Second thoughts about All One

[nancy]

I am no nutritionist or doctor...

I am wondering though, and would appreciate some comments on this.

For a meat-eating person who is suffering from depression, I wonder whether it is good or necessary to take amino acids.

Most americans have high protein diet anyway. Is RJ a vegetatrian?

From what I read, if you have a lot of protein, the amino acids compete. the amino acid that makes serotonin--tryptpohan-- often gets left out in the shuffle with lots of protein intake.

best diet for someone suffering from depression has complex carbs, not too much protein and amino acids, according to the books i am reading.

Personally, I am going to get a multivitamin with minerals and no aminos. With protein at every meal, dont' think i need amino supplementation. And especially not if it interferes with tryptophan absorption.

Any thoughts?

[Java]

Second thoughts about All One

Thanks for sharing that nancy, I am going to look into it. I too take in a lot of protien, and I have also been taking the all one...

[Determinator]

Second thoughts about All One

Nancy, what book are you reading? I"m curious. Animal products (especially pork, wild game and duck) have quite a bit of easily absorbed tryptophan, although if you really need that particular amino then supplementation is the way to go...like 5HTP 300-400mg just before bed. To be effective 5HTP MUST be consumed with protein or it will not be successfully transported to the brain and will simply pass through. Taking niacinimide will further extend absorbtion time. The downside to L-tryptophan is it may exacerbate athsma in those that already have it, and it will decrease athletic performance and increase fatigue. My non-professional advice? stick with the protein, get carbs in the form of veggies and fruits and experiment with supps of 5HTP and see how it goes....it's brilliant for insomnia, anxiety and depression in many folks.

[stillcrawling]

Second thoughts about All One

Nancy you are our nutrition goddess!

Nancy -- I appreciate your research on nutrition and wish I could answer your questions... the book Seven Weeks to Sobriety addresses alot of nutrition mattters... we really do deplete our system when we drink (or now if we don't drink we are refueling and rebalancing) I did not drink Diet Coke this weekend & it is thnaks to you Nancy! I am drinking 1/2 sparkling water and 1/2 diet V-8 splash. Not the best but -- better than caff and artificial sweetener. Liz

[nancy]

Second thoughts about All One

Hey La Liz, good work on changing your caffeine habits. I am going to keep minimizing mine!

Determinator, the book is called Food and Mood, I put some excerpts in the secton on What We Are reading. But other books have said similar things. The author of food and mood advises that if you are a carb craver, you should be eating a small amount of lean protein and generous portions of complex carbs.

What the book says is that amino acids compete to get through the blood brain barrier. Tryptophan, which makes serotonin, has a hard time making it across.

when you have a high carb diet, the other aminos are lower and tryptophan is higher. so it gets to the brain more easily. This is why when we are depressed, we naturally crave carbs and sugars, and feel well after we have them. And i guess if you take tryptopahn with orange juice, it makes it to the brain more easily. But the downside of the carb diet, unless it is complex carbs, is that it messses up your blood sugar levels.

Does that conflict with your understanding? curious to hear more from you.

[Determinator]

Second thoughts about All One

thanks Nancy, I'll look into the book. There is another factor at work and it realtes to hormone production in the body using dietary cholesterol. that nasty word that we associate with bad things is the very vital substance that our bodies needs to produce it's own pregnelanone (sp) and subsequently DHEA, Tryptophan etc. Carbs aren't bad so long as they are controlled but as you've said the complex carbs are the way to go. so many probelms arise from consuming heavily processed carbs and sugars, and the mental benefits are short lived. There are so many factors at work that it's hard to keep straight! I'll look into this a littel more...you've got my curiosity in gear. Have you read much of the Zone diet? Barry Sears? I used to have his book and it was really interesting.

[Determinator]

Second thoughts about All One

oh, I'm a terrible caffeine abuser...arg. i need to stop drinking coffee after lunch time at least. my last vice....noooooo. oh well.

[nancy]

Second thoughts about All One

It's good book. There are two called Food and Mood. This one is by Elizabeth Somer. I am really interested in having a diet that is good for mood stability/depression. Granted, it seems like a biggie on the list for this is not having too much alcohol and you have already succeeded in that. I have a way to go in that dept.

I agree with you about refined processed foods. All the books I have read advise avoiding these things, white flour refined sugar etc. I read the Zone diet years ago. As I recall that is a very good book.

Caffeine seems really bad for you in a number of ways. There are bad effects on blood sugar and it increases anxiety and depletes some nutrients. I keep it down to one cup a day and am experimenting with herbal teas and drinking a lot of water for the rest of the day. You can counteract some of the bad aspects by drinking water. I like herbal tea with liquorice and got some decaf chai tea which is very nice. I think it's a matter of finding some alternatives that are good. I know some people have recommended that roobiosh tea (sp?) but I don't like that one.