What I Am All About

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Mediterranean Diet for Depression

"This was a big year for brain food. On January 31, 2017, Felice Jacka and colleagues published the SMILES study, which showed that the Mediterranean diet had a significant and positive effect for individuals with moderate to severe depression. One year later, Natalie Parletta and colleagues at the Center for Population Research in South Australia have published a similar study with striking findings. Dr Parletta and her group followed 152 individuals with depression who were randomly assigned to a control group, which participated in a very active support group, or a group that received the Mediterranean diet…
...The researchers followed these participants at 3 and 6 months. What did they find? They found that individuals in the Mediterranean diet intervention group significantly changed their diets. They ate more fish, they ate more plants, and they ate less red meat and fewer confections or processed foods. Investigators also found that participants in the Mediterranean diet group had a significant reduction in their depression scores, with a roughly 45% improvement in their rating scales compared with about a 27% improvement in the control group.”



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Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Ketosis

I love ketosis.

I have never been more sharp, focused, and joyful than when I went on a ketogenic diet for the Body-For-Life bodybuilding contest some years ago. At the time, the only workable ketogenic diet was the "Induction" phase of the Atkins Diet. I practiced this diet for two weeks at a time, alternating with a "bulking" phase in which I tried to eat about 10,000 kcal/day. These days there are several less severe ketogenic diets (including BulletProof and often the Paleo diets). They tend to be more expensive than the typical cheap carbs approach so common in the United States today.

If you have done ketogenesis in the past, you probably don't need ketone strips to notify you when you slip into ketosis. Personally, I just know by how good it makes me feel. If you are new to this, go ahead and buy some strips if that makes you feel more comfortable. The extra effort is worth it because you gain knowledge, wisdom, and a more comprehensive aware of your own body. Which is what this is really about.

Dr. William Davis, MD of "Wheat Belly" fame believes that there are too many side-effects of maintaining a ketogenic diet for an extended period of time. I wouldn't know since I tend to alternate  phases even today (as per Tim Ferriss in "The 4-Hour Body"). I like my Cheat Day. Even if the foods contain grains, I find it not only physically appealing but also emotionally. One can only eat a limited amount of foods for only so long.

http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2018/02/be-ketotic-but-only-sometime/?inf_contact_key=a2c935cd9606b6e11a9dafd1ad3032cfda7139702662d0ee3f49e593da7081e4