Depression and Raw

[bananaberrie]

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone here dealt or deals with depression. If so how did your raw diet effect it? My hubby is on anti-depression medication and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with depression and raw diet.

Thanks

[mcster]

My experience with raw is that, on a dietary basis, it would be the last thing that could cause depression. If depression was triggered by emotional or mental stress, I'm sure it would be a great way to help address it and possibly even solve it. The one thing that I have experienced emotionally as a direct result of going raw in combination with exercise is euphoria. Best wishes to you and your husband. These things are temporary and sometimes all it takes is a shift in perspective (or diet) to start the turnaround.

[bananaberrie]

My experience with raw is that, on a dietary basis, it would be the last thing that could cause depression. If depression was triggered by emotional or mental stress, I'm sure it would be a great way to help address it and possibly even solve it. The one thing that I have experienced emotionally as a direct result of going raw in combination with exercise is euphoria. Best wishes to you and your husband. These things are temporary and sometimes all it takes is a shift in perspective (or diet) to start the turnaround.

My personal opinion is, he has been battling depression for a very long time. It must run in his family because as both his sisters have been on anti-depressives as well, but not either of his parents...hmm interesting. He always refuse to go on them in the past, but then we got to a place in our marriage where it was a must. I know he hates being on them, but the thought of him going off of them scares me to death. He is horrible to be around when off, moody, dark, judgmental it is like living with a black cloud, and very hard to do with 3 small kids. Since I have been raw I have noticed my mood is much more sable, I was always fairly laid back, but even more so now. So I was hoping that a raw diet might help my husband so that he wouldn't have to take his meds anymore, of course first he has to be ready to go raw.

Sorry I know I kind of want both world, to be honest he has no...um drive when on the meds...um like....uh zero. This for me is a very important part of a relationship, and I really want that part of our relationship back. So I want him off meds but I don't. Sorry I think I am just rambling now. I don't know why it is easier sometimes to tell your woes to an entire stranger, but for what it is worth.....thanks for listening.

[smiley]

I was dealing with major depression and other mental issues myself in the past. I weaned myself off the antidepressants and started a 100% raw diet. People talk about physical detox which I went through too but my issues were mostly emotional so my emotional detox was worse than my physical detox.

My depression and other issues started surfacing and as I went through the experience without meds and with the benefit of raw food, I felt like (just like the physical toxins release from your body), the mental issues were releasing from my body.

I felt like I went through a dark tunnel and at the end of the tunnel was the brightest shiniest light I have ever seen and when I reached the end of the tunnel, I felt healed.

It didn't happen overnight but now, 7 years later on a raw food diet, I am the happiest I have ever been in my life and I handle life and stress much better.

I wish you and your husband the best on your raw food journey!

[mcster]

Banana: You shouldn't feel guilty for what you want, especially when you don't seem to be asking for much.

I believe in the body-mind-emotion connection. If one of these aspects is dragging behind, you can use the other two to pull it forward. I've never been depressed but I have gone through big challenges in life like many/most of us. During those times, it's always easy to throw your hands up in the air, be sedentary and eat junk food. That's a great way to make a bad situation worse. When I've found myself in a bit of a valley (I've lost everything twice in my lifetime) I've used exercise, a clean diet and reading positive literature to help put myself back on track. Have you considered getting him to make some healthy lifestyle choices before weaning him of the meds? One has to have discipline. Even watching the news can have a detrimental effect on someone if you're in the wrong frame of mind...

[bananaberrie]

Smiley: Thanks you so much for your encouraging words. It is great to know that raw foods have helped someone overcome something like depression. I hope that there will be some way that raw food can help my husband.

Mcster: You are so right about the mind, soul and body connection. It is amazing how close they are connected in so many ways that most of us will never know. It is a good idea to get him on a good raw diet before he goes off his meds. He is pretty open to trying what I eat or make for the family. But he has stated that he is not ready to go on a full raw diet. So I know enough to not push the issue, and just hope he comes around. I was hoping to find a few people who have been able to get off anti-depression meds because of raw foods. maybe there are some on this forum somewhere who will share there experiences.

