I went to a doctor who wanted to prescribe an anti-depressant. I wondered – is my body lacking Prozac? Or is something else going on here?

I made an appointment with a more holistic doctor who used nutrition as part of his overall methodology. The first thing he asked about was my diet. No doctor had asked me what I ate in relation to how I was feeling. And so I decided to be honest:
Breakfast: cereal with milk, coffee with milk and sugar
Lunch: fast food, soda, french fries, potato chips, fruit
Snacks: candy, soda
Dinner: pasta, pizza, take-out, soda, alcohol a few nights a week
This doctor pointed out that I wasn’t eating any fresh food, and that I was literally eating myself into depression, weight gain and fatigue.

Once I discovered that what I was eating was creating my depression, exhaustion and mood swings, it didn’t take long before I was back to feeling like myself again. I was so inspired by the changes in my mood, that I decided to change my career so I could help other women to improve their lives without resorting to drugs, surgery or expensive therapies. Food addicts, chocoholics, caffeine addicts, and just plain self-described “moody girls” all flocked to my practice – I guess you attract what you know.

A common theme among my clients is they feel compulsively drawn to certain foods again and again. Daily battles unfold where office workers struggle to stay away from the mid-morning double latte, the afternoon chocolate fix, the after-hours grilled cheese sandwich. Working moms find themselves sneaking snacks like chocolate chips, soda or French fries throughout the day – foods they wouldn’t want their kids to eat.

Often these same foods that we crave every day have a deeper hold on our brain chemistry than we realize. Food sensitivities can cause a craving-withdrawal cycle that not only affects your mood, but your waistline. Common foods such as dairy, coffee, chocolate, wheat, corn or eggs may actually be triggering an undiagnosed food allergy, which often leads to addiction to these foods, causing long-term mood disorders.

The human brain will often produce opioids when you eat one of these trigger foods. These same opioids reduce your perception and reaction to pain. If you are allergic to wheat and diary, eating a grilled cheese sandwich is like taking a tiny hit of a narcotic. Years of constant consumption of these trigger foods lead to addiction. If your body starts to feel withdrawal symptoms because you haven’t eaten wheat or dairy in several hours, it will start to crave those same foods – your body needs its fix!

This allergy-addiction cycle can lead to irritability, migraines, depression, fatigue, constant digestion problems, arthritis and weight gain. Over the last 8 years I have worked with thousands of women to improve their mood and health by making simple dietary changes. Using a food-mood journal, getting rid of the junk, and analyzing cravings, I have successful assisted countless women to identify and eliminate the underlying causes of their food cravings and mood issues.

These days my food cravings are much easier to handle. They still show up during times of stress or when I’m tired, but I quickly realize my body needs rest, leafy greens, water or exercise instead of chocolate or coffee. I still indulge in delicious treats sometimes, but my cravings for trigger foods don’t have control over me – I understand where they’re coming from and how to make them dissolve. It has been an empowering process to learn what my body really needs and how to take care of these imbalances without relying on foods that will only hurt me over time.

To take control of your food induced mood disorders, lose weight and create amazing energy, join my 4 Week Power Detox Tele-Course, starting April 26th:

http://www.nutritionforempoweredwomen.com/services/reboot/

If you’ve read either of my books or seen Super Size Me, you’ll remember that I’ve helped a lot of people balance their mood and energy by adding and eliminating the right combination of foods.

The video was shot at my apartment in Brooklyn, NY on a cold, rainy February day. I invited my gorgeous pregnant friends Helen Darroch and Chloe Jo Davis (head vegan glamazon at Girlie Girl Army.com) to the shoot. We three girls chatted about food and mood while cooking up a delicious pot of Indian Kitchari (keep an eye out for the recipe in my new Vegan Cookbook for Dummies – out this Thanksgiving!) – the video will be amazing, and I’ll let you all know when it gets posted online!

The best part about having a video shoot in your home is that a makeup artist comes over in the morning to make you look great! I also loved having a crew in my house that cleaned up at the end of the day. The director and camera man had lights, sound and moved all the furniture around to create the right look. I have to say I liked what they did with my apartment!

Here’s a behind-the-scenes Energizing Mood tip I used for this video shoot:

On the morning of a big day, like when I have to speak, present or be on camera, I always have a protein-rich breakfast with a little bit of whole grains. My breakfast this morning was sauteed tofu on Ezekiel bread (flourless, sprouted grain bread) with a side of greens! That’s right, some sauteed greens in the morning do wonders for your energy. I felt prepared, centered and my energy remained stable throughout that hectic day – even though my son was up half the night before!

I’ll be shooting another video in early April for a (hush-hush) cooking show, so I’ll let you know about that as soon as I can. Great things are happening right now ~ it’s up to me to get enough sleep, eat right and get some down time so that I can really bring my A-game to all of these amazing opportunities.

Alexandra

By Alexandra Jamieson

I was 25 years old and I felt tired, cranky, foggy and depressed. Every morning was a struggle, my afternoons were often punctuated with migraines, and every evening I crashed into bed totally depleted. I knew I wasn’t supposed to feel this bad, and I didn’t want to go on this way.

Once I discovered that what I was eating was creating my depression, exhaustion and mood swings, I was inspired to change my career so I could help other women to improve their lives without resorting to drugs, surgery or expensive therapies.  Food addicts, chocoholics, caffeine addicts, and just plain self-described “moody girls” all flocked to my practice – I guess you attract what you know.

