Depression: Your brain on sugar

Photo Credit:Sott.net


'You've no doubt seen the television ads warning "this is your brain on drugs". These public service announcements are designed to be visually shocking thereby discouraging youth drug abuse by comparing the brain to an egg and a fried egg in a pan to a brain on drugs. 

The same can be said about the effects of sugar on the brain. In the case of sugar, however, the effects are marked by a high risk of long term mental illness like depression rather than a brief yet dangerous, drug induced high. 

Depression is at epidemic proportions in our modern society. Even children are not immune with some estimates putting 1 in every 8 teenagers as clinically depressed.'


Read more...

Read more »

Fad Diets Are Out - Eaters For Health Who Focus On Non-GMO, Organic and Toxic-Free Foods Are In

'A wave of highly informed seekers of clean and healthy food is taking over the information highway and leaving yo-yo and fad dieting methods in the dust. They are representing a new generation of educated consumers who seek not only to maintain a healthy body, but supercharge their longevity and well-being with foods which are free of toxins and genetically modified organisms (GMO).


They do not necessarily fall into any specific category whether vegetarian, fishetarian, vegan, raw or any other known pattern. They're simply interested in eating clean, fresh, unadulterated foods that agree with both their palate and physiology.'


Read more...

Read more »

Study: Junk Food Linked With Increased Depression Risk

'A new study shows that junk food may have effects beyond expanding your waistline and upping your sodium levels - it might also be sabotaging your mental health. A new study in the journal Public Health Nutrition shows that regularly eating commercial baked goods - including doughnuts and croissants - as well as fast food - pizza, hamburgers and hot dogs - is linked with an increased depression risk.' 

Read more...

Read more »

Junk food can hijack brain like drugs do, experts say

 

'A growing body of medical research at leading universities and government laboratories suggests that processed foods and sugary drinks aren't simply unhealthy. They can hijack the brain in ways that resemble addictions to cocaine, nicotine and other drugs.

"The data is so overwhelming the field has to accept it," said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "We are finding tremendous overlap between drugs in the brain and food in the brain." '

Read more..

Read more »

The Secret Way Italians Stay Healthy and Thin

LET FOOD BE THY medicine and medicine be thy food. – Hippocrates


'Want to know the secret behind how Italians stay so thin and happy? It's a secret I uncovered during my trip to Italy, where I wrote this blog. Sitting in the Umbrian countryside, enjoying a home-cooked meal prepared by Simonetta, a local chef, the answer is clear to me. Family, friends, and fresh, whole food are all part of the pleasure of being alive. And these pleasures help keep you healthy and thin.'

It's that simple!'

Read more...

Read more »

These Foods and Nutritional Deficiencies Can Make You Depressed or Violent

by Dr. Mercola

'The Gut-Brain Connection 'When you consider the fact that the gut-brain connection is recognized as a basic tenet of physiology and medicine, and that there's no shortage of evidence of gastrointestinal involvement in a variety of neurological diseases, it's hard to fathom why diet is still so widely ignored by the mental health field. 

In a very real sense, you have two brains, one inside your skull and one in your gut. These two organs actually originate from the same type of tissue during fetal development. One part turns into your central nervous system, while the other develops into your enteric nervous system. These two systems are connected via the vagus nerve, the tenth cranial nerve that runs from your brain stem down to your abdomen. 

This is what connects your two brains together, and explains such phenomena as getting butterflies in your stomach when you're nervous, for example. They work in tandem, each influencing the other. And this is why your intestinal health can have such a profound influence on your mental health, and vice versa.' 

Read more...

Read more »

Women’s Depression Tied to Junky Diets

'Two studies link diets high in processed foods, sugar, and omega-6 fats to depression in women and ties whole-food diets to a reduced risk'

By Craig Weatherby

Earlier this year, British researchers reported that people who ate “junky” diets – such as the average American diet – were more likely to suffer from depression.

The UK team analyzed diet and health data collected from 3,486 men and women (average age 55.6 years).

Based on how often the participants had eaten specific amounts of various foods during the previous year, researchers categorized them as falling into one of two dietary patterns.

A “whole food” diet was defined as one dominated by vegetables, fruits and fish, while a “processed food” diet was marked by high intake of sweets, fried foods, processed meats, refined grains, and high-fat dairy products.

Five years later, the volunteers completed a questionnaire designed to measure depression symptoms.

Read more...

Read more »