I Fixed 30 Depressed Years (With Food!)

By Joan Kent                  

I'd been depressed for most of my life. Before I knew the word, I thought I was just sad, but it never went away.

My life was filled with reasons to be depressed - abusive parents, mentally ill mother, and more. But this went beyond. I spent hours each week thinking of ways to kill myself.

"Depression is the most unpleasant thing I have ever experienced. It is that absence of being able to envisage that you will ever be cheerful again. The absence of hope." - J.K. Rowling

I tried meditation, personal-growth seminars, positive thinking, you name it. My mood would change temporarily, but the all-too-familiar depression always returned.

Have you ever had a problem you couldn't solve, no matter what you tried?

The Unlikely Source of My Solution

Somewhere in all of this, I had written an article for the newsletter of the fitness club where I worked. It was on insulin resistance. A woman walked in, clutching the article, and demanded an appointment with the author.

So that's how I met This Woman. She worked with drug addicts and alcoholics and kept them successfully in recovery by using the effects of foods on their brain chemistry.

Fascinating, right? I learned all I could from her, then started studying on my own. Little information was available on the topic - this was a long time ago - but I kept reading.

I've never been addicted to drugs or alcohol, but began to make changes in my own diet. My situation starting evolving.

One morning, for example, as I waited for my personal training client to arrive, I noticed I was feeling... fabulous. No other word for it. I'd never felt that good before.

Things kept getting better. My health improved. I no longer caught colds, got the flu, or had other nuisance health issues. The monthly pain I had suffered with virtually disappeared.

And the Depression?

Sometime later, I ended up in a fitness seminar with other people - mostly women - who mentioned their "down" moods and mood swings. That day, I realized I never felt depressed anymore. Never thought about it, never worried about it. It was no longer part of my life.

Needless to say, I don't miss it.

Now I have a PhD in how foods affect brain chem, and I use my powers for good! I've helped many clients with physical health problems - but have also helped my clients reverse anxiety, depression, poor focus, and mood swings. Over time, I've made it easier and easier for them to do.

Looking to clear up some resistant health problems you feel "stuck" with? Perfect! That's what I do. Just visit http://www.LastResortNutrition.com and grab your free Transform My Health Now Consult. Discover how easy it is to make a few tweaks that bring huge results.

Brought to you by Dr. Joan Kent, best-selling author of Stronger Than Sugar.

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Benefits of Turmeric - A Natural Home Remedy For Depression

By Darren Hodgson     

Have you ever suffered from depression. It's estimated that around 15% of people in western society suffer from it at some point their lives.

It's usually described as suffering from extreme sadness for extended periods of time but not usually more than three to six months. If you find yourself with any of the following symptoms you should immediately take some action.

- Diminished sex drive
- Sadness and low mood most of the time
- Poor self esteem
- Crying
- Lethargy
- Regular anxiety and worry
- Suicidal thoughts or thoughts of harming someone else
- Irritability
- Lack of motivation
- Interest in things drops.

One or two of these symptoms every now and then doesn't mean you're depressed. Everybody feels this way from time to time but if you feel you have 4 or 5 of the above symptoms most of the time then it's probably safe to assume you are fall into the category the doctors call clinically depressed.

As always if you have a severe problem with either your mental, emotional or physical health you should always go to see the doctor. In addition to the doctors advice there are some home remedies to help with depression. This is where the benefits of turmeric come in.

It's been used in Chinese medicine for centuries to help treat depression and can be taken in various ways. Some people take it as a drink putting one teaspoon of turmeric powder in warm water and drinking. Others use it in food.

Once you start adding it to meals there are plenty of things you can use it in. One of my favourites is to add a pinch of it to an egg salad.

There are other things you can do to aid you in pulling yourself out of your depression. To do this one of the main things you need to overcome is the lack of motivation and lethargy part.

If you can find a way to get up off your backside and do something, this not only distracts you from your depression it also helps you enjoy something, this in turn makes you feel a bit better which will then help motivate you a bit more and so on and so forth.

Think of depression as a downward spiral. You feel bad this gives you feeling of lethargy which makes you feel worse them you can be even less bothered doing things which makes you feel worse, spiralling down and down.

If you can get yourself to do the things you enjoy you can break the spiral and reverse it creating an upward spiral of recovery.

To conclude depression is a common and in the main treatable condition. To help pull yourself out of depression you should try and do as many things you enjoy as possible. The benefits of turmeric can help as a home remedy but if the symptoms are severe you should go see a doctor immediately.

