Have Dietary Changes Or Supplements Helped Reduce Your Ptsd Symptoms?

[Justmehere]

I'm currently in the process of going wheat-free (more than just gluten free) because I tested positive for an allergy to it. I have an autoimmune disease that attacks my nervous system (thankfully in only one part of my body), and reducing wheat was something I had to do anyhow. My therapist gave me a few articles that claimed gluten in wheat can be a neuro excitotoxins for some people and can increase anxiety based symptoms, like those with PTSD.

I've mostly cut out soda and all other forms of caffeinated drinks. (I give in about once a month.) I have also been cutting out most simple sugars like juice and etc and trying to eat foods with a low glycemic index - basically foods that absorb slowly. This has helped a lot for me to have more steady energy levels.

Whenever I start to really get depressed, I take B vitamins, and it can help. L-theanine, the active ingredient in green tea, can help calm anxiety for me. I started off taking the supplement, and now I'm a robust green-tea addict instead. ;)

I'm starting to look at other possible changes to my diet. I'm slow to make changes. I'm an athlete, on a tight budget, and I eat many meals away from home, so making changes that fit my lifestyle gets to be hard sometimes. However, PTSD is a pain, and I would try almost anything to reduce symptoms. Plus, I want to help support my body in whatever ways I can. PTSD sure does a number on my body.

Has anyone found any success with any dietary changes or supplements that helped with their PTSD symptoms?

 

[Deleted member 20280]

UHHH yes thinking about it. I have greatly reduced my salt and caffeine intakes..... I do not as they say 'flip-out' anywhere near as much as I used to. I had never thought about it this way before now.

Thankyou for this thread. Makes me think about my diet regime and possibly a fitness plan ( for the over 40's male that is ;) )

:hug:s

Laurie

 

[Jester]

I used to live on a steady diet of potato chips, soda, energy drinks, coffee, and candy. Ever since I've started drinking more water (less soda and coffee), decreased my caffeine intake, and opted for more protein with vegetables and fruits instead of candy, I feel much better. I also take fish oil supplements to help my concentration, which in turn helps with my anxiety.

 

[arfie]

Yes, I have gotten great benefit from dietary changes, but... I found that changing too much at one time was a shock to my system and was counter-productive. I went through several years of shocking my system and frustrating myself horribly before I caught on to that. My most effective dietary changes have been made one at a time, with enough time in between each change to evaluate what effect the change has had.

You listed a pretty hefty number of changes. Maybe it is good that you can't afford to make any more just yet... Maybe you should give your system time to adjust before you make any more changes? FWIW, some of my most effective diet changes actually saved me money...

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Dumb question. How would one go gluten free but not wheat free? Gluten is in wheat so I always thought that they went hand in hand at least from the wheat standpoint. I know that other grains have gluten in them too. I know that certain grains can be produced as to eliminate cross contamination, but I have no idea how you would get anything with wheat that doesn't have a high probability of having gluten in it.

If you are sensitive to gluten/wheat, then once you FULLY detox, be aware that you could be in for increased effects if you accidentally get a dose of it in the future. I went my whole life with the sensitivity but didn't know it. That is, I've had bad skin issues my whole life and it sucked. Yeah, I hate those commercials where people freak out about ONE pimple. I'd seriously like to punch these superficial twats. That's how bad my acne was, to the point of being cystic. Anyway, if I get a dose of gluten/wheat, my skin goes crazy and my whole body aches. The body aches are a completely new thing. Its how I can tell if I accidentally got a dose, as I have other foods that can cause skin issues (ie cinnamon) that don't cause muscle issues.

But yes, I learned that my gluten issue was what messed up my hormones (at least in part) for so many years. Hormones normalize so my mood is normalizing, too. I can't say "yes, my PTSD is getting better" as they may just be two separate issues with similar effects.

Oh, and eliminating wheat/gluten is not bad at all. I get SO annoyed with people who think that I'm just jumping on the gluten free bandwagon as I'm not diagnosed. Uhm, I eat gluten, I feel like crap. What more do I need to justify my lifestyle change? The other thing is that an official diagnosis does nothing as the only thing they can do for an allergy or sensitivity is tell you to not eat gluten/wheat (which I already do) and the testing process requires you to actually be eating gluten at the time, which I am not willing to do as there is no benefit to getting an official diagnosis.

