★★★★★
Cold Showers
★★★★★
Proper Mental Diet
I've been exploring the remarkable efficacy of things like ozone therapy, castor oil, hydrogen peroxide, Buteyko breathing, Father Zago's aloe remedy and other methods of dealing with illness with regard to the oxygen they provide the cells.
It never occurred to me until I started thinking about Fr. Zago's instruction to use the skin of the aloe plant or to use the tree aloe that doesn't contain as much "juice" which made me think of Native American practices of laying whole, fresh leaves of a medicinal plant atop a wound and the difference between fresh and dried leaves.
The common denominator in these substances seems to be bond cleavage that creates radically free oxygen singlets.
O3 wants to be O2, H2O2 wants to be H2O, photosynthesis extracts oxygen from water, castor oil is an O3 oil while all of the popular oils are O2 oils and the pause in Buteyko breathing provides the blood with CO2 which is what breaks the blood/oxygen bond (via the Bohr Effect) allowing the blood to let go of and deliver its payload of oxygen to the cells.
At any rate, I wonder if oxygen deficiency in the brain, itself, might be the culprit, not only in depression but also in those raging "Karen" fits you see in videos.
At any rate, if you're depressed, try breathing into a paper bag a few times and see what happens as Buteyko breathing is basically the same thing but, instead of breathing the CO2 you breathe out, you use the CO2 you generate naturally by controlling your breathing. Which may be too difficult, initially, if one is so deficient as to be depressed - OR, also, if one suffers PTSD - hence the paper bag test which will provide a shot of oxygen to the brain cells which, if I'm right, should make you feel a whole lot better, in that instance. Then one can graduate to practicing Buteyko breathing and, hopefully, get the body sorted out and back to calm, natural breathing patterns.
Buteyko breathing is simply consciously pausing after you exhale and before you inhale again -increasing the length of the pause as you progress.
If you have trouble pausing and get that little hitch in your throat where you want to inhale, try inhale normally and exhaling with a sigh, Then hold - just for a count of 3 at first - then 5, then longer until you can pause as long as you want and are taking slow, calm shallow breaths. As if you're barely breathing at all. In Buteyko breathing, they have you hold your nose so you can't breathe but that's not necessary and there is no need to add to the stress that has you in a chronic state of hyperventilation so, if you need help holding, breathe into a paper bag, get some oxygen to the brain so you can consciously comprehend there's no danger and try again.
If you've ever watched a sleeping baby - intently - to make sure he/she is breathing without waking them up, then you know how nearly undetectable calm breathing can be so the point is - the issue isn't a lack of oxygen, it's just that your blood can't release much of the oxygen it's already carrying to the cells.
Anyway, if you're depressed or suffer PTSD, give it a try or, if you have difficulty holding your breath for even a count of 3, breathe into a paper bag and see what happens.
This isn't a woowoo thing. This carbon dioxide and holding the breath thing is the actual mechanism by which oxygen is provided to the cells which absolutely includes the brain cells so, even if you aren't depressed or don't suffer anxiety or some sort of "brain fog", check your breathing and practice the pause and you will absolutely increase the oxygen uptake of all organs and systems.
5-HTP
Dietary Changes
Next day:
This is a follow up to my post yesterday about depression. I want to explain the science behind my suggestions.
1. Avoiding protein for depression. Two reasons: a. Protein, especially animal protein, has high Branch- Chain amino acids. They compete with Tryptophan to enter the brain, and Tryptophan is needed to make Serotonin. More Serotonin = less depresstion. b.Protein is high in Choline. Choline is used by the brain to make Acetylcholine. As Acetylcholine goes up, Serotonin goes down. The ancient Greeks knew that Choline is associated with depression, hence the word "MelanCHOLIa."
2. Avoiding pesticides for depression: Pesticides including Roundup are Cholinesterace Inhibitors. That means they inhibit Cholinesterace. Your brain uses Cholinesterace to limit Acetylcholine. Too much Acetylcholine means less Serotonin. They are in inverse proportion of each other: as Acetylcholine goes up, Serotonin goes down.
So buy organic when you can, and when you cannot, especially avoid GMO foods (get lists online) since they are the most heavily sprayed. Also avoid wheat, oats, and barley unless organic, because although they are not GMO foods, in a process called "desiccation, " they are sprayed a few days before harvest, and then not washed, so the pesticides go directly into the grain.
Note also that in whole wheat, the wheat germ is high in Choline. See above on choline.
You can wash pesticide off produce by soaking for 30 SECONDS in boiling water. But for grains the pesticide goes inside, and you can't soak bread, flour, etc.
A final note on pesticides: Animals are given GMO grains to eat. That means their foods are doused with pesticides, usually Roundup (glyphosate), known to cause Lymphoma and Multiple Myeloma. The pesticides reside mostly in the animal FAT.
