Professor Felice Jacka, nutritional psychiatry researcher and founder of ISNPR/International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research posted this exciting news and important request on the ISNPR facebook page:
The SMILES RCT, which is the first randomised controlled trial to test whether dietary improvement can actually treat depression, has now been accepted for publication in BMC Medicine (publication date 31st January).
As part of the media campaign, we will be needing to identify people who are willing to be interviewed. If there is anyone who has personally experienced a benefit from improving their diet, would you please volunteer for this purpose?
It’s a very important role, as the media coverage for SMILES will be limited if we can’t provide personal, first-person experiences to journalists. Clearly – for the sake of the field – it will be important to generate extensive media in order for clinicians and the general public to understand the implications and possibilities that arise from the RCT. Your help is enormously appreciated!
You can read more about this SMILES RCT here and the Anxiety Summit interview with Felice Jacka here: The Research – Food to prevent and treat anxiety and depression?.
Although anxiety was looked at in the study, Felice shared this regarding the type of interviewees they are looking for:
- We really need to keep a focus on the topic of the RCT, which is depression
- And to also keep it to those who improved the quality of their diet i.e. moving from a processed food diet, to one high in plant foods and healthy fats and healthy proteins
- Not a particular type of diet (e.g. not paleo, not gluten free).
If you’ve personally benefited from changing your diet in this way and you’d like to help by sharing your story with the media please comment on the blog (or send an email to support [at] everywomanover29.com) with details of your story and willingness to be interviewed, plus your location. Be sure to let us know how best to contact you.
Right now we’ll just be calling on those who meet the above criteria for the media interviews.
BUT if you’ve benefited from any other changes to your diet – for either anxiety or depression – feel free to share anyway, so we can inspire others to do the same.
Here is my story:
For me it was anxiety and panic attacks that resolved when I made dietary and other nutritional and lifestyle changes. I had been eating a vegetarian diet for a few years and I suspect the non-organic/GMO processed soy products (soy milk, soy yogurt, soy “butter” etc) were a big issue for me and damaged my gut. When I added back quality animal protein (grass-fed red meat, wild fish, pastured eggs and chicken), switched to organic produce, added healthy fats and removed gluten my mood improved dramatically. Now I eat a combination of a Paleo/SCD /low FODMAPS/low oxalate diet.
During the severe anxiety and panic attacks I also needed additional support in the way of the targeted amino acids GABA (this was a life-saver and stopped the panic attacks in a few days) and tryptophan, plus zinc, vitamin B6, evening primrose oil, a good multi and B complex and adrenal support. I still continue with some of these basic nutrients today.
My health issues have been complex as I’ve also had to deal with heavy metals, poor gut health and much more so I had what I call “a perfect storm” and yet diet has had such a huge impact for me!
Thanks for sharing your story! I’ll be sharing more as soon as the paper is actually published. Stay tuned for an interview with Felice too!
And big congrats to Felice and her team on this ground-breaking research!
UPDATE January 30, 2017: Here is the link to the research – A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the ‘SMILES’ trial)
Posting this on behalf of Alice (who posted this feedback on this blog https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/rct-of-dietary-intervention-smiles-trial)
Alice: Three days after I stopped eating grains, my chronic depression lifted and has never returned (it’s three years later now). I had been a vegetarian most of my life, discovered in my early 50s that I was gluten intolerant, went off grains, started banting (Cape Town craze!)and have never felt better. Gut, mood, bones, energy, skin … all better!
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Trudy: Alice, What a huge change for you to make and what a beautiful outcome! This is truly wonderful to hear and it warms my heart!
I’m very familiar with banting and the wonderful work of Professor Tim Noakes. My darling sister actually gave me a copy of his great recipe book “The Real Meal Revolution.” For other readers I’ll just share it’s similar to Paleo but with dairy included.
