Marilyn Farms Blog » depression

Depression and Sugar

Jessica Forbes MS, CCN — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 02:08:11 +0000

The holiday season is considered to be the peak time of depression each year, which is usually attributed to the lack of sunlight in most areas, the stress of shopping for gifts, and attending (or not attending) family and work gatherings. A third factor that I think is equally as important—if not more important for some people—is the fact that sugar intake tends to spike around the holiday season. Here are a few facts to consider regarding sugar:

The body requires B vitamins to metabolize sugar. The body also requires B vitamins to make brain hormones such as serotonin—the feel good hormone. Many people find it helpful to take a B vitamin supplement to help brain hormone production during times of eating sugar.
In addition to B vitamins, the body also uses up stores of minerals, especially magnesium to metabolize sugar. Magnesium deficiency is one of the most common deficiencies in the United States, and has been linked to mood disorders including depression and anxiety.
The average American consumes 125 pounds of processed sugar each year. For most people this is hidden in processed foods and drinks that are also deficient in B vitamins and minerals.
Sugar intake during the last trimester of pregnancy and the months following birth may be linked to susceptibility to post-partum depression. To help prevent this, new moms should prioritize healthy fats and protein in their diet and try to curb any sweet cravings with fiber-rich, whole food sweets such as fruit or sweet potatoes.

To help prevent sugar overload during the holiday season, try to limit your overall intake of sweets. If you are invited to bring something to a holiday potluck choose to bring a savory item such as a vegetable platter with dip, deviled eggs, or spinach and artichoke dip!

Cod Liver Oil and Winter Health

Jessica Forbes MS, CCN — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:05:37 +0000

As the winter months approach, many of us get out our bottles of cod liver oil and start taking preventive doses to ward off flu viruses and keep the winter blues from setting in. The vitamin D content of cod liver oil tends to get most of the credit for the above benefits (and rightly so), but there are actually a couple of other factors at work to make cod liver oil a fantastic cool-weather supplement:

Cod liver oil supplies a natural form of activated vitamin A. Vitamin A is necessary for immunity (white blood cells actually require vitamin A in order to mature properly) and a deficiency in vitamin A can be related to fatigue. Most of the negative press surrounding vitamin A has been related to synthetic forms, such as those found in acne medications. However, excessive intake of natural forms that require conversion and activation by the body, such as beta carotene which requires zinc for activation, can cause problems. People with altered vitamin A metabolism (such as alcoholics) should still be careful to watch total vitamin A intake.
Cod liver oil is a balanced source of highly absorbable omega-3 fatty acids. Some of the signs of inadequate omega-3 intake include depression, lowered immunity, weakness, fatigue, lethargy, dry skin, dry hair, dry eyes, frequent infection, and irritability. Foods that are richest in omega 3 fats include cold-water fish, egg yolks from pastured hens, flax seed and flax oil, and walnuts.

For more detailed information on cod liver oil, see the article Cod Liver Oil: The Number One Superfood which is available on the Weston Price Foundation website, www.westonaprice.org.

Coffee as a Mood Elevator?

Elizabeth Wagner, RD CCN — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 04:02:06 +0000

Last week a study was published associating increased caffeinated coffee consumption to a decreased risk of depression. As this study was not testing causation, caffeinated coffee has not been shown to actually prevent depression but to be associated with a decreased risk. The benefits started with those who drank half of a Starbucks tall coffee and increased as the coffee consumption increased. Everything I had read before always reported caffeinated coffee to increase anxiety and depressive symptoms. This new information made me start thinking about caffeine and its effects on brain health.

Below are some of the side effects of caffeine:

Caffeine is a central nervous stimulant (irritability, anxiety, restlessness)
Gives a boost of energy (the shakiness is the proof)
Increases the body’s use of Magnesium, Calcium and B- Vitamins
Increases urination and can promote dehydration.

Below are the signs and symptoms of depression that caffeine may affect:

Appetite or weight changes: We tend to eat differently when drinking coffee which may offset the depressive changes. Also, coffee consumption for many people is a social interaction which decreases depressive symptoms.
Sleep changes: Coffee helps us get motivated and sleep less if we are over sleeping due to depression.
Anger or irritability: Coffee may make this symptom worse.
Loss of energy: Anyone who has had their first cup of coffee can attest to the fact that it gives at least a little boost of energy.
Concentration problems: As energy is increased it becomes easier to concentrate and get things done.

