithelium of the colon. Such toxins may also be carcinogenic.
Unpasteurized, uncooked miso has both active probiotic bacteria and yeast-sourced digestive enzymes from active Aspergillus yeast in the miso, both of which fight candida. The hearty miso aged 2 to 3 years may contain more of the friendly bacteria that populate the intestines, while the 1year miso may contain more of the friendly lactobacilli bacteria that produce lactic acid, aiding in digestion. These condiments are powerful. As with most practices, moderation, using only a modest amount of miso such as half a teaspoon per serving is advisable. If that amount still feels like too much, mixing it into the food before cooking would kill the beneficial microbes and enzymes, but much of the lactic acid would remain, aiding digestion. Personally I prefer the South River miso stored in glass jars over miso from a tub, since exposure to air may degrade miso. Mitoku doesn’t taste as good to me, plus it has to get shipped further.
While I was at Hippocrates for their Health Educator's Program, I found out that a lot of raw food gurus take large amounts of yeast-sourced digestive enzymes, which survive gastric acids and may make the raw diet more doable since the enzymes partially break up raw fibers. Enzymes may make any diet friendlier to reduce problems with digestive distress. (Please see “Enzymes help it happen”.) Since I started eating mostly cooked unrefined plant-based foods, I haven’t been taking enzymes.
Unless chewed extremely thoroughly, fibers from tough foods such as kale may clog the exit from the stomach for a while, delaying absorption from the intestines. Pureeing foods may ease digestion, and make any food accessible to those who may be chewing-challenged. The puree can still be “chewed” by swirling in the mouth, allowing salivary enzymes to mix thoroughly. A juicer rejects a large fraction of nutrients along with the fiber, also over-concentrating foods. For a “blender” that doubles as a food processor due to its sheer power and speed, the pricey but effective Vitamix Turboblend 4500 (2 horsepower, www.RawFood.com) purees even tough cooked kale, or raw sweet potatoes (cut into chunks plus 3 cups water per two large garnets), releasing all the sweet flavor! A food processor can be used, but produces larger particles, thereby releasing only a fraction of the nutrients of pureed foods. How about pureeing celery? Much fuller, more complex flavor than juice alone! Start celery using small pieces, possibly pushing with the tool provided, until a pool of pureed food covers the blades, making it easier for the blades to draw down larger pieces, skipping the bitter leaves (water needs to be in the blender to begin).
Blending legumes with enzymes and/or miso makes them more digestible, since the enzymes get thorough access to the food. Plant-based protein powder partially takes the place of legumes if I’m not getting enough of them to top off my need for protein. (Please also see “Appendices: Author’s diet and exercise”.)
Colonic cleansing is offered by several of the alternative health spas listed in “Reversing advanced clinical disorders”. Cleansing is safest under the care of a health professional. However, beware of having it done too often. Make sure to replace colonic probiotic bacteria after a cleansing.
Chlorella nutritional algae are reputed to normalize the intestines, including easing inflammation. In cases of peptic ulcer, chlorella may well help protect gastric mucosa. (Please see “Super nutritional algae”.)
Vegan vitamin D supplements may also help, especially during the winter.
Excellent sections on Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis as well as on inflammatory bowel syndrome can be found in Balch, with an extensive list of triggers and many very worthwhile tips (Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A. Balch MD, ISBN 1-58333-077-1, available at many large health stores). For further information regarding the possibility of supporting the body to cure Colitis and Crohn’s, a variety of possibly supportive methods can be found in Controlling Crohn’s Disease the Natural Way by Virgina Harper, Self Healing Colitis & Crohn’s by David Klein (707-829-0362 www.colitis-crohns.com, www.livingnutrition.com), and Dr. Jensen’s Guide to Better Bowel Care ISBN 0-89529-584-9 (www.TheRawWorld.com 866-RawLife).
The dietary information in “Back Sore?” may well also apply to colitis and Crohn’s, since it addresses ameliorating inflammation.
