A new diet/ information that I have learnt

[Guest looper]

Hi,

So I've been doing alot of reading recently about diet and supplements to help OCD.

I got very desperate after an awful five months of OCD and trying different SSRIs with awful side effects. So recently I finally felt more calm and able to read and access information. Alot of what I have been reading is how your gut and brain are so well connected, that you have to help your gut to help your brain. There are very good books/websites that explain this.

I am only just starting a new diet this week which basically consists of good healthy food and these three things which I would like to share:

1. A good probiotic supplement everyday (something with millions of good bacteria)

2. A milk drink called Kefir, which you can make or find to buy. I've found a good company that I have started to order off. I drink tho first thing in the morning to go straight to my empty gut.

3. Bone broth (basically boiling meat bones in water & some onion for 4-6 hours) which releases lots of good stuff which helps heal your gut.

I am only just making my first broth tomorrow and have only been on this diet for a few days but thought I would share it for anyone who might want to try it. I can give more info on the kefir/supplements and books I have chosen and read I didn't want anyone to think I was trying to sell or promote anything. I'm hoping to post again soon with an update of the new diet, in the hopes that it could help with my OCD and anxiety, and maybe help others too

[gingerbreadgirl]

I have also heard about a possible connection between gut bacteria and mental health - it will be interesting to see what future research throws up about this link.

[Guest Jennifer8]

The gut is the second brain.

Just ask a parent of an autistic child who has done the whole diet change / probiotics and the results are amazing (you can't do half measures though, its got to be a total commitment!)

If you can help autistic symptoms, then who says OCD can't be helped as well.

(not everyone, I know..... )

[Guest looper]

Yeah, the gut is the second brain. And from alot of reading I have been doing, it sounds like more than just autism can be helped.

This is just one of the many articles, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/04/16/bacteria-on-gut-flora-causes-ocd.aspx

And just to say I am happy to try anything, not saying it all works, I am happy too just give it a shot

[Guest Saz]

I think you can heal many conditions/illnesses through nutrition and diet.

I'm currently changing my eating habits to hopefully prevent future illnesses.

Good luck x

[Guest looper]

Thanks Saz, how is your changing of eating habits going? x

[Guest looper]

Also, another article about the link of OCD/anxiety and the gut for anyone who might like to read....

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/anxiety-head-gut/story?id=20229136

?

[PolarBear]

This doesn't surprise me given the correlation between OCD symptoms and strep infections in PANDAS kids. I just read a short article where a university was doing trials treating OCD with antibiotics, of all things.

[daisy]

I don't know if anyone is interested but i looked back as i had remembered a thread on here called The Gut and Brain Link,it was started in Sept 2013. I didn't realise it was that long ago,but i found some interesting points.

[Guest looper]

Thanks Daisy, I will give it a search now ?

[Guest looper]

Daisy, I just read it & it was very interesting. They talked about the book I just bought

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gut-Psychology-Syndrome-Depression-Schizophrenia/dp/0954852001

Which I my next to read to understand the gut properly.

I know there is no quick fix with OCD, after ten years of suffering with it I just want to see if I can educate myself abit more to help myself in any way.

Does anyone here take probiotics atm?

[daisy]

Thats ok looper,i will have a look at the book you mentioned as well,as i can't tolerate medication for my OCD,and Anxiety. I also have a son with Epilepsy and Autism.

If i'm honest though i can't really understand all the scientific stuff in the articles!

[Guest Saz]

Hi looper

Like you, I've not been doing it for that long, few weeks at most. I've been researching and reading testimonies of people who have healed themselves through nutrition and changing their lifestyle. And it really does make sense. It's like flipping a switch in our bodies to reverse any damage done but also to help prevent any future health problems. Even though I've not read any specific information on nutrition and ocd I personally believe that if we feed our bodies the right ingredients then it will work to its best ability and we will function better both physically and mentally.

I'm talking about good homemade foods, lots of fruit and veg - organic if possible, and obviously cutting out all the processed stuff too. I am no expert and it really is just my opinion so hope I won't get into trouble for saying it.

All I know is that I had a couple days this week when I've eaten a bit of rubbish, pizzas etc and I've felt all sluggish. Also a little bit of exercise. I do 30-45 mins max 4-5 days a week and I'm really seeing the benefits, no need to do anything over the top...but this together with eating right, not less, should in my opinion really help us all to feel better x

Edit bit - I'm not saying all the above will cure ocd, if it did then I wouldn't keep posting lol but I think it helps us to feel a bit better in ourselves, hope that makes sense. Plus for me it's early days x

Edited May 30, 2015 by Saz

[Yrrow]

Thanks for posting this info. I'm going to give the probiotics a try.

[Guest Jennifer8]

I have my kids on Bio-Kult for everyday use but have used BioCare when they were younger and I take a soil based one.

