Protein

[Gertie]

I rarely post, but read the forum and thought I would share one of ways of staying well.  I have been on medication for MDD for over 30 years and have found having adequate protein in my diet is one of the ways I stay "steady".  I read a book several years ago "Potatoes not Prozac" and dabbled with it everyone now and then.  I began to realise how much steadier I felt when having adequate protein for 3 meals a day.  It is based on an alchol recovery program (I dont drink).  I dont do all of the steps, just adequate protein 3 times a day. This in additon to the meds.

[Neil_1]

Hi Gertie

Great post and yes yes yes, this is so important.   Eating properly and healthy.   And let’s not forget to drink adequate amounts of water as well;  as I’ve posted often on this site in different areas – lack of water, leads to dehydration and dehydration is linked very strongly with depression.

So the more fluid you can take in during the day, it is of a huge benefit in so many respects – aiding mental health illnesses and it also heaps with weight loss.  As your metabolism does its job, it helps to use up the food that we consume and from that, if we’re adequately hydrated, the by-products of that has to be expelled out of the body somehow and what better way to get rid of it, than via our waterworks.

And eating healthy food is also a big factor for our physical health, which then links with our mental health as well.

I could go on and on about this subject as I am a strong advocate for both, but will leave it as is for the time being.

Cheers

Neil

[Quincy_J]

Hey Neil, thanks for your reply. I'm very new to this forum (I arrived about 10 minutes ago). 

For background, I was diagnosed about 10 months ago with depression. I'm well on the way to recovery and starting to get back to my old self again. 

Your comments about nutrition and hydration are absolutely spot on! I had a little relapse this week, I have felt exhausted, I haven't wanted to exercise, had trouble concentrating and just wanted to cocoon, even from my much adored boyfriend (who usually is one of the few I'll 'let in' during a low time) - all the markers we're all so familiar with.

I realised that I'd taken my eyes of the nutrition ball  - only 1 litre of water each day, too much sugar and fake sugar; it had a massive impact on my mood and head space.

So it was great to see your post and get that reinforcement of how important nutrition and hydration are!
 

[Neil_1]

Hello there Quincy J

And welcome to you to Beyond Blue – and wowee, yes you are very new to the forum.   Bit like you posting even before the umbilical cord is cut and tied.  🙂   Don’t mind me, sometimes my meds work and some days it appears that they don’t.  🙂

That was great to read your post and how you were able to identify that something seemed a bit out of whack and stemming from that you were able to find the issue and correct it.

And judging by the things and the way you’ve written, you do sound exactly like you are the road to recovery and that is absolutely sensational.  I hope you manage to keep on this great path that you’re heading and that everything rolls along just as you would wish for it too.

Kind regards

Neil

[zailleh]

Protein is super important and I find a lot of people don't get enough or eat it regularly enough and get stuck in the trap of mostly having carbohydrates/sugars and fats.

It is my firm belief that the ideal diet consists of at least 1g of Protein per kilo body weight, and a 50/50 split of carbohydrate and fats; the goal being to keep your insulin and blood sugar levels as steady as possible throughout the day as well as to eat fibre-rich carbohydrates that will feed your gut flora and keep your immune system healthy. The fats are used throughout the body for transporting vitamins and repairing cells among other things. I'm working on my diet plan currently in order to specifically figure out what I need to be eating for optimal gut health - the trick then is sticking to it!

Current research is showing there to be a direct link between the health of our guts and our mental health and the bacteria in our gut microbiome can have a direct impact on our immune system and our mental state. Check out the Gut Microbiome series from CSIRO, it's quite enlightening.