Not long after Newsweek's issue on depression, Kate Loftesness of The Eugene Weekly interviewed five northwest health practitioners about "Alternatives to Medication for Mentally Ill Patients". Each of these health professionals cares for depressed patients differently:
* Ron Unger, a Eugene therapist and clinical social worker, advocates group therapy.
* David W. Oaks is director of the Eugene-based mental health activist group MindFreedom International He works to insure patients have a range of care choices available to them.
* Ira Aronin, a mental health specialist and the lead worker for access-related issues with Lane County Behavioral Health Services admits: "Our understaffed program dealing with crises and complex cases makes pursuing alternatives difficult."
* Katharine Schneider is the clinical supervisor for therapy and care management at an in-patient psychiatric unit. "We treat people with acute mental illness and incorporate a diverse array of treatments." Patients enjoy creative art therapies such as journaling and poetry writing plus yoga and some receive pharmaceutical treatments.
* Dr. Kristen Allott (interviewed in betrween PESI sessions in Eugene) places, special emphasis on diet and nutrients. "I see my practice as complementing more mainstream therapies and treatments of mental health."
The alternatives to medication for mentally ill patients in Kate's article are mentioned only sparingly. The acceptance of these and other alternatives to medication for the mentally ill is growing.
"Different Paths to Mental Health" by Kate Loftesness at this link:
www.eugneweekly.com/2010/02/11coverstory3.htrr
Showing posts with label Depression. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Depression. Show all posts
Friday, July 02, 2010
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
THE DEBATE OVER ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATIONS
People often ask me as a provider of alternatives to antidepressant medications, if I am against then? My reply is "No, they save lives. They are often band-aids, however, and to remove them, the cause has to be addressed. This may include examining the emotional causes of depression by talking to a therapist or addressing the physical causes by making sure that the client is getting enough of the right nutrients to make neurotransmitters."
I also like to point out that part of the reason that antidepressants are not a very predictable medication is that the definition of depression is not a physiological definition. It is a behavioral definition. There is often some shame around using an antidepressant medication. This I feel is unfortunate. By way of comparison, there is little shame associated with taking hypertension medications. There is often more one can do to affect hypertension such as reduce salt, increase exercise and learn to meditate. All of which seem a lot easier than changing a challenging childhood.
NATION-WIDE CONVERSATION: USE of POPULAR DRUGS in the TREATMENT of DEPRESSION
On February 8, 2010, Newsweek Magazine's cover story featured an article by Sharon Begley entitled "The Depressing News About Antidepressants". Ms Begley's banner following the article title reads: "Studies suggest that the popular drugs are no more effective than a placebo. In fact, they may be worse."
Sharon Begley Factoid: "The number of Americans taking antidepressants doubled in a decade from 13.3 million in 1996 to 27 million in 2005."
Much of Begley's article is a re-cap of landmark research studies and reports. For example, early studies state that "antidepressants (tricyclics to the newer selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors--SSRIs--that target serotonin such as Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac and their generic descendants plus newer drugs that also target nor epinephrine) help about three-quarters of people with depression who take them,"
The Journal of the American Medical Association recently underscored the "Yes, but" findings: "Yes, the drugs are effective, in that they lift depression in most patients, but the benefit is hardly more than what patients get when they, unknowingly and as part of a study, take a dummy pill-a placebo." For some scientists who study depression and its treatments, the previously named antidepressants are "basically expensive Tic Tacs". Belief appears to be very good medicine.
Irving Kirsch and Guy Sapirstein, psychology researchers from the University of Connecticut, through their study did prove that patients improved by taking the drugs AND with the dummy pills. "The majority of the drugs' effect came from the fact that patients expected to be helped by them, and not from any direct chemical action on the brain, especially for anything short of very severe depression." By no means, does Kirsch advocate that patients suffering from depression who are presently taking the drugs stop. However, he does suggest that prescribing drugs is "not the best first choice in dealing with depression."
You may read the complete article at this link: http://www.newsweek.com.
I also like to point out that part of the reason that antidepressants are not a very predictable medication is that the definition of depression is not a physiological definition. It is a behavioral definition. There is often some shame around using an antidepressant medication. This I feel is unfortunate. By way of comparison, there is little shame associated with taking hypertension medications. There is often more one can do to affect hypertension such as reduce salt, increase exercise and learn to meditate. All of which seem a lot easier than changing a challenging childhood.
NATION-WIDE CONVERSATION: USE of POPULAR DRUGS in the TREATMENT of DEPRESSION
On February 8, 2010, Newsweek Magazine's cover story featured an article by Sharon Begley entitled "The Depressing News About Antidepressants". Ms Begley's banner following the article title reads: "Studies suggest that the popular drugs are no more effective than a placebo. In fact, they may be worse."