Your story is very similar to mine except that for me it was anxiety that resolved. I also changed to a combination of a Paleo/banting/SCD diet and saw huge benefits. I had also been a vegetarian but only for a few years but I suspect the processed non-organic/GMO soy products were a big issue for me. I needed additional support in the way of GABA, tryptophan, zinc, B6 and other nutrients and still continue with some of the basics.
I’m curious if you had been on medications for the chronic depression? Many feel their anxiety or depression is so severe that diet couldn’t possibly help!
I’ll pass this on to Felice. I know it’s a more evolved eating plan than they are looking for as far as media coverage for this particular research but stories like this contribute to the dialogue and will influence future research as multiple and more evolved dietary approaches are considered. As a nutritionist I see successes like this all the time but we do need the research to support this if it’s to become mainstream and the standard of care.
Thanks for sharing! Your story offers so much hope!
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Alice: Hi again Trudy and thank you for your warm and encouraging reply.
I don’t like relying on pharmaceuticals so I didn’t take antidepressants. Thank goodness as I have read Kelly Brogan’s book and seen how hard it can be to get off them.
I also found that as soon as I started eating a higher fat, lower carb diet my anxiety decreased hugely. No more insulin/adrenalin ups and downs. No more hypoglycaemic shakes that would send me snacking!
I also practise HeartMath regularly and noticed in the biofeedback how much the dietary changes helped me to become coherent and sustain that state.
Thanks so much for all you do to help so many people live less anxious lives.
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Trudy: Alice, This is so wonderful! Love HeartMath too and love your work and the strong connection to nature! so thanks for the work you do!
And everyone needs to read Kelly Brogan’s wonderful book “A Mind of Your Own” before considering SSRIs
I’m so happy to have found this site. I have an allergy to yeast and am supposed to follow a very simple diet that I keep failing at, but I’ve experienced my depression and anxiety completely lift when staying on the diet for a week or 2. Its just doing the footwork. You’d think the incentive to have relief of my moods would help, but I still slip all the time. Does anyone recommend supplements to help restore the gut while attempting to follow this diet?
Tracey
Often even having a strong incentive isn’t enough when the cravings take control. The amino acids can help if it’s the carb or sugar cravings that getting the better of someone with candida. More here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/the-individual-amino-acids-glutamine-gaba-tryptophan-or-5-htp-dpa-and-tyrosine-are-powerful-for-eliminating-sugar-cravings-often-within-5-minutes/
I also use products like DFH Oil of Oregano, DFH Allicillin and DFH GI Microbx and probiotics.
Some years ago in support of my husband’s then high cholesterol, I put my family on a low-fat/low cholesterol diet. I bought a book by the American Heart Association and followed that. We began to eat a lot of carbs: whole grain based cereals, breads, pastas, bagels, etc and cut back severely on our meat consumption, especially red meat. Always fairly healthy previously, I begun to have a number of health issues slowly appear from non-stop heart palpitations and hormonal fluctuations to anxiety, depression, and extreme insomnia. My youngest son began to have extreme behavioral issues and problems with self-regulation and then finally, severe depression in 3rd grade. We were both on a number of medications. Making a long story short, I happened upon a fat loss diet that had me cut out grains, most dairy, and sugar while focusing on mostly meat, fish, fats from nature such as butter, olive, and coconut oils. Nuts, seeds, and legumes were allowed too. These rules made it so I had to avoid processed foods. There was one day a week of eating anything.
Within 6 weeks I was shocked that I got much much more than fat loss. My depression, anxiety, mood swings, sleep issues and all but one pesky health symptom was left disappeared. I was stronger, faster, and felt energy never remember having. Excited and perplexed, I sought to learn more about this, not realizing that I was eating just like my great great grandparents. Taking what I learned, I helped another son with his diet for athletic performance (and he ended up winning the regional title that was his goal!). My youngest son with the depression and other extreme challenges asked if he should eat what me and my other son were eating too and so we decided as a family to do this together.
