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Panic Attacks and Anxiety Resources
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jurplesman
Super Member
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 10375
Location: Sydney, Australia
Wed Feb 09, 2005 12:21 am
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| The hypoglycemic diet. |
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Hello Zagadka,
As the editor of the Hypoglycemic Health Association of Australia, I can tell you that I myself had been suffering from anxiety and panic attacks for perhaps half my life time. It was mentally ill in a bad way (won't go into all the details), was a psychiatric patient on every conceivable drug, known at the time (now 30 years ago), suffered depression and was close to suicidal. I was also addicted to drugs. I was lucky enough to get a scholarship to go to the University, got a degree in psychology (determined to get to know myself). I got myself a job as a drug counsellor and whilst in that position discovered that I was hypoglycemic as well as most of my clients. I then completed a course in Clinical Nutrition.
Once I got on the hypoglycemic diet I was well on my way to full recovery. I then became a Probation and Parole Officer. Over 75 per cent of prisoners have addiction as a factor in their criminal behaviour. Because of the huge number of clients I started running groups, teaching clients to do their own therapy by a program that I developed over the years. I discovered with the assistance of sympathetic doctors (complementary doctors who shared my interest in Clinical Nutrition) that most other clients - addicted or not - were also hypoglycemic.
My discovery of the hypoglycemic diet as a near panacea for mental illness, got me into conflict with the more conservative elements in the medical an psychological profession. This nearly cost me my job as a Probation and Parole Officer. (Search for “Dr Jay Harley” at our web site).
With my background I am not surprised to hear that you have not found an answer to your anxieties despite your experiments with all sorts of therapies. This is a very familiar story to me.
The reason why you failed is because you have never been treated for the underlying causes of mental illness. You need to understand the reasons for anxiety attacks, depression, phobias, before you can treat it. In other words you need to understand the biochemistry of behaviour. This is not something you can learn at the university or in a psychology course.
Many people confuse the causes of abnormal psychological experiences - depression, anxiety attacks, compulsions, obsessions - with the symptoms of a deranged human biochemistry. When we have an abnormal biochemistry we have abnormal thoughts, feelings, beliefs and attitudes. You cannot change human biochemistry by changing the thoughts and feelings.
I have stated that the hypoglycemic diet is a near panacea for the treatment of mental illness. Of course there are some qualifications and exceptions as I have explained in “Hypoglycemia, is it a cure-all for mental illness?” at our web site. In some cases drug therapy is necessary.
What we are trying to achieve with the hypoglycemic diet is to overcome the problem of energy production. The brain is entirely dependent on the supply of biological energy to energize the chemical reactions in the brain. This energy is derived from glucose in food. Although only 2 per cent of the body, the brain requires about 80 per cent of energy (in the form of ATP) at any time, whether we are awake or asleep. Without ATP the body cannot produce neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and norepinephrine from nutritional precursors. A lot of other nutritional factors are required to complete biochemical transformations, such as vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids bioflavonoids etc etc..
One of the greatest obstacles in the production of that energy is insulin resistance, that interferes with the absorption of glucose into cells, causing various hormonal reactions such as the overproduction of stress hormones. We know that most depressed people have insulin resistance. This can be tested with a special Glucose Tolerance Test for Hypoglycemia.
Thus the diet aims at increasing the proteins, from which neurotransmitters and enzymes are made and reduce to symptoms of insulin resistance (hypoglycemia).
Thus within this framework there is a great variety of food choices. We cannot specify what foods to eat, but they must contain good quality high proteins and be low in refined carbohydrates (refined sugars), eaten in small frequent snacks (to avoid blood sugar fluctuations) and supplemented with certain vitamins, minerals and fatty acids (fish oil), known to be deficient in most clients.
The hypoglycemic diet is not a ‘quick-fix’ diet. The body needs time to adjust to a natural nutritional environment. Often we find that once on the diet, other related nutritional disorders pop up. They were there all the time but were masked by hypoglycemia.
The most common is the emergence of allergies and food sensitivities. These need to be diagnosed and then avoided in the diet. See “finding your allergies” at our web site.
The next problem that is closely associated with hypoglycemia (not its cause) is candidiasis or thrush.
This happens when the body is exposed to antibiotics - as result of medication or mainly found in food. Antibiotics kill friendly flora in the gut, thus can reduce vitamins produced by them, and interfere with the absorption of foods and proteins. Half digested proteins may enter the blood stream and set up auto-immune reactions. Candida does not digest food but ferments it, so a byproduct - acetaldehyde - may enter the system. The latter can cause mental illness. Candida can enlarge the access points from the gut into the blood stream. Thus it can cause bigger holes in the lining of the gut. The condition is the “Leaky Gut Syndrome”.
When these conditions develop it is better to see a nutritionist or complementary doctors who are familiar with these.
Fortunately, for most people the hypoglycemic diet by itself will be sufficient to resolve many symptoms of mental illness.
