Bipolar Disorder

[Pandora Black]

I read somewhere in the whole 30 that it helps with bipolar disorder. I am bipolar (also have an anxiety disorder) and I'm on medication for both. Anyone else have experiences with the whole 30 and mental illness? I'm specifically hoping to improve my depression,

[ladyshanny]

Whole30 is a food elimination plan that can reduce inflammation, balance hormones and identify food intolerances. It has never claimed to cure physical illness nor mental illness.  It can't hurt you to eat a healthy, varied diet of protein, vegetables and fat but pinning hopes of correcting depression and bipolar disorder is a mistake.  Many of our participants have found improved energy and stabilized mood by following the plan.  You should be aware that the Whole30 tends to naturally be lower carbohydrate than the common diet so you would probably want to be very careful to keep up with your starchy vegetables at least once per day as these are directly related to serotonin in your brain.  For more discussion on this, google "Whole30 depression" and "Whole30 starchy veggie"

 

For all serious illnesses, we always recommend you consult your primary care physician prior to starting.

[Pandora Black]

That's not the main reason I am doing this, I just happened to read in the book that bipolar was one of the illnesses it can help. I would never go off my meds or think that diet can completely cure me, I know that's impossible. I'm merely hoping my depression will improve. 

 

My primary care physician doesn't treat my bipolar, my psychiatrist does. And M.D.s know very little about nutrition. I have, however, consulted with a dietitian.

[jmcbn]

A lack of omega 3 is often associated with bipolar, depression & anxiety so you might want to ensure you include plenty of oily fish in your food plan - when eaten alongside starchy veg the tryptophan required for serotonin production becomes more bioavailable (white potatoes are the better option over sweet here). Maybe also keep your protein portions to one palm size per meal (the minimum recommendation) as protein is thought to inhibit the body's ability to produce serotonin.

Turkey, eggs, walnuts, banana & pineapple are some other great sources of tryptophan you should look to include - go easy on the fruit & nuts though.

[Pandora Black]

Thank you for the tips! I have included some red potatoes in with my compliant meals, and I do have some pineapple and turkey on hand. I try to go easy on it because it's so sweet I don't want to feed my sugar addiction. I do know that about omega 3 fatty acids. I have tried to take them as a supplement (my psychiatrist recommended them) and i noticed zero difference in my mood, and they're expensive, so I gave up on buying them. Maybe I need it to come from my food? I have plenty of fish on hand, so that should help some. I already feel a difference in my mood. Two days before starting my Whole30 I cut out bread, legumes, and soda and I am wondering if I am feeling a difference from that, or what? But I felt constantly exhausted before, and now I don't. I had chalked it up to depression, now I am wondering if it really was my diet. 

[jmcbn]

The DHA in actual fish is thought to be more easily absorbed due to other fats in the fish helping the process along, and the actual fish contains selenium and more Vitamin D (both also good mood enhancers) than a supplement will meaning you'll get up to 10 times more DHA (Omega 3) from fish than you would from a supplement. And this is not just with Omega 3 - with probiotics it's up to 100 times more probiotics from food... I'd opt for the natural source over and above a synthetic source any day of the week.

Good to hear you're seeing improvements already - imagine what you could feel like after 30 days!

[Pandora Black]

I'm really excited to find out! I am feeling amazing, and it's only day 3. I had a pretty good diet before, made everything from scratch myself, so I'm really only detoxing from eating a lot of carbs. I was mostly vegan and ate a lot of bread, seitan, tofu, and legumes. I think I must be sensitive to some of those foods. Before,I felt foggy and tired all the time. I assumed it was a combination of my medication and depression, but now I feel way, way better.

[Robertaworley]

On 8/3/2016 at 5:44 PM, Pandora Black said:

That's not the main reason I am doing this, I just happened to read in the book that bipolar was one of the illnesses it can help. I would never go off my meds or think that diet can completely cure me, I know that's impossible. I'm merely hoping my depression will improve. 

 

My primary care physician doesn't treat my bipolar, my psychiatrist does. And M.D.s know very little about nutrition. I have, however, consulted with a dietitian.

I was diagnosed with bipolar as well.  My date to start the W30 (as I like to call it) will be September 12th.  The last time I did remotely something such as this was Joe Cross' reboot.  My physichiatrist flipped and sent me to a nutritionist.  She was anything but the picture of good health herself.  One of the nutritionist's diagrams mentioned to eat margarine instead of butter.  This I would never do.  May as well dine on plastic.

As yourself, my primary care physicial doesn't treat my bipolar either.  My psychiatrist does.  Plus, I'm a veteran so I go through the VA.  There's no way that I know of that I can even request a change of psychiatrists.  My husband said not to bother.  So, I'm going to do just that.  In the meantime, I'll continue my 'test drive' until the Monday after I get back from Wisconsin.

BTW, also like you, I'm hoping to better my mood.

Go W30!

Roberta