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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https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/892792?src=mkm_ret_180329_mscpmrk_depression&uac=7038PX&impID=1592643&faf=1

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

Building a Butter You

Coming in the wake of Wisconsin's new ban on grass-fed butter, is the release of Dr. William Davis' new book "Undoctored: Why Health Care Has Failed You and How You Can Become Smarter Than Your Doctor." Since butter and ghee (clarified butter) are powerful weapons in the fight for good health, it is ironic that Wisconsin politicians care more for the dairy special interest groups than the health of their constituents. In another twist, Dr. Davis, author of the "Wheat Belly Diet" practices in Wauwatosa, WI.

Besides corrupt politicians, another roadblock continues to be the outdated fear of saturated fats. Our bodies can handle saturated fats as long as you don't fry your food in them. You can Google more on the topic. This article in "The BMJ" (formerly "The British Medical Journal") summarizes this well:

        Conclusions Saturated fats are not associated with all cause mortality, CVD, CHD, ischemic stroke, or type 2 diabetes, but the evidence is heterogeneous with methodological limitations.Trans fats are associated with all cause mortality, total CHD, and CHD mortality, probably because of higher levels of intake of industrial trans fats than ruminant trans fats. Dietary guidelines must carefully consider the health effects of recommendations for alternative macronutrients to replace trans fats and saturated fats.

I point this out in the part of my PowerPoint presentation on nutrition called "Fats:The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." The bad include trans and fried fats. The good include coconut, olive, and avocado oils, and fish/krill oils. The saturated animal fats fall somewhere between the good and the ugly because while the good have actually been shown to improve cardiovascular health the same has not been shown with the animal fats.

The release date for "Undoctored" is May 9th but you can pre-order it now at the link above.