So I advise avoiding both animal PROTEIN and animal FAT.
3. Here is a helpful strategy to increase your Serotonin: For the times you do eat high protein, you wait a few hours, then eat high carbohydrate foods, especially without added fats. (Fats slow down this process.) This will increase Serotonin because the amino acids from the protein will still be in your blood. The carbohydrates will call forth Insulin, which not only drives down blood sugar, but also pushes amino acids into the muscles, except Tryptophan. That one insulin leaves alone. Without the Branch-chain amino acids in your blood, your Tryptophan is now free to enter your brain, where it creates Serotonin. Please note that fruit, which is also a carbohydrate, will not work for this method because fructose is metabolized differently. Of course fruit being low protein is great for this diet, but it just won't work to drive amino acids into your muscles. For that you need carbohydrates, and please do this responsibly with COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES, not the refined sugary products that are the bane of modern society.
Plant foods that have high Tryptophan are the best for this method: sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.
Also: some persons have a mutation on the BCHE gene that codes for Butyrylcholinesterace. As a result these persons have higher Acetylcholine in their brains. For them, avoiding choline is especially helpful, as well as avoiding Nightshade plants. (Potatoes, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Peppers, Tobacco). Also avoid Fluoride. You can find out if you have this mutation by getting your genes tested by 23andMe, and then uploading your results to Promethease.com. If you have it, it will show up near the beginning of your report.
I did a ton of research, and I hope you will benefit from it, as I am.
Think about this: in our parents' day, before factory farms, meat was expensive so animal foods were occasional. Now meat is cheap, so animal foods are abundant in our meals. Suicide rates have skyrocketed, and school shootings are frequent. Low serotonin, now epidemic in society, is a major player. It's Karma: we kill animals, and they kill us.
Two other suggestions:
1. Pay extra attention to your sleep. You can try the various supplements and sleep on grounding sheets. Sometimes a lack of good deep sleep masquerades as depression.
Currently a pricey supplement called Kavinace Zem is helping me sleep, and I am experimenting by trying its ingredients as separate supplements: Zembrin, Phenibut, and Blueberry Extract. Note that Zembrin (an African plant) works like Prozac, Zoloft, and that class of antidepressants: Zembrin increases Serotonin by blocking its reuptake, so your brain makes more use of its supply. Inositol and P5P also help me with sleep and mood, I assume by increasing Serotonin.
2. Be careful about eating too much nuts/seeds/ nut butters. These foods are high in Arginine, which viruses need to replicate. Sometimes chronic low-grade viral infections masquerade as depression. Do you feel achey and feverish along with your depression? That is a sign of viral presence. You can balance out the Arginine with a comparable amount of Lysine foods or Lysine supplements.
A final word: on this diet your main course is whole grains (organic) and vegetables. Fruit too, best absorbed BEFORE a meal. Small amounts of healthy fats are fine, avoid omega 6 fats in favor of olive oil and especially omega 3 like flax and walnut oil. FATS DO NOT HAVE PROTEIN, even when derived from protein foods. The only thing is that fats slow down the release of insulin that you need to create serotonin, as explained above. So be sparing and just experiment.
Low BCAA Protein Diet
★★★★★
To experiment with this, try this diet for a few days to a week and see if it works for you:
Vegan + no or very limited nuts, beans, & seeds. Simple.
Explained in more detail:
Vegan means no beef, chicken, lamb, pork, ham, cold cuts, turkey, eggs, dairy (no yogurt, cheese, milk, etc.) IN OTHER WORDS NO ANIMAL PRODUCTS OF ANY KIND EXCEPT HONEY AND GHEE ARE OKAY.
AS WELL, cut way down on these plant proteins: legumes, beans, lentils, peas, all nuts, all seeds. I remember the diet this way:
Vegan plus nuts, beans, seeds. So simple.
It's a limited diet, yes. But you may see good results, as I do. You will have more serotonin and dopamine, which will free your mind. It works for me.
Plus I uploaded my DNA results from 23andMe to Nutrahacker, and now I know what supplements/foods are good for me and which to avoid. For example I'm positive for the MTHFR mutation, so I take folate. Usually one with the MTHFR mutation takes methylfolate, but Nutrahacker tells me I don't tolerate methyl groups well, so It take folinic acid instead. Nutrahacker told me lots else, too. For example I have the CBS mutation, which means I must follow a low-protein, low thiols sulfur diet. No time to go into it all here. It will cost you around $199.00 for 23andMe plus around $35.00 for Nutrahacker. You will never regret it.