There are lots of good probiotics on the market, not the little liquid bottles because they don't have enough probiotics and are full of sugar which is not helpful. You would be best either going to a nutritionist (with an interest in this area) for advice or speak to an independent health food store manager / owner who knows his/her business, Nutri-Centre is good as well (they have a good selection of probiotics in their fridges.

Google Dr James Greenblatt and OCD and you might find the articles online interesting.

[gingerbreadgirl]

I take biokult as well. I think this area is really interesting - not just for the obvious reasons, but because it shows how little we really know about the body and how much there is still to research and learn about. Maybe in a generation probiotics will be the first port of call for a number of conditions, who knows. it will be interesting to see and I'm keeping an open mind.

[Guest Jennifer8]

I even have my dog on 'Yumpro' dog probiotics for his gut!

[Guest Orwell1984]

Hi- looked at the reviews on amazon for that book you listed and it has helped somebody with their hair pulling and skin picking. I'm going to give it a go too. Thanks for posting that!

[Guest Orwell1984]

Actually, maybe this is why we with OCD can't trust our gut, because the gut is sick and sending wrong signals?

[Guest Tricia]

Daisy, I just read it & it was very interesting. They talked about the book I just bought

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gut-Psychology-Syndrome-Depression-Schizophrenia/dp/0954852001

Which I my next to read to understand the gut properly.

I know there is no quick fix with OCD, after ten years of suffering with it I just want to see if I can educate myself abit more to help myself in any way.

Does anyone here take probiotics atm?

I have read this book and I urge anyone to be very wary of the author's advice. Elderberries and flowers are safe to eat, but other parts of the tree are not! And, as for he ridiculous claims about vegetarianism...

[Guest looper]

Hi,

Thanks for all replies so far.

I want to do a longer reply later on the computer (using a phone atm) but I have just got 50 pages into this book today....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brain-Maker-Power-Microbes-Protect/dp/1473619351

And have read some very interesting stuff, including that 80/90% of your serotonin comes from your gut, so if we have a bad gut we aren't getting our serotonin.

Also I am reading books and the net and trying to peice together an action plan that works for me, (someone who has suffered from contamination OCD for ten years) and not just rely on one book, but essentially what I am reading is, I need to heal my gut.

[Guest Kelpie]

I take a probiotic, a vegan friendly one. As a vegan (for ethical reasons) I have noticed how my body is feeling better, I have a connective tissue disorder, with no animal products so I am hoping in time it helps my brain too. I am only 6 months in so time will only tell if I can help heal myself with food alongside therapy (ERP based)

[Guest Jennifer8]

I agree with Tricia, some diets are a bit too extreme to be either safe or manageable. I think focus on healthy first, with probiotics and reduce / cut out sugar and hopefully you will feel better from head to toe.

[daisy]

Hi Jennifer,i think you said you take bio-kult probiotics,can you tell me where to get them please,and are they better than the small bottles that you can buy in supermarkets for instance?

[Guest Tricia]

http://www.amazon.co...a/dp/0954852001

http://www.amazon.co...t/dp/1473619351

I really do implore anyone who is tempted to follow the advice in either of these books, that have previously been mentioned in this thread, to do a great deal of research first.

As I mentioned yesterday, the first book actually offers lethal advice - and the second is also harmful to health.

The author of the first - Natasha Campbell-McBride - states that no one can be healthy on a plant based diet. She says it can be used for cleansing the body short-term, but then animal foods must be introduced to provide nourishment! She adds that a vegan diet is more like a fast, she admits it is often successfully used in cancer treatment, but adds that anyone who remains on it will eventually become weak and ill. What utter rubbish!!! Some of the world's greatest athletes are vegan. A dear friend of mine who died last year, aged 97, was vegan for 90 years of her life and never visited a doctor, apart from twice during her pregnancy in the 40s.

Campbell-McBride runs a multi-million dollar supplement industry and makes ridiculously wild claims about many conditions, including dyslexia and autism.

Both these books remind me of the very dangerous Atkins diet, and look what happened to him! Atkins made ludicrous claims about weight loss, but the authors of the books we are talking about here are worse, in my opinion, because they are preying on very vulnerable, desperate people. I appreciate that some who are very overweight are equally desperate and vulnerable, but the people I know who adopted an Atkins style diet did so to lose around a stone and chose it because they could still eat the fatty foods they love. And how each and every one has since regretted it!

As for the claims that the gut is the second brain - clearly what we eat makes a huge difference to every cell in our bodies. And, given that logic, you could also say the gut is the second heart, second liver etc...

A healthy diet (neither of the above is!) can prevent (and reverse) more conditions than I can list, it can sometimes alleviate depression and help with anxiety, but the day it cures my son's dyslexia or my OCD will truly be a miracle!

Edited June 1, 2015 by Tricia