Posted by siri on December 9, 1999, at 18:14:23
In reply to Nutrition, posted by Noa on November 29, 1999, at 16:32:49
Noa and everybody:
I am new to this forum, having just discovered it today. I have been devouring your words on many threads. I'm trying to get info on Zoloft but my interests brought me to this thread.
I don't know anything about anti-depressants but am wanting to try Zoloft or something for my chronic depression. I know it's caused by Wilson's Syndrome but I can't take the T3 therapy. Propranolol helps my thyroid-related erratic heartbeat and anxiety.
However, what I DO have tons of experience with is 25 years of using nutrition and so-called "alternative medicine". There was a long time when I would have died before taking a prescription drug. I am not such a purist anymore. I got tired of working my fanny off trying to do all the "right" things and still feeling like hammered poop.
But nutrition and proper supplements can do wonders for some conditions, for some people, if you find what works for you. The fanatics make the mistake of thinking that there is one right way for everybody. It's just not so. EveryBODY is unique. Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine take these constitutional differences into account when suggesting diet and herbs.
Kinesionics or Kinesiology (muscle-testing) can be extremely effective for fine-tuning a diet and supplement regimen. The same supplement that the books recommend can test "beneficial" for one person, and "detrimental" for another suffering from the same illness.
I had breast cancer a couple of years ago. I have a weak liver and immune system, so I was very concerned that the chemo that is so hard for people to take might be fatal for me. So I elected to go with a total nutritional approach to treat myself. I'm not saying that everyone should choose the same thing that I did: EveryBODY is different. Even the nutritional and diet programs I studied work well for some people, and don't work at all for others. It's hard to know ahead of time what will work for you. I learned to listen to my gut. I am one of the lucky survivors.
The thing that made the difference for me was the nutritionist I see who muscle-tested me for everything I was taking. There were times when I read that I should take such-and such, or when she wanted to put me on such-and such, but when we muscle-tested, my body said NO. A few months later, my body might say YES to the same supplement.
The muscle-testing allowed us to be accurate and I didn't waste time and money on things that my body couldn't utilize. I think this approach works for me with medications, too. She was surprised that the Propranolol consistently tests beneficial for me. She always hopes that we can get me on something more "natural" to help my anxiety and heart, but nothing works as well as the Propranolol. We laugh together about that. She is very supportive of me, and trusts that my body knows what's best for me. She helps me a lot, but there are some things she hasn't been able to make much of an impact on- my thyroid, for instance. But regular M.D.'s have limitations, too, so I don't consider this a reason to write off Alternative or nutritional medicine.
I wish more doctors were like her. Too many health care professionals are locked-in to their field of knowledge and poo-poo anything from a different perspective. The vegetarians can be rigid, as can the omnivores. I was vegetarian for over 24 years, and still got cancer. Now I eat some organically raised meat, and actually feel better. The militant vegetarians had me believing that meat was going to kill me.
Most books tell women to take calcium, but it blows me out. I need Magnesium instead. That's just one little example. Most authorities say I would benefit from aerobic exercise. But because of my thyroid condition, my muscle tissue (and the heart is a muscle) doesn't repair itself well and most exercise breaks me down instead of building me up. It's my depression about this eternal "couch-potatohood" that is making me want to research anti-depressants. Winter always makes it worse because I get so cold...
There is no such thing as something that is best for everyBODY.
So I would encourage you to read a lot and try whatever seems reasonable, within balance.
There is so much information out there that is good, or bogus, you have to find your own "best". And even that may change and evolve over time as you constantly change. Instead of getting discouraged, you can consider it a wonderful journey of discovery.
I apologize for the length of this first post of mine, and if I overstepped any forum rules by discussing the medical approaches that I have used.
Blessed Be!
Siri
> I am moderately aware of the basics in nutrition, but don't know much about some of the nitty gritty of how different nutritional elements affect depression, etc. Sometimes I am curious about whether eating better or taking supplements would help. My nutrition has been neglected a lot in recent years, because I have not cooked for myself at all, and have relied on processed foods, carry out, etc. Now, the extreme of thinking like my friend who told me I was depressed because all I had eaten in 3 days was a pizza, seems outlandish to me, but in the big picture, he has a point. Over the long run, my neglect of proper eating habits might be making my depression worse.
>
> So I bought a book. It is a bit overwhelming, too much info to take in. But I am picking up some things that pique my curiosity about myself. First, I think I don't get enough B vitamins, because I don't eat meat or poultry, and only sometimes do I eat fish. Second, I definitely have not gotten enough fresh greens, etc. and am probably low on Folic Acid. I also wonder about other deficincies-zinc, fish oil, for instance. I don't feel ready to go the supplement route, and think I should probably just start changing my eating as much as possible to include more fresh fruits, vegies, etc.
> There are some conflicting issues--on being, fish is not recommended for people with water retention, because of the iodine. But it is recommended for depression, because of the fish oil.
> Some basics I can start with are reducing the caffiene, I think, and eating more fresh vegies. I also need to eat less fat, of course, as my cholesterol is too high.
>
> Has anyone out there had experience in getting a handle on their nutrition, and does it help with depression, anxiety, etc? It is a bit overwhelming to read this book (by an MD and a nutritionist) because they are like many natural healing folks that suggest so many supplemental herbs, etc. and are into the idea of lots of food allergies, which I don't think is so farfetched, but is probably more than I can handle right now. Should I consult a professional? Are there ways to test whether you are deficient in something? Has anyone worked with a psychiatrist who knows something about nutrition, and works with patients about that?
poster:siri
thread:15939
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991123/msgs/16550.html