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Angel
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| Posted: Aug 20 2009 at 8:18am | IP Logged
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I just finished a book I feel the need to advertise.  It's called Rebuild from Depression: including prenatal and postpartum depressionby Amanda Rose. While the title says "including prenatal and postpartum", that's really a misnomer because the book is basically *about* prenatal and postpartum depression. The author suffered through a serious bout of prenatal and postpartum depression with her first child and subsequently spent an enormous amount of time doing research in attempt to cure herself. What she discovered was the nutritional roots of prenatal/postpartum depression -- specifically in deficiencies in Omega-3 fats and B vitamins (those are the big ones), and also zinc, magnesium, and iron. She also discovered that she had corn allergies and high levels of uranium from the local water supply. But while these undoubtedly played a role in her depression, she didn't get relief until she fixed her B vitamin status.
I had heard about many of these links in bits and pieces here and there (often on these boards!), but I've never found a resource that brings them all together in one book. She also includes information about the testing you should have in order to determine whether you are deficient in a particular nutrient, about which foods are best to eat to improve your nutrient status in key "depression-busting" nutrients, and about techniques of food preparation which will maximize those nutrients (making your own yogurt, soaking grains, etc.)
I ran this book down after seeing it cited in Nina Planck's book, Real Food for Mother and Baby. At the time Nina Planck's book came out, though, the book hadn't actually been published yet. So I've been waiting impatiently.  Right now the book is only available from the website.
I have to say I highly recommend it. Her memoir makes it clear that her depression was severe and attended by many obsessive/compulsive problems, and yet she treated it without medication. (She includes some bad language in her memoir, so - just a heads up.) One of my biggest fears about being open to life is the problems I experience particularly with prenatal depression (and I was so happy to see that she included it), and I have been working hard lately to try to "rebuild" my health between pregnancies. I think that this book will be very helpful to me, and I wanted to share it with others who may be in the same boat.
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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amyable
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| Posted: Aug 20 2009 at 8:56am | IP Logged
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Thank you!  This sounds like a book I need to have in my arsenal! I'm currently reading Eat Fat, Lose Fat (a bad name, I think, because so little of the book is about weight loss) and I see just how vitamin/nutrient depleted I (and many others eating a standard American diet) have become.
Would you be willing to share some of the things you're doing?
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The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Aug 20 2009 at 11:57am | IP Logged
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Sounds like a good book. I always like ones that give you back the power over your problems. 
And just reading your description is reminding me to use the things and knowledge I already have.
Did you know that craving chocolate can be a sign of magnesium deficiency? Makes sense that you'd want chocolate when depressed doesn't it. 
Off to look for those vitamins I should be taking..
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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theresa-lynn
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| Posted: Aug 20 2009 at 12:48pm | IP Logged
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I was wondering if I wasn't getting low in B vitamins since we've been off of gluten (and thus not eating tons of bread products at all). We'll eat GF pasta bread once a week....
I've been feeling miserable for most of this pregnancy.
How does she suggest fixing it? What sort of supplements does she talk about?
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Melanie
Mommy to dd 8, ds 6, dd 4, dtwins 2, and another due in october.
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Aug 20 2009 at 1:09pm | IP Logged
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I actually got this book from Amanda Rose in a PDF before it was published when I was suffering PPD after my second was born in 2006. It was what really put me onto traditional foods and helped me recover, I think, without any other medications. I'd always meant to buy it when it came out. So glad that you posted this here!
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Angel
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| Posted: Aug 22 2009 at 2:48pm | IP Logged
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amyable wrote:
Thank you! This sounds like a book I need to have in my arsenal! I'm currently reading Eat Fat, Lose Fat (a bad name, I think, because so little of the book is about weight loss) and I see just how vitamin/nutrient depleted I (and many others eating a standard American diet) have become.
Would you be willing to share some of the things you're doing? |
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Well, I haven't checked the B vitamins yet, but what seems to have helped most of everything I've done so far is Nordic Naturals Omega 3-D. I have problems with seasonal depression, too, and since I live in a northern climate with looong cloudy winters I figured I was D deficient. (Actually, I guess that's why pediatricians recommend that nursing babies take vitamins; most American women are deficient in Vit. D.) I take 2 tsp. a day, which gives me 2000 IU of D a day (still below what the Vitamin D council recommends) and below the recommended Omega 3 dose in Amanda Rose's book, so I should probably have my Vitamin D levels tested and figure out whether to take more of the 3D product or another fish oil. (Rose recommends cod liver oil, but I cannot choke that stuff down!)
Anyway, even though I'm technically below those levels, my mood improved as soon as I started taking it. When I ran out and took a while to order new bottles, I could feel the difference. I was a lot more run down and felt much more overwhelmed on a daily basis.
I've also been trying to get a handle on my allergies, which also affect my mood because I have physically felt rotten. I read Eat Fat, Lose Fat, too, and started trying to add some coconut oil to my diet. I can't drink it straight or in tea, but I put about a tbsp in a smoothie (milk, whole milk yogurt, fruit) every morning, and I eat 2 of my lovely orange free-range eggs (ok, shameless bragging but I'm proud of my chickens) which are listed as "depression-busters" fried in butter with the yolks runny.
I also started reading about adrenal fatigue for my allergies and decided to *try* to cut out caffeine and refined carbs (sugar). I think it helps me be less irritable, but it is hard to cut out that last bit of caffeine!
And I also started eating unrefined sea salt instead of regular salt a while back. I was craving all sorts of salty things and when I first got the sea salt, I felt like I could just lick it off my fingers. After a little while of using sea salt, those cravings went away. I think it was because of the trace minerals.
