The Dr. Hyman Show - The Pegan Diet: Eat To Boost Mood

Episode Date: March 12, 2021

Believe it or not, food can be a powerful tool to improve our mood and brain health; it can actually make us happier. Every single brain disorder—depression, anxiety, ADHD, autism, dementia, behavior problems, violence, and just plain old brain fog—is linked to diet, and often to the impact of our diet on our gut microbiome. Yet most people don’t realize the profound connection between what we eat and our brain function. In this mini-episode, Dr. Hyman discusses how to eat to boost your mood, the seventeenth principle in his new book, “The Pegan Diet: 21 Practical Principles for Reclaiming Your Health in a Nutritionally Confusing World” available now at pegandiet.com The Pegan Diet is Dr. Hyman’s definitive guide to using food as medicine and understanding how food impacts every system of our body. It has 21 easy-to-follow principles for anyone, regardless of where they are on their health journey. It also contains 30 delicious Pegan-approved recipes. Get your copy today!

Coming up on this episode of The Doctor's Pharmacy. If you are having swings in blood sugar, your mood's going to be all over the place. You're going to be depressed, anxious, scattered, or worse. Welcome to The Doctor's Pharmacy. I'm Dr. Mark Hyman, and that's Pharmacy with an F, F-A-R-M-A-C-Y, a place for conversations that matter. And if you want to know about how food affects your mood, listen up, because this is a special mini episode of The Doctor's Pharmacy about my new book, The Pegan Diet, 21 Practical Principles for Reclaiming Your Health in a Nutritionally Confusing World. You can go to

pegandiet.com and order a copy right now. Please do. I'd love you to have one. It's pretty awesome, one of my favorite books ever I've written. And it's a way to simplify nutrition thinking and nutrition science into practical principles that apply to everyone, that are inclusive, and that break down all the diet wars, paleo-vegan, that's kind of a joke, right? P-gan, sort of a cross between paleo-vegan, which doesn't make any sense, which is exactly why all the nutrition and diet wars don't make sense. And today, we're going to cover one of the key principles in the book, principle 17, eat to boost mood. Now, most of us know that food mood are connected. I mean, if we overeat, we feel like we have a food coma, we get it. And we have a pretty tough time right now. We humans

have faced a lot of depressing stuff and a lot of obstacles, a pandemic, a flawed healthcare system, economic, social, and racial disparities. So many people lost their jobs and their businesses closed. People died. I mean, a lot of people died. Depression is now the fourth most common disease in the world and the number one cause of disability. I mean, we've been through a lot. We need support. We need to help ourselves. And food isn't all the things that relate to mood, obviously, but it is huge. It is a powerful tool to improve our mood and brain health, and it can actually make us happier. And of course, eating the wrong crap can make you much more unhappy.

Now, a growing body of science confirms the link between diet and brain health. Every single brain disorder, depression, anxiety, ADHD, autism, dementia, behavior issues, violence, even just plain old brain fog is linked to diet and often to the impact of our diet on our gut microbiome. Yet what amazes me is that most people don't realize the profound connection between what we eat and how we feel or what we eat in our brain function. The body and the mind are the single dynamic bi-directional system. What you do to one has a huge impact on the other. You have to optimize all the inputs to your biology and remove all the bad influences. Now, I remember this patient who was having panic attacks

every day at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. He was a big financier in New York, and he would not eat all day, eat late at night, drink a lot, go to sleep, wake up, do the whole thing. All over again, about three o'clock, he would have a panic attack where he felt like he was dying. Blood pressure would go up. His heart was racing. He was short of breath. He felt impending doom. And the diagnosis was pretty clear. He was insulin resistant, eating a big belly. And all he needed to do was eat a little food earlier in the day and switch

his late night eating and he cured his panic attacks. Now, it's not always that easy, but it's often not that hard either. Now, what's really exciting to me, because I've been doing this for a long time and I wrote this book, The Ultra Mind Solution in 2008 about how the body affects the brain and the mind. What's exciting to me now is that there's whole new fields of research and academic departments on this, like nutritional psychiatry department at Harvard or a metabolic psychiatry department at Stanford. And it's powerful because studies show that swapping out processed sugary starchy foods for whole foods, like fruits and veggies, olive oil, nuts, seeds, legumes, and some meat, think pegan, is effective in treating depression. In fact,

400% more effective than a typical Western diet. Now, there's no drug that can do that. Other studies show that kids with violent behavior transform when swapping out processed foods for whole foods. I mean, one study of violent juveniles found that simply giving kids a vitamin and mineral supplement reduced violent acts by 91% compared to a control group. Why were they violent? Their brains were starved of nutrients that regulate mood and behavior, including iron, magnesium, B12, and folate. Unfortunately, medical practice is pretty slow to catch up to all the research, but you don't have to wait to feel better and calmer and happier. What you eat today can boost your mood, improve your decision-making, and even make you more

compassionate and nicer, believe it or not. Unfortunately, most of us don't take advantage of these truths. Instead, we go to doctors. They tell us we have depression. They don't tell us why. We're given an antidepressant. But depression is not a Prozac deficiency. Now, medication can be life-saving for some.