For me, my Nutrahacker results plus the low BCAA diet and low sulfur diet is great. Take it from someone who has searched high and low to cure my dysthymia, and doesn't like pharmaceuticals.
★★★★★
The third day I took some psyllium fiber and it all came creeping back.
5-HTP
REM Sleep and Depression
★★★★★
Depressed people are usually in the REM sleep state for a lot of the night (compared to non depressed) and hence wake feeling exhausted mentally and with low levels of serotonin.
Throughout the day activity gradually increases the serotonin levels but of course the cyle begins again each evening.
Placebo trials have also shown that increasing the level of serotoninvia medication does little to affect the nervous anxiety and exhaustion created by over REMING.
So basically the reduced serotonin experienced by depressives is a symptom rather than a cause.
★★★★★
Wheat Grass Juice contains nice amino acid profile providing serotonin.
Warning: Soy Milk is a Goitrogen and Tryptophan Inhibitor.
Hormone Related
My husband was the one who got me to go back and figure out where my depression started. I figured out it was hormone related. I called my GP... Got back on plant based hormone and within 2 weeks began to see the "fog" lifting. When I told my psychiatrist that I wanted her help to slowly get off the meds and get a regime of eating healthy, exercise and concentrated therapy, she became furious and refused to help me. She said that I would end up back in the hospital within 2 months and be worse off than I originally was. Well.... that has been 7 years ago and I feel great.
So.... I would suggest bloodwork, diet, exercise, and research, research. Everyone of us is different in what works for our bodies. Postings here on EC was lifesaving for me. Daniel Ahem's books are invaluable for educationing yourself about what you need to do when you start noticing a problem. Dr. Mercola just had an article on him a couple of days ago on his website. Please read his research.
I slowly weened myself off my meds. I would have loved to have had the support of my psychiatrist. All the drugs were taking away my life and I knew I had to take my health back into my own hands and not rely on someone else telling me they knew what was "best" for me. It was terrifying for me to take that step, but I'm so glad I did. I really hope this helps someone. I believe we're all guardian angels here on this site.....")
★★★★★
Peace, Steve
5-HTP
★★★★★
5-HTP
Fish Oil
★★★★★
B Complex
★★★★★
Blackstrap Molasses
★★★★★
Combining lower doses of uridine and omega-3 fatty acids was even more helpful. "Less of each agent is required for effectiveness when the treatments are administered together," say the researchers.
source: http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20050210/do-some-foods-battle-depression
EC: Thanks, Lisa. Very interesting. The article references molasses made from sugar beets -- fyi, not your typical blackstrap molasses made from sugar cane syrup.... To quote from the article -- "As for uridine, sugar beets and beet molasses are food sources."
Dancing
★★★★★
I had always wanted to take dance classes so in college i took a class for p.e. credit. It was extraordinary how much dancing affected me physically, mentally, and emotionally. I got into better shape while being challenged to learn steps and movement and when i danced, i felt so happy like i could fly!
Since then, I haven't had any need to see a therapist or take meds and I've now changed my major to became a movement therpist (who knew there was a whole field dedicated to what I had experienced). I hope to inspire others to make that connection with their body and mind and I will continue to pursue this awareness for the rest of my life.
Here's a tip for those of you interested in trying this. Most community colleges have beginning adult dance classes and it's usually really cheap (in california it's $20 a unit and dance classes are normally only 1 unit).
My good friend was going through a bad time like you. After researching everything she could, she tried high dose Vitamin B..
Three weeks later, she had very little depression left. She did not tell me the amount taken.
God Bless
Gary
Coconut Oil
★★★★★
Cold Showers
★★★★★
5-HTP
EC: L-ter = L-tyrosine (??)
Cold Showers
★★★★★
5-HTP
★★★★★
Methylene Blue
★★★★★
OK .... Food grade methylene blue has proven to change electrons and alleviate depression of every order. Do your own research. People take a mild dose of 15 drops per day...
CBD oil needs to be mentioned here because of it's ability to calm you and raise serotonin but not a true High power option.
Now for the big one:
Clinical and lifelong depression has been completely or partly eliminated in one day, one week or one month with this incredible substance. Hallucinogenic Therapy
John's Hopkins and Harvard Med School is studying human subjects and has been studying this for years. It was featured on 60 minutes and is shown directly in brain scans to open up centers and structures in the brain that have been closed off for years or since birth.
LOOK it Up!!!! *** Hallucinogens against depression..... or PTSD and more.
Hopkins and Harvard administer it every day (Psylocibin..but others also work) and the results are beyond belief in many cases.
Don't think of hallucinogens as drugs. That is a political and economic tool to scare you....
It cured my Viet Nam combat stress... Do the Research and Blessings to All
It is not legal in most states, but the Psychology world is catching on fast.
