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How Modern Eating Habits May Contribute to Depression

http://depression.about.com/cs/diet/a/foodallergies.htm

 

The causes of depression may vary as much as our individuality, yet we often

fail to consider our eating habits as possible culprits. With each passing

year's increased understanding of the biological complexities of the human

animal, more data suggesting dietary factors are unveiled. The use of drugs

such

as SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) and herbal extracts such

as St. John's Wort (1, 2, 3) and 5-hydroxytryptophan (4) to manipulate

quantities of serotonin at the synapses within the brain has demonstrated that

available serotonin beyond the blood brain barrier (BBB) is an important factor

in alleviating depression for many people. The brand name of one such drug,

Prozac, has become a household word in our North American culture. Protein, if

consumed in excessive quantity, suppresses CNS serotonin levels.

 

Carbohydrate intake, as well as alcohol and cocaine abuse increase levels

initially, but if use is chronic, such use dramatically lowers CNS serotonin,

resulting in depression, carbohydrate cravings, sleep disturbances, and

proneness to argumentativeness, irritability. Violence can also be used to

manipulate serotonin levels. Additionally, the morphine-like substances derived

from

the incomplete digests of dairy and cereal grain proteins are other dietary

factors which may alter mood by depressing CNS serotonin, dopamine and

norepinephrine levels (5). The reduced number of platelet receptors for

serotonin

found in patients with celiac disease, which is also caused, at least in part,

by dietary factors, again points to food as a factor in some cases of

depression. Such a propensity for depression, as is now seen in our modern

world,

seems to run counter to the process of natural selection. It is of more than

passing interest that many of the foods which seem to be implicated in

depression are also foods which Humanity has had only a relatively short time,

on the

evolutionary calendar, to adapt to (6). And we have been consuming more and

more of these new foods during this century.

 

Regardless of the causes of the high frequency of depression in our

contemporary world, we now have fairly effective drugs to treat this condition.

One

such group of drugs, SSRIs, act to reduce the rate of re-uptake of serotonin

at the synapses, working to conserve serotonin and increase its synaptic

concentration for longer periods of time. Serotonin is an important

neurotransmitter which is needed for sleep onset, mood regulation, carbohydrate

craving and

consumption, and a host of other functions (7). But there are other means to

manipulate its presence in the brain. If we have recently digested protein,

resulting in an increased level of large neutral amino acids (LNAA) in the

blood stream, and we subsequently eat enough carbohydrate to induce a

significant rise of circulating insulin, most of these amino acids will be

transported

across cell walls, for storage or energy. Due to tryptophan's resistance to

insulin, this will result in an increase of circulating tryptophan. Since

LNAAs compete for transport across the BBB, and since its competitors have been

reduced, the relative increase in tryptophan leads to increased quantities of

tryptophan being moved into the brain. Since the BBB is the primary limiting

factor in conversion of tryptophan to serotonin, this results in increased

levels of serotonin within the brain (8).

 

Since such manipulations of serotonin are difficult to regulate, and

unlikely to have long-lasting effects (although some of the mystery of obesity

may

be revealed in this dynamic) a much more important dietary factor in

depression may be the morphine-like substances which derive from the incomplete

digests of proteins in cereal grains and dairy products. These were first

reported

by Christine Zioudrou et al. who dubbed such peptides " exorphins " (9).

Further elucidation of this issue has been provided through the extensive work

of

Fukudome and Yoshikawa, published over the last decade (10,11) who have

identified and characterized five distinct exorphins in the pepsin digests of

gluten. Eight distinct exorphins have also been identified in the pepsin digests

of milk (12). This work has given us a clearer sense of the morphine-like

psychoactive nature of the peptides which result from the incomplete digests of

these dietary proteins, as well as offering a possible explanation for some of

the reported psychiatric reactions to these proteins (13,14,15) including the

sense of " brain fog " that often accompanies immune reactions to these foods.

 

 

 

The field of serology has also provided us with some very clear evidence

that such peptides, and the proteins from which they derive, can be absorbed

through the intestinal mucosa, and into the circulation of a significant

minority of apparently healthy members of the general population (16).

Investigations of abnormal electrical activity in more than two thirds of

untreated

children with celiac disease has indicated that most of them normalize

following

dietary restriction (17, 18). These findings suggest that caseomorphin and

gluten-derived exorphins are at the root of such abnormal electrical activity

in

the brain. Since such substances act as depressants, slowing

neurotransmission, it should not be surprising if the intestinal permeability,

and digestive

enzyme deficiencies found in celiac disease were also found in many folks

suffering depression.

This is underscored by the reports that depression is a very common symptom

of celiac disease (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26). More on this point can be

found at: http://www.gluten-free.org/reichelt.html

 

Please don't misunderstand us. We do not mean to suggest that all, or even

most people suffering from depression have celiac disease. Quite the contrary,

we suspect that only a small minority will demonstrate celiac disease when

tested (although screening this population for celiac disease makes good

sense). It is my suspicion that many folks suffering from depression may have

underlying intestinal permeability combined with digestive enzyme deficiencies.

To have celiac disease, they would also need to have some degree of damage to,

or lymphocyte infiltration of, their intestinal mucosa. So celiac disease

would probably be found in a relatively small, but significant percentage, of

those afflicted. The prior two conditions of enzyme deficiency and intestinal

permeability are abundantly found when sought, and it is these features

which, we suspect, dominate the segment of the population which is chronically

depressed.

 

Humans have spent millions of years being naturally selected, in part, on

the basis of a diet that included vegetables, seeds, fruit, insects, and

subsequently, meat. Yet, at most, we have had only 12,000 years to adapt to

consumption of significant quantities of problematic cereal grains, with

cultivation

originating in southeastern Europe, and spreading to the northwest very

slowly. The Romans spread it throughout their empire, reaching far flung parts

of

Europe, but places they never conquered, such as Ireland, Scotland, and

Finland, have been consuming significant quantities of grains for less than

2,000

years. A Danish friend told me that prior to the end of World War II, many

Danes considered wheaten bread to be a special treat, because wheat does not

grow well in Denmark. North American natives have had a similarly limited

exposure to gluten.

 

Humanity has also had a relatively short time to adapt to post-infancy

consumption of significant quantities of milk from other species. This dietary

practice probably arose out of animal husbandry. For a more extensive

discussion

of this topic, go to: http://www.PaleoDiet.com and

http://www.gluten-free.org/hoggan/.

 

Our frequent difficulty with these recent foods seems congruent with the

evolutionary data. Many of us simply have not had sufficient time to adapt to

these recent additions to the human food supply. We would likely fare much

better on foods to which our ancestors have adapted. The dramatic increase in

our

consumption of these recent foods during this century may have a very

ominous element. Such dietary habits may well have been paving the way for

Prozac.

 

The treatment for many cases of depression should begin with serological

testing, and be followed by approximately the same treatment as that in celiac

disease and milk protein intolerance. Dietary exclusion of the offending

proteins will often mean exclusion of gluten-containing grains and/or dairy

proteins. Such a diet would, in some cases, result in a few days of withdrawal

symptoms, followed by a substantial improvement in mood. While we only know of

anecdotal reports of such improvements, we find the above data, in combination

with these anecdotal reports, to be quite compelling.

For more information on changing diet see:

The Gluten-Free Page: http://www.gluten-free.org/hoggan/

The No Milk Page: http://www.NoMilk.com/

The Paleolithic Diet Page: http://www.PaleoDiet.com/

PaleoFood Recipe Collection: http://www.PaleoFood.com/

 

 

How Modern Eating Habits May Contribute to Depression

References:

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criteria-based review. Phytomed; volume 2: pages 67-71, 1995.

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pages 253-258, 1996.

3.. Perovic S and Muller WEG. Pharmacological profile of hypericum extract

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