Food as Medicine to Address and Overcome Mood Disorders

Great topic, @nla4625. In this article from Mayo expert Craig Sawchuk responds to the question "Is it true that certain foods worsen anxiety and others have a calming effect?"
- Coping with anxiety: Can diet make a difference? Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/generalized-anxiety-disorder/expert-answers/coping-with-anxiety/faq-20057987

I, too, have been intermittent fasting and slowly adopting a low carb, high-fat diet. It really makes me feel great. I'm interested to continue to hear more as you explore dietary changes.

@colleenyoung Thanks for your nice note and the link to the Mayo article. Along with intermediate fasting and Keto, I'm exploring tea and all it's amazing medicinal properties. When I was growing up, all I knew was Lipton tea in bags, which is pretty sad. Now I'm trying a myriad of varieties and mixes, which are delicious, give me energy, and are helping me lose weight. I'm actually starting a coached 14 day intermittent fast using different teas beginning February 22. Participants don't have to follow a strict Keto plan but can. The program features Dr. Jason Fung, leading expert on fasting, obesity, and Keto; Dr. Will Cole, leading expert on functional medicine and Keto; and Margaret Ramos. There are two ways to sign up: 1. If you buy tea from Pique Tea, you can participate for free -- https://help.piquetea.com/hc/en-us/articles/1260802080690-What-is-included-in-the-Fasting-Practice-; and 2. If you sign up for a month's program through the Intermediate Fasting website. https://thefastingmethod.com/ you can participate with no additional charge. You have to register by February 19. Several days have a 16/8 fasting window and others a 20/4. Since I've been doing the 16/8 without using Keto, I want to try the 20/4 using Keto and will probably do that for the 14 days. How to do all of this is on the internet, on YouTube, or in books; but it's hard to change eating patterns and habits of 74 years. I think it will be fun and helpful doing it as part of a group for 14 days and have a chance to hear and interact with world famous experts...for the price of some tea. Thanks for everything you do help us along our way to better health. Nancy

Update: I just finished watching Episode 1 of this Gut-Brain Series for the second time. It is absolute fascinating. They are leaving the episodes up for 24 hours after they conclude so people around the world can access them. One of their scientists actually explained that the gut is a lot more important than our brain in regulating emotions and health. An dog (me) can learn new tricks. Nancy

@nla4625, I've been following Dr. Fung for a little bit too. I find the 16:8 fasting easy to to. I usually only do 20:4 twice a week on the days that I don't work out. @johnbishop has also adopted intermittent fasting.

@nla4625, I started doing intermittent fasting after watching Dr. Fung's YouTube video Fasting as a Therapeutic Option for Weight Loss. I was really intrigued because I've had a life long struggle with weight and although I went from about 330 lbs down to about 250, I just found it hard to lose any more weight. I had bounced between 245 and 265 for at least 10 years after losing the initial weight. When I started the intermittent fasting I was a little under 250 lbs and set a goal of 220. I started with a 24 hour fast and then did a 16/8 for a week and lost a few pounds but was a little disappointed. I was following @LeeAase's health journey (https://social-media-university-global.org/my-health-journey/) and in one of his blog entries he mentioned the Zero app (https://www.zerofasting.com/) and it made it so easy to keep track of my fasting. I started experimenting and found that I did a lot better with the 20/4 fast losing weight and now normally do it 4 to 5 times in a row and use an 18/6 or 16/8 for a few days before going back to the 20/4 fast. It allowed me to reach my goal of 220 lbs in about 4 months. I was so excited that I set a new goal for 200 lbs figuring if I can get there I will be able to easily using the fasting to maintain the weight which is what I weighed when I got out of the Navy. I'm now struggling a little and bouncing up and down around 211 lbs. I'm pretty sure it's related to my choice of eating bad foods/snacks in my windows of eating opportunity 🙂. So I'm planning to introduce some low carb high fat into my eating habits to hopefully get to my new goal.

@nla4625 What an interesting topic. In your experience what type of teas provide energy?

@marjou. I ordered the specially developed fasting tea from Pique for my 14 day fast. Here is a link to an article on their web site about what teas boost energy, why it may be a better choice than coffee for an energy boost, and the benefits of tea. https://blog.piquetea.com/best-tea-for-energy/

My acupuncturist/TCM (traditional Chinese Medicine) healer encouraged me to try tea...and I'm so glad he did and I am. Three months ago I didn't even own a teapot or have a clue as to how to brew it. A google search led me to The Tea Spot, and I've ordered wonderful tea from them when they have specials. The woman who owns it credits tea to helping her recover from cancer, and I think she even wrote a book about it. I love the educational articles on their site, particularly for someone like me starting out. They don't make me feel stupid for not knowing something. You might get other ideas on what types of tea are particularly beneficial for what are on their web site or others. I don't take the different brewing time recommendations by tea type too seriously, but maybe I will when I learn more about it. I can only deal with so many new things at a time, sigh.

My only requirement about buying tea is that it be certified organic. I've spent time in areas around the world that produce tea, and some of the growers use large amounts of chemicals that I think are downright dangerous. The web site for The Tea Spot is http://www.theteaspot.com. Nancy

@nla4625 Thank you for sharing this info.🌸🍵

@marjou. You're very welcome. Here's an interesting article from The Tea Spot about the medicinal values of tea. https://www.theteaspot.com/pages/health-benefits-by-tea-type My fasting tea hasn't arrived yet for the tea-inclusive fast that starts Monday, so I figured I'd better read through the articles and decide which of the tea I have on hand to use until it comes. I think the fast involves drinking 8 cups a day...which is 5 more than I usually drink. The delay in getting here probably has to do with the transportation problems and impacts of the terrible storms and cold that hit the south. A couple of people who post regularly on the discussions I follow live or spend winters in Texas, and I hope they are ok. Nancy

two other great articles about tea
https://drwillcole.com/functional-medicine/your-go-to-guide-to-the-wonderful-world-of-tea
https://help.piquetea.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038328774-Tea-Buying-Guide

Thanks for mentioning the Zero app, @johnbishop. I find it really helpful too because I like to track my progress and then see how it correlates to how I'm feeling, how I'm sleeping and my weight. It can be really tempting sometimes to grab a snack that would break my fast...not necessarily bad food, but something that would raise my blood sugar and insulin levels, and therefore would hinder progress toward my goals. You're doing great with the intermittent fasting; I think you'll do even better with low carb.