There are SO many good gluten free foods out there. I'm not big on bread so that one isn't a big deal other than stuffing on Thanksgiving. There are tons of restaurants that now cater to the gluten free crowd. I think that rice pasta is tons better than wheat pasta. If I want bread, I just have cornbread instead (close enough!). There are good baking mixes, too. I haven't jumped into gluten free baking from scratch yet as its going to take some adjustment and I don't have time to learn it right now. But, there is a ton of gluten/wheat free stuff out there, albeit a bit more expensive. It kind of sucks, but I'm getting lots of use out of my Amazon account as its cheaper to buy in bulk online than anywhere local for most products.

I know you said you're wheat free, but no "gluten free" products contain wheat, so that's why I'm using the gluten terminology.

Oh, and in terms of eating away from home, if you're on the run, your best bet is to get foods that you can throw in your bag and take with you. I'm always stocked with Uber bars and Larabars as they're easy to take with you when you need to eat on the go, and they don't require refrigeration. So many places may have foods that don't have gluten/wheat in them, but the probability of cross contamination is high, ie if you eat anything fried, unless its in a dedicated gluten free fryer, then you're likely gonna get a dose of it, and many other foods are prepared in common areas so there is a likelihood of cross contamination. I've learned this the hard way....

My advice is to ask, ask, ask. Not everyone understands the gluten/wheat free thing, so you may inadvertently get a dose of it even if you think a product is safe. I'm still learning as I go and I've been gluten free for a few years now.

 

[Queen Boudica]

You can be allergic to another protein in wheat so it is not gluten allergy but by avoiding wheat you of course avoid gluten in wheat which is one of the primary proteins in wheat but not the only protein. So I suspect then that means you can have oats which also have a small amount of gluten but might not have the particular protein in wheat that you may be allergic or sensitive to). So there is a difference. You can avoid wheat but not gluten as gluten is in other starches.

Most people now-a-days think intolerance to wheat is solely about gluten but there are other proteins. You can just about get an allergy or insensitivity to any protein. And allergies and insensitivities are not the same thing. A true allergic reaction invokes the immune system and anaphylaxis in its severest form. That is how I understand it. Gluten intolerance or coeliacs destroys the lining of your stomach over time so causes major problems that way.

 

[Deleted member 19804]

I just got started on green tea, too :) it's still too early for me to say if it helps, though.

I haven't made any dietary choices that directly affect my PTSD, but I do take less caffeine when I'm anxious. As for supplements, I sometimes add complete vitamin and mineral supplements to my diet and they seem to work pretty well.

Years of eating disorders + PTSD did hurt my digestive system and, with that, my immune system as well. I find that taking good care of myself physically doesn't directly influence my symptoms, but it does help me find the mental strength to keep up the fight. "Mens sana in corpore sano" ("a healthy mind inside a healthy body") is what my Dad always told me. And I think he's right.

 

[Queen Boudica]

Oh and I suspect any changes to diet, exercise etc. that improve your health or reduce allergic reactions/intolerance would make your ptsd symptoms better as you feel less tired, and stressed and more energy then your stress cup is not so full.

Even environmental allergies such as pollen and dustmite where you get allergic rhinitis and can affect your sleep will of course bring on stress and then affect your ptsd.

Skin conditions caused by allergies and intolerance are really stressful of course. My son was covered in eczema and psoriasis and scratching his skin away and effecting his self-esteem. Add that to PTSD and that would be a real problem. It certainly made my symptoms worse even having to watch him suffer like that.

 

[sun seeker]

Good-quality fish oil is supposed to be one of the best things for brain health in general, so it is probably good for PTSD. The only trouble is it's expensive. It's supposed to take two months to notice a difference, but I haven't been able to afford more than a month's supply at a time yet, so I can't tell you how it would have gone.

 

[Queen Boudica]

My Gp recommended I take fish oil and I do. They ought to have it available on scripts.

 

[Deleted member 27340]

I don't eat candy, potato chips, or any really unhealthy snacks. I'll also only eat things like pizza, burgers and other kinds of junk food if I have too. If you make it yourself, you can make junk healthier, though (like healthier bread for the burger, less fatty toppings and more veggies on it). I also don't drink caffeine or highly sugary stuff like soda, milkshakes or ice tea.

Other things I try to avoid is fruit juice, dairy, wheat and apples plus a few other fruits. I'm not sure why but they all seem to make me sick if I get too much of them. It's hard, though, because I don't live alone and can't control what's for dinner or what's in the house.

I should probably take more fish oil, or just eat more fish, but I usually forget.

 

[Friday]

" One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." - Virginia Woolf