Nutrition And Food Effects On Ptsd Symptoms

[MT Johnny]

Anyone have any information to share about the effects of diet and nutrition on ptsd and mental health in general?

I really fell of the wagon in terms of my diet over the past 4-5 months. My year started with promise, even went back to a dietician with the intent of tweaking what worked well for me over the past couple of years.

That went down the drain with everythjng else these past months. I wanna get back there.

 

[shimmerz]

I juice (although I can't right now and am suffering for it). I juice to take the strain off of my digestive system as I notice it gets all wonky whenever I am affected. So I go for high vitamin and mineral (lots of colours) juices and salads.

Other things like bentonite clay to clear out heavy metal toxicity as that can have a great effect on brain functions.

 

[Dana1010]

I always endorse the anti inflammatory diet. Some theorize that depression is actually inflammation of the brain. The most important part is to cut back omega-6 fat and increase omega-3 fat. Unfortunately, manufacturers douse just about everything in omega-6 vegetable oils, so it can be challenging.

I recently ate skin-on chicken thighs, for example, and the next day I was hunched over with my head in my hands feeling like I couldn't go to work. I started thinking over what I'd ate and then I Googled and saw that conventional chicken fat has a lot of omega-6. So I know it can't be a placebo effect because I had no idea until I researched.

 

[City Slicker]

Good for getting back to giving yourself good care. What did you do before that worked? If you were doing something that worked, I agree with you - work with what your body felt best with and tweak what was working for you.

Passing on my tips:
This won't be best for all bodies but I do best when on a fairly strict regimen of good diet and exercise. I feel a decrease in my active symptoms, I am less reactive with a good diet but I have to say I can't separate nutrition from my physical activity except that when I don't eat properly I will lag, inertia is more likely to set in and motivation will go out the window. I have very little room to mess around with this. The older I get the less room I have to let that routine slide. It's my therapist, my medication, my meditation, my best friend.

Moderation: I do not deprive myself, so if I crave a crazy food I tell myself I can have whatever I want. However, and it's a big 'however', I think about what I want and examine the options, alternatives and then I make a decision as to what I want.

My diet is fairly strict in a way I guess i.e., no sugars, flours, etc, basically no white foods, processed foods etc. And I cook more. I will eat 'off the page' occasionally - like today I had a bagel because I haven't had a really good Montreal bagel in a long, long time and it was there at the same time I was and so...but I thought it through before I just grabbed and inhaled.

Make eating an active, conscious process and you will find what works best for you and your symptoms. And don't forget a good sleep routine - even nights I experience difficulty sleeping, I will put myself into bed at roughly the same time each night so my body knows what I expect from it.

Good luck.

 

[Namenotdiagnosis]

I generally eat foods high in omega 3 and also nuts are r r good for you, especially walnuts and Brazil nuts . I have a handful everyday, but generally leafy foods are good too .

 

[Dana1010]

I generally eat foods high in omega 3 and also nuts are r r good for you, especially walnuts and Brazil nuts . I have a handful everyday, but generally leafy foods are good too .

Just want to note that most nuts are high in omega-6 so they could be skewing your ratio of omega-6 to omega-3--the later is much harder to get in the modern diet.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I'm gluten free, which I believe has helped me a ton.

I'm also branching out and supplementing with Amino Acids. I started taking them because of other health concerns, but they seem to have a great calming effect on me. I'm amazed as I've tried tons of prescription medications and none have made me feel this good or this calm. I'm researching a bit more about how they work and its quite interesting. Its eye opening because I sit here and think that if I could have such dramatic results in such a short amount of time, then how many other so called "drug resistant" patients just have a nutritional deficiency/imbalance like I apparently do? The SAD (Standard American Diet) is pathetic, and with the spike of certain disorders in society, I have no doubt that many have roots in nutritional deficiencies and the like. But......big pharma wants you to believe that you need pills to fix it all. Sigh.

 

[Dana1010]

. But......big pharma wants you to believe that you need pills to fix it all. Sigh.