Anyway, I've been dealing with really rotten allergies, down mood, and viruses all summer, but when I started eating yogurt every day, taking Omega 3s every day, and coconut oil almost every day, sea salt, cutting down on caffeine and refined carbs, I felt A LOT better.
So my next task is to figure out about B vitamins, zinc, and magnesium. Rose kind of casually throws out in the book that small children may have zinc deficiencies, and my 2 yo is definitely small  . So I guess I need to be tested to see what my levels are and talk to my doctor about my 2 yo's zinc as well. He could just be small, but considering my own health in the past, I think I'd feel better knowing about his zinc.
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Angela
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Three Plus Two
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Angel
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| Posted: Aug 22 2009 at 3:00pm | IP Logged
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theresa-lynn wrote:
I was wondering if I wasn't getting low in B vitamins since we've been off of gluten (and thus not eating tons of bread products at all). We'll eat GF pasta bread once a week....
I've been feeling miserable for most of this pregnancy.
How does she suggest fixing it? What sort of supplements does she talk about?
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I think you can get pretty much all your B vitamins from meat and vegetables. I need to go check the book, but my toddler has not been cooperative the past couple days and today he is not taking a nap... he's a birthday boy, so I guess I can't be too hard on him. I'll try to be more specific later, Melanie, as soon as I can actually go grab the book from my room.
She does talk about phytates in all grains, though, including corn and rice, and that being the reason you should soak all of them (soak corn with lime the traditional way). The phytates apparently interfere with mineral absorption. If you're not eating whole grains, do you eat a lot of meat? If you're not eating a lot of meat (she recommends grass-fed) or organic veggies (which apparently do have more vitamins than veggies grown not organically), then you may be low in B vitamins. Also I guess there are a lot of B vitamins in naturally fermented foods like kefir.
You know, though... my last pregnancy was probably my toughest as far as depression goes, and I do wonder if it wasn't harder because it followed my twin pregnancy. Kind of makes sense that after twins your body would need even more rebuilding.
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Angela
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Three Plus Two
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happymama
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| Posted: Aug 24 2009 at 12:13pm | IP Logged
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I'm interested in all new books on ppd, BUT...
I WAS exercising, eating well, taking fish oil, coconut oil, grapeseed oil & BComplex in addition to my pre-natal, taking calcium w/ D, eating my home made yogurt... and I have no allergies to speak of... but still got a severe case of ante & ppd with #4.
Two things basically saved me: taking an antidepressant, and later on, ppo injections. I am "leary" to see it suggested by "natural-only" advocates that if I just eat the right things, my body will be healthy. If dietary changes cure you, then great for you. But if they don't, heaven-forbid it be suggested that you did something wrong; depressed people don't need guilt on top of it. I think with severe hormonal displacement there is a good use of modern medicine which can be a true blessing.
I haven't read this book, and it may be exactly what many people need. It's just that, from your description, it sounds like it could use a caveat or two.
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Angel
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| Posted: Aug 26 2009 at 6:05pm | IP Logged
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happymama wrote:
Two things basically saved me: taking an antidepressant, and later on, ppo injections. I am "leary" to see it suggested by "natural-only" advocates that if I just eat the right things, my body will be healthy. If dietary changes cure you, then great for you. But if they don't, heaven-forbid it be suggested that you did something wrong; depressed people don't need guilt on top of it. I think with severe hormonal displacement there is a good use of modern medicine which can be a true blessing.
I haven't read this book, and it may be exactly what many people need. It's just that, from your description, it sounds like it could use a caveat or two. |
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I should have given a more balanced review; I'm sorry. She does not actually advocate a "natural-only" position in the book. She says what worked for her, but she does not argue for or against anti-depressant use in every individual situation. She does publish research results that have found benefits from vitamin therapy in addition to anti-depressant use. I actually found the book pretty guilt free. I know the sort of "natural-only" advocates you're talking about, but I didn't find this author to be one of them. I should have mentioned that in my initial review.
What I liked about the book is the fact that she recommends specific tests so that every woman can determine what her specific vitamin needs really are instead of just guessing. She also mentions specific conditions which may alter your need for certain vitamins -- but again, she does recommend specific tests. I guess that's what I found most valuable about the book; up till now, mostly what I have found is vague information on both sides of the equation (natural and antidpressant). I mean, when I went in to my OB's office and started talking about how tired I was, how depressed, how frazzled, how I couldn't remember anything... and honestly, not really going into how bad it really was... she didn't say anything about vitamins, she just wrote me a perscription. Maybe I would have needed it no matter how many B vitamins I was taking -- I doubt that all the B vitamins in the world could change me into a really positive person; that's just not my personality -- but with no tests, how could anyone be sure!
Anyway -- I'm really sorry if I caused you any distress with my review; I certainly didn't mean to suggest that I thought the book would prove all the answers for everyone who suffered from ppd, end of story! I was just excited about the reference possibilities of this book.
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Angela
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Three Plus Two
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amyable
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| Posted: Aug 26 2009 at 6:40pm | IP Logged
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Angela, thank you for mentioning the zinc/small child connection, that's something I'm going to look into for my teeny 6yo.
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Amy
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The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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donnalynn
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| Posted: Sept 11 2009 at 9:53am | IP Logged
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Thought I would pass on this link to a beautiful photo journal of two women who suffered ppd in past pregnancies and were approaching birth again. The babies have been both been born now and the journal continues - so beautiful!
Near:Far
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stellamaris
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I know that relatively high doses of B-5 (pantothenic acid) are used to treat adrenal fatigue, along with high doses of Vit. C. I'm wondering if the physical strain of pregnancy impacts the adrenals and if the vitamins contribute to repairing them?
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Caroline
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Flowing Streams
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4Real Forums : Our Lady of Good Remedy and Care
Topic: Rebuild from postpartum depression
