Anyone have a reaction that is more emotional than physical? Something I’m eating makes me almost suicidally depressed (loss of interest in life, crying that won’t stop etc) then it abates after a day or two. It makes me wonder if my whole lifetime of depression has been one long food reaction and I’ve only connected the dots after noticing some extremes - Ruth
Responses:
Gluten heightens my anxiety and depression. Took me years of trial and error to notice the correlation - Terry
Yup absolutely, amongst many other reactions. I’m super sals sensitive - Anne
My dietitian said she had a client whose whole life direction had been affected by depression and anxiety, only to find out it was food intolerances. Get the RPAH books. Find a dietitian who specialises in this work. The Fedup website has a list of suitable people, many will do remote appointments. Follow the process - the limited diet and food and mood diary. With a bit of perseverance you should be able to find the cause - Lorraine
When I did the nitrates challenge I had full on meltdowns and panic attacks. I have a few other things going on neurologically, but noticed a huge change in anxiety and emotions when I started the elimination diet. Best of luck. 💙😊 - Erin
Absolutely! Soy and gluten. Soy is especially bad as it is used in so many gluten free products. In trying to eliminate the gluten containing foods from my diet I discovered that the soy was causing me even more problems - Helen
Chocolate (amines) does this to me - Angela
Absolutely yes! The retrospective memory of my moods and PMS and menopause and on and on says yes. The most recent memory is of eating the sausage from our organically raised pigs. One morning, after I ate, I noticed that I was quite suddenly feeling sad and tired - Sarah
My worst reaction (wanting to die…not really suicidal but just wanting to stop living and can’t stop crying) is from chocolate which I think has amines? I love chocolate and now I won’t touch it because it takes a few days to feel better after eating it – Deb
My husband has had increasingly bad bouts of depression/anger getting steadily worse over recent years. While doing the diet for our son, he reacted to nearly everything…but only the Amines give these symptoms. Not just chocolate either, old meat & bananas also set him off. However his reactions are shorter now if he makes a mistake (only 30mins to couple of hours), and he knows the reason so it helps him cope knowing it’ll wear off – Sam
Tartazine (yellow food colour) makes our son angry. Too many salicylates make the kids very emotional, anxious etc. It’s good you’re investigating the diet side of things 😊 - anon
My dad always had that with beef. Made him feel angry and aggressive - Sharl
Definitely my main symptom, wish I had known in my 20’s what the cause was - Larissa
Definitely amines for me. I'm amines and sals sensitive. Nowhere near as bad these days but amines mess with my head more. Depending on the amines too, some I get brain fog, some make me depressed and others I seem to be ok with. Chocolate and cheese used to give me a physical reaction - infected sinus with extreme fatigue like my body wanted to shut down within 30mins of eating it. Now it’s more depressed/down and cravings especially more chocolate and junk – Amy
My worst one is tomato of any kind. I feel like the bottom has fallen out of my world after I’ve eaten it. Not worth the reaction so try and not touch it. Was in hospital talking to dietitian about what I could eat and she discovered that 95 percent of main meals there had tomatoes! – Lee
Angry amines and sad salicylates for me - Helen
Yep when overloaded I can get this way and also questioned if this has been a lifelong issue as always had unexplained depression and anxiety even as early as i can remember in my childhood - Sara
Wrong food can spiral me into terrible anxiety. I think it's preservatives for me. Takeaway usually, Pizza Hut has set me off badly - Anna
Yes I have mood reactions. So does my son. Without gluten or high salicylates in my diet I am emotionally stable, with them, I was a screaming mess who lived in a constant state of confusion and always felt like a failure because I felt like I wasn’t functioning like everyone else could - Marian
I've been treated for severe post-traumatic stress disorder for years without ever seeing any progress. Last year, I was diagnosed with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). Just 3 days after starting the diet, all the psychological symptoms disappeared. No more death wish, no more dissociation, no more panic attacks, and above all, no more memory loss and, most importantly, my motivation and cravings instantly returned. A rebirth I'd never even hoped to experience. At the slightest dietary lapse, I fall back into a completely different perception of reality.... Dark, dark thoughts for 3 to 4 days, so dark that I forgot that « this » is not reality and that it would pass – Zara (see science links here for instance https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23688533/)
(Howard comment: This blog summarises the knowledge of this real issue with food and depression - with links to factsheets and much more information. Take it seriously and see a good dietitian if you think food might be involved).
