Re: OCD, Depression, etc. & Tryptophan

[Guest guest]

> You might want to pick up a copy of Ross' " The Mood Cure " . She

> discusses OCD and dietary and supplement treatments for it. It

basically is

> a result of low serotonin. The precursor to serotonin is tryptophan,

which

> is very low in the typical American diet. She recommends 5HTP (a more

active

> form of tryptophan) and protein at every meal. Preferably grass-fed >

> Suze Fisher

Thanks Suze. I concur. Compulsive behavior and depression were common

in my family. I personally sufferED with chronic suicidal depression

for years. My protein intake was indiscriminate and of course my diet

was less than adequate. I now eat protein at EVERY meal. I am now

compulsive about eating protein! haha. 5-HTP assisted me until I was

able to improve my protein intake.

I was also going to mention Ross's " The Diet Cure " as this also

elaborates. Here is what she has to say. " Serotonin, perhaps the most

well known of the brain's four key mood regulators, is made from the

amino acid L-tryptophan... decreased levels of even one brain nutrient

might turn you torward depression, compulsive eating, bulimia, or

anorexia... when serotonin levels drop, so do our feelings of self-

esteem, regardless of [our situation]. When tryptophan deficiency

causes serotonin levels to drop, you may become obsessed by thoughts

you cant turn off or behaviors you cant stop... tryptophan (and

serotonin) deficiency result in an outbreak of the obsessive compulsive

behavior we call " control " . There may be psychological elements, but a

low-serotonin brain is ill equipped to resolve them. "

The first study she quotes is at the top, but check the others!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?

db=pubmed & cmd=Display & dopt=pubmed_pubmed & from_uid=10025442

-Colby

[Guest guest]

On 9/10/05, colbygeiman <colbygeiman@...> wrote:

> Thanks Suze. I concur. Compulsive behavior and depression were common

> in my family. I personally sufferED with chronic suicidal depression

> for years. My protein intake was indiscriminate and of course my diet

> was less than adequate. I now eat protein at EVERY meal. I am now

> compulsive about eating protein! haha. 5-HTP assisted me until I was

> able to improve my protein intake.

I always thought it was interesting that some people *don't* or at

some point didn't eat protein at every meal. I seem to always have

taken it for granted that protein was part of a meal, at least as far

as I can remember making decisions about what to eat. Of course, I

read The Zone when I was 15, so I was always under the influence of

this book from then on, believing that it was important to have

protein make up about a third of every meal. This was true when I

went vegetarian and even vegan-- probably to my serious detriment,

given my protein sources at the time-- at which point I bought a copy

of _The Soy Zone_ (claimed on the cover to be " The Healthiest Zone

Diet ever! " ).

I suspect it's important for it to be *animal protein* and I doubt

that protein itself is sufficient. I think there are various

cofactors involved like B6 and maybe zinc too, right?

I do know that I ate plenty of protein when I was vegetarian, and at

that point my anxiety problems (OCD, panic attacks, phobias) went from

neurotic to borderline psychotic proportions. I'm still amazed when I

look back and think that I actually made it through college under

those conditions.

> I was also going to mention Ross's " The Diet Cure " as this also

> elaborates. Here is what she has to say. " Serotonin, perhaps the most

> well known of the brain's four key mood regulators, is made from the

> amino acid L-tryptophan... decreased levels of even one brain nutrient

> might turn you torward depression, compulsive eating, bulimia, or

> anorexia... when serotonin levels drop, so do our feelings of self-

> esteem, regardless of [our situation]. When tryptophan deficiency

> causes serotonin levels to drop, you may become obsessed by thoughts

> you cant turn off or behaviors you cant stop... tryptophan (and

> serotonin) deficiency result in an outbreak of the obsessive compulsive

> behavior we call " control " . There may be psychological elements, but a

> low-serotonin brain is ill equipped to resolve them. "

>

> The first study she quotes is at the top, but check the others!

> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?

> db=pubmed & cmd=Display & dopt=pubmed_pubmed & from_uid=10025442

My own experience indicates that it is almost entirely physiological.

I spent 8 years approaching this intensely from every angle, and I had

no control over my own thoughts and no way to get this control. I

could *know* very well how I needed to reformulate my thought pattern,

but when it came down to it, there is no way to exert that control

whatsoever without the necessary nutrients.

If there is a psychological element, it is responsible for the

*content* of the obsessions and compulsions and NOT the existence of

the obsessions and compulsions. There may be some interplay, but when

I resolved my mental condition through diet, I was not trying to do

so, and there was no cognitive or any other type of non-dietary

treatment I was engaging in that could have played a partial role in

resolving the problem.

Chris

--

Want the other side of the cholesterol story?

Find out what your doctor isn't telling you:

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com

[Guest guest]

> I suspect it's important for it to be *animal protein* and I doubt

> that protein itself is sufficient. I think there are various

> cofactors involved like B6 and maybe zinc too, right?

Wow Chris. The Potatoes not Prozac program does say animal protein

is best, that some at every meal is best, and supplements are B

vitamins and zinc.

On that program, first one resets meals to 3 per day, at regular

intervals with good meal composition. What this does is help re-

establish a rhythm of of insulin-glucagon (for those people who have

gotten low serotonin from carb addiction, which means, too many

carbs at whatever times). Insulin is not flat-lined low all day nor

up all day. Then the vitamin support comes in.

After all that's in place, then the evening potato 3 hours after

dinner serves as a " controlled insulin rise " that helps convert

tryptophan to serotonin.

If people don't get enough protein so there's tryptophan floating

around at the end of the day, it doesn't work.

If people don't eat well-composed meals regularly, then insulin

can't do the controlled rise and it doesn't work.

If you don't have good vitamin support as you mentioned, that also

means the insulin rise won't work.

And if people have a huge old Idaho baker, that's not small enough.

Most people have one or two golf-ball size baby reds.

Connie