Whole30 for mental illness

[ladyhoward]

This is just a curiousity question. And I hope it doesn't offend anyone or get anyone angry at me for asking, but as I said, I'm curious. In light of the tragedy that happened on Friday in Connecticut, I have been struggling to find answers, just as others have. I know that it has not been determined why this young man decided to end the lives of 26 people, but it has been suggested that he had a mental illness - what exactly, no one seems to know yet. I have not suffered from any mental illness, nor has anyone close to me, but I know that I have heard/read that diet plays a key role and that many times mental illness has improved when certain things were removed from the diet. So, again, I'm curious. . . .

How does doing Whole30 affect those who suffer from a mental illness?

For those of you who are willing to share your story, I would be very interested to hear it. Again, I don't want to offend anyone by asking, nor do I want to start a debate over the motive of last Friday's shooting or whether the young man did or did not have a mental illness. I just want to start a dialogue on the effects of diet on mental illness so I may start to undertand it better. Thank you to those of you who decide to answer me.

[Tom Denham]

I am a nicer person since I started eating the Whole30 way.

In general, sugar and carb cravings are stressors. People who do a Whole30 and get past their sugar and carb cravings are less stressed and tend to feel stronger, more optimistic, etc. That is a good thing because people who are stressed are more vulnerable to mental problems. It is not clear that diet causes any mental problems, but diet almost certainly increases vulnerability to whatever issues a person might have.

Dr. Emily Deans is a psychiatrist who blogs about the Paleo lifestyle and mental health at http://evolutionarypsychiatry.blogspot.com/. You might want to go through her site. Most of her stuff is more technical than I care to read, but you might want to go through it.

[Ayla2010]

I do not have a mental illness, but I too am a much nicer person when eating this way.

Eating something with sugar in it turns me into a raging beast. It doesn't take much.

[Susan W]

I am decidedly calmer, less stressed and kinder while eating this way.

[Fenderbender]

I'm so mellow now.... I used to have bi- hourly mood swings if I didn't eat and like now!!!! If I was doing low carb...forget about it, cranky,cranky,cranky....

[ladyhoward]

I can relate to what you all have posted that's for sure. It's weird that I never thought about my food when it came to wanting to figure out why I was so moody all the time, tired all the time, got easily upset and even paranoid sometimes. I so hope that in the future, there will be more research into, and awareness of, the diet-mood connection. it's definitely something I intend to read more about. Maybe that will be a way for all of us to help those around us so we can start to change the insanity (figuratively speaking, not literally) that is so rampant nowadays.

[EmilyB456]

I know that I am happier when I eat as cleanly as possible.

My best friend is in special education and specializes in Austism Spectrum Disorders. She frequently shares with me what she learns at her conferences. There has apparently been a great deal of research on the improvement of some ASDs with a gluten- and casein-free diet. I've read a fair amount about it myself as I have a nephew with an ASD and have tutored kids with Asperger's, and it is fascinating.

Kids with Asperger's also sometimes reportedly have a difficult time distinguishing between fantasy (as in a violent game or TV show) and reality, but a real expert (I am NOT and expert, for sure!) has recently said that too much has been made of that particular trait.

That's not to say the horrible tragedy in CT would not have happened had this boy had the "right" diet, or that Asperger's was his real diagnosis as reported by the media, just sharing what I have learned. My heart and prayers go out to that community.

[ereiam]

I have bipolar disorder and eating paleo makes a difference. Just a difference though, not a great one. I definitely don't cycle (mania/depression) as much but my bipolar stuff is still there. In just two more days, the days will start getting longer and I will need to wean off my antidepressant as too much antidepressant makes me manic at certain times of the year (solstices and equinoxes).

So paleo definitely helps, but for me is not a cure.

[Tom Denham]

Here is an interesting article from the authors of the Perfect Health Diet that they published in response to the killings in Connecticut...

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/perfect-health-diet/201212/violence-are-there-dietary-causes

[RevKT]

I have a lot on my blog www.bipolarspirit.com about Whole30 and mental illness and also the issue of assuming people who commit violent acts all have mental illness.

Briefly, in my experience, Whole30 manages my illness. Second in terms of violence and mental illness, people with mental illness are less likely to be violent and actually are more likely to be I times of violence than the general population.