Hi, I have not posted for a long time, but I wanted to drop in to share my experiences with low carb / ketogenic diet, and possibly start a conversation with anyone who has their own story to tell.
This year I have personally experienced quite remarkable improvements to my mental health after making dramatic dietary changes, and my research has lead me to think that eating a low carb diet may have a therapeutic effect on Bipolar.
A quick, non-expert, non-professional explanation of the Ketogenic diet:
The Ketogenic diet is a high fat, very low carb diet, sometimes used to treat Epilepsy.
Basically, there are two main forms of energy burnt by the body, Glucose and Fat. Glucose comes from carbohydrates and sugary foods. Fats come from things like plant oils, nuts, eggs, dairy and meat.
The western diet tends to contain high levels of carbohydrates and sugar, however modern nutritional thinking seems to be coming around to the idea that it is a lot healthier to eat a higher percentage of good fats, and less carbs.
Why is this interesting to people with bipolar?
Well, there are some quite compelling reasons to think that the ketogenic diet might be a functional treatment for Bipolar. According to my research, Bipolar is thought to be related to Epilepsy, and this is one of the reasons why anti-seizure drugs like Sodium Valproate are used for both Epilepsy and Bipolar. The ketogenic diet is already used to treat symptoms of epilepsy, especially when people don't respond well to medication, so there is some reason to think that this could help Bipolar symptoms as well.
I have read that the brain prefers to burn glucose as energy, but that bipolar people may have some dysfunction that makes them bad at metabolising glucose. This is a possible explanation as to why fueling the brain with "ketones" instead may be effective.
I became interested in this subject almost by accident, after noticing a big improvement to my mental health when I began eating a very low carb diet, similar to the ketogenic diet. I experienced a wide range of health improvements, including reducing my bipolar symptoms enough that I was eventually able to completely stop taking the Sodium Valproate that I had been on for about ten years. (For Type II Bipolar.)
When I began eating a very low carbohydrate diet I was also exercising more, and eating reduced calories, so I naturally began to burn stored fat in my own body. I found that by reducing foods that were converted into glucose, the body automatically went into a fat burning metabolism, and I never really got hungry because I had plenty of stored energy. When I was in this fat burning mode, I began to feel a lot better, mentally.
My mental health seemed to improve at a steady rate, and the more I reduced the medication, the more in control I felt, creating a feedback loop of determination. I have now been off the medications for six months and still feel more stable than I have for many years, including the entire time I was on medication.
Of course, this is not very scientific. Obviously I could have just been feeling a lot better because I'm more fit and healthy now. However, the fact that I was thinking quite closely about Ketosis lead me to wonder if it really was the reason I was feeling so much better mentally. That's why I wanted to write this post. I'm very interested to hear any stories or research anyone has about this subject. I'd also be very interested to hear about any other nutritional therapies anyone has tried.
Awareness of the ketogenic diet has been increasing in the health and fitness world, in connection with the rise of the "Paleo" diet, which is also very low carb and high in fats. This makes me think that there must be other people out there who have had similar experiences to my own. As happened to me, it could just be the happy side effect of an attempt to be come more physically healthy.
I feel that I have really experienced a quite remarkable change, and am almost tempted to call myself "cured". Some people may say this is premature, and they would probably be right. However, I would add that I have had to deal with some quite stressful situations since I stopped taking my medication. While difficult, they did not throw me off kilter in the way that I'm sure they would have before.
I feel I have to say that I am definitely NOT encouraging anyone to go off their medications. I spent years preparing to do this, developing behavioural strategies to manage my symptoms. Also, my blood tests were indicating that I had some possible liver dysfunction that might have been related to the long term use of Sodium Valproate. For the sake of my overall health, I had to shape up and try to live without meds. (I also dramatically improved my cholesterol levels and was able to go off the medication I was on for that too.) This was all under medical supervision, and I gradually reduced my medication over about a six month period. I was always very grateful to have a medication that made things bearable, but I never expected to be able to stop taking them. Now that I have experienced this big change, it seems worth investigating further.
Bonus Links:
Ketogenic Diet on wikipedia (described as treatment for Epilepsy)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet
PubMed, research "The ketogenic diet for type II bipolar disorder."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23030231
Article: "QUIETING THE BIPOLAR MIND: CAN A KETOGENIC DIET STABILIZE MOOD?"
http://www.neurorexia.com/2014/02/06/qu ... lize-mood/
Article: "Why Cutting Sugar Can Control Seizures: Scientists Identify Metabolic Regulator of Epilepsy"
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/ ... 051812.php