Eat Your Way To Happiness
With days getting shorter and winter nights drawing in many people will suffer from the winter blues.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is officially recognised by doctors and psychiatrists as a medical condition.
It is thought to affect two million people in the UK and Ireland.
Following the results from a trial on mood, leading Nutritionist and mental health specialist Patrick Holford has developed a new group programme called the Feel Good Factor.
Based on his book of the same title, the programme offers practical, down-to-earth advice and encourages participants to follow proven mood lifting methods to make a real difference to how they feel without the need for medical drugs. His approach is supported by substantial research and backed up by poignant and motivating case histories which include those who suffer from low mood but who failed to get better with conventional approaches and recovered completely on Holford's regime.
As director of the Brain Bio Centre in London, an outpatient clinic for people with depression and anxiety, his team had access to thousands of cases of people who definitely didn't feel well - and got better by making simple diet and lifestyle changes.
Holford and his team surveyed over 55,000 people in Britain to find that eight in ten (81%) of us complain of low energy, one in two (48%) say they often feel depressed and have difficulty concentrating (47%).
The survey results inspired the 6 week study which was carried out involving 31 people with varying levels of mood disorder. The participants were asked to attend 6, two hour sessions and met once each week with one of Patrick Holford’s 80 zest4life Coaches, Nutritional Therapist Mary Walker.
They were shown how to follow Patrick's low GL mood food diet, balance blood sugar to even out mood swings, taught 'mindfulness' techniques and given coaching to create a wellness action plan which included exercise, meditation, natural supplements and techniques to improve quality of sleep.
Of the 31 that completed the 6 week trial 27 showed a significant improvement in the Hamilton Mood Score, 28 showed a significant improvement in blood sugar control - a well documented contributor to mood swings - and 27 out of the 31 showed a marked improvement in the overall health scores.
It seems that taking the focus off symptoms of depression and encouraging participants to focus on health in general was one of the key things that made a big difference. Participants were also encouraged to keep a 'gifts' diary - a type of gratitude list that documents positive experiences as part of what the programme describes as 'positive brain training'.
Participants responded positively to being part of a group:
"I have got so much from these sessions" says John who attended the London trial 2 it is so good to hear from the group members of their personal experiences of low mood and anxiety, it is illuminating to get all this information in one place. To combine the nutrition with the psychology part is very unusual."
One of the participants, a qualified psychologist and therapist herself had this to say, "For me, the whole experience was a gift. I've prayed for it, finding myself in a very difficult position after Easter. I learned things I didn't know and felt motivated to put what I learnt into practise. I found the presence and disclosure of the group members supportive and relieving."
Following The Feel Good Programme can transform the way people feel and think and renew enthusiasm for life. We teach simple life management techniques as well as provide coaching to follow a structured eating plan to improve mood dramatically. We teach the art of mindfulness as a powerful technique for practising living in the present and not dwelling on past events or worrying about the future - something that people who suffer from depression are often prone to.
Mary Walker, Co developer of the programme and qualified Nutritional Therapist.
The same advice can also help prevent Alzheimer's later in life - which Holford believes is a preventable disease, much like diabetes. "Only one in 100 cases of Alzheimer's is caused by disease. There are simple steps you can do to cut your risk dramatically, but the earlier you act that better, ideally from age 40 or 50.
One of these is to test your homocysteine level.
It's a pinprick blood test and determines if you are lacking vital B vitamins (B6, B12 and folic acid). If you are, this accelerates your brain shrinking as you age.
A recent trial by Oxford University researchers found that giving B vitamins to those with raised homocysteine levels more than halved the rate of brain shrinkage and improved memory. These same vitamins improve mood.
Two other nutrients have been nicknamed the 'sunshine supplements'. A lack of sunshine means less vitamin D, which is made in the skin with sunlight exposure, and less serotonin, the brain's happiness chemical. Serotonin is made directly from a food amino acid called tryptophan. There have been 27 studies now to show that giving 5-HTP boosts mood.
My levels on testing were rock bottom. Supplementing 5-HTP really made a difference. I am back in work, feeling my old self again - feeling fantastic. Your approach genuinely saved and transformed my life.
Fran, a patient of the Brain Bio Centre - who suffered from debilitating depression, lack of confidence and fatigue./div>You can learn about these simple steps to raise your mood by following the Feel Good Factor Programme which is running at the 02 Centre in Swiss Cottage and starts in October and January.
The course will also be available in other areas in the UK and Ireland shortly.
For details, contact Mary Walker on 07791 983541. www.zest4life.com