Greetings,
I have suffered with bloating and stomach pain for about 30 years every time I eat.
I was assessed as a protein type and have been on the protein plan for about 14 or more days. I am 67 years and 5' 2" and had weighed 118 lbs and lost 2 lbs. I do not feel I need to loose any weight.
The diet seem to help with the bloating and stomah pain for a while but not all together.
My question is, why am I so depressed? Is the restrictive protein diet plan causing my depression? When do I have fresh fruits and vegetables? I do miss my berries and salads. Is home made yogort good for me. I have some in the mornings and blackberries.
In the mid afternoon I get the craving for individually wrapped "Dove Chocolate" and I do have one and it satisfy me until supper.
I thank you for your response in advance ~ Sarah Gingerich
Hi Sarah,
I'm not quite sure if you were hoping to get a response from one of the doctors, which I definitely am not, so sorry. Lol!
But, I thought I should share some personal experiences with you considering that you mention some points of interest in your posting... and considering that Dr. Mercola just did a webcast on it, I thought it might be appropriate.
As far as the bloating and stomach pain go... have you ever thought about taking a digestive probiotic enzyme? I personally purchased Plantadophillus Probiotic (My husband would kill me if he knew I was typing this to someone) on essentialenzymes.com and gave it to my husband along with a half tablespoon of Ginger in the morning (an hour after breakfast) and a half tablespoon of Oregano (an hour before bedtime) because he had such excessive gas that it was really problematic. It helped immensely!!!!!!! I'm not saying that the intestinal gas applies to you, but gas, indigestion, bloating, heartburn, diarrhea, etc. are "by-products" of digestive conditions.
You made reference to your age, which seems to be really important because there has been research done that concludes that both digestion and metabolism are affected as we become more "sage and mature". = ) Digestion is indirectly affected due the decreasing natural production of digestive enzymes. The most drastic changes are after the age of 50. Ironically, you are just two years shy of a control group (the participants were 69 years old) that was used to measure the level of their digestive enzymes in their saliva against the levels of digestive enzymes in the saliva of younger adult counterparts. The research concluded that the younger participants had THIRTY TIMES as many digestive enzymes as the 69 year-old participants. Less enzymes are present in the pancreas (which is responsible for making and secreting digestive enzymes) with older people as well.
Furthermore, Dr. Mercola goes on to advocate raw food for it's "biophotonic" properties which aid in enzyme production. I have no clue on that one, LOL, but I did want to mention that more research suggests raw food is optimal because it is less taxing on the pancreas. The pancreas must work harder to handle processed and even COOKED unprocessed foods. Maybe because cooking depletes the food of those biophotonic digestive aids? Anyway ...
Dr. Mercola talks about the importance of chewing as much as possible to naturally stimulate the stomach's enzymatic production, so that might help to some degree; however, there might be some necessity for some aid through the supplemental probiotic. He is an advocate of probiotics, as am I. And if 80 percent of our immune system comes from our digestive tract, then it should definitely be taken care of ...
Which leads me to your next subject, yogurt, yes it is good for you, for a number of reasons ... it is a probiotic, which adds beneficial bacteria to your digestive system. I also like Colostrum and Raw Milk (as long as your immune system isn't depressed). Furthermore, yogurt is very rich in Vitamin B, which is usually deficient in most depression sufferers.
Depression can also be symptomatic of a Vitamin E, Iron/Folate, and/or Omega 3, 6,9 deficiency.
My friend and I both suffered from depression, we changed our diets a little, and felt drastic changes.
We 1 )pumped up our diets with chicken, turkey, fish, and shrimp,
(2) Ate a lot of Romaine lettuce (since it is the easiest to digest) with Spinach Leaf Salads
(3) And began making breadcrumbs, fortified with wheat germ, (for the Iron, Folate, and Fiber) so that we could coat our meat with it and bake it for that "fried" without being fried effect.
(4) AND LAST, BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST (this one, I personally swear by) is we consume Hemp Milk! Hands down! Primarily because it has ALL of the Omegas that you need in one day in just one serving.
Should you try Hemp Milk, I would recommend that you go to Whole Foods, if you have one near you, and purchase some to see if you like it. It's a pretty polarizing taste; either you love it or hate it. The brand I first purchased was "Hemp Bliss" by Manitoba Farms, and try it unflavored because the flavored is too sweet and quite overwhelming. Obviously with the unsweetened, you can sweeten it accordingly. Unflavored Hemp Milk, by itself has a nutty, semi sweet flavor.
If you find that you like it, you'll probably want to make your own because it can get expensive. In which case, Hemp Milk is just throwing some hulled (de-shelled) hemp seeds in a food processor to make a paste, then adding water to make the milk. I purchase from a wonderful company. Their website is www.hempseed.ca
Finally, the relief that you find from chocolate might be from that fact that, if it's dark, it is rich in flavanols, which help boost blood flow to the brain for a few hours, and helps with the affects of aging and generally depression related symptoms. Which is a little concerning that you gave up berries... because blueberries are rich in flavanols too (so is red wine and green tea). And berries are also high in Alpha-Hydroxy-Acids (which also help slow down aging internally) and is a great "slow-down-aging" combination with Papaya or Pineapple used topically. If this isn't applicable, generally speaking, chocolate releases endorphins to the brain to reduce stress and can somewhat function like an opiate.
I hope some of this helps, and good luck. Keep us posted to see if you find any solutions!
Sincerely,
TNoble
I would like to have Glen answer this question please... Thank you !
I am resending this because I do not quite understand the other person speach like LOL, and apologising that she is not a doctor.
I would prefer that a Glen or a doctor answer the above question or the one enclosed here. I have a serious issue and need a serious answer...Thank you !
As I said I suffered from bloating for about 30 years every time I eat. I was assessed as a protein type and at that time was on the plan for 14 days.
I have lost weight on the program, thanks! The diet seem to help with the bloating and the stomach pain for a whilebut not all together.
My depression is severe and I am wondering if it is because of the restrictive protein diet. What are your thoughts?
When should I eat my fresh fruit and vegetables . I do miss my fruits and salads.
I home yogort good for me? I like having it in the mornings with blackberries.
As for the chocolate, I do get a craving for Dove chocolate in the afternoon and it does satisfy me until supper.
Have you done any studies on TRU Chocolate by youngevity www.fgolds.chocogevity.com I would like your opinion on it, thank you.
Thanks to the person the person who answered my question before. I would prefer to have a doctor or Glen answer my questions.
Thank you kindly ~ Sarah Gingerich