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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Kelly Brogan
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January 7 - October 4, 2017
For now, accept the fact that we are all designed for depression as humans. It can be a warning sign that something isn’t right within. And just as we are designed to feel glum, we are also designed to self-heal and feel great.
vitamin B12 deficiency has long been implicated in the development of depression.
We think (because our doctors think) that we need to “cure” the brain, but in reality we need to look at the whole body’s ecosystem: intestinal health, hormonal interactions, the immune system and autoimmune disorders, blood sugar balance, and toxicant exposure.
free your mind by healing your whole body.
Sixty percent of people on antidepressants stay on them for more than two years, and 14 percent do so for more than a decade.
The following four main points summarize Dr. Price’s findings about the features of these diets that sustained healthy populations where conditions like depression just don’t exist: No traditional human group followed a vegetarian diet No traditional human group followed a low-fat diet All traditional diets were local, natural, and whole All traditional human groups used some raw food
“balanced carnivores.”
carbohydrate consumption, particularly in the form of starch from tubers, seeds, and fruits and nuts, was key to the rapid growth and development of our brains over the last million years.6
Carbs are good. But again, they must be the right ones—the unprocessed ones.
The way the body handles fructose and glucose is different (briefly, fructose goes directly to the liver to be processed, whereas glucose is used by every cell as a fundamental energy unit). Processed fructose—fruit sugar that’s commonly derived from sugarcane, sugar beets, and corn—is seven times more likely to result in sticky, caramel-like protein/carbohydrate aggregates called glycation end products, which cause oxidative stress and inflammation. Because the liver deals with it
(often by creating fatty deposits, for fructose is a lot more fat-producing than glucose),
following terms are code for sugar: evaporated cane juice corn syrup high-fructose corn syrup crystalline fructose fructose sucrose malt maltose maltodextrin dextrose beet sugar turbinado sugar invert sugar
just consume regular food—greens, some fish, broth, and so on upon rising—your options will expand exponentially.
Don’t hesitate to try chicken and beef bone broths, which have traditionally been used in
gut-healing protocols. Because our diets are heavily focused on muscle meat consumption, which delivers a high methionine amino acid profile, we lose out on the benefits of consuming bones, skin, tendons, and other connective tissue, as was ancestral practice. These parts are abundant in health-promoting glycine, an amino acid with calming properties that has been shown to help with insomnia, anxiety, joints, hair, and skin. (Tip: Try adding grass-fed gelatin to warm liquids or hydrolyzed collagen to cold liquids; start with one tablespoon and work up to two. It’s flavorless.)
Whole eggs—yes, yolks included—contain all of the essential amino acids we need to survive, vitamins and minerals, and antioxidants known to protect our eyes. And they can have far-reaching positive effects on
our physiology. Not only do they keep us feeling full and satisfied, but they help us control blood sugar. In 2013, researchers at the University of Connecticut showed that people who ate whole eggs daily improved insulin sensitivity and other cardiovascular risk parameters.
All types of seeds (including flax) and dry-roasted or raw nuts are good. Note that peanuts are not nuts—they are a legume and should be avoided
advise my patients to avoid legumes entirely for the first month,
Popular legumes include beans, peas, lentils, and peanuts. In addition to being high in minerals, vitamins, and fiber, they are also high in what’s called resistant starch, which is a special type of fiber that can be helpful once the gut flora is better optimized (it “resists” being digested and helps you feel full). Beans are well tolerated by most and, with the exception of peanuts and soy, can be reintroduced. Unfortunately, peanuts are at high risk for mold and soy can inhibit thyroid and pancreatic enzymes. Once you’ve reintroduced legumes back in your diet, it’s best to soak them
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Here’s where to source the full complement of fats:
Omega-3 and omega-6 (polyunsaturated) fats: cold-water fish, flax oil, macadamia nut oil, grass-fed meat, eggs, nuts, and seeds Omega-9s (monounsaturated) fats: olive oil, avocado, almonds, eggs, lard (yes, lard) Saturated fats: red palm oil, animal meats, ghee, dark chocolate, coconut oil (remember, fats help with absorption of fat-soluble vitamins D, A, K, and E)
I have a monkey mind. As a mother, wife, physician, writer, educator, and to-do-list-completer, I recommend that anyone enter my mental space with caution. Even if I played none of these roles and was charged with sitting under a palm tree and relaxing, my chattering racket of a mind would follow me there.
You can start with something as simple as listening to a guided meditation for several minutes a day and working up to twenty minutes twice a day for a therapeutic effect that activates the relaxation nervous system—the one that allows us to “rest and digest”—and as a result eases symptoms and restores the body to an anti-inflammatory state. As I’ve been emphasizing over and over again, the interconnectedness of your gut, brain, hormonal and immune systems is impossible to unwind. Until we begin to appreciate this complex relationship, we will not be able to prevent or intervene effectively in
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that take place during meditation essentially prevent the body from translating psychological worry into physical inflammation. Which helps explain why mindfulness-based meditation practice has been demonstrated in randomized trials to improve depressive symptoms in fibromyalgia and to have lasting antianxiety effects after only eight weeks of group practice.
I’ve been a devout meditator for years now; the eleven minutes I spend each morning to take in deep breaths helps me prepare for the day’s challenges and tame that tedious monkey mind.
Basic deep breathing: Sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor. Close your eyes and make sure your body is relaxed, releasing all the tension in your neck, arms, legs, and back. Inhale through your nose for as long as you can, feeling your diaphragm and abdomen rise as your stomach moves outward. Sip in a little more air when you think you’ve reached the top of your lungs. Slowly exhale to a count of twenty, pushing every breath of air from your lungs. Continue for at least five rounds of deep breaths.
Sit comfortably crossed-legged with a straight spine (easy pose). Close your right nostril with your right thumb while your other fingers are stretched straight up as antennas. Your left hand can rest on your left knee. Close your eyes and concentrate at the space between your eyebrows, which is referred to as the third eye. Begin to breathe long and deep only through your left nostril. Continue for three minutes.