Sharon Begley Factoid: "The number of Americans taking antidepressants doubled in a decade from 13.3 million in 1996 to 27 million in 2005."
Much of Begley's article is a re-cap of landmark research studies and reports. For example, early studies state that "antidepressants (tricyclics to the newer selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors--SSRIs--that target serotonin such as Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac and their generic descendants plus newer drugs that also target nor epinephrine) help about three-quarters of people with depression who take them,"
The Journal of the American Medical Association recently underscored the "Yes, but" findings: "Yes, the drugs are effective, in that they lift depression in most patients, but the benefit is hardly more than what patients get when they, unknowingly and as part of a study, take a dummy pill-a placebo." For some scientists who study depression and its treatments, the previously named antidepressants are "basically expensive Tic Tacs". Belief appears to be very good medicine.
Irving Kirsch and Guy Sapirstein, psychology researchers from the University of Connecticut, through their study did prove that patients improved by taking the drugs AND with the dummy pills. "The majority of the drugs' effect came from the fact that patients expected to be helped by them, and not from any direct chemical action on the brain, especially for anything short of very severe depression." By no means, does Kirsch advocate that patients suffering from depression who are presently taking the drugs stop. However, he does suggest that prescribing drugs is "not the best first choice in dealing with depression."
You may read the complete article at this link: http://www.newsweek.com.
Thursday, March 04, 2010
RESEARCH: WHOLE DIET CUTS RISK OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY
I am particularly excited because in January 2010 the first large study came out that verifies what I have been seeing clinically. In American Journal of Psychiatry, investigators at the University of Melbourne in Australia, led by Dr. Felica Jacka, Ph.D., published significant research findings on the role of whole foods on depression and anxiety. This study with 1,046 women ages 20 to 93 years showed that women who regularly consumed a so-called traditional diet were more than 30% less likely to have major depression, dysthymia, and anxiety disorders compared with their counterparts who consumed a Western diet. In addition, the Western diet was associated with a 50% increased likelihood of depression.
What is the traditional or whole diet that helps prevent mental illness, according to the study? It is a diet characterized by eating regularly vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and high-quality meat and fish. The Western diet, on the other hand, is high in refined or processed foods and saturated fats. All of which may increase the risk of depression, the new research suggested. Dr. Jacka defines high-quality meat as red meat such as beef and lamb from pasture-raised animals as opposed to feedlot grown animals eating only a corn-based diet commonly found in the United States. The naturally raised animals produce red meats higher in omega-3 fatty acids that support general brain development and, more specifically, learning and memory.
Dr. Gomez-Pinilla, PhD, at University of California Los Angeles’ Neurotrophic Research Laboratory, agrees with Dr. Jacka on the profound impact of the study: “The psychiatric community has been somewhat reticent about advocating diet as a preventive and/or treatment strategy for mental illness. However, this research, as well as other recent studies may help convince clinicians about the ‘profound impact’ diet can have on mood and psychiatric disorders in general and perhaps shift clinical practice.”
In my clinical practice at Dynamic Paths, when a person successfully changes his or her diet to consume appropriate amounts of high quality protein, fruits, vegetables, and grains, as well as becomes aware of the processed foods he or she has been eating, emotional and physical lives change. The need for antidepressant medication to help manage emotions decreases and some people can even discontinue the antidepressant medications. This makes sense. Antidepressant medication works to alleviate the inability to make neurotransmitters, such as serotonin. Good food and appropriate nutrients also can help make serotonin and aid in healing the brain. As the client continues to see a therapist, “brain re-wiring” for the emotional causes of depression can effectively take place. Mental health professionals and clients report to me that as diets improve, clients can begin to work on harder therapy concerns. If a person has a history of anemia, weight gain, quick loss weight loss programs, the person may have nutrient deficiencies that nutrition alone will not correct. At Dynamic Paths, Abby and I evaluate individuals’ diets to assure the balance for mental and physical health. We can order blood panels to check to see if individuals have enough iron, B vitamins, and other minerals to make dopamine and serotonin.
What is the traditional or whole diet that helps prevent mental illness, according to the study? It is a diet characterized by eating regularly vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and high-quality meat and fish. The Western diet, on the other hand, is high in refined or processed foods and saturated fats. All of which may increase the risk of depression, the new research suggested. Dr. Jacka defines high-quality meat as red meat such as beef and lamb from pasture-raised animals as opposed to feedlot grown animals eating only a corn-based diet commonly found in the United States. The naturally raised animals produce red meats higher in omega-3 fatty acids that support general brain development and, more specifically, learning and memory.