Within probably 4 weeks, we had a different child. Now, six and a half years later for me, and five an a half for my youngest son, our lives continue to be exponentially better and we are no longer on medications (the meds have been gone for years too). I am quite certain our brains and guts were inflamed and our brains starved of fat. While my son was healing, I saw a direct correlation with his behavior and the balance of fat and starchy carbohydrates. I was amazed at the effect of increasing butter and decreasing starchy carbs. We were shocked at his regression when he ate gluten and something that had food coloring, such as Skittles (after a good amount of healing, he no longer has such an extreme reaction when he is exposed, but we do not have gluten or highly processed food in our house and he brings a nutrient dense lunch to school).
After a while I discovered that when I ate gluten and conventional dairy on my “free day” I would get sick. I also discovered through an elimination diet and an autoimmune protocol, that when I removed legumes and soy, my Reynaud’s syndrome went into remission (it flares when I accidentally get exposed to them, especially soy).
This dietary approach helps me maintain a lean body after menopause and also has helped me avoid all the pesky modern-day menopausal symptoms that are incorrectly referred to as normal. I’m 54 and as of this writing have no aches or pains or no known health problems. I am full of energy and feel much more vibrant than I did when I was younger. I work extremely hard too!
Andrea
Thank you for sharing this wonderful transformation you and your family have seen with a very simple yet powerful dietary approach! Removing those processed foods and eating real whole foods is the way to go. How wonderful that you and your son have been able to quit the medications too.
I’m so glad you emphasize the gluten removal and addition of healthy fats (this is my approach for my clients too). Although this particular study is about a whole foods diet it does not focus on these aspects but I’ll be sharing this with Prof. Felice Jacka and her team so we can encourage future research on these more evolved diets for depression, anxiety, autoimmunity and overall health.
I healed severe depression and anxiety by changing my diet. Over the course of a year and a half, I was given 10 different psychiatric diagnoses and cycled through 10 different medications. I discovered the healing power of diet completely by accident, and it changed my life. I now live with no diagnoses and no symptoms. You can read my full story on my website. I am absolutely willing to be interviewed!
http://www.pillstopaleo.com/about/my-story/
I know they are not looking for specific diets, so I’m not sure if I’ll qualify. I started with the Whole30 (strict paleo), then went paleo, dabbled with a ketogenic approach, and now I eat a modified paleo diet, with some rice and goat dairy.
Thanks for spreading the word about this opportunity, Trudy!
Holly
Thanks for sharing your wonderful transformation through diet – I’m so happy for you! I’d love to hear how you discovered diet by accident?
I’d love you to explain this: “I started with the Whole30 (strict paleo), then went paleo” – how does the Whole30 (strict paleo) compare with paleo please? And what does your diet look like today?
I’ll be sharing this with Prof. Felice Jacka and her team to facilitate future research on these more evolved diets which we know are so beneficial for so many who suffer with depression and anxiety.
Hi Trudy,
I “accidentally” discovered it because I was trying diet after diet to try to lose the 60 pounds I gained on antidepressants. Eventually I stumbled across the Whole30, and I noticed it had the wonderful effect of balancing my mood. That’s when I threw myself into research regarding the connection between food and mood (and eventually became a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner to help other people in the same boat). You can read the full scope of everything on my website.
The Whole30 is a 30-day elimination diet that’s similar to paleo, but allows no added sweeteners (including stevia, honey, etc.), and no “recreating” treat-like foods to be “paleo-friendly.” It is designed to reset your tastebuds and really get you away from sugar cravings. The more standard paleo diet typically allows for some sweeteners, including honey, maple syrup, stevia, etc. I hope that helps!
Holly
Thanks for clarifying! Good to know about the Whole30 approach to Paleo – I see way too much of the treat-like foods being created and consumed in many of the Paleo communities! Using an approach like this to reset the tastebuds is great. As an aside, I find many of my clients also benefit from using the targeted amino acids to break the sugar addictions and carb cravings when diet and willpower are not enough – here is a story about GABA helping with sugar cravings and anxiety https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/gaba-for-ending-sugar-cravings-and-anxiety-and-insomnia/
I love that you did all this research on the food mood connection and now do this to help others in the same boat – we are kindred spirits 🙂
I will check out your website. I would love to connect. I feel your story can be mine soon.