Thus what the real difference is between the psycho-nutritional model and the drug and/or psychotherapy model is that “drug therapy” can be replaced with “nutritional therapy”. So we finish up with “nutritional and/or psychotherapy” model as the basic model in the treatment of mental illness. |
zagadka
New Member
Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 4
Thu Feb 10, 2005 9:41 pm
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Thank you for your detailed response – I have been trying the diet for two days now and am cautiously optimistic  – is it possible to feel changes in such a short space of time or is it just a placebo type effect?
I felt really calm and less anxious at work today. Did not have any nasty moments and feelings of panic. Likewise, walking about I felt much more grounded and less dizzy / light headed. My neck and back seemed less tight as well. I am imaging things or inducing these feelings myself?
I am having a little trouble determining which diet to follow, as some contradict others. Could anyone suggest a vegetarian, simple to follow plan including relevant vitamins, minerasl etc.
So far I have taken Vitamin C, Zinc and B Complex daily and eaten protein breakfast (yoghurt and cheese) then had snack like raw carrot and cashew nuts before a lunch of cheese, ryvita. In the evening I have eaten greens like broccoli, green beans and peas followed a couple of hours later by a spud as recommended by a certain website. When I woke a feel really bleak, depressed and almost tearful – I felt a lot better an hour after eating some greens – is this to be expected or normal?
I am concerned about eating bread as some sites say avoid all wheat, while others say wholemeal bread is fine. I think you get the gist! I am confused!!
Is there such a thing as a definitive list – I realise that a lot is down to how one’s body reacts to certain foods, but as a starting point I would like to know what to avoid like the plague. I am following a lot of Radiant Recovery’s advice – would anyone else support their suggestions.
Do feel really positive though – more in control and less impulsive. Less exhausted as well.
If this diet is the answer to all our dreams, why isn’t everyone trying it? Have some tried and failed to see a result?
Cheers everyone! |
jurplesman
Super Member
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 10375
Location: Sydney, Australia
Fri Feb 11, 2005 3:12 am
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| The Hypoglycemic diet |
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Hi Zagadka.
The hypoglycemic diet is such a wide ranging diet, that it is impossible to advise what YOU should eat. It can be broadly described as a high protein, low refined carbohydrate diet (sugar-free), eaten in frequent snacks and supplemented with specific vitamin and minerals.
See "The Hypoglycemic Diet" at our web site.
You have to understand that we are biochemically individual people.
"One man's meat is another man's poison".
For instance I know that broccoli is a natural food source, but I myself have a reaction against broccoli, Brussels Sprout and some cabbages.
Another way of describing it is as follows:
"Is what you eat man-made or nature made?" If man-made throw it in the toilet and pull the chain. (And maybe wash the bowel afterwards - )
Also your diet may be related to your racial or cultural back-ground. Indians can easily adopt a vegetarian diet. Dutch people can better tolerate milk as compared to dark skinned people. Southern Europeans are more tolerant to alcohol etc etc.
As far as possible avoid factory manufactured foods. These are usually full of xenobiotic chemicals and preservatives that your body may reject.
Although it is possible to have a high protein vegetarian diet, this is very difficult, because a vegetarian has to know what he/she is doing. You have to get your proteins in combination with other proteins from vegetable sources. The pulses and soya beans are good all-round sources of proteins. Animal proteins are usually found together. Some proteins are manufactured in your body from other ‘essential amino acids’.
Most vegetarians will be low in vitamin B12, which comes form animal sources. I certainly recommend to get Vitamin B12 injections from a doctor if you want to be a vegetarian. Vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to depression.
Thus this diet needs to be adjusted to the individual.
You have to enjoy this diet, because if you start force-feeding yourself (eating something you are really not used to) then you won’t produce essential enzymes in the saliva and stomach (hydrochloric acid). Thus you are likely to ingest partially digested polypeptides and develop allergies.
It takes about three months on average to get your diet right, and you have to experiment with the food you like. You should never force yourself to eat something because “it is natural’.
Sometimes initial reactions to the diet worsen, because the body is resisting change. When you have ups and downs in blood sugar levels, you may be left with the lows only when you adopt the hypoglycemic diet. You may experience depression initially. This is because you go though sugar withdrawals. This can be helped by taking glycerine (Search our web site). It will lift the depression too. Thus the body has to get used to a sugar-less diet.
There are other problems that can emerge. One is allergies. These were there all the time, but were masked by hypoglycemic symptoms.
See “Finding your Allergies” at our web site. Also see the article by Dr George Samra “The food and disease paradigm” at:
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/allergies-food_disease_paradigm.html
And then we may have Canidiasis, a fungus disease associated with hypoglycemia (Candida feeds on sugars). This can be topical (in skin, orifices) or systematic throughout the digestive system. The Candida fungus ferments the food in the gut and can produce acetaldehyde as a by-product. This enters the blood stream and people can become mentally ill because of acetaldehyde.
If you are looking for certain nutrients we have a article called “Rich Sources of Nutrients”. Pick the nutrients you like!! It will help you to choose the foods you like and get the right nutrients.
Also study the "Glycemic Index", that shows food items with a low glycemic response. (Search our web site for references)
If in trouble get the help of a nutritionist or naturopath.
Cheers
Jur |
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