Dr. Gomez-Pinilla, PhD, at University of California Los Angeles’ Neurotrophic Research Laboratory, agrees with Dr. Jacka on the profound impact of the study: “The psychiatric community has been somewhat reticent about advocating diet as a preventive and/or treatment strategy for mental illness. However, this research, as well as other recent studies may help convince clinicians about the ‘profound impact’ diet can have on mood and psychiatric disorders in general and perhaps shift clinical practice.”
In my clinical practice at Dynamic Paths, when a person successfully changes his or her diet to consume appropriate amounts of high quality protein, fruits, vegetables, and grains, as well as becomes aware of the processed foods he or she has been eating, emotional and physical lives change. The need for antidepressant medication to help manage emotions decreases and some people can even discontinue the antidepressant medications. This makes sense. Antidepressant medication works to alleviate the inability to make neurotransmitters, such as serotonin. Good food and appropriate nutrients also can help make serotonin and aid in healing the brain. As the client continues to see a therapist, “brain re-wiring” for the emotional causes of depression can effectively take place. Mental health professionals and clients report to me that as diets improve, clients can begin to work on harder therapy concerns. If a person has a history of anemia, weight gain, quick loss weight loss programs, the person may have nutrient deficiencies that nutrition alone will not correct. At Dynamic Paths, Abby and I evaluate individuals’ diets to assure the balance for mental and physical health. We can order blood panels to check to see if individuals have enough iron, B vitamins, and other minerals to make dopamine and serotonin.
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Neurotransmitters Improvement through Food and Behavior
Dr. Allott will be speaking at the Grand Rounds for Naturopathic Doctors at Bastyr University for the Spring 2010 lecture series on Tuesday evening, April 6 at University House at 5:30-6:45 PM. The title of her talk is “Neurotransmitters Improvement through Food and Behavior”.
The talk will focus on how we used different neurotransmitters in our daily lives and through over use, under use or not meeting the brain’s nutritional needs we can become deficient causing anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Although this lecture is directed to naturopathic doctors, all are welcome to come.
University House is located on 4400 Stone Way West, Seattle, Washington 98103. You won’t want to miss this lecture.
The talk will focus on how we used different neurotransmitters in our daily lives and through over use, under use or not meeting the brain’s nutritional needs we can become deficient causing anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Although this lecture is directed to naturopathic doctors, all are welcome to come.
University House is located on 4400 Stone Way West, Seattle, Washington 98103. You won’t want to miss this lecture.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
NUTRITION AND MENTAL HEALTH CONSULT GROUP
"Evening Binge Eating"
I am hoping to develop a free consultation group. It will start
as an open but reserve-a-seat gathering. Each meeting will
feature a topic. I will share some medical physiology as well
consistent emotional patterns of annonymous individuals. Then,
we will have a general discussion about how to address both the
emotional patterns and the behavorial patterns.
"Evening Binge Eating" is the first topic. The dates and times will
be Wednesday, December 9th and/or Thursday, December 10th
from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, at 943 N, 89th Street, Seattle.
At your earliest convenience, please reserve-a-seat via email or
telephone for the first session of your choice (Wednesday or
Thursday). I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Q&A When Best to Eat Sweets
Hi!I attended your recent CAM conference in Colorado. I had one follow-up question to ask, if you don't mind a quick one...
I have a client who I have been working with on food, eating, etc. for a while, and I learned a lot of information to pass along to her after hearing you talk. I have discussed protein and limiting carbs with my client, but she still insists on having a little "sweet" at some point during the day (such as a cookie or brownie). So, my question is: is there a optimal time of the day if one wants to have a little snack such as this? I am positive breakfast/morning would not be the time; my best guess might be between dinner and a night-time protein snack before bed? I thought you might be able to help me pass along a recommendation to my client while she is working on this. My hope is that eventually this snack time can be reduced or eliminated—or a more health alternative, such as a Clif bar, can be eaten instead, but for now, it's still there.
Thanks so much, I really enjoyed your presentation and gathered a lot of information from it (for personal use as well!)Krista
Krista-
Thank you for your question.
Snacks, like cookies, sweets, and ice cream, are one of the pleasures we have in life. I don’t believe that we should eliminate them. I often say to my clients, “If you are going to cheat, cheat well!” An important part of successfully managing our emotions is avoiding situations in which we feel deprived. We sometimes feel deprived when we get a little of something, so we end up taking a lot.
So when is a good time to have a sweet? My recommendation is to prevent the hypoglycemic roller coaster. The worse time to eat a sweet snack is away from a meal when the body has no protein and fiber from fruits and veggies. So, the easy time is right after a meal with protein and veggies or grains. The fiber in fruits, veggies and grains slow down the absorption of the sugars and the protein provides a slow burning fuel to keep us from being hypoglycemic.
I also ask what type of sweetener is in the sweet snack. I am very concerned about High Fructose Corn Sugar (HFCS) because studies show that it makes people hungrier and less motivated to participate in physical activity. This makes us eat more and burn less calories which contributes to weight gain. So for instance, homemade cookies with sugar are different than many purchased sweets because the purchased sweets usually contain HFCS.
The most important question is how does the sweet snack affect her? Is she tired/anxious/irritable/hunger two hours later?
As for protein bars, I think that they are a reasonable meal replacement when a person is too busy to eat or is forced to be late to a meal. However, protein bars tend to have a lot of calories, so hopefully the cookie choice has less calories then a protein bar. If she is pairing the snack with an apple or a meal, I think that would be a better choice. Plus, she is eating a cookie because she loves the cookie. It is an en-JOY-ment of life. I rarely run into people who find JOY in protein bars.
I have a client who I have been working with on food, eating, etc. for a while, and I learned a lot of information to pass along to her after hearing you talk. I have discussed protein and limiting carbs with my client, but she still insists on having a little "sweet" at some point during the day (such as a cookie or brownie). So, my question is: is there a optimal time of the day if one wants to have a little snack such as this? I am positive breakfast/morning would not be the time; my best guess might be between dinner and a night-time protein snack before bed? I thought you might be able to help me pass along a recommendation to my client while she is working on this. My hope is that eventually this snack time can be reduced or eliminated—or a more health alternative, such as a Clif bar, can be eaten instead, but for now, it's still there.
Thanks so much, I really enjoyed your presentation and gathered a lot of information from it (for personal use as well!)Krista
Krista-
Thank you for your question.
Snacks, like cookies, sweets, and ice cream, are one of the pleasures we have in life. I don’t believe that we should eliminate them. I often say to my clients, “If you are going to cheat, cheat well!” An important part of successfully managing our emotions is avoiding situations in which we feel deprived. We sometimes feel deprived when we get a little of something, so we end up taking a lot.
So when is a good time to have a sweet? My recommendation is to prevent the hypoglycemic roller coaster. The worse time to eat a sweet snack is away from a meal when the body has no protein and fiber from fruits and veggies. So, the easy time is right after a meal with protein and veggies or grains. The fiber in fruits, veggies and grains slow down the absorption of the sugars and the protein provides a slow burning fuel to keep us from being hypoglycemic.
I also ask what type of sweetener is in the sweet snack. I am very concerned about High Fructose Corn Sugar (HFCS) because studies show that it makes people hungrier and less motivated to participate in physical activity. This makes us eat more and burn less calories which contributes to weight gain. So for instance, homemade cookies with sugar are different than many purchased sweets because the purchased sweets usually contain HFCS.
The most important question is how does the sweet snack affect her? Is she tired/anxious/irritable/hunger two hours later?
As for protein bars, I think that they are a reasonable meal replacement when a person is too busy to eat or is forced to be late to a meal. However, protein bars tend to have a lot of calories, so hopefully the cookie choice has less calories then a protein bar. If she is pairing the snack with an apple or a meal, I think that would be a better choice. Plus, she is eating a cookie because she loves the cookie. It is an en-JOY-ment of life. I rarely run into people who find JOY in protein bars.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Audioacrobat: Hear Dr. Kristen Allott Speak.
On September 12, 2006 I participated in a teleconference chaired by Alida Schuyler. (See Talk: The Great Life in Recovery ) The title of the teleconference was Understanding Sugar Cravings: Nutritional Contributions to Anxiety, Anger, and Depression.
Alida generously recorded it on an Adobe format. You can listen for free by clicking on to this link http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WzhssBVQ
Alida generously recorded it on an Adobe format. You can listen for free by clicking on to this link http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WzhssBVQ
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
See Dr. Allott on YouTube:
Last winter a naturopathic student, Andrew Allshouse, invited me and another naturopathic doctor, Dr. Helen Palmer to participate in each filming a 30 minute TV program called “The Naturopathic Prospective”. It was show on public TV in July. Andrew has trimmed the piece down and mixed our shows into a 10 minute clip on YouTube. Here is the link for those of you who are no longer on dial up.
Dr. Allott on YouTube
Dr. Allott on YouTube
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