I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and then Lyme disease 13 years ago. I ate a SAD diet at the time and after I got sick my diet got even worse. I used food to cope with my sadness. I felt I deserved to eat whatever I wanted if I was going to be sick for the rest of my life.
After my diagnosis the depression and anxiety came on fast. I took a few different anti depressants, lots of anti anxiety and sleep medication medication for 9 years. I treated the Lyme disease with antibiotics for 8 years and just kept getting sicker.
When I could no longer swallow another antibiotic without vomiting I searched for an alternative practitioner. I met my healer! She said I had the worst digestion she had ever seen and once that was fixed, I would be fine. I thought she was nuts but had nothing left to loose so I followed her ideas.
She asked me to do a big herbal parasite cleanse and said I had to get off all prescription medications. I was terrified. I did choose to use cannabis oil in the beginning to deal with my pain, depression, anxiety and insomnia. In the beginning I was following a vegan diet and it was a good cleanse for me but I was not satisfied or having the success I wanted.
I saw a video of a Dr. who got out of her wheelchair using food. I made the switch and went completely grain and dairy free and added back grass fed beef. In 4 months I was symptom free and as happy as could be. I lost 100 pounds too which was just a bonus. It has been 3 years now and I still feel great and no longer need the cannabis.
I am in Oregon and would love to be interviewed. I love sharing how real food changed my life!
Beth
Thanks so much for sharing your journey and story of recovery – what a transformation! I’m so happy for you!
I also love that you are now helping others with dietary approaches for autoimmunity and mood issues.
I’m very familiar with the incredible work of Dr. Terry Wahls and the Wahls approach for MS and interviewed her on the last Anxiety Summit – anxiety is very common in the MS community(https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/multiple-sclerosis-anxiety-wahls-protocol/). The research she is doing is also so very encouraging for MS and other autoimmune conditions. As an aside they are using her dietary approach for a Parkinson’s disease study https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/parkinsons-disease-multiple-sclerosis-diet-research/
As with everyone who is sharing on this blog, Prof. Felice Jacka and her team will have access to this information. My goal and hope is that it will facilitate future research on these more evolved diets which we know are so beneficial for so many who suffer with depression, anxiety and autoimmune diseases.
I was dx with bipolar at 18 years old. Suffered panic attacks and the random severe mood swings that made absolutely no sense. I was sad for days to weeks only to be followed with unrealistic overly-exuberant highs where I had the energy of a toddler on sugar and the signature grandiose thoughts that I could simultaneously fly and conquer the world and do all the things! For a day. Then the next day felt numb. And resorted back to “cutting” just to feel something. I never cut for attention. In fact not even my closest friends knew I did it. It was for me and I hid it.
By 2006 I had started a new job. The mood swings were hideable but affected my relationship with my ex boyfriend. By 2009 my anger was so bad I would get home and punch things. Combo of inability to control my mood and events at work.
2010 my oldest sister introduced me to Paleo. I was soon dx celiac, cut out grains and have been med and *mostly* mood swing/manic free ever since. No panic attacks. All with faith and food, made it to 30 years old.
I have never felt more emotionally stable. Even through the death of my youngest sister and big life events, my emotions have been that of a normal person. Explicable. Expected. Level. No extremes.
Krysti
How wonderful to hear about your transformation through diet. I am sorry to hear what you went through but thank you for sharing how you felt before changing to a Paleo diet. I know it will be helpful to many who read this.
And my sympathies about the loss of your youngest sister.
As with everyone who is sharing on this blog, Prof. Felice Jacka and her team will have access to this information. My goal and hope is that it will facilitate future research on these more evolved diets which we know are so beneficial for so many who suffer with depression, anxiety and have a bipolar disorder diagnosis.