If you want to use the benefits of turmeric to help you but don't like the taste you can always try a nutritional supplement. Either on its own or even better as part of a synergistic mix of other health beneficial ingredients. To find out more about turmeric as a supplement visit my website below.

Darren Hodgson is an avid believer in taking high quality nutritional supplements for superior health. Many supplements on the market are of sub standard quality and don't meet our daily needs. Visit his website http://www.nutrition-for-health.com [http://www.nutrition-for-health.com/2009/10/what-supplements-we-use.html] today to find out why only a few of them make the cut.

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The Nutrition Message Nobody Wants to Hear

By Joan Kent  

Well, I won't keep you in suspense. The message has to do with sugar.

You may be thinking that everyone knows sugar's bad. And that does seem to be true. But not everyone stays away from it. And that's a problem, or at least a problem waiting to happen.

Not Connecting the Dots

When I was training to be a life coach, one of the instructor coaches was between 40 and 50 pounds overweight. One day she said, "I'm addicted to sugar, but I'm okay with it."

This woman clearly didn't connect her addiction to sugar with either her weight or any of the health problems she had. That's what I'd call not connecting the dots.

Cravings that Never Go Away

I receive newsletters with articles on sugar cravings that "never seem to go away." The various authors present themselves as nutrition experts. As a solution, they typically recommend products - that you can buy! - that taste just like chocolate and take away the sugar cravings.

Apparently, whatever these experts do with their daily food plans isn't keeping food cravings from returning.

Fact: Sugar cravings absolutely DO go away over time - potentially permanently - so it's a red flag for me if a nutrition 'expert' doesn't know how to make that happen for him/herself or for clients.

Falling for Sneaky, Sexy Sugars

The list of these is fairly long: agave nectar, coconut sugar, maple syrup, fruit (yes, fruit), fruit juice, honey, monk fruit extracts, date paste, and more.

It would be no surprise to discover that someone who uses these sneaky sugars is addicted to them or has cravings that never seem to go away completely. After all, they're sugar.

Which Brings Us to Paleo Menus

I'm on lots of lists and often receive menus for Paleo desserts and treats that use some of the above sneaky sugars. They're delicious, we're told.

My wisdom on this is simple: "Delicious" is suspicious.

And sugar is sugar. That's definitely not what anyone wants to hear, but it's true.

Fruits and Vegetables

What can I say? I wish people would stop lumping these two together. It makes them seem equally healthful, and they're not.

Fructose, the sugar in fruit, is a particularly harmful sugar. In fact, it's what makes sucrose (half fructose, half glucose) the junk we know it to be. In the science lit, all researchers seem to know this. If only the rest of us were willing to accept that!

A couple of servings of fruit a day is probably okay for most people. A serving is ½ cup or 1 medium fruit.

Yet some fruits may trigger an addictive reaction in some people. Self-awareness and self-honesty are key survival tools, and far better than going along with any mainstream push toward trending sugars.

I've Had to Change My Message

Several months ago, when joining a women's networking group, I made the mistake of introducing myself as a sugar addiction expert in my 30-second pitch. It led to nothing but fear. People are afraid to deal with sugar addiction, very likely because they know what happens when they go without sugar for any length of time.

But I'll end with this important message because it truly matters more than ever:

• Sugar is at the heart of the obesity epidemic. Not fat, not supersizes.
• Sugar increases appetite.
• Sugar leads to the consumption of extra fat. Many high-sugar foods contain fat. Fat also makes sugar tastes sweeter, so foods with both sugar and fat encourage overeating, and the calories can add up quickly.
• Sugar can increase blood pressure. More than salt.
• Sugar can increase serum cholesterol. More than fats.
• Sugar can raise triglycerides. More than fats.
• Sugar can lead to type 2 diabetes. Yes, it can.
• Sugar can contribute to mood swings, anxiety, depression and other mood issues.
• Sugar can interfere with optimal brain focus and work productivity.

I maintain that it can be easy to quit sugar if you know how - and to get rid of cravings long-term.

I would love to help you. Just visit http://www.LastResortNutrition.com and grab your free Empowered Eating Consult. Find out how a few steps, one at a time, can help you conquer sugar and cravings, as well as transform your moods and your health.

Brought to you by Dr. Joan Kent, best-selling author of Stronger Than Sugar: 7 Simple Steps to Defeat Sugar Addiction, Lift Your Mood, and Transform Your Health.

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