Zero carb and mental stability / mood

(Cathrine Helle) #1

One of the benefits of ZC I see frequently mentioned is better mood; less depression and anxiety. I wouldn’t presume to know why ZC seems to be helping for these conditions, but find it fascinating! Could some of these conditions also be linked to a leaky gut perhaps, just like auto immune diseases?

For those of you that have been at it for a while - do you notice any difference in general mood or confidence? I do not suffer from depression, but can get anxious and sometimes feel less confident than I should. I’m trying to quantify if I’ve seen any improvement on this the five months I’ve been ZC, and I actually think I have. But it’s hard to know, because I won’t enter a situation feeling confident, and then thinking “this should have made me anxious” :stuck_out_tongue: When it’s not there I don’t notice it.

Hope this made sense :smile:

(Full Metal KETO AF) #2

I’m not doing the carnivore/zero carb thing but I have noticed a calm, peace of mind feeling more than I used to. Less depressed and more self confident. Feel good about myself and my progress. Less cannabis use (medical) because I don’t need it so much.

(Chris) #3

Yes.

Better than it was, but I think I could still use some improvement. It’s easy to fall back into old bad thoughts for me.

Yep. :slight_smile:

#4

I stay under 20 carbs and have noticed a drastic difference for the better in my mood and overall well-being. I’ve never realized how crappy (bad) carbs, sugars and processed foods were affecting me until I knocked them out of my diet.

(Chris) #5

OP’s context is within the realm of only eating animal-based foods, and zero plants. There’s a major distinction which you might not have been aware of.

(Omar) #6

in my case there was a significant improvment to depression and anxiety.

But I had a flare of diverticulitis ( kind of leaky gut ) and things got back to pre keto. but much less severe I would say 50% of pre keto.

When I manage my diverticulitis I enjoy unheard off level of confidence and happiness.

If this diverticulitis were a man I would have killed him without hesitations.

so to answer your question from my own experience yes keto reduce anxiety and yes leaky gut inhibits and limits the value of keto in curing anxiety.

(James) #7

In my experience, when I’ve depleted my glycogen stores, ketone levels rise and I get over the little span of brain fog my mental clarity is never better. My focus and mood stay so stable throughout each day. Especially, when I get around the 18th hour of fasting. I cannot comment on anxiety nor depression. Being as I’ve never suffered from either.

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #8

I haven’t needed to bother with ZC, that and i’m not interested, but since starting Keto and becoming fat adapted my moods are completely regulated. I rarely get upset, angry, anxious, depressed or frustrated. I almost feel like an unemotional zombie, I am not, things just effect me far less than they used to.

(Bunny) #9

Definitely when your on a total elimination diet of any other foods! This allows the gut to heal (histamine intolerances to certain foods and auto-immunity issues) esp. if your eating bone broth and then you can slowly re-introduce more nutrient dense foods!

Only thing about eating meat only is being metabolically fit enough to handle eating only meat for a long period of time because you have to be able to expend all that protein your eating when that is your exclusive source of nutrition like when your body building (pumping serious iron) or being very athletically active which means more lean body mass ect…

#10

All my ibs symptoms were gone in the first 6 days…that is until I made a keto milk shake and then got bloated…so I’m probably gonna have to suck it up and stay carnivore for longer until I figure out my trigger foods. I love sugar, I love plants, and I hate meat. Probably the worst best diet I have ever been on.

(Omar) #11

how about hard cheese?

(Cathrine Helle) #12

Sounds conflicted, I hope you find a way that’s good both for body and mind :slight_smile:

#13

Thanks gurl! I loved my raw vegan diet but it didn’t love me :frowning: carnivore seems to love me so maybe I’ll give him a shot ahaha

#14

Hard cheese is usually irritating if I eat in larger quantities, smaller quantities I find tolerable. Cheese tastes pretty good, but if it’s combined within sour cream or cream cheese it’s a no go for me. I definitely can’t tolerate cream cheese or sour cream. What about you? I know you mentioned you had issues with cream and coffee, how about hard cheese?

(Omar) #15

I have problems with coffee not with dairy.

I eat hard cheese, yoghurt and cream but not milk

I am also in and out of carnivore trying to heal my gut.

(Cathrine Helle) #16

Did you become vegan for ethical reasons? I used to feel conflicted about meat eating as well, as I bought in to the whole “cow farts destroy the planet”-thing. I no longer believe that, and I think there are far more impactful things we can do for our environment than to deprive our bodies of proper nutrition. I must say I feel more in tune with my true nature as a carnivore than as anything else I’ve tried (I’ve never been vegan tho), and I’m at peace with the fact that something has to die for me to live. It’s natures way, and there’s no escaping it.
Perhaps this should have been a thread of its own :stuck_out_tongue:

#17

Yes good idea I’m going to list in the noob thread here shortly about it and yes it was for ethical reasons but I’m also in general not a meat lover. I loved the raw vegan diet even taste wise but…I also loved sugar and discovered I was consuming massive amounts of that in my diet and thinking raw vegan was healthy. Oh and the book thing is hilarious! Gurl I bought a book for my kids called “that’s why we don’t eat animals” hahaha need less to say I didn’t end up reading it to them. I do feel guilty about eating bacon :slightly_frowning_face: I love animals! But I have to admit bacon does taste good. I just feel like if I can’t kill it myself I shouldn’t eat it. Before I get off on a tangent let me go start a new thread so we don’t take over this one.

#18

Ok I posted it in the newbies section , come join me

#19

Hello,

your conflict is well known to me.
For 15 years I lived as a vegan. But I was so ill, that at the end I wasn’t able to work. All symptoms were diagnosed as depression. They didn’t believe me, when I said, this can’t be true.
In this time I lived on wellfare and had to got my foods from donation. One day they gave me a staple of cooked ham. A lot of! I sat down and was thinking. Should I throw tis away and buy expensive tofu or should I eat it? I decided to eat it, because I really have had no money. I decided to do it in secret. I felt ashamed…
The trick was at first: I put a lot of chili on top, so I couldn’t taste it…
But guess what? As soon, as I ate it, my eyes become clearer and my sister could even see it!
I switched a long time, only ate it, when it was donated, then only when it was on sale.
This was several years ago…

PLEASE: It’s no use for the world, when you feeling sick!
You want the cows and the dogs, even the birds live species-appropiate? You wouldn’t ask a cat to eat tofu and legumes?
What about you? The best food for you gives you energy and good mood and THAT helps to make the world a better place!
Because you have the energy to do the important things.

I could tell a thousand of ideas in addition, but had to stop now…

Please give meat a try, there are really a lot of possibilities, especially whith ground beef to change the taste. And after some time, when it works, you will probably like it.

(Jodi) #20

I’ve been mostly carnivore/ZC since August. I had to go on anti-depressants earlier, but was able to get off them within a few months. My anxiety has also lessened quite a bit. If I have to much dairy or eat something not ZC I do notice mood changes.
Luckily I haven’t really strayed much, occasionally I’ll try a Keto day/meal but it just doesn’t work for me as much as I’d like it to.:joy:
I did quit coffee a few weeks before I started all this and recently tried to add decaf back in…big NO! Triggered all sorts of cravings and moods and had headaches when I quit again. That was disappointing but now I know!
So sticking strictly to water and meat does make a huge difference to me mental health/mood wise.