A friend who knew I was battling depression recommended I read the book, The UltraMind Solution, by Mark Hyman, M.D. An excellent recommendation! Dr Hyman writes, "I call myself the 'accidental psychiatrist.' I never set out to be a brain or mood expert. In fact, my focus was more on how the body works as a whole system. And people saw me not to treat depression or autism or Alzheimer's, but to deal with chronic complaints and illnesses of the body. . .Over the years as I worked to correct the fundamental imbalances that are the cause of all disease (the seven keys to UltraWellness, which you will learn about in a moment), I discovered that mood and brain disorders would often magically disappear as I treated a patient's physical problems."
I have been dealing with depression since 1981, and I have a strong genetic predisposition for the illness. But I wanted to find out about other ways to help my brain heal, along with taking psychiatric medications. These are the seven keys to UltraWellness:
- Optimize Nutrition
- Balance Your Hormones
- Cool Off Inflammation
- Fix Your Digestion
- Enhance Detoxification
- Boost Energy Metabolism
- Calm Your Mind
Meet Dr. Mark Hyman as he talks about the
future of medicine and the Seven Keys to UltraWellness.
I was motivated to make major changes in my diet after reading this book. Dr. Hyman recommends taking dairy and wheat out of your diet for at least six weeks to see if you feel better. If you read this book it will help you decide what diet changes may be helpful for you. I have several allergies to weeds, trees, and grasses, and have responded well to immunotherapy allergy shots. If you have an allergy to something it usually causes an immediate reaction; if you have a sensitivity it can take 2-5 days to cause a reaction in your immune system. I don't have any allergies to foods, but I thought I may have some sensitivities since I am so allergic to other things.
My son and I had blood drawn for the IgG Comprehensive Food Sensitivity Assay test. It is also known as the ELISA test. Dr. Hyman talks about this test in the book. We found out my son is gluten intolerant, so that has changed our diet dramatically. After receiving the results of my ELISA test I have eliminated or cut back on all of the foods I am sensitive to. I am hoping this will help reduce the inflammation in my body and help heal my brain. Dr Hyman educated me on this issue in his book. I eat the +1 foods occasionally.
These are the results of my test: +4 is the highest sensitivity and +1 is the lowest sensitivity.
Alfalfa +1 Mustard +1 Salmon +1 Wheat +1
Cumin +1 Onion +1 Seed, Caraway +1 Yeast, Baker's +3
Egg +4 Paprika +1 Squash, Yellow +1 Yeast, Brewer's +4
Garlic +1 Pumpkin +1 Tomato +2 Zucchini +1
Milk, Cow's +1
If you are interested in finding out more about the IgG ELISA test, go to http://www.immunolabs.com/. Their customer service was very helpful.
I also decided to eliminate white flour, white sugar, and most fats other than olive oil from my diet. (I still put a little butter on my sweet potatoes and baked white potatoes. :) My digestion is more efficient and I feel better after I eat. It hasn't cured my depression, but I believe it is an important part of my treatment plan. The changes in my diet, and exercise helped bring my cholesterol down from 216 to 163. Yay!
Dr. Hyman includes The UltraMind Solution Companion Guide with his book. It has a page in the, Set the Stage for Success, section which recommends items you may need to prepare the food in his recipes. He calls them UltraEssentials. Amazon.com has many of these items if you are interested. I love to shop at Amazon. They usually have what I need (or want) for the best prices.
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