My experience:
I thought that I had a decent diet. It is fairly well balanced, and I eat 3 square meals a day. I wanted to put my diet to the test after reading so much about the importance of consuming the correct amount of vitamins and minerals to prevent depression.
I found a company that tests for food intolerances, dietary deficiencies and also tests for heavy metals. The biggest draw of the company was that I only had to send in a few strands of hair. No blood, or trips to a lab. Easy. The company’s website is https://allergytest.co/.
I had more deficiencies than I thought that I would. I was especially surprised by the Iron deficiency. Now I was able to know what actions I needed to take. I started taking an iron pill, Lithium orotate, and a B-complex vitamin. I started eating Macadamia nuts to address the magnesium and manganese deficiencies. I added an egg to my morning breakfast routine to address the lecithin. It felt good to know what I was up against.
Next, the test also included my food intolerances. This is different than a true allergy and just means that my body will have more trouble digesting these foods. My food intolerances included peanuts, hops, jasmine tea, prosecco, and shellfish. I also had a mild gluten intolerance. Peanut butter sandwiches were a big part of my diet. I also drink some beer and have an entire box of jasmine green tea in my desk at work. I stopped eating peanut butter sandwiches and switched my lunch to a salad. I cut the jasmine tea out of my workday in favor of regular green tea. I try to be more aware of how often I am drinking beer as well.
Finally, the test reveals which heavy metals are too high in my body. I had high levels of arsenic, cadmium, nickel, palladium, and silver. Yikes. I started drinking only filtered water after seeing this result. I was a big fan of tap water previously, but now I try to be more cautious. I also try to eat more apples and pears because they have pectins that bind to heavy metals. Finally, I upped my garlic intake because garlic can help eliminate heavy metals from the body.
What changed:
I like the dietary changes so far. Deficiencies can take a long time to normalize, but I feel more energetic already. I think that I was dependent on bread for too long. I still eat it occasionally, but so much less than I used to. I have also increased my greens intake by a whole lot. My lunch prep time has increased but it is still reasonable. My supplementation has gone well also. I have not had any stomach issues with the iron pill. I am able to swallow the gigantic B-vitamin and the lithium pill has not given me any issues either. I will continue to track my diet and supplementation, especially in regards to how my mood changes over time.
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Depression Toolbox 