The Mind-Body Mood Solution: The Breakthrough Drug-Free Program for Lasting Relief from Depression: The Breakthrough Program for Overcoming Depression Rapidly, Naturally, and Permanently - Hardcover

Rossman, Jeffrey

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1605295701 ISBN 13: 9781605295701

Verlag: Rodale Press, 2010

Inhaltsangabe

Depression is the leading cause of disability in America. The incidence of depression in the United States today is 10 times greater than it was in 1960—and that rate doubles every decade. Changes in the way we live, work, eat, sleep, and interact have made us increasingly vulnerable to this mood disorder. We are living out of sync with nature, our bodies, our spirits, and one another. We are living in an age of depression.


For 30 years, Dr. Jeffrey Rossman has been treating depressed people, many of whom do not want to take medication. Instead, they are looking for practical solutions that will help them get better naturally and permanently.

In The Mind-Body Mood Solution, Dr. Rossman offers a comprehensive, drug-free depression treatment program that fully integrates psychological tools with lifestyle practices such as nutrition, exercise, sleep, breathing, and meditation. In doing so, you will learn to make healthy, sustainable changes that have been proven to improve mood. In treating the mind and body, Dr. Rossman advocates for a new view of depression as not simply an illness, but a call from within to awaken to the possibility of a vital, fulfilling life.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

JEFFREY ROSSMAN, PhD, is the director of life management at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, MA. He is on the advisory board of and writes for Rodale.com. He lives in Egremont, MA.

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Chapter 1

EATING FOR WELLNESS

Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food. HIPPOCRATES, 500 BC

The food you eat has a profound effect on your energy, emotions, motivation, and outlook on life. The typical American diet, which is high in refined sugar and processed carbohydrates, causes a spike in blood sugar followed by a rapid crash, which can leave you feeling fatigued, hungry, irritable, depressed, or mentally confused. This vital connection between food and mood means that many cases of depression improve rapidly when changes are made to a patient's diet, including nutritional supplementation.

As we begin this chapter, I want to give you a heads up. At certain points, I'll be presenting scientific information about the connection between nutrition and mood. If you find it helpful, read on. But if all of this information feels a little overwhelming right now, feel free to skim or skip the sections you're struggling with and come back to them later.

Eating food that contains high levels of allergens, trans fats, and toxic substances such as herbicides, pesticides, and antibiotics can cause chronic inflammation in the body. Inflammation is a result of the immune system's effort to neutralize organisms and substances that it perceives as a threat. Although the immune system's response is intended to protect you from harm, it drains your energy, leaving you feeling sluggish, fatigued, and unmotivated. Think of the last time you had the flu: All of your body's resources were directed toward fighting the infection, and you had little energy left over to feel focused, energetic, or upbeat. The only difference between fighting an infection caused by illness and mounting an inflammatory response to a dietary trigger is that your body generally kills off an offending microbe and you feel better--whereas inflammation caused by poor diet continues until you change your diet.

What does this mean if you suffer from depression? It can be difficult to differentiate between the symptoms of a mood disorder and the malaise caused by poor or inadequate nutrition. If you experience a lack of focus, negative thinking, and an inability to greet the day with enthusiasm, you may describe yourself as depressed. But your symptoms may actually be related to your diet.

One way to determine whether your diet is affecting your mood is to examine your eating patterns. Are you eating healthy foods? Are you using food as a comfort to assuage the disappointments and tensions in your life? Are you skipping meals or eating too much in one meal, causing your blood sugar to soar and then drop like a roller coaster?

For some people who suffer from depressed mood and negative outlook, improving diet, adding specific vitamin and mineral supplements, and changing eating patterns can make a remarkable difference. In many cases these changes reverse the symptoms of depression without therapy or antidepressant medication. It is therefore important to determine to what extent dietary considerations are influencing your mood.