[Aleesha Sattva]

i hadn't read the posts above...

when i eat anything SAD... i feel sad. my daughter has noticed the same for her. when she eats cooked food, she notices a difference in - not only her mood - but how she copes with things.

[mcster]

Mcster: You are so right about the mind, soul and body connection. It is amazing how close they are connected in so many ways that most of us will never know. It is a good idea to get him on a good raw diet before he goes off his meds. He is pretty open to trying what I eat or make for the family. But he has stated that he is not ready to go on a full raw diet. So I know enough to not push the issue, and just hope he comes around. I was hoping to find a few people who have been able to get off anti-depression meds because of raw foods. maybe there are some on this forum somewhere who will share there experiences.

Do a search for videos on vegan athletes and raw athletes on youtube and show them to your husband. I also found a bunch of videos on raw vegans that are in their 50's+ and categorically look 10, 20, 30+ years younger than their age including that 109 y/o guy who is writing his second book, opening a restaurant, lives alone, drives himself everywhere and looks 80. It will blow his mind. After weeks of research, those videos closed the deal for me and I went raw.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone here dealt or deals with depression. If so how did your raw diet effect it? My hubby is on anti-depression medication and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with depression and raw diet.

Thanks

l used to get depressed all my life before going on the raw sprout diet. Now l am in complete control and life is so good that l love my life, and l wouldn't change it for anybody. Nothing bothers me, but meditation makes it twice as good because you really know your inner self and understand people very very well, so nothing bothers me anymore because l accept everything happens for a reason. Life is like being in an amusement park all day and every day. Life is like a holiday all day and every day. Even when l am stuck in traffic...so what...life is still good.

Of course life can produce some stress, but it is a piece of cake to handle.

The best thing l found for producing the best mood was to consume 8 oz of chia grass juice everyday. Nothing seems to bother me at all when l drink that stuff. Life is like l am in paradise. The coldest and darkest days become the brightest days./ Makes me feel like l am on holiday everyday and gives you the excitement you used to have as a child.

[fastfreedom]

One thing to consider is B vitamins. Not just a small dose either but larger doses. I think B6 is the one I recall most.

Undereating tends to make my mood drop I've learned. But I've also learned that it depends on what I eat too. High carb food makes me happiest. Fruits are carbs as are vegetables.

Bananas are supposedly good for uplifting the mood.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

.................double post..........

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

l think taking vitamin supplements can be good if one is unwell, but l definitely do think we need to make sure we improve our diet to include lots of fresh foods and top up the diet with non synthetic supplements in small doses. When high doses are used, it is a sign that the supplements are synthetic and most likely made by the drug companies. Sure synthetic supplements do work, but we do know from prestigious double blind studies that using synthetic vitamins DO have negative effects on health in the long term and are toxic to the body. What has also been discovered is that synthetic vitamins will contain either petrochemicals or terpentine, and perhaps other things, and we also know that large vitamin dosages are cooked. So yes, the key is to improve the diet with lots of fresh raw food so a person gets the huge benefits of nutrient synergy and electromagnetic frequency, and then top off the diet [if one is unwell] with low doses of vitamins. But naturally there is more to nutrients than just vitamins and minerals, there are also things like enzymes, oxygen, fatty acids, hormones and phytonutrients...all available from FRESH plants.

[walnutty]

Along with fresh raw foods look into the use of niacin. Watch the movie, "Food Matters", as they discuss depression in it.

[Devinnor]

That's totally irrelevant depression is a mental action that is related to your thought process it certainly has got nothing to do with your diet...

[MysticTree]

That's totally irrelevant depression is a mental action that is related to your thought process it certainly has got nothing to do with your diet...

Rubbish! A great deal of depression has everything to do with your diet. "mental action" as you call it comes from chemical imbalances in the brain as well as from experiences which affect how we feel. If you eat right then those imbalances are reduced and often eradicated totally. If you eat right your negative feelings reduce. You are better able to deal with the results of trauma that might be causing depression. A good diet is paramount to good health both mental and physical.