A woman goes into her doctor's office and he tells her she has breast cancer. Dismayed, she says, "Doctor, is this because of my diet?" The doctor assures her, "Noooo, this has nothing whatsoever to do with your diet. Now here, eat these pills"

May I ask what amino acids you're taking?

 

[Chava]

You can't go wrong with working towards more whole foods. Ditto juicing and anti-inflammatory.

I can't say I know of direct effect, but the indirect effects of diet are really obvious. Crap sugars increase my crankiness, hyperness, and also pain (inflammatory and just high sugar)...also mess up sleep. Everything falls apart quickly when I eat very poorly. I notice a little less fatigue when I'm eating a lot of fruits and vegetables (mostly juicing) vs replacing sugar cravings with things like candy bars. My energy is just more normalized, which helps me avoid bad decisions like cigarettes (which screw up my sleep and have me increasing my sleep meds). It all sort of works together. It's obvious we are what we eat, but for the PTSD stuff it seems more about setting myself up better for healthy responses vs greater agitation, pain, and the sort of snowball effects that can happen (physical pain is a trigger for me).

 

[Deleted member 1860]

May I ask what amino acids you're taking?

I started taking l-glutamine about 2 weeks ago. I initially took it because it is known to help curb cravings, and my cravings get so bad that I go on these crazy food binges. My weight was going up and up and up and I felt like I had no control. Well, within one day my cravings were greatly diminished. I did a bit more research on l-glutamine and discovered that it can also help with "leaky gut", which I suspect I may have because one sign of leaky gut is multiple food sensitivities. Yesterday I purposely ate some food (Mexican) which I know would have given me a reaction in the past. Well, no reaction! I think it really is helping to heal my gut as it has been said to do. On the mental health front, my anxiety is so much lower. I am not reacting to things like I usually do. I'm not ruminating like I usually do. (Well, I did ruminate a bit this morning, but I was able to stop....something I haven't been able to do so easily in the past.) My sleep is different. Its weird, because I don't necessarily feel more rested, but I do feel more functional during the day and am able to get out of bed a bit easier, too. I have an order coming from Amazon and I will be adding in theanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan....but not sure in what order. I'm only going to add one in at a time so that I know what each one does. But, I will definitely be continuing the l-glutamine because I can see the positive effects its had on me already.

 

[Peach]

I watched a documentary on Netflix last week called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead about a man who went on a juicing fast for 60 days. Wasn't the most interesting hour and a half of my life, but it did inspire me to try it out. He lost something like 70 pounds, but it was more about the health improvements and getting off the medications he had been on. Of course, not falling back into your old habits when the fast is over is the really hard part.

I've been overweight all my life but recently was able to lose 40 pounds before my vacation in March (to visit my sufferer - first time in person) by walking almost everyday and cutting out the junk food, portion control, and just making smarter decisions. But since I got back I have struggled to get back on the wagon. I've maintained my weight loss but haven't yet been able to take off more.

Anyway, I bought a new juicer and am going to do my own version (probably not quite as strict) of the juicing fast starting on Monday, so I had been thinking about this same topic myself in regards to my sufferer. Of course, he will always have PTSD, but it sure does seem reasonable that healing/reversing other issues his body may have going on and detoxing in general certainly can't hurt!

Whether you believe we are here because of God or evolution, the Earth can take care of itself. If humans would just leave it alone, given time, it would erase all the damage we've caused. Using the same reasoning, the Earth provides everything we need, but again, we tamper with things like GMOs, pesticides, artificial flavors and dyes, antibiotics, etc. If we would leave things alone - eating naturally grown raw fruits and veggies and had a more balanced diet, I think everyone would benefit to some degree...and probably a high one at that.

 

[Meadowsweet]

I think that educating myself on eating from all the food groups, in balance, is what helps. I also have started keeping a food diary, so it's more difficult to eat in denial.

I find that special diets or thinking too much about having more of this or less of that adds to my anxiety - in my head it uses 'ought to - should do - need to' and ends up being not very kind to myself, which in the long run ends up with my breaking under the pressure and eating crap to punish myself.