I used diet to cure my suicidal depression, and I’m willing to be interviewed. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and clinical depression, and later lost my diagnosis, with the only difference being diet change.
I had leaky gut and a leaky blood-brain barrier, so food particles such as casein and gluten were leaking through to my brain and acting on it like opiates, which manifests as mental issues including depression. I wasn’t digesting my protein, so I wasn’t getting the amino acids I needed for healthy brain chemistry, which manifests as mental issues including depression. I had heavy metals (mercury and lead) in my tissues and brain, which causes mental issues including depression. I had an overgrowth of candida and other bacteria, yeast, and parasites, which causes mental issues including depression. I had low thyroid function, which causes depression. I was low in vitamin D and other vital nutrients, which causes depression. The foods I was eating and resulting toxins in my system caused general inflammation; inflammation of the brain causes depression. It is common for people with depression to have all of these underlying issues, and certainly at least some of these issues.
Depression is a physical illness, but it does have mental and emotional components that can also be helped by changing the diet. For example, as my body was starving to death because it couldn’t digest the food I was feeding it, there was an underlying belief in my system that I shouldn’t “be here,” that I wasn’t worthy – and this belief manifests as depression. Feeding my body foods it could tolerate was an act of self-love that my body could literally feel.
What saved me was switching to whole foods, but more specifically, very nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory, traditionally-prepared whole foods. Pastured meats and eggs and bone marrow and organ meats, wild-caught seafood and fish, homemade bone broth, fermented sauerkraut, well-cooked non-starchy veggies, and extra fats (lard, duck fat, coconut oil, avocados, etc.) were my staples. I also had to remove allergens, which for me were dairy and gluten, and I had to remove grains and legumes. Lastly, I used supplements made out of whole foods, so I could use therapeutic doses of nutrients.
I lost my depression 9 months after making the diet change. Over time, without having to do any specific cleansing or chelating, my body was able to process and cleanse itself of the heavy metals, bacteria overgrowth, etc; my nutrient levels were replenished; my gut and blood-brain barrier healed; and my brain chemistry became balanced.
4 years later, I can eat any whole food (even my allergies disappeared), and there is no trace of the depression, suicidal ideation, bipolar disorder, anxiety, panic attacks, dissociation, or other types of chronic illness (chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, heart failure, autoimmune disease, etc.) that I used to suffer from daily. I feel peace, faith, joy, excitement – things I literally didn’t know existed 5 years ago. As a certified nutritional therapist, I can say with total certainty that it was my diet changes that cured my depression and saved my life.
Jaclyn
Thanks so much for sharing your journey and story – what a transformation with nutrient dense real foods and addressing the gut, hormones, inflammation and nutritional deficiencies! I’m so happy for you!
I also love that you are a now a certified nutritional therapist and helping others!
As with everyone who is sharing on this blog, Prof. Felice Jacka and her team will have access to this information. My goal and hope is that it will facilitate future research on these more evolved diets which we know are so beneficial for so many who suffer with depression and bipolar disorder.
Hi I cut out gluten/grains, sugar, diary,alcohol, and caffeine for 30 days and noticed no difference in my anxiety. For a week I added gluten/grains and dairy back in but have now taken gluten back out. I have noticed no change in mood or energy. I am constantly hungry and have lost a lot of weight.
Everything I read says to change your diet but does it just not work for some people?
Lauren
Many people observe mood and even energy improvements when making these changes. Others need to also address some of the issues that may be caused by gluten sesnitivity (like leaky gut leading to low iron or low zinc etc – and actually healing the gut) and why a person is drawn to say caffeine (like adrenal issues). Many of my clients also need neurotransmitter support – like GABA, tryptophan etc. And having that quality animal protein at breakfast helps so much with blood sugar control and anxiety levels.
Regarding being constantly hungry and losing too much weight – making sure to be eating enough healthy fats is very important.
I’d be curious to hear what you daily eating plan does look like?