Surviving Your Antidepressants
First, toss out that bagel and coffee in the morning, then bid a tender farewell to that Cherry Garcia ice cream. Now say hello to more protein, folates, unrefined foods, and omega-3 fats. Each meal of the day is based on roughly one third protein to two thirds carbohydrates (with fruit and vegetables counting as carbohydrates). A typical dinner might be four ounces of chicken or fish with brown rice and vegetables topped off by fruit and cheese. Breakfast might be based around an egg, and lunch tunafish.
Call it homage to the pancreas, if you like, which is typically thrown out of whack by sugars and carbohydrates.
Sugar tends to give the body a quick energy rush followed by an inevitable crash, leaving one sluggish and at the mercy of an unrelenting series of compelling sugar cravings. The pancreas is so confused at this stage that it indiscriminately pumps insulin into the system, which brings on a vicious cycle of eating and overeating, with the pounds piling on and the energy dropping off.
Carbohydrates should be seen as slow-acting sugars. That bagel in the morning is going to be converted into sugar, which doesn't bode well for the rest of your day. Carbohydrate cravings can be as destructive as sugar cravings. True, there is real food value in many carbohydrates, but people taking antidepressants need to be on guard.
Protein, because it digests slowly, has a way of smoothing the system's highs and lows, and eventually reduces the destructive cravings that leave one feeling fat and sluggish. The ironclad rule here is to have protein with every carbohydrate. Thus, if you are reaching for an English muffin (whole wheat, of course) you should be topping it with tuna or peanut butter or cheese.
Alcohol and tobacco, needless to say, are taboo, and so is caffeine, which triggers the release of adrenaline and signals the liver to release sugar into the bloodstream. Caffeine also stays in the system for two days, which can disrupt sleep.
Tied into the diet is a common sense exercise regime.
Those who try the program may feel headachy and drowsy for the first two or three days, but Prof Hedaya claims an 80 percent success rate for those who stick with it, and that after four or five days, the dreaded sugar and carbohydrate cravings begin dropping off and energy starts returning.
If the program sounds excessively rigid and Spartan, it pays to bear in
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