A common theme among my clients is they feel compulsively drawn to certain foods again and again. Daily battles unfold where office workers struggle to stay away from the mid-morning double latte, the afternoon chocolate fix, the after-hours grilled cheese sandwich. Working moms find themselves sneaking snacks like chocolate chips, soda or French fries throughout the day – foods they wouldn’t want their kids to eat.

Often these same foods that we crave every day have a deeper hold on our brain chemistry than we realize. Food sensitivities can cause a craving-withdrawal cycle that not only affects your mood, but your waistline. Common foods such as dairy, coffee, chocolate, wheat, corn or eggs may actually be triggering an undiagnosed food allergy, which often leads to addiction to these foods, causing long-term mood disorders.

The human brain will often produce opioids when you eat one of these trigger foods. These same opioids reduce your perception and reaction to pain.  If you are allergic to wheat and diary, eating a grilled cheese sandwich is like taking a tiny hit of a narcotic. Years of constant consumption of these trigger foods lead to addiction. If your body starts to feel withdrawal symptoms because you haven’t eaten wheat or dairy in several hours, it will start to crave those same foods – your body needs its fix!

This allergy-addiction cycle can lead to irritability, migraines, depression, fatigue, constant digestion problems, arthritis and weight gain. Over the last 8 years I have worked with thousands of women to improve their mood and health by making simple dietary changes. Using a food-mood journal, elimination diets, and analyzing cravings, I have successful assisted countless women to identify and eliminate the underlying causes of their food cravings and mood issues.

But when I looked at the food she was buying, my mouth dropped open:

Equal, a plastic lemon, low-fat, non-organic milk, bacon, Pam Cooking Spray and Gatorade.

Does this look like your shopping cart?

The groceries this woman was buying might be shortening her life span and taking her quality of life down a notch. Here’s what I mean:

Equal: AKA Aspartame

In 1996, the FDA approved its use as a “general purpose sweetener,” and it can now be found in more than 6,000 foods. Serious complaints associated with this artificial sweetener:

Depression: In a study of the effect of aspartame on 40 patients with depression, the study was cut short due to the severity of reactions within the first 13 patients tested. The outcome showed that individuals with mood disorders were particularly sensitive to aspartame and recommended that it be avoided by them.

Headaches: Three randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled studies with more than 200 adult migraine sufferers showed that headaches were more frequent and more severe in the aspartame-treated group.

Instead: Try Stevia or Brown Rice Syrup

PAM: Cooking Spray

The oil isn’t organic, meaning chemical solvents could be found in trace amounts in the fatty liquid. PAM also uses propellants, including isobutane and propane, for the spraying action.

Instead: Use your own high-quality cooking oils and buy a refillable pump sprayer

Low-Fat, Non-Organic Milk:

Non-organic dairy cows are given constant doses of antibiotics to ward off infection in their cramped, unclean living conditions, and growth hormones to increase their milk supply. Both antibiotics and growth hormones can be found in trace amounts in non-organic dairy products.

Dairy consumption has been linked with higher rates of prostate and breast cancers, heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes. Symptoms of milk-protein allergy include asthma, cough, runny nose, sinus infections and recurring ear infections.

Instead: Use any other plant milk like almond, hemp, rice or soy

PLASTIC LEMONS: pasteurized lemon juice

The Vitamin C or ascorbic acid levels are greatly reduced in this “convenience food,” so you’ll get more flavor and health benefits from a real lemon. Acidic foods like lemon juice can also degrade the plastic and leach chemicals into the juice.

Instead: Try real lemons and juice them.

GATORADE: electrolyte replacement sports drink

High fructose corn syrup, numerous other sugars, and food colorings added to enhance “flavor perception” are just a few of the ingredients in this drink. Skip the mind-bending excito-toxins and added sweeteners.

Instead: Try young coconut water or those little Emercen-C packets and water.

I grew up healthy, full of energy and had a positive outlook on life. Even with a family history of mental illness and depression I had managed to dodge the genetic-bullet and usually felt pretty sunny, even in the wet, grey wilds of Oregon, my home state. Or had I?

Here I was, just starting my career path, and I was scared that the depression that had plagued and debilitated members of my family was finally showing up in me. So I went to a doctor. He wanted to put me on Prozac, saying “It could really help you feel better. You’ll probably have to take it for the rest of your life.”

What? Was my body lacking a prescription drug? That didn’t feel like the right path for me. I knew there had to be another option.

I started listening to Gary Null’s radio show on healthy living daily on my local radio station. I began to suspect that my diet had something to do with my mood and lack of energy. Oh, and the weight gain! I was up to 150 pounds, and I had never weighed more than 135! Something was afoot.

I made an appointment with a more holistic doctor who used Kinesiology, muscle testing, and nutrition as part of his overall methodology. The first thing he asked about was my diet. No other doctor had EVER asked me what I ate in relation to how I was feeling. So, I was honest and told him what my diet was like at that time:

Breakfast: cereal with milk, coffee with milk and sugar

Lunch: fast food, soda, french fries, Subway sandwiches, potato chips, fruit

Snacks: candy, soda

Dinner: pasta, pizza, take-out, soda, alcohol a few nights a week

This wonderful doctor pointed out that I wasn’t eating any fresh food, and that I was literally eating myself into depression, weight gain and fatigue.

Oh. I knew he was right. I had always been a skinny kid and got away with grim dietary habits for a long time because I didn’t put on weight easily. But now I was ready to do something about it.

I had hit bottom, and I knew my food choices were killing me….

*End Part 1