Bill's Story

Bill typically began his day by eating what he believed to be a reasonably healthy breakfast, consisting of a blueberry muffin with a cup of coffee and orange juice. On some days, for a midmorning snack, he would eat a doughnut or a bagel with cream cheese, both of which were usually available to him at work.

When he remembered to eat lunch, he often ordered either a turkey sandwich on a roll with potato chips and a soft drink or a cheeseburger. If he felt especially hungry, he would add french fries. On other days, he would skip both the snack and the lunch entirely.

By about 3:00 in the afternoon, Bill would feel lethargic and generally eat an "energy bar" from the vending machine with a cup of coffee or a caffeinated soft drink. After his midafternoon snack, he felt more focused. But by dinner he felt exhausted again and always ate more than a single portion. His evening meal usually consisted of a large serving of meat, a couple of rolls with margarine, a small serving of vegetables, and a large bowl of ice cream for dessert. Other times he ate a double serving of pasta with meat sauce, or even an entire pizza. Very often he ate an evening snack, such as chips or popcorn.

Bill was also depressed. He felt he was in a dead-end job but had too little energy and motivation to seek a different career path. He often felt passed over for advancement by his supervisor. Bill's symptoms included irritability, fatigue, lethargy, weight gain, and apathy.

If Bill's food choices represent a typical day for you, changing your diet might significantly improve your mood. The food choices Bill made not only lacked healthy vitamins and minerals; they were also high in fat, calories, sodium, refined carbohydrates, and sugar. His bad habit of skipping lunch caused his blood sugar to plummet, leaving him ravenous by afternoon. The energy bar he then ate contained little protein compared with its extremely high carbohydrate and sugar content. Eating this snack raised his blood sugar level dramatically, which dropped just in time for dinner, again resulting in excessive hunger, poor food choices, and overeating.

When Bill came to see me, the first thing I suggested was that we adjust his diet. He began to eat a healthy breakfast every day: either fresh fruit and a whole grain English muffin or an egg-white omelet with whole grain toast spread with almond butter, and coffee. He regularly planned for his midmorning snack, which consisted of whole grain crackers or veggie sticks with hummus or natural peanut butter.

He brought organic soups, salads, and sandwich wraps filled with lean protein and veggies to work for lunch. He would eat half of the wrap at lunch and save the rest for his afternoon snack, which also included a piece of fruit such as an apple, orange, or banana. And because he wasn't starving at dinnertime, he was able to make sensible choices then, too. He started eating more fish and other lean proteins, accompanied by lots of veggies.

Within days, Bill began to notice a difference in his mood. He discovered that eating healthier foods and regular meals and snacks not only improved his focus and attention but also helped him lose weight and feel more confident. Why? Bill's diet now supplied him with the amino acids that his body needed to make and regulate serotonin and dopamine. These two neurotransmitters--chemicals that relay signals across different parts of our brains--have a dramatic impact on mood. Seventy percent of our serotonin is found in the intestinal tract, and the food we eat plays a major role in its production. As he began to feel more positive about his skills in the workplace, Bill's colleagues noticed his buoyant attitude, and eventually his supervisor recommended him for a different position within the company, which entailed a salary increase.

The best strategy for maintaining balanced blood sugar levels is to avoid eating high-carbohydrate foods that contain refined flour and sugar. Eating some protein at every meal slows the absorption of healthy carbohydrates into the bloodstream. To keep your body and mood in balance, it's also important to eat three balanced meals and two healthy snacks every day. Eat one snack at midmorning, when you hit your energy slump (about 3 hours after breakfast), and the other as a healthy midafternoon snack (about 3 to 4 hours after lunch). Don't skip meals.

The quality of the food you eat is just as important as the quantity. I recommend purchasing organic produce, whole grains, and grass-fed (or "free- range") animal protein such as beef, chicken, turkey, and eggs. Animals that are not treated with antibiotics, hormones, and growth stimulants do not produce meat that causes inflammation.

One of the best ways to change your eating habits is to use mindful eating...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Rodale Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2010
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1605295701
• ISBN 13: 9781605295701
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 256
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar