Dieting & Depression
Women's conversations often centre around diets, busy lifestyle, family and stress, but it is rare for women - even close friends to feel comfortable talking about problems such as bingeing, vomiting, being overweight and desperate to conceive, or feeling that their eating is out of control.
Women are reported to have higher rates of depression than men, and be more prone to disordered eating and appetite. Some researchers claim this is due to cyclic hormone changes, but few attribute it to the effects of stress that most women encounter in their busy lifestyles. In all these situations there seems to be a differences in the action of serotonin in the brain. And women who diet add to the likelihood of imbalance in their serotonin function.
Over the past 20 years women have experienced more social and economic pressures to become independent, strong and outwardly capable than ever before. For some women these changes have come at a greater cost than for others. For many women the effort to look good only adds to their daily load - their stress cycle on top of juggling a career and family responsibilities.
The cyclic nature of hormone changes on mood and appetite have an added stressful effect on energy, appetite and mood, which can change so dramatically within a few days of each month.
The 'magic bullet' offered to many women, when they eventually seek medical assistance, usually comes in the form of prescription drugs.
Today we may live longer, but our quality of like is suffering. Over 50% of women are classified as overweight or obese, and type II diabetes and heart disease are rising at a rapid rate among women, as is the incidence of lung cancer. Mood swings and appetite changes go hand in hand for many women and the triggers for these changes are dealt with differently.
How can health providers sufficiently address the causes of women's health when they too are constrained by time limits and economic disincentives? In some cases this leads to the medical profession over-prescribing SSRI's and similar magic bullets. But sometimes complementary medicine practitioners do the same. when supplements are offered to offset the effects of stress and address some health problems, albeit with fewer side effects than prescription drugs, they are often only a version of the band aid approach. How can we change a woman's domestic and work situations to relieve her stress load or improve her self-esteem? How can we make shopping easier and products healthier, cheaper and quicker to prepare? The time-poor women is often faced with expectations that are impossible to sustain.
Brian chemicals such as serotonin, a master neuro-transmitter, affect mood and appetite. When serotonin is produced in sufficient amounts in the brain we are able to overcome many of the symptoms that keep us heading back to food as a knee-jerk reaction to daily stresses.
The wear and tear of daily life often places more stress on our digestive and eliminative functions, which increases our chance of suffering from health problems such as food intolerance's and distortions of our normal immune function By focusing on nurturing ourselves and breaking old, problematic patterns of unhealthy food choices, we can affect both our mood and our energy levels relatively quickly.
You can liberate your eating and be free to enjoy life again. Being free in this way can be defined as:
In every person there is a balance of chemicals in the brain known as neurotransmitters. The balance of these chemical messengers, the quantities the body produces and how they are recycled within the brain vary from person to person. A multitude of external factors such as stress, diet and environmental factors also affect these balances.
Serotonin can be described as a master neurotransmitter. It has also been called the neurotransmitter of the nineties and the satisfaction brain chemical. Low levels of serotonin, on the other hand, are associated with stress responses such as irritability, anger, depression and sometimes violence towards oneself and others.
Stress is one factor that plays havoc with the delicate interplay of chemicals messengers, keys and locks, and causes many psychological changes to occur or become obvious.
Our brain function is also affected by our nutrition, daily rhythms and seasonal factors; by surgery, drugs and other substances; by environmental factors such as heat and air quality; and by social and economic circumstances.
Serotonin has the potential to affect the quality of our life due to its enormous influence on the way we feel and function from day to day.
Women are reported to have higher rates of depression than men, and be more prone to disordered eating and appetite. Some researchers claim this is due to cyclic hormone changes, but few attribute it to the effects of stress that most women encounter in their busy lifestyles. In all these situations there seems to be a differences in the action of serotonin in the brain. And women who diet add to the likelihood of imbalance in their serotonin function.
Over the past 20 years women have experienced more social and economic pressures to become independent, strong and outwardly capable than ever before. For some women these changes have come at a greater cost than for others. For many women the effort to look good only adds to their daily load - their stress cycle on top of juggling a career and family responsibilities.
The cyclic nature of hormone changes on mood and appetite have an added stressful effect on energy, appetite and mood, which can change so dramatically within a few days of each month.
The 'magic bullet' offered to many women, when they eventually seek medical assistance, usually comes in the form of prescription drugs.
Today we may live longer, but our quality of like is suffering. Over 50% of women are classified as overweight or obese, and type II diabetes and heart disease are rising at a rapid rate among women, as is the incidence of lung cancer. Mood swings and appetite changes go hand in hand for many women and the triggers for these changes are dealt with differently.
How can health providers sufficiently address the causes of women's health when they too are constrained by time limits and economic disincentives? In some cases this leads to the medical profession over-prescribing SSRI's and similar magic bullets. But sometimes complementary medicine practitioners do the same. when supplements are offered to offset the effects of stress and address some health problems, albeit with fewer side effects than prescription drugs, they are often only a version of the band aid approach. How can we change a woman's domestic and work situations to relieve her stress load or improve her self-esteem? How can we make shopping easier and products healthier, cheaper and quicker to prepare? The time-poor women is often faced with expectations that are impossible to sustain.
Brian chemicals such as serotonin, a master neuro-transmitter, affect mood and appetite. When serotonin is produced in sufficient amounts in the brain we are able to overcome many of the symptoms that keep us heading back to food as a knee-jerk reaction to daily stresses.
The wear and tear of daily life often places more stress on our digestive and eliminative functions, which increases our chance of suffering from health problems such as food intolerance's and distortions of our normal immune function By focusing on nurturing ourselves and breaking old, problematic patterns of unhealthy food choices, we can affect both our mood and our energy levels relatively quickly.
You can liberate your eating and be free to enjoy life again. Being free in this way can be defined as:
- Food. Choose foods and meal times that are appropriate for your individual biochemistry.
- Relaxation. Use mini-refreshers and other relaxation techniques to relax.
- Exercise. Begin a gentle exercise regime to relax and increase your production of serotonin.
- Enjoyment. Increase your daily production of serotonin, leading to increased energy, optimism, self-esteem, confidence and general feeling of well being.
- free of stressful lifestyle habits
- free of depression
- free from dieting
- free of unhealthy addictions
- free of cravings
- free of food intolerance's
- free of anxiety and tension
Serotonin - the feel-good chemical messenger
In every person there is a balance of chemicals in the brain known as neurotransmitters. The balance of these chemical messengers, the quantities the body produces and how they are recycled within the brain vary from person to person. A multitude of external factors such as stress, diet and environmental factors also affect these balances.
Serotonin can be described as a master neurotransmitter. It has also been called the neurotransmitter of the nineties and the satisfaction brain chemical. Low levels of serotonin, on the other hand, are associated with stress responses such as irritability, anger, depression and sometimes violence towards oneself and others.
Stress is one factor that plays havoc with the delicate interplay of chemicals messengers, keys and locks, and causes many psychological changes to occur or become obvious.
Our brain function is also affected by our nutrition, daily rhythms and seasonal factors; by surgery, drugs and other substances; by environmental factors such as heat and air quality; and by social and economic circumstances.
Serotonin has the potential to affect the quality of our life due to its enormous influence on the way we feel and function from day to day.
