The Mood Cure by Julia Ross is a book on nutritive therapy for easing or curing depression and anxiety. I am always a bit skeptical about stuff like this, though I do think, for instance, some Weston Price stuff and some other books on food (like I Quit Sugar) make sense to me, though of course I have very limited knowledge about any of this. Since I can react very badly to MSG I already have a reason to not like processed food. However, in spite of my reading over the years and my good intentions, I am a pretty typical American in that I eat too much processed and junk food.
This book focuses much of its attention on getting the proper nutritional supplements that are precursors to things like seratonin so that the brain can produce its own seratonin instead of relying on psychopharmaceuticals. I am always skeptical of this because I was told a long time ago by my old, very trusted pediatrician that things like vitamins don't really get retained by the body. That's why when you take them your urine can turn colors. It basically just washes through and doesn't stick! The body just doesn't absorb stuff like that all that well. It takes in nutrients through food instead. However, so many people swear by these things. And even Sean's doctor was saying that I should let him know if I start giving him cod liver oil or St. John's Wort as that can interact with his SSRI. So the body must be absorbing something? Why such a difference between vitamins and regular food in terms of digestibility and absorption? I do think also they have improved the absorption rate since those long ago days when the pediatrician cautioned me about relying on Flintstone vitamins for the kiddos.
The book is very clear about what kind of supplements to take for which kind of depression/anxiety. Ross has got a questionnaire to help you figure what type of depression the reader may be grappling with, plus she has lots of different 'kits' with summarized lists of supplements to take for various problems. She explains the science behind each one very thoroughly and always relates it to her experience with clients at her clinic. She's been in practice since 1980.
Since Sean is trying to wean away from relying on drugs for mood control, I really am gung ho to try these supplements. The doctor is hesitant because he doesn't really know anything about this nutritive approach. He is all meds. I tried finding someone around here who does nutritive therapy but honestly they scare me to death because they seem very New Agey - guru - weird. I am supremely skeptical there. There is someone who consults long distance but I looked up her website and she quotes Deepak Chopra and Eckart Tolle throughout and I thought, nope! Not for me! So I think I am just going to give this book to the doctor and force the issue with him. Also, we've got a really nice locally owned pharmacy and I really trust the pharmacist there, so hopefully with all this help we will figure this out.
The Mood Cure doesn't really stray into alternative medicine territory too much, though it does mention a couple of homeopathic supplements. What makes me trust The Mood Cure more is the fact that the author doesn't seem to be selling anything (well, except her book). But there are no tie ins with products she produces, etc. You can pick up these supplements at Whole Foods or any place like that. She does offer testing kits and some things through her office, but she doesn't push it and she also cites plenty of other sources for obtaining these supplements too.
The other thing that makes me trust the book is that Ross does repeat much of what I've read over the years in others places. She give good advice on eating better; getting optimum nutrition from your food to boost the brain's power to regulate mood. She warns you away from the usual culprits. She's got a two week menu that seems pretty practical. She wrote another book previous to this called the Diet Cure. Her contention is that one major reason for the rise in depression and people being prescribed SSRI's is due to the dramatic changes in our food and the way we eat. We simply aren't getting amino acids and trace minerals that we easily got before. For instance there is much more omega 3 in game meat than in farm produced food that is fed corn. Also there is a correlation between the rise in depression and anxiety disorders and the rise in the use of vegetable oils. Vegetable oils are full of Omega 6 fat, which we do need in our body chemistry, but too much impacts the production and absorption of Omega 3. And Omega 3s are necessary for focus and mood control. A nice aspect of this book is how practical it is. For instance she concedes that people just eat out a lot nowadays and they are too busy to cook at home from scratch, so she goes into some detail about how to get around that and still eat optimally.
So I am on board with trying all this out. I ran out to the store and got some initial stuff to begin with: 5-HTP, GABA, Stress B complex, Calcium/Magnesium/Potassium, L-Glutamine and flavored liquid cod liver oil (blech!). I haven't tried them yet. I am waiting to talk to the doctor before Seano tries. I need to read the book through one more time to really get the plan down, though I started taking notes halfway through. The book really put me into a home cooking mood. I cleaned out the fridge, started making menus for food that would work with the program and I started looking up recipes for things like salad dressings and mayo. This video isn't too intimidating:
All in all, this book gives me hope that even I, the mess that I am, can implement some of this at least and help Sean (and maybe myself!). Hopefully, the doctor will work with us and keep me on my toes in terms of doing this cautiously and sensibly.
Here's the website for The Mood Cure.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
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