I'm not against it. But for most people with mild or moderate depression, they're really not effective according to the research. So how about getting the root cause? I mean, depression and anxiety are just the names we give to a collection of symptoms. But many factors can cause them. Things like B12 deficiency or a low thyroid or an overactive thyroid, which can make you anxious. Other people could have low vitamin D or gut dysfunction that causes mood issues.

Maybe there's brain inflammation. And by the way, pretty much all mood disorders and any brain disorders are diseases of inflammation in the brain, whether it's autism or Alzheimer's or depression or anxiety. Rather than taking medications to suppress symptoms, how about we get to the root cause? That's what functional medicine is, right? How do we get to the root cause? That's the key to healing. Why are you inflamed is the question. Guess what? No surprise. The two biggest reasons are a processed high sugar, high starch diet, and imbalances in our gut, which is also caused by diet and environmental toxins like glyphosate and certain medications. You can listen to the Pegan Diet mini-sode on the gut to learn more. Yeah, you can use medication when necessary, but studies are clear. Diet and exercise work better than medication.

And guess what? All the side effects are good ones. You can go to a functional medicine doc and dig a little deeper. And we are certainly seeing patients virtually at the Ultra Wellness Center. You can go to ultrawellnesscenter.com to learn more. So let's get into it. How do you eat a brain boosting diet? Here's the good news.

The brain's resilient and can recover and heal if you give it the right conditions. I've seen this thousands of times. We do so many things that inflame our mood and our brains, like overeat sugar and refined carbs and bad fats. We don't eat good fats. We don't have protective foods. We don't have enough nutrient dense food with vitamins and minerals. We sleep too little. We stay up too late and we stress too much. So how do we cool the fire within? Well, this might sound repetitive because it is, but the truth is that it's all the same stuff that causes us to be sick and it's all the same stuff that can make us be healthy. So you want to start

by cutting out refined sugars and processed carbs and all the artificial stuff that can make us be healthy. So you want to start by cutting out refined sugars and processed carbs and all the artificial sweeteners. Make sure your blood sugar is even and balanced. Don't skip meals if you have blood sugar issues. I mean, if you skip meals and are hungry, you get hangry, right? Nobody knows about that. As my friend Dave Asprey says, hypoglycemic, which I don't think is a great term. But anyway, I thought it was pretty funny. Maybe you skip a meal and you get wired and tired, or maybe you get heart palpitations or dizzy. I mean, your body thinks it's dying. So eat real food, have fats and protein and real whole food carbohydrates at every meal. See, eating fat is the key because eating fat helps cut cravings and prevents these

swings in blood sugar. Even if you do time-restricted eating, you need to have enough of these slow-burning fuels like fat and protein. Now, the other thing that can happen is that there's a lot of nutritional deficiencies out there that we've discussed that can lead to brain issues like anxiety, depression, memory loss, ADD, and they can really cause a problem. So the most common things that I see related to brain disorders are low omega-3 fats, magnesium, D, zinc, selenium, and all the B vitamins, including B12, folate, and B6. I mean, omega-3s are so critical for brain function. 60% of your brain is made up of fat. And about 60% of that is made up of the DHA omega-3 fat.

It's also the structure of your cell membranes. If you don't have enough omega-3s, your cells can't talk to each other and you won't be able to communicate. And that's how you stay happy. So I would definitely check for nutritional deficiencies. Also, guess what? Eat a vegan diet. It works for everything because it's about eating real whole food, which then your body

knows what to do with. Eat loads of veggies, some fruit, especially the low sugar ones. Eat whole grains, not the flours, and stay away from gluten because that can be nasty for your brain. Have a low starch beans and also some high quality meat, poultry, and fish. Guess what? Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. And if you're low in protein,

you will have trouble making your happy neurotransmitters. Also, focus on brain foods that have been shown to impact mood and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. And those are foods that are rich in omega-3 fats and zinc, magnesium, vitamin D, antioxidants, and all the B vitamins. And there's lots of them. Now let's just go through a few of the amazing brain foods that you can eat every day and why they have great brain benefits. Batty fish and seafood like salmon and oysters are awesome. You want fish for brains. Fish is brain food and fish containing omega-3 fats is so critical, the EPA and DHA,

and these have been linked to lower rates of depression and other brain issues like ADHD and Alzheimer's. Oysters are awesome because they contain a lot of B12, zinc, and omega-3 fats, and they're one of my super brain foods. Next, make sure you get up berries. Berries have anthocyanins, which give berries their deep purple and blue color, and those have been shown to reduce depressive symptoms and boost cognitive function. I try to have either blueberries or blackberries every day. Fiber-rich foods and fermented foods are also great because they call the gut the second brain. To get your gut and brain talking right, you need to get gut healing foods, including green leafy veggies and fermented foods like sauerkraut. Green tea is another amazing brain food. The phenolic content of green tea can reduce depression. And if you're

looking for a polyphenol punch, just have a cup of green tea daily. It's also great with anxiety because it contains theanine. And that's why the Japanese Zen masters take it. It's awesome. Nuts and seeds are also great for your brain. Why? Nuts and seeds contain tryptophan, which is the amino acid from which serotonin is made. And serotonin is our happy mood chemical. It's also a precursor of melatonin, which is our sleepy hormone and helps us get deep restful sleep at night. So important for brain health. Now you might do all that and it just might not be enough and you might need to dig deeper and you need to do some testing. So I would encourage you to see a good functional medicine doctor. And you can just look at my book. The Ultra Mind Solution is also pretty deep in terms of how it

goes through what to look for if you have brain issues. So you might have nutritional deficiencies that need a little bit more of a boost. For example, you can get vitamin D from porcini, mushrooms, and herring, but you need to eat a lot of it. So you might need to take vitamin D. Or you might have genetic issues that mean you need a special kind of folate or 10 times the amount as the average person. Or you might have an inflammation issue, like an autoimmune disease that is causing brain inflammation and you need to work to get help. So getting with a functional medicine doc can be really important. And of course, we at the Ultra Wellness Center are seeing patients virtually. Go to ultrawellnesscenter.com or you can find another functional medicine doctor in your area. But I can tell you it's so humbling and it's inspiring to see patients bounce back from

years of depression and anxiety after just a little detective work and some simple tweaks. So what are principle 17 takeaways how to eat for your mood? Well, the first is balance your blood sugar. Don't skip meals. Eat a palm-sized portion of protein, healthy fats, and plant foods with every meal. Now, when I say don't skip meals, I mean, you can do time-restricted eating. So you can eat within a 12, 14, 16-hour period, but you make sure you're consistent about it. And if you are feeling swings in blood sugar, it means you're not eating enough fat and protein. So that can be a critical issue. If you are having swings in blood sugar, your mood's going to be all over the place. You're going to be depressed, anxious, scattered,

or worse. In fact, pre-dementia is often caused by pre-diabetes, which is resulting from imbalanced blood sugar. Next, eat brain-boosting foods. Focus on fats from fish, lots of polyphenols from berries, fiber-rich foods, nuts and seeds, green tea. Also, if you're stuck, dig deeper. Work with a practitioner to figure out if you have nutritional deficiencies or other issues. Heavy metals are a big issue.

Thyroid issues, lots of things can cause depression. And then just get some good insurance from your supplements, from multivitamin that has B6, folate, B12, which are critically important. Also take vitamin D and magnesium and omega-3 fats. And one of the things that really bothers me in medicine is that we label psychiatric problems as all in your head, and there's a stigma attached to it. And the truth is that sometimes there are psychological reasons for different mood disorders, but more often than not, there's a lot of physical reasons and physiological reasons that can be fixed, identified, and treated. And that's what

functional medicine is so good at. So if you are stuck with any psychiatric issues or memory issues or ADD or anything, make sure you focus on your diet, your nutrient levels, and if you're stuck, work with a functional medicine practitioner. Now, I'm so excited about this book, The Pegan Diet, 21 Practical Principles for Reclaiming Your Health in a Nutritionally Confusing World. You can go to pegandiet.com and get a copy. And I'm so excited for you to see this book. It's my favorite yet, and I've written a lot of books. So I hope you enjoy it.

And I hope you enjoyed this series of episodes from The Doctor's Pharmacy on The Pegan Diet. And we'll see you next time on The Doctor's Pharmacy. Hey everybody, it's Dr. Hyman. Thanks for tuning into The Doctor's Pharmacy. I hope you're loving this podcast. It's one of my favorite things to do and introducing you all the experts that I know and I love and that I've learned so much from. And I want to tell you about something else I'm doing, which is called Mark's Picks. It's my weekly newsletter. And in it, I share my favorite stuff from foods to supplements, to gadgets gadgets to tools to enhance your health.

It's all the cool stuff that I use and that my team uses to optimize and enhance our health. And I'd love you to sign up for the weekly newsletter. I'll only send it to you once a week on Fridays. Nothing else, I promise. And all you do is go to drhyman.com forward slash PICS to sign up. That's drhyman.com forward slash PICS, P-I-C-K-S, and sign up for the newsletter. And I'll share with you my favorite stuff that I use to enhance my health and get healthier and better and live younger, longer. Hi, everyone.

I hope you enjoyed this week's episode. Just a reminder that this podcast is for educational purposes only. This podcast is not a substitute for professional care by a doctor or other qualified medical professional. This podcast is provided on the understanding that it does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. If you're looking for help in your journey, seek out a qualified medical practitioner. If you're looking for a functional medicine practitioner, you can visit ifm.org and search their find a practitioneritioner database.

It's important that you have someone in your corner who's trained, who's a licensed healthcare practitioner, and can help you make changes, especially when it comes to your health.