At 11:19 PM 5/23/97 +0900, you wrote:
>Question:
>
>I recently read on a web site that lower insulin levels can lessen the
>serotonin levels in the brain. It was suggested in the article to eat a
>candy bar to jump-start the serotonin.
It might do that, but then, when your blood insulin levels return to a
lower level, you'd have much worse depression.
Here's how these things work -- rather like a sine wave effect. Think of
what is 'normal' for you as a baseline. The sugar boosts your insulin
levels to a level above that baseline, but then they go back down -- and go
BELOW the baseline -- before rebounding to 'normal'. This is how many
drugs and other substances work, incidentally: you get a 'high' effect,
followed by a below-normal 'low', which leads you to crave the thing that
initially caused a 'high' just to get back to normal. It's no wonder that
people who are sensitive to insulin levels get addicted to carbohydrates.
What a lowcarb diet does is it _evens out_ your insulin levels, cutting
down on mood swings. Speaking for myself, I used to be on Prozac for
depression -- I had some semi-manic stages where I'd be very silly and
witty, and then have crying fits for no apparent reason. The Prozac
stabilized these mood swings, but I find that, on low-carb, I no longer
need the Prozac, as I haven't been seriously depressed in the last year and
a half. Tired, angry, sad, yes... but not depressed in the same way as
before. YMMV, as usual (your mileage may vary), but that's my experience.
One of the diet doctors (Atkins?) says that some of his patients don't need
their antidepressants anymore, as being in ketosis seems to help improve
their moods. Not sure of the science behind this, tho, as I can't remember
where I read it, exactly.
>The article went on to say that if you take serotonin as a supplement,
>it will go into the bloodstream but not to the brain. If you were to eat
>foods with the amino acid, tryptophan, it would bond with the serotonin
>in the brain. Two foods mentioned that have tryptophan are pecans and
>bananas. What other foods have tryptophan?
Prozac works well enough that it obviously makes it into the brain. I
question the validity of the article.
OTOH, I do like pecans and eat a lot of them! :D Hey, can't hurt...
>I would like feedback on this, as a lack of serotonin can cause
>depression and anxiety, which I don't want. However, I do like this
>lifestyle and am not willing to change my eating habits.
>
>Pam
Not everything you read on the web is gospel! :D The bottom line is, if
you like the diet and it makes you feel better, keep doing it!
Corbie
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