29 replies to this topic

[Anewlife]

And why

Here is my list:

Fish/Fish oil (this helped me rebuild my brain after amphetamines)

Avocados (I can feel the tryptophan)

Olive oil (has pain relief properties)

Flax oil (for the omega 6 and 9)

Liquid chlorophyll (this quickly raised my platelet count with spreads serotonin around the body)



Not so much food:

Milk + Magnesium taken seperatly (Calcium and magnesium are needed in a large amount)

Things I need to try:

Coconut oil (need to try this still but have heard good things)

Tart cherries before bed (high anti inflamatory and also contain a small amount of melatonin)



I also find either an Apple or blueberries great to have upon waking up to get you out of bed.

[Mind]

Blueberries

[FreudsHedgehog]

Dark chocolate has noticeable positive effect for me.

[nupi]

I find it mind-boggling that someone would want to supplement Omega-6 but maybe that's just me?

[Mind]

Dark chocolate has noticeable positive effect for me.

Me too, the darkest I can get my hands on - always over 70% cocoa.

[Thorsten3]

My top food would be Bee Pollen. Just amazing. It has literally made a huge impact for me. I also take maca (cycled), which is very good too. In fact, the more raw food you can eat, the better.

Dark chocolate has noticeable positive effect for me.

Me too, the darkest I can get my hands on - always over 70% cocoa.

Why don't you go for raw chocolate instead? Is it just a matter of taste?

With myself, I personally can't eat raw chocolate, as I don't care for the psychoactive effects. I used to love the high it produces, but it seems more detrimental to me these days (first hour or so is pretty cool, then a horrible crash). It is defintely a stimulant, similar to coffee, but less intense.

Edited by Thorsten2, 23 December 2012 - 05:07 PM.

[Thorsten3]

And why

Here is my list:

Fish/Fish oil (this helped me rebuild my brain after amphetamines)

Avocados (I can feel the tryptophan)

Olive oil (has pain relief properties)

Flax oil (for the omega 6 and 9)

Liquid chlorophyll (this quickly raised my platelet count with spreads serotonin around the body)



Not so much food:

Milk + Magnesium taken seperatly (Calcium and magnesium are needed in a large amount)

Things I need to try:

Coconut oil (need to try this still but have heard good things)

Tart cherries before bed (high anti inflamatory and also contain a small amount of melatonin)



I also find either an Apple or blueberries great to have upon waking up to get you out of bed.

The benefits of avocado are probably not related to tryptophan at all. It is a very nutritious fruit, containing (in its raw state) monounsaturated fats, minerals and vitamins. There are also other health promoting compounds in it, but I forget what they are. I know there is something in it that is very good for male libido. I eat one every morning, blended in a smoothie.

Coconut oil is amazing. Just make sure you buy the good stuff, and not the cheap shit that is hydrogenated and infected with deadly trans fats. Coconut oil will do wonders for your skin (as does cacao, BTW).

Flax oil is ok, but it's probably even more healthy to eat the seeds in their raw form. I may be wrong but I was always under the impression that the oil looses its mineral content (which is pretty impressive with the seeds) when it is processed.

Olive oil is great. I use it every day on salads. I think the general consensus around here is that monounsaturated fats seem to be neutral, in regard to longevity. I know there are threads around here discussing health promoting aspects, but there are also studies out there showing negative consequences for longevity purposes.

I avoid fish altogether. The mercury issue isn't the only reason I don't buy it. It's too bloody expensive. Also though, with the fish oil, it isn't something you even neccesarily need to put into your diet. If you drastically cut down on your omega6s (which are elevated in comparison to omega3 by a ratio of 1-20 with standard western diets, in some cases), you won't really need to supplement much omega3. If you eat organic, wild produce (inc fish), cutting out all man made rubbish (basically anything in a pot, tin, packet,etc), you certainly won't need to gulp down fish oil.

Edited by Thorsten2, 23 December 2012 - 05:24 PM.

[noot_in_the_sky]

Avocados, they taste great with scramble eggs and a little cayenne pepper.

Cocoa, I use the powder form with a protein shake daily.



Btw, have anyone try euphoria longan fruit?

https://www.ncbi.nlm...pubmed/20064595

The memory-enhancing effects of Euphoria longan fruit extract in mice.

Source

Department of Life and Nanopharmaceutical Science, Kyung Hee University, Hoeki-dong, Dongdaemoon-Ku, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

AIM OF THE STUDY:

The fruit of Euphoria longan (Lour.) Steud. (Sapindaceae) is sweet and edible. Dried Euphoria longan fruit is prescribed as a tonic and for the treatment of forgetfulness, insomnia, or palpitations caused by fright in traditional Chinese medicine. The effects of aqueous extract of Euphoria longan fruit (ELE) on learning and memory and their underlying mechanisms were investigated.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Aqueous extract of Euphoria longan fruit (ELE) was administered to ICR mice for 14 days. Piracetam was used as a positive control for its known memory-enhancing effects. Memory performances were assessed using the passive avoidance task. The expressions of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pERK) 1/2, phosphorylated cAMP response element binding protein (pCREB), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), doublecortin (DCX) and the incorporation of 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) in hippocampal dentate gyrus and CA1 regions were investigated using immunohistochemical methods.
RESULTS:

The step-through latency in the ELE-treated group was significantly increased compared with that in the vehicle-treated controls (P<0.05) in the passive avoidance task. Piracetam-treated group also showed enhanced cognitive performaces in the passive avoidance task. Immunohistochemical studies revealed that the number of cells immunopositive for BDNF, pCREB, or pERK 1/2 was significantly increased in the hippocampal dentate gyrus and CA1 regions after ELE treatment for 14 days (P<0.05). DCX and BrdU immunostaining also revealed that ELE significantly enhanced immature neuronal survival, but not neuronal cell proliferation in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus.
CONCLUSIONS:

The present results suggest that subchronic administration of aqueous extract of Euphoria longan fruit enhances learning and memory, and that its beneficial effects are mediated, in part, by BDNF expression and immature neuronal survival.

[Bemiller16]

Dark chocolate has noticeable positive effect for me.

Me too, the darkest I can get my hands on - always over 70% cocoa.

I just bought 5lb raw organic cocoa powder, great for smoothies and you only need a little bit.

Didn't see it mentioned, maybe it's obvious, green tea. I try to have 5-10 cups a day.

I have at least 1+ cup of strong (ideally organic) coffee per day which is great for its antioxidant content and its ability to hasten processing speed.

[Next]

I feel ya on avocados.

My brain is in tip top shape after a salmon sushi roll and 2 cups of green tea. Might be because of the tiny bit of avocado in most rolls.

Anybody just feel great after consuming a few servings of raw broccoli? I'm convinced that raw broccoli is something magical.

[anagram]

By switching out my protein and adding carbs, I noticed I could think much more clearly.
Next, do you eat a lot of dairy? I to feel much better after eating broccoli but I stopped eating so much due to risk of thyroid in balance.
Having a lot of fats in my diet helps my mood.

[medievil]

butter

[Next]

By switching out my protein and adding carbs, I noticed I could think much more clearly.
Next, do you eat a lot of dairy? I to feel much better after eating broccoli but I stopped eating so much due to risk of thyroid in balance.
Having a lot of fats in my diet helps my mood.

Where do you get the idea of thyroid imbalance from too much broccoli? I only eat a moderate handful a day.

I eat 2 cups of greek yogurt while scooping up like only half the fruit shit on the bottom to minimize carbs but still fruity taste.

I drink 2 whey protein shakes a day. About 100 calories of cheese (feta, gorgonzola, parm) per day with my daily salad.

Average amount I'd say.

This thread has totally reminded me about how much better I feel after eating guac or avocados. Off to the grocery store.

[renfr]

Dark chocolate (always 85% Lindt), good source of catecholamines, highers HDL and generally good for the heart. Not too much though as it contains a lot of iron.
Goji berries are also a good superfood, lots of aminoacids and some vitamins inside, it has some longevity potential as well.
Fish in general, because I like it and because it contains fish oil.
The classic green tea too, good for detox.
Red apples, brown rice and almonds, best sources of boron which increases testosterone!
And soon my favorite will probably be coconut oil, I read a lot of reports about it, seems to be very good for mental health, good source of ketones for the brain, can even reverse dementia and improve alzheimer's. Good stuff to switch from high sugar diet to mixed sugar/ketone diet.

I eat 2 cups of greek yogurt

I concur, greek yogurts are the tastiest yogurts, yum!

[Strelok]

Sardines, Kombucha, Kefir, coconut water

[leftside]

Blueberries
Coconut oil
Flax seed oil
Raw cacao nibs
Seeds (sunflower, flax, pumpkin, chai)
Nuts (almonds, walnuts)
Oats
American ginseng root
Olive oil

Edited by leftside, 12 March 2013 - 11:07 PM.

[hippocampus]

Why would oats be good for mental health? I mean, I eat it every day and I know it is healthy, but has there been any particular study about connection to mental health?

[Thorsten3]

Why would oats be good for mental health? I mean, I eat it every day and I know it is healthy, but has there been any particular study about connection to mental health?

You know they are healthy? Why?

I always thought that grain of any type isn't necessarily a good thing for the human gut.

Gluten free products are probably slightly kinder, but humans didn't evolve on grains (oats included). We didn't have any large mills, milling these grain products down, then living off wheat, oats and barley, to our hearts content - over hundreds of thousands of years, of evolution.

Oats, are slow release energy foods. One or two vitamins, and a source of soluble fibre. Slow released energy food will keep blood sugar stable, thus, preventing dips and mood crashes.

But, compare them to meat, for instance, and their nutritional content is pretty poor.

Like flax seed though, anything that helps you go to the toilet more often, expelling waste and toxins, will definitely be of benefit to mental health. I eat flax for this very reason (I include it, despite the fact, I go out of my way to avoid PUFAs - flax is the only thing I've discovered, thus far, that does the job). So perhaps people might perceive oats as being healthy in this respect?

I haven't personally noticed any mood lift from eating oats though, from past experience.

Edited by Thorsten2, 24 March 2013 - 12:18 AM.

[Optimism]

Where do you get the idea of thyroid imbalance from too much broccoli? I only eat a moderate handful a day.

File this under the "too much information" section, but I notice when I eat broccoli, I get....a certain sexual side effect.

My libido rises incredibly (even more than the usual 23 year old male).

Not like I'm knocking things over with my c**k, but after eating it, I tend to "release" sooner than usual.

So uh...yeah. For me, it's basically like organic viagra.

[Next]

Where do you get the idea of thyroid imbalance from too much broccoli? I only eat a moderate handful a day.

File this under the "too much information" section, but I notice when I eat broccoli, I get....a certain sexual side effect.

My libido rises incredibly (even more than the usual 23 year old male).

Not like I'm knocking things over with my c**k, but after eating it, I tend to "release" sooner than usual.

So uh...yeah. For me, it's basically like organic viagra.

I've noticed the same thing for me with almonds.

[hippocampus]

Why would oats be good for mental health? I mean, I eat it every day and I know it is healthy, but has there been any particular study about connection to mental health?

You know they are healthy? Why?

I always thought that grain of any type isn't necessarily a good thing for the human gut.

Gluten free products are probably slightly kinder, but humans didn't evolve on grains (oats included). We didn't have any large mills, milling these grain products down, then living off wheat, oats and barley, to our hearts content - over hundreds of thousands of years, of evolution.

Oats, are slow release energy foods. One or two vitamins, and a source of soluble fibre. Slow released energy food will keep blood sugar stable, thus, preventing dips and mood crashes.

But, compare them to meat, for instance, and their nutritional content is pretty poor.

Like flax seed though, anything that helps you go to the toilet more often, expelling waste and toxins, will definitely be of benefit to mental health. I eat flax for this very reason (I include it, despite the fact, I go out of my way to avoid PUFAs - flax is the only thing I've discovered, thus far, that does the job). So perhaps people might perceive oats as being healthy in this respect?

I haven't personally noticed any mood lift from eating oats though, from past experience.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=54#healthbenefits

If it isn't paleo, doesn't mean it isn't healthy and if it is paleo doesn't mean it is healthy. I see "paleo" just as a rule of thumb.

Regarding broccoli, I also found that it increases libido and self-confidence for me, I think this is because it lowers estrogen and maybe boosts testosterone ... I don't know exactly what it does, but it's definitely something with sex hormones.

[YimYam]

- Legumes

- Tomatoes 

- Greek Yoghurt

- Blueberries 

- Brazil nuts

- Walnuts

- Coconut water 

- Dark chocolate

- Chilli

- Butter

- Eggs

- Asparagus

- Artichoke 

- Golden berries

- Seaweed

- Avocados 

- Onions

 

 

 

 

 

[Duchykins]

I'm really picky about what I eat and what brand it is (so I know how they make the product) etc

 

kefir

spinach

seaweed

artichoke

peppers (orange/yellow bell, banana)

corn on the cob & baby corn

baby carrots

snow peas

sugar snap peas

garden peas 

broccoli

water chestnuts

edamame

soymilk (organic, unflavored)

chia seed

jasmine or calrose rice

high-fiber oatmeal

thin or capellini pasta (often lightly coated with olive oil and/or butter)

fig bars

peanut butter (w/ apricot preserve)

butter

 

 

teas:

 

Pukka Three Ginger (ginger, galangal, turmeric, licorice root for sweetener) (best ginger tea ever)

Pukka Relax

Yogi Ginkgo Clarity

Yogi Calming

Yogi Honey Lavender Stress Relief 

 

Other:

 

I have a weakness for sourdough, since childhood, never figured out why.  But it's pretty awesome to prep for a study session.  I recently heard something about sourdough and probiotics but I'm skeptical without seeing a scientific paper on it (as if the microbes survived the baking process? dunno)

 

Regular milk fat cottage cheese with mandarin orange slices (or apricot).    It's been a favorite treat for years.

