“These newsletters serve a demographic of highly intelligent readers, and deep thinkers with a passion for ideas, critical thinking, and unknown possibilities. The path to finding happiness are among those ideas. Readers of my posts are usually tired of being patronized elsewhere by fact-less, opinionated know-nothings, who complain about everything they don’t like, but lack a willingness to think about, find resources, or create life hacks, shortcuts, and solutions to fix what they don’t like.”
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On a personal note: Please excuse grammatical errors, typos, repetition, and any general nonsense, and such in this post. I am getting a bit older now, and I have about 20,000 pages of information that must get published before I leave the mortal coil. I simply write and publish more than my humble editors are able to correct. If you find enough errors you are welcome to contact me about being an editor of my work.
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Q. Lewis, I often get depressed in the winter but it isn’t SAD (seasonal affective disorder). Getting more sun or using a light lamp doesn’t seem to help. Do you have any tips for healing my depression? I need help to be happy!
A. Often intense sadness, unhappiness, and depression symptoms can be caused by allergic reactions.
According to Taber’s Encyclopedic Medical Dictionary, an allergy is "An altered reaction of body tissues to a specific substance (allergen) which in non-sensitive persons, will, in similar amounts, produce no effect."
The word allergy means "altered reaction” and there are two prevailing views concerning what the biochemical application of the definition of "allergy” should be. The mainstream or "reductionist" school of thought insists that for a reaction to be allergic there must be a demonstrable immunological mechanism underlying the altered reaction, e.g. antibodies forming in opposition to the allergen or antigen. The other school of thought and the one embraced by a good part of the alternative and the complementary medical community believes that it is enough to simply recognize a specific substance as the source of an individual’s reaction.
Whichever definition one wishes to use the experience is the same. Reactions such as swelling, itching, depression, mood swings, or other mental responses result because the body identifies this food or substance as an invader or as a potentially dangerous substance, and then reacts to the intrusion.
How Hypersensitivity Reactions and Allergies Can Lead To Depression: In addition to the six essential nutrients and many other non-essential nutrients that are found in food many commercially manufactured foods contain synthetic chemical compounds, otherwise known as "additives" that have been put in these foods during processing. The problem with synthetic non-nutritional additives is that they can cause depression, mood swings, and other emotional problems in certain individuals who are extremely sensitive to these chemicals in food and who will react to them.
Among the symptoms that can be tied to allergic or sensitivity, responses are stress, depression, anxiety, confusion, phobias, mental fatigue, irritability, loneliness, hopelessness, worry, shyness, brooding, headaches, heart pain and palpitations, hyperactivity, attention deficit, sadness/despondency, and fatigue
Delayed Allergy: Delayed allergy results when something that has been eaten or inhaled consistently over a period of time is suddenly reacted to where there was no previous reaction. To isolate this type of condition you should keep a detailed diary of your meals. This diary should include (l) which foods you eat; (2) when you eat each food item; (3) how much you eat of each item; and (4) your reactions, if any, to each food, even seemingly insignificant reactions.
In this way, you can better isolate specific symptoms, associate the reactions with certain foods, and then avoid those foods. Although this method for identifying food sensitivity is obviously inexpensive, it is not as accurate as the other procedures mentioned.
You can confirm an allergen by abstaining from any foods that you believe might be causing the reaction. When the symptoms subside avoid that chemical or food for about a week. Then add a dose of the avoided food or drink and observe the results. If the same emotional or physical symptoms return within 30 minutes you have identified the culprit. Avoidance of the allergen is recommended. This system can be applied to a whole range of chemicals as well as beverages and foods. It is an objective, repeatable approach. It is also a reflection of Dr. Roger William’s theory of biochemical individuality. Williams stated that different foods may produce different symptoms in the same person, and the same food will produce different symptoms in different individuals.
* PULSE TEST --- Dr. Arthur Coca an immunologist developed this test when he discovered that , there is a rapid increase in the heartbeat - 20 or more beats above normal when people eat foods they're sensitive to.
Here's how to take the test.
1) Take your resting pulse rate when you awake in the morning. Do this by taking a watch with a second hand counting the number of beats in a 60-second period. (A normal pulse reading is 50 to 70 beats per minute.)
2) Now eat food you suspect is causing your allergy. Now take a pulse reading.
3) Take your pulse again after 15 minutes. If your pulse rate has increased by more than 10 beats per minute, you are probably sensitive or allergic to the food.
4) Eliminate it from your diet for at least two weeks. If you are allergic or sensitive to this food your symptoms should subside.
* RAST. The radioallergosorbent test, simply known as RAST, is an inhalant test that determines antibody levels for specific allergens that might be present in your bloodstream. RAST not only identifies which inhalants cause allergic responses but also shows the degree of severity of each response. Therefore, it is especially helpful in identifying the appropriate treatment.
“I also understood why my mom wasn’t into processing her feelings, and how she was taught to just get over tragedy. To survive, she had to believe things like depression and allergies were a choice.”
*CYTOTOXIC FOOD TESTING: In this lab test, a doctor or technician uses a blood sample to test the reaction of your blood cells to 150 or more different foods. Using a microscope, the doctor or technician determines your allergy to foods by observing how severely each food destroys white blood cells. Cytotoxic tests seem to be less specific than the results of RAST testing.
* PROVOVATION-NEUTRALIZATION: a physician who specializes in Multiple Chemical Sensitivity generally administers this diagnostic procedure. Various concentrations of suspected substances are placed under the tongue or injected into the skin of the patient. After this procedure, the patient reports any symptoms that occur. The test is then considered positive. The next step is to give the patient various concentrations of different substances which may include chemicals, food extracts, hormones, and other natural substances until a dose is found that eliminates or "neutralizes" the symptoms. A combination of substances may be prescribed as "neutralizing" agents. Unlike
The "Neutralization" is similar in some ways to the desensitization process used by allergists. The diagnosis of sensitivities is less scientific with MCS since greater respect is given to the subjective judgments of the physician.
The Takeaway
Initially we may not even notice the connection between the food, the environment, and physical or emotional symptoms. You might eat a certain food and three or four days later begin to experience fatigue, depression, headaches or other symptoms. Many nutritionists and physicians report that people who constantly eat the same foods on a regular basis over an extended period of time can develop a sensitivity or allergy to those foods. Food sensitivity may also develop from weak adrenal gland function, low digestive enzymes and poor nutrient absorption. Do not ignore allergies and sensitivities as a cause of your depression. The evaluation tools described above will help define whether this is an area requiring special attention.
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Author: Lewis Harrison is a practical philosopher, an Independent Scholar, and a Results-Oriented Success Coach. He has a passion for knowledge, personal development, applied game theory, self-improvement, creativity, innovation, problem-solving, functional medicine, natural healing, and story-telling. He is a practitioner of Transmoderm Zen. Lewis Harrison is also a speaker, best-selling author, and the creator of the Best Course to Happiness…at Last.
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This newsletter is an excerpt from the Best Course to Happiness, at Last
Click on theSmiley face just below to learn more about the course …
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