(List taken from this helpguide link)

So what does all this mean for you? Coffee has both benefits and disadvantages, as much of the research has shown. Some of the disadvantages include increased side effects of chronic diseases while one advantage coffee offers is to increase amounts of dietary antioxidants. If you choose to drink coffee, it should always be organic. When it comes to caffeinated coffee and depression, there is no link to preventing depression so do not start drinking coffee for this reason. If you are a coffee drinker the best results for decreasing the risk of depression were found for those who drank one grande Starbucks coffee or similar each day. To help mitigate some of the negative effects of coffee make sure you drink extra water and increase the amount of magnesium and B-complex vitamins taken per day.

The Importance of Sleep

Jessica Forbes MS, CCN — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 22:45:06 +0000

As you can see on our front page, this month we have a special on products related to sleep. I thought it would be fun to list some fun facts here about sleep! In doing my research, however, I came across the website below which had 40 amazing facts about sleep courtesy of Australia’s National Sleep Research Project.

Here are a few of the facts, pasted directly from the website:

Some studies suggest women need up to an hour’s extra sleep a night compared to men, and not getting it may be one reason women are much more susceptible to depression than men.
Tiny luminous rays from a digital alarm clock can be enough to disrupt the sleep cycle even if you do not fully wake. The light turns off a “neural switch” in the brain, causing levels of a key sleep chemical to decline within minutes.
The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska, the Challenger space shuttle disaster, and the Chernobyl nuclear accident have all been attributed to human errors in which sleep-deprivation played a role.
A new baby typically results in 400 to 750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year.

Seriously, check it out! Interesting stuff.

Cholesterol and Health

Jessica Forbes MS, CCN — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:33:02 +0000

For this week’s entry, I thought to share with you a few interesting facts about cholesterol that will be covered in more detail at our webinar this Saturday (to register click here). Here they are!

 People with higher cholesterol are more likely to live longer, healthier lives than their counterparts with low cholesterol.
 Cholesterol is absolutely necessary for memory and learning, which may be why two common side effects of statin therapy are memory loss and cognitive decline.
 People with low cholesterol are more likely to experience mood disorders such as depression and exhibit violent behavior. In fact, some researchers attribute the rise in domestic violence and child abuse over the past 30 years to the increased use of cholesterol-lowering medication.
 Exposure to heavy metals is usually followed by a rise in blood cholesterol, possibly because cholesterol acts as a “raft” to get toxins out of the body quickly.
 Every cell in your body makes cholesterol. In fact, only 15% of cholesterol in your body comes from your food – the rest of it is synthesized by your body because it is that important!
 Fatty plaques in the arteries are actually a sign that there is underlying inflammation in the body. Cholesterol rises as a response to this inflammation to try to repair damaged portions of blood vessel walls – cholesterol is NOT the root cause of artery plaques, inflammation is!
 If you are stressed about the results of your cholesterol test, it is likely that your results will be higher than they would be if you weren’t stressed. Stress causes cholesterol levels to rise, and they may not return to normal for 24 hours or more.
NOTE: Please talk to your physician before making any dietary or supplement changes. This blog is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified healthcare practitioner.

Vitamin D and Depression

Jessica Forbes MS, CCN — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:39:57 +0000

Yesterday during our second spring snowstorm, I started thinking about how depressing it is to have TWO spring snowstorms in a row, and then started to think about how many people have told me that lately they just feel a little depressed. I know there are many factors involved with depression, but living in Iowa where the winter lasts half the year I have found that obtaining adequate intake of Vitamin D helps many people to feel happier. Vitamin D can be obtained from sunlight (which we don’t get much of in the winter here), from food, and from supplements. If you’re going to take a supplement, look for D3 (the usable form) instead of D2 (the synthetic form).

Here is a link to an article with more info on Vitamin D and depression by one of my favorite Vitamin D researchers, Dr. John Cannell, MD:

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/depression.shtml