 

Something hot potato: wedges, tots, all baked, unseasoned and all that crap

 

Sometimes: chicken breast tenders, white fish fillets (no canned stuff) (I've shied away from red meat since adolescence and thought it was just a superficial yuk thing about the texture or eating globs of fat, only recently figured out why: my body just doesn't like it, it might be the iron since white meat doesn't bother me unless I eat a lot of it in one sitting)

 

Never "nonfat" or "low fat" anything.  If I see that shit on a label at the store, I keep on walking.  I don't aim for a high fat diet but I have a thing about processing to remove natural fats from foods, and not just because they often add something back into it to make the product taste better.

 

Why do I eat like this?

 

- helps keep migraines at bay

- lots of items are calming (probably kefir is the most effective on that list)

- fiber really does make me feel better in general (not right on the spot but the next day, it's mostly about keeping the excess estrogen moving out through feces).  Cellulose is also prebiotic in that it provides substrate for gut flora 

- my brain likes it better that way, during class or a study session, I'm much more focused, eager, deliberate in decision-making, and less prone to error.  I made mistakes in the past of eating high-protein meals just before settling down to study (because I thought it might be better) ... I was in denial and did it about 6 more times before I faced the facts; they make me feel mentally slow, on-edge, crabby and kind of sickly.  Since I spend at least 5 hours a day intensively reading, several more hours writing, even when not doing coursework specifically, it's become important to my daily life

Edited by Duchykins, 15 July 2015 - 05:01 PM.

[truboy]

Fish (salmon and flounder), beef, romaine lettuce, broccoli are foods that make noticable difference in my mental health.

As well as avoiding all grains.

[truboy]

My top food would be Bee Pollen. Just amazing. It has literally made a huge impact for me. I also take maca (cycled), which is very good too. In fact, the more raw food you can eat, the better.
 

 

Dark chocolate has noticeable positive effect for me.

Me too, the darkest I can get my hands on - always over 70% cocoa.

 

Why don't you go for raw chocolate instead? Is it just a matter of taste?

With myself, I personally can't eat raw chocolate, as I don't care for the psychoactive effects. I used to love the high it produces, but it seems more detrimental to me these days (first hour or so is pretty cool, then a horrible crash). It is defintely a stimulant, similar to coffee, but less intense.

 

 

Thorsten2, hi

 

are you still taking Bee Pollen? What effects did you notice?

 

[kurdishfella]

I only eat certain specific food and they have to be mixed with other things.

[frederickson]

pasture-raised eggs

 

an amino acid profile that supports catecholamine production and the richest source of choline (neck-and-neck with liver)

[kurdishfella]

  humans should eat specific food depending on their mood an angry person would eat salty food 

so if you have depression then meat is recommended. 

[kurdishfella]

I read about a person that moved from Europe to USA and they kept getting sick more and more often and their health was declining. Even though she was eating the exact same things on a strict diet. she moved back and her health returned to normal.

So that tells me its the chemicals and how the food is made from start to finnish that matters that affect the mind and health

[Sartac]

I have a weakness for sourdough, since childhood, never figured out why. But it's pretty awesome to prep for a study session. I recently heard something about sourdough and probiotics but I'm skeptical without seeing a scientific paper on it (as if the microbes survived the baking process? dunno)

Regular milk fat cottage cheese with mandarin orange slices (or apricot). It's been a favorite treat for years.

Sourdough is an interesting suggestion. Will have to try it for focus sessions, since it's a favorite anyway.

Along similar lines, including some fermentation:

Korean:
- Kimchi (radish preferred)
- Doenjang, or natto if you prefer Japanese
- Sesame leaves

Mediterranean:
- Baba ghanoush
- Grape leaves

Many of the aforementioned items such as avocados, fish.

White tea, such as silver needle
Aged parm

With these in mind, it can be difficult to tell what's a result of physiological vs psychological benefits with food and drink that one enjoys or finds beneficial for mental health.

Reserving some of your favorite things for focus blocks may not be a bad idea, so that associations are formed, which may make it easier to switch gears and get into a particular frame of mind.