Fat for Fuel – Dr Mercola – #Mercola

March 16, 2017 Leave a comment

Fat for Fuel is a New Book by Dr Mercola

I’ve not read it. I am not selling it. It is however, the way I have gradually been moving for sometime now. It is not only good for physical health but in the longer term is great for steadying moods. If you want to eliminate bipolar disorder then using fat for fuel is almost certainly going to help.

Mammals, and therefore all of us, work well while using fat as our main energy source. This is known as ketosis which is a word that to many people can sound bad. It is not bad, it is just what our bodies do automatically whenever we go without eating for 6 hours or so. (The exact number of hours varies from person to person.)

Question 1 of 2: In a typical 24 hours what is the longest you go without consuming any food or drink that contains carbohydrates or man-made chemicals?

I have found the easiest way to maximizing my time in fat-burning mode is not to eat or drink any carbohydrates in the morning. For me, this includes avoiding drinks with any kind of added milk, because milk contains sugar.

Whether I say I am skipping breakfast on days I do not eat before noon, or I say that I am having a very late ‘break-fast-meal’, it is the days I do this when I feel best and think most clearly.

Question 2 of 2: After reading about Fat for Fuel could you share, using the comments option, how going longer between meals and minimizing snacking helps you to be in the mood you want to be in?

A new website set up by Dr Mercola: www.fatforfuel.org

Just to make it clear… I am not being paid to advertise this… I simply believe most people would be healthier and less prone to mood disorders if eating less often and this requires us to burn fat for fuel.

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Three dimensional movement – #notjustbipolar – including a great video from Lisa Huck

March 3, 2017 6 Comments

What is 3D movement all about?

Whether or not we believe we have a mood disorder, depression, bipolar or any kind of disorder, the way our lives ‘pan out’ will depend so much on how we choose to look after our bodies. In some ways, ‘When we look after our body, then our; brain, mind, emotions, feelings and so on can all heal and we can make great progress with what we most want to be doing.’

I found the 15 minute video below on Dr Mercola’s site this morning and I am sharing this freely and as widely as possible.

In the video, Lisa Huck delivers amazing/useful information with a great combination of audio and visual.

If you are sitting, I suggest you stand, if you can, and move as you watch and listen to Lisa Huck of ThriveFNL.

Lisa explains things about our bones and muscles that I believe need to be taught in every school. It matches so well how I have been thinking just that I do not have the training and skills demonstrated by Lisa Huck… Fifteen minutes of brilliance:

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Intermittent Fasting to Improve Mood – Not just bipolar

January 4, 2017 6 Comments

Many psychiatric drugs have a side-effect of increased appetite.

As soon as I agreed to take Olanzapine I found I was getting hungry far more frequently while having less and less interest in exercising. On a combination of lithium and Olanzapine I steadied out at around 45 pounds heavier than my usual weight. I am sure I got off lightly as I know many people who about doubled their weight while taking Olanzapine.

I have said/blogged about how my weight came down as I reduced my lithium intake. Now, I believe the bigger factor was my being able to gradually reduce my intake of Olanzapine and eventually coming off all psychiatric drugs. My weight is now about what it was before starting on these drugs.

What has been bothering me for a while is that bad eating habits that set in while I was on Olanzapine keep coming back. Perhaps those habits have never left me.

I have read and watched lots and lots about the importance of fasting, or at least having several hours between meals and not eating when we should be sleeping. My scientific background allows me to feel I understand why eating less often is so beneficial, yet knowing stuff does not necessary make changing habits any easier.

After another stressful period I recently realized that I was again eating from early morning until late evening with perhaps a total of 12 meals/snacks! Not on any psychiatric drugs I’ve not been putting on weight but am sure all this eating has been doing me harm.

Since 1st January (yes, sounds like a New Year resolution) I have started to take overnight fasting seriously. A friend has reminded me of an info-graphic from Dr Mercola. See below.

My current plans are nowhere near so ambitious at this time. I am currently seeing getting past 9am without eating and not eating after about 7pm as great achievements and I am just starting to get benefits from this in terms of having more energy through eating less. Yes, sounds a bit bizarre, but by eating less often I mostly have more energy and feel better too.

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is not a form of starvation but a way for you to time your meals to maximize your body’s ability to burn fat. Embed this info-graphic on your site to serve as a guide for you to create a healthy eating plan, and reap the many benefits of fasting done the right way. Use the embed code to share it on your website or visit our infographic page for the high-res version… Intermittent fasting

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Grain Brain #grainbrain, #perlmutter, #mercola #bipolar

January 22, 2015 3 Comments

FAQ: Where is the Dr Perlmutter, Grain Brain video? (Thank to a reader from Leicester UK the reminder)

Answer: I posted a shortened version, of Dr Mercola interviewing Dr Permutter on  Rethinking Bipolar in Oct 2014:

> Low fat diets damage brains #Perlmutter <

It gives a lot of essential information in less than half the time of the full interview. However, please consider this:

For me, taking note of what these two doctors are saying about diet, health and especially brain health has been a huge step in developing resilience to all sorts of disorders. It allows me to say, for sure, I do not have the disorder part of bipolar in me these days.

Like Tom Whootton, I continue to be aware of my moods, especially the higher energy and positive feelings, just that I am free of that disorder. I sleep well. I, at last, have good steady energy levels again. I get lots of good stuff done every day. I get on with friends, family, neighbors and other health professionals. Life is good.

A lot of this goodness is due to doing the sorts of things discussed in this interview. This is why I am adding both a link and a ‘watch here option’ for this 1 hour 18 minutes version. It could be that, like me, you need to know precisely what these doctors are saying about brain health.

If you have concerns about the health of your brain or simply want to be thinking clearer and feeling better, then please watch and listen to all of this and let me know if you decide to include some of the ideas into your life – either using the reply option on this blog or through this contact form.

Mercola and Perlmutter

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Low fat diets damage brains #Perlmutter

October 2, 2014 1 Comment

Teaching about nutrition and mental health since 2005, I have found that all my students who have had mood disorders (who have told me what they eat) have been on low-fat diets. Some simply choose low-fat options from the supermarket, while many have had periods of extreme low-fat dieting. Others simply choose to eat lots of fruit and avoid foods such as butter because they believe fruit = good / butter = bad.

None of this is surprising as food companies, drug companies, governments and health services tell us not to eat too much fat.

One change I noticed recently is more of my students are now already aware that the brain consists mainly of fat (65% to 75% depending on how it is measured) and this helps in explaining why healthy fats are necessary to allow our bodies to support and repair brain cells. What is less well-known is that healthy fats and in particular those rich in omega-3 allow you to create new healthy brain cells regardless of your age. This is contrary to what doctors were being taught up until a few years ago. Your current doctor may be unaware of this important new finding.

Part of recovering from any mood disorder is, I believe, to get expert nutritional advice on how much fat is likely to be good for you and how to get a full range of healthy fats into your diet. This is something I can help you to get to grips with, so please contact me if you are seriously considering dietary changes to help stabilize/improve your mood.

If you have not been convinced so far of how essential fat is for a healthy brain then please pay special attention to at least the first ONE MINUTE of this interview of Dr Perlmutter…

You can find out more about nutrition and brain health by visiting:

Dr Mercola’s website 

I have just posted a direct link to the full Mercola Perlmutter Interview